Page 49 of Wicked Knight 2

I closed the door behind me. As soon as I reached the landing, Ivan caught up with me. “Good afternoon.” He said even though it was still early morning. “Looks like you finally tamed the doctor.” With a chuckle, he pointed at my bedroom door. “Although, the guys say it’s the other way around. It’s been days. They were hoping for some severe punishment.”

“Punishment for what?” I slanted him a glance as we descended the stairs.

“For what her family did to your mom?”

“I’ve decided to put a hold on that. For now,” I lied. I didn’t need Ivan up in my business. Especially when Donata kept changing her mind about escaping. “Have you seen Papa? I need to talk to him about the guys’ payday.”

“He left before sunrise.” He glanced over his shoulder. “The old man is up to something. Are you sure he’s gotten over my last snafu?”

“He hasn’t said anything else to me. I think you bringing Donata to us redeemed you in his eyes.”

“I hope you’re right. Hey,” his eyes lit up, “do you have time for a quick game? Since Papa is not here. Come on, man. All you do is work. The guys haven’t seen you in weeks.”

I shot a glance toward the upstairs bedrooms. Now that work had been postponed until Papa returned, I could spend the rest of the day with Donata. But Ivan was right. I needed to spend time with my crew.

“Yeah, I can hang for a couple of rounds.” I patted his shoulder. “Go ahead, I need to talk to Galina first.”

“I’ll go with you. I’m starving.”

As soon as I strolled into the kitchen, Galina shot me a look of surprise. “What are you doing here? I was about to send Irina upstairs to bring your breakfast.” She pointed at the tray piled with eggs, sausage, blinis, fruit and coffee.

A very clear memory of Donata eating blinis on this table while I fucked her flashed in my head. I shook my head once to clear my mind, then grumbled, “Work.”

“Ah, you work too much. Sit.” She grabbed one of the plates off the tray and set it in front of me before she turned to her daughter. “Take it to the missus before it gets cold.”

Irina nodded and quickly left with Donata’s breakfast.

“What about me?” Ivan sat next to me.

“Of course.” Galina rushed to the stove to make Ivan a plate.

With a chuckle, I took in a forkful of food as more guys rushed in to eat. Within ten minutes, all sixteen seats around the table were filled. Most of my crew didn’t live in the compound, but they made sure to show up in time every morning to get some of Galina’s famous blinis. My gaze darted across the table to each of the familiar faces. These guys were my friends. I couldn’t think of a life when that wasn’t so.

My gut couldn’t be wrong about this feeling of belonging.

“This is what I’m talking about.” Ivan shoved my shoulder. “He’s so fucking grumpy all the time. You’d think the pretty doctor would’ve put a smile on his face by now.”

A peal of laughter filled the kitchen. Even Galina chuckled as she flipped pancakes on the griddle.

“I’m just glad I can sleep in my own bed again instead of sleeping outside his door.” Tore bit into a juicy sausage. “You joining us for a round of cards.”

“Yes, I have time this morning.” I took a big gulp of black coffee. “If you’re done discussing my marriage.”

“Yeah, let’s go now before Papa gets home.” Ivan stuffed the rest of his egg in his mouth, then gestured for us to follow.

In the next beat, all fourteen chairs scrapped across the terracotta tile in unison. One by one, everyone filed out of the kitchen and headed to the courtyard. I made it all the way to the stairs before Belinda caught up to me.

“Good morning.” She smiled sweetly.

“Good morning.” I sidestepped her and kept going.

“Are you joining the men?” She grabbed my arm, rubbing her tits all over it in the process.

“I am.”

“Me too. It’s a beautiful day.”

I let her hang from my arm because I didn’t have the energy today to deal with her pouting.Out in the courtyard, I took my usual seat at the head of the table as Ivan dealt the cards. He was, once again, retelling the story of how the negotiations on our last run had gone. I’d like to think that my brother was proud of me. But in truth, he liked to entertain while being the center of attention.

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