Page 18 of Born into Chaos

He sits down next to me, holding his hands out for Roma and giving him a big smile. “Hey, little man.”

Roma squeals and tries like hell to leap across my lap. I hand him over with a laugh while Luka pulls him closer and kisses him. My cousin has taken to being a daddy like a pro. I never thought he’d settle down, but it suits him. He’s almost twenty-one, the oldest out of us cousins, and he’s always taken that role very seriously. The Bratva used to be his entire life, but he’s done an amazing job of balancing it all. His wife and son will never come second, and he makes sure they know that.

He nudges my shoulder with his when Roma gets distracted by one of his toys. “What’d you do to piss Vitya off?” he asks, keeping his voice low so only I can hear it.

“You just assume it’s my fault? As if, Luka. That man was a grump long before he was assigned to me.”

Luka gives a soft laugh. “True enough.”

I chance a quick look at the doorway, making sure one of Vitya’s talents isn’t lip reading. He’s watching me, but he seems oblivious to what Luka and I are actually saying.

“He’s getting so big,” I say, watching Roma, feeling like it was just yesterday that I was meeting him for the first time and they were putting his tiny body in my arms.

“I know.” Luka brushes back the dark, silky strands of his son’s hair and looks over at Lara. “About time we had another, I think.”

“She’s still nursing this little guy,” I say, reaching over to tickle Roma’s tummy and making him laugh again.

“Pregnant and nursing,” he muses while looking at his wife, and something in his eyes tells me I really don’t want to know what my cousin is thinking right now. I laugh and kiss Roma’s cheek.

“Bye-bye, little man. Auntie Sveta loves you,” I tell him, and then I stand up to say goodbye to the others.

“You’re leaving already?” Natalya asks.

“Yeah, I need to get going,” I say, even though I really don’t. Sometimes being around my happily married cousins is depressing. I’m thrilled for them, I really am, but today’s been a shit day, and I don’t want to ruin their happy mood. Natalya gives me a warm smile, no doubt seeing through my lie about needing to go.

That sweet smile turns into her biting her lip to hold back a laugh when Vitya walks over and says, “You need to eat lunch.”

“I’m fine, Vitya. I ate a doughnut.”

He points to the salad Lucia made for me. “You need real food,” he argues.

I bite my own lip, but it’s not to hold back a laugh. It’s so I don’tturn around and start yelling at him in front of my precious niece and nephew. I look at Dominic. “Have you had lunch?”

“No, I just got here a few minutes ago.”

“Perfect.” I hand him the salad. “Enjoy.”

He takes the bowl and gives a soft laugh while muttering, “Thanks so much for pulling my ass into this, Sveta.”

I ignore the angry look I know Vitya is giving me and pull my niece in for a big hug. “I love you, munchkin,” I tell her.

“Princess,” she corrects me.

“I love you, princess munchkin,” I say, making her throw her head back and laugh.

I give Natalya and Lara a quick hug, promising to call them both soon, and then I turn to face my angry bodyguard. He does not look even slightly amused.

“Jacket,” he says, giving me the one-word command.

I grab my coat from where I’d tossed it earlier and put it on.

“Hat,” he says, and I sigh, knowing this is probably exactly what Dominic says to Isabella before he takes her outside to play. Natalya coughs to try and hide her laugh as I tug my hat on, making sure it’s covering my ears, because I don’t want to have that debate with him right now with everyone watching me.

He turns so I can follow him out, and before I leave, I grab one morebombolone, because I fully intend on drowning my sorrows in sugar. It makes them much more palatable that way.

“Bye, love you,” I call out to my family before leaving the room, feeling very much like a disobedient toddler, and I really hate that.

We walk to the SUV in silence, and once I’m in, he looks over at me, waiting for me to buckle up.

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