Page 42 of Claimed By Daddy

“Oh… of… of course,” he stammers, his grin lopsided, as he places them into my waiting palm. Nikolai’s inquisitive gaze lingers on him as we walk toward the door, but I don’t bother to ask.

We walk two blocks before Nikolai speaks again. “Well, that was productive.”

“In what world?” I grumble.

“Okay, maybe not productive, but entertaining. Narek looked like he was about to piss himself.”

Cillian shakes his head. “I don’t know what it was, but something about all of that just didn’t feel right.”

“They’re trying to keep the peace while buying time,” Nikolai insists.

We pass a guy leaning against a kiosk, dressed like any other businessman, scrolling through his phone. But the screen has gone black, and he’s not really scrolling. He’s just watching the crowd.

“You see him?” I murmur.

“Yup.” Nik and Cillian answer in unison.

“Think he’s one of theirs?” I ask, casually glancing over my shoulder to see if he is following us.

“No.” Nik shakes his head. “He looks too clean-cut. I’d put my money on him being a cop.”

“Great… Just what we fucking need.”

Back in the SUV, I check my phone. I tap into my messages, but the app flickers and crashes.Weird. I try again. Same thing. My brows furrowing, I power off the phone to reboot the device.

“Something wrong?” Nikolai asks.

“Must be a glitch. They make these things far too fucking smart now. Like they’re trying to think for you.”

We drive in silence for a while. Nikolai hums tunelessly, probably just to irritate me. Phone powers back on, and I flip open the texts without issue—or any new messages.

When I walk into the apartment, the first thing I see is Eavan’s bare feet poking over the couch arm. She hears the door and pops her head up, beaming. “You’re back early.”

“We’re just efficient.” I pause in the kitchen to remove the Glock from my waistband and set it on the counter.

“Did you get me something shady and illegal?” she asks, and Cillian arches an inquisitive brow.

“I was going to grab the Mona Lisa while we were out,” I playfully fib. I take a seat beside her on the couch, toss my phone onto the coffee table, and pull her legs over my lap. Her fingers find mine easily, like they belong intertwined with mine. “But did you know that thing is in Paris?”

“You’re ridiculous.” She chuckles, curling into me and resting her head on my chest. “Who would’ve thought the big bad mafia guy was a funny man?”

“Or such a generous lover.” I drag her into my lap to taste her lips. My phone buzzes on the table, but I ignore it. I press my lips back to hers and kiss her slow and deep, just for a moment, forgetting everything but the two of us.

The apartment is quieter than usual, Nikolai and Cillian having ventured out to grab something to eat and probably have a few drinks. Rain patters against the windows, a steady rhythm that hums in the background. Enzo and I are draped across the couch, tangled in each other, like we have nowhere else to be. Because right now, we don’t.

His arm is tucked beneath my head—his fingers combing slowly through my hair, twirling strands between them as if the motion soothes him as much as it does me. I lie half on my side, my chin resting just above his chest where I can feel the calm, even rise and fall of his chest.

His thumb brushes against my scalp. “Still with me?” he asks softly.

“Barely,” I mumble, smiling into him. “You’re too good at this.”

“At what? Lying around like a lazy bastard? Or lulling you to sleep?”

“No, Enz…” I laugh quietly. “At making me feel safe.” Even when I didn’t know him like I do now, I felt protected when I was with him. He was willing to go the distance and do deplorable things in my name before I even laid eyes on his face—like the world sent him to take care of me.

“Did you mean it?” I wonder hesitantly. I’ve been trying to find a way to have this conversation for days.

He doesn’t say anything, his fingers just keep running through my hair. When I peek up at him, he’s watching me with an adoring gaze. Using his hand, he tips my face all the way up to his. “Mean what, princess?”

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