Page 5 of Wreaking Havoc on my Heart

A loud knock sounds at my door. I had just gotten back to take a shower after Laney left to talk to Evie. Wanting to hurry, I was in and out in under ten minutes so that I can be there for when she gets back. Thinking about it more, I decide I’ll just go to the hospital to check on her. If there’s any fallout with the guys, I might need to step in. Alexi is not known for staying composed when it comes to his girl.

I wrap a towel around my waist and turn off the shower to answer the door, hoping whatever it is they won’t take long. When I open the door, Boris is standing there with a strange look on his face. I can’t tell if he’s pissed off or sad. I’ve only seen those two emotions cross his features, and the sad one was reserved for my adopted mother's funeral.

“Can I come in?” he asks. I take a step back without saying anything. He got me this job, and kept me from falling back into the hands of my real parents. Of course he can come inside, and he knows it.

“I’m going to change. Give me a minute?” I say, heading toward the bedroom.

He nods, but his body sags in exhaustion.

“Finish getting ready. I might just shut my eyes on the couch for a minute.”

I do as he says, knowing he likely needs some time to rest and think. We’re all running off of minimal sleep at this point anyway. I decide to take my time shaving before I throw on some sweats. Unlike Alexi, I don’t feel like I need to impress the man still sporting a three-piece suit after being up for twenty-four hours.

Boris honestly needs a shower more than any of us, but I know better than to suggest something to him. It has to be his idea or it’s not happening. I think I have a love-hate relationship with him that could rival most enemies-to-lovers novels. He saved me, sure, but he also expects a hell of a lot from me.

I go out to the couch to find him fast asleep, his head back and only the top button of his suit unfastened. The normal calm that people express when sleeping is nowhere on his face though. In fact, his eyebrows are scrunched and he looks older than I remember. I last saw him just a few months ago, right before coming here. But for him, it looks like ten years have passed.What’s been happening?

He lifts his head as I sit. “Thank you for those pictures. I’ve been looking for her for a long time now. I think you might have helped all of us more than you realize.”

When Laney confided in me about going behind Evie’s back, I couldn’t judge too much because I did the same thing, although I had no idea what I was really doing at the time. I’d come to care for the girl after all the shit that happened to her. I don’t want Boris, or anyone for that matter, to think that I set her up on purpose.

“I didn’t send those pictures for you to find her. I didn’t even know you were looking for a girl. I sent them because I wanted to help you understand that these boys found something that’s important to them. Someone they felt was worth protecting and in turn, you would protect her too. I didn’t want you to be caught off guard by their relationship dynamic.”

“Their relationship dynamic?” His confusion should feel normal. While I don’t understand Evie and how she manages to keep three very stubborn mafia men entertained, I was here to see them all grow together and form this bond. It’s something real, and serious. It’s not a game to them.

“They all love her, more than I’ve ever seen men love a woman. I wanted you to understand before they brought her back with them. I had no idea who she was.”

He sighs heavily and leans his head back again.

“I know, I know. It’s all… overwhelming. I found her then almost lost her so many times. To see her injured this severely is detestable. She looks so much like her father I feel actual agony. Seeing her in pain continues to remind me of losing him as constantly as if the scene were on repeat in my mind.”

The tone of his voice is one I haven’t heard before. He sounds exhausted, defeated even. My adopted uncle found me just a few years after losing Damir, and I could tell even then how much it bothered him. But this seems like so much more.

“I’m sorry you’re feeling that again. You should rest here. There’s a guest bed in the back with a shower and other essentials stocked.” I’m not the best comforter unless it's for Laney, but I’m willing to try for my family.

He nods without making a move to get up. After a few minutes of silence, I decided to tell him what’s been on my mind ever since Laney opened up to me earlier.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“I truly cannot handle more bad news, son.” He sits up and crosses his legs while squaring his shoulders, all business in an instant.

I mirror him, something he seems to appreciate from Alexi. “It’s not bad. I just want to go to the board about Laney. I want their permission to have a relationship with her, and I want her to be brought in on who I am.”

“Laney?”

“Evie’s friend, the blonde one. I want a relationship with her. She’s mine, and I want to be able to show it.”

He sits forward, hands leaning on his thighs. “You want my permission to fuck a student and to also bring her into our organization. Plus you want to reveal your identity to her when my own son doesn’t have a single clue who you are?”

Shaking his head, he sits back laughing. I grip the arms of the chair until my knuckles turn white.

“Something funny, Uncle?”

The look he levels me with is one a father might give a small child talking about his first crush.

“It is quite humorous of you to think I would even consider that. If you want to claim her, then claim her. I really couldn’t care less who you happen to be sleeping with. There is nothing in the rules about you not being able to fuck a student, so you don’t have to take it to the board, or me, for that matter.”

I hadn’t thought about that. I honestly just thought it was forbidden because normally it’s not okay for students to sleep with their teachers. I mean, I know this is the underworld and all, but I still figured we had rules. In fact, it’s kinda fucked up that we don’t.

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