Page 33 of Born into Chaos

“Sveta, I’m already failing my duty right now, and it fucking kills me, so the very least I can do is walk you to the damn elevator so I know you’re safe.”

Realizing he’s still holding my wrist, he lets me go, but his thumb grazes my skin before he drops his hand and stands up. He walks over to Samantha and scoops her up into his arms. She stays asleep, only letting out a soft sigh at the movement before relaxing against him. He follows me out of his apartment, and even though he can see the elevator from his door, he insists on walking me to it.

Samantha is sleeping against his chest, and he has one hand cupping her butt and the other resting on her back to quickly cup her head if she needs the support. Without overthinking it, I lean closer and press a kiss to her cheek. Vitya stills, and before I pull back, I inhalehis intoxicating scent, grateful that he has no idea I’d sniffed his pillow earlier.

“I’ll text you later,” I say, stepping back and using my card to unlock the elevator doors. Turning around, I push the button for the penthouse and then look up at him. He’s standing there, watching me, and he looks so goddamn gorgeous with a baby in his arms. The truth is I’d rather stay here with him, but this plan is feeble enough as it is. I need to at least play my part and give it a chance to work.

He keeps his blue eyes on mine until the doors shut and all I can see is my fuzzy reflection. The ride up is short, and as soon as I’m inside, I text Niki and ask him to delete the footage of me riding the elevator alone. After I swear to him that I’m not doing anything dangerous, he responds with a thumbs up emoji and a short message.

Niki:

Consider it done.

If only the rest of my family were so easy to please and agreeable.

My mom is the first one back, and my dad shows up an hour later. Val already texted and said he was staying with Max at the house Niki recently acquired for them. They don’t live there full time, but they’re both staying there more and more. I envy them their freedom, and try not to sulk too much about it.

“There’s my girl.”

I smile at my dad and sit down next to him on the couch. Even though we just ate supper, he’s already working on a bowl of ice cream. I share his metabolism and love of food, so when he offers me the second bowl he must’ve fixed for me, I don’t hesitate.

We eat in silence for a few minutes while I work up the courage to lie to my dad. I hate doing it, but there’s no other choice right now. If I say the truth, then the first thing he’ll do is pull Vitya from his bodyguard duties, and I can’t have that. My only option is to tell what I’m calling an innocent white lie, because it’s not like I’m putting my life in danger. I’ll be perfectly safe at the remote farmhouse.

Before I lose courage, I nudge my dad’s shoulder and say, “I think I might have Vitya take me to the farmhouse for a few days.”

My dad immediately gets a suspicious look on his face. I sometimes forget how well he knows me.

“Why?”

I shrug and try to play it cool. “He wasn’t feeling good today, and my throat is kind of scratchy. I think it might do me good. I can rest out there and just relax. It’s peaceful out in the country.”

“You can rest and relax here, and if you’re feeling sick, then I’m not so sure I want you that far away.”

“It’s barely a scratchy throat, Dad. I’ll be fine.” I sigh and take another bite, deciding to let out a scrap of truth. “Everyone is getting married and having babies.”

“Just Natalya and Luka,” he reminds me, “and your Uncle Lev tried very hard to not let that happen.” He turns to look at me. “Jesus Christ, Sveta, have you fallen in love with an Italian?”

The horror in his voice has me laughing as I shake my head. “No, Dad. I promise I haven’t.”

“Thank fuck,” he groans dramatically. “You made my heart race there for a second.” He takes another bite and then points his spoon at me. “Has Vitya tried something? Has he been inappropriate in any way, because I made it very clear what would happen to him if he did.”

“What did you threaten?” I ask while filling my spoon with more ice cream like I’m not dying to know the answer.

“Never you mind,” he tells me. “That’s for me to know and him to worry about.”

“You’re impossible,” I say, but I love my dad too much to be angry. I know he means well and that he’s just worried and overprotective. It’s a common side effect with his line of work. He’s experienced too much pain and had too many awful things happen to the people he loves to have a calm and laid-back parenting style. “And, no, Vitya has never done anything inappropriate. He barely talks to me. You know that. I get grunts. It’s how we communicate.”

“Sounds good to me. He better make damn sure those grunts don’t ever turn into groans.”

My mom walks over right as I sigh and shake my head. “Mom, Dad’s being ridiculous again.”

“Does he ever stop?” she asks, not missing a beat.

My dad laughs and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her onto his lap. “I can’t believe you just said that,ptichka. You better start being nice to me or I’m not going to share my ice cream with you.”

“Oh, we’ll see about that,” my mom says, grabbing the spoon from him and taking a big bite.

My dad raises a brow at me. “You see what a handful she is? Has been since the beginning. I thought for sure I’d have her trained by now.”

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