Page 36 of Born into Chaos

“No, honey, I want one of the other ones.”

Sveta holds up the dull knife that he’d promised to cut my dick off with if I ever touch her. “This one?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“But you can’t cut anything with this. It’ll never get through the sausage.”

Vitaly makes a point of looking at me as he takes the knife. “Oh, I think with enough determination you can cut through just about anything with a dull blade. Don’t you think so, Vitya?”

He takes his eyes off me and looks down at the thick sausage link he’s very slowly sawing in two. It’s hard not to cringe, but I manage it. Vitaly gives a soft laugh, probably at seeing me pale at the thought of having my dick slowly cut through.

Svetlana gets another forkful of blueberry pancakes. It’s impossibleto tell if she’s oblivious or playing ignorant to what’s going on. She checks her phone again and takes a big bite.

“So you’re taking my daughter to the farmhouse for a few days?” he asks me.

“She said she wanted to go there, so I’m taking her. I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

“Dad, I’ll be fine,” Svetlana says and gives him a smile. The Vitaly who was just threatening yet again to cut off my dick disappears as his face softens and he returns his daughter’s smile.

“Of course you will, honey.” He turns his eyes back to mine. All the softness gone as he says, “He knows what will happen to him if you’re not.”

“Dad,” Sveta groans, smacking his arm lightly and making him smile at her again. “Here, you need more syrup.”

She distracts him with the bottle, and he douses his pancakes just like his daughter had. How the two of them haven’t gone into a diabetic coma yet, I’ll never know. Not wanting to seem too eager, Sveta finishes the last few bites of pancake and then puts her dishes in the sink.

“Bye, Dad. I love you,” she tells him, giving him a big hug as he kisses her cheek.

“I love you too, kiddo. Text me when you get there and let me know if you need anything.”

“I will,” she promises him. She points a thumb at me and says, “We’ll probably be back in less than twenty-four hours. I’m sure he’ll drive me crazy in no time, and I’ll be demanding he drive me back into the city.”

Vitaly laughs, giving his daughter another hug, and I’m a little impressed by the show Sveta is putting on. She’s giving nothing away, and when a small spark of pride hits my chest, I tamp it down. I’ve already grown too damn soft thanks to the cute little bundle sleeping in my apartment, but I can’t lose focus and cross the line with Svetlana, no matter how badly I may want to. I’ve already dragged her into enough of a mess. Fucking her will not make this problem better; it’ll just magnify it by a thousand. I can’t do that to her.

She takes one more quick glance at her phone and then shoves it in her back pocket before turning to face me. “Are you going to make me carry all my bags again?”

“I need to be able to reach my gun,” I tell her, making sure to keep my tone as bored as it usually is.

She looks back over her shoulder at her dad and gives a heavy sigh. “You see what I have to put up with? I saved his life, and he won’t even carry a bag for me.”

Vitaly laughs while filling his fork. “Sorry, sweetheart, but he’s right. I can carry them down for you, though.”

I can practically feel the way she’s mentally kicking her own ass right now, but she keeps it together and gives another laugh, waving for her dad to keep sitting. “Don’t worry, Dad. My suitcase has wheels. I do still think he can push a suitcase and shoot a gun, though.” She looks up at me and gives me one of her super sweet smiles. “I mean, I’m guessing really good bodyguards can do both.”

Once again, I have to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from smiling at her smart-ass mouth. Instead, I keep my face hard and shrug my shoulders. “Wouldn’t want to take any chances. Grab your suitcase and let’s go. We want to miss the lunch traffic.”

She gives a dramatic sigh and goes to get her suitcase. Throwing her tote bag over her shoulder, she looks at me as she wheels her suitcase to the elevator like I’m really putting her out by not doing it myself. The damn thing has four wheels on the bottom and she barely needs to use any force to get it to move, but she glares at me all the same.

Calling out one last bye before the elevator doors close on us, she leans against the mirrored wall and lets out a sigh. “I about had a heart attack when he offered to help me bring my bags down,” she admits with a soft laugh.

“You handled it well,” I tell her while I quickly check my phone. Samantha is still sleeping peacefully, but I’m antsy to get back to her.

“Holy shit, did you just give me a compliment?”

“Best not to get used to it,” I tell her.

Instead of getting pissed, her pretty lips lift in a small smile. “Iwouldn’t dream of it. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks and all that.”

My pcholka still knows how to sting.

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