Page 41 of Bratva Daddies for the Single Mom

Fyodor and Viktor sat on the couches on either side of us, both hunched forward in matching, curious poses.

“What did you want to talk about?” Annie asked.

Viktor grimaced. “I think you know, but to clarify and get to the point, I’d like to know why you withheld information. Pertinent information.”

“My daughters are not information. They’re people.” Annie practically vibrated with her anger.

I started to place a hand on her leg but stopped. Let her be angry. Viktor deserved any tirade Annie offered after his stunt where he declared us finished without my and Fyodor’s consent. I’d never questioned Viktor in my entire life, but I lacked the ability to excuse this behavior.

“You’re right.” Viktor crossed his ankle over the opposite knee and gripped his calf with both hands. I recognized the posture as his relaxed pose, but the continued tension in his expression bade me to proceed with caution. He was not used to anyone challenging him.

Annie held nothing back when she leaned forward and stared hard at him. “You bet your damned ass, I’m right. They’re my daughters. I’m the one responsible for their safety.”

It was a point I planned on discussing with her, but not yet, not before she worked all the anger and frustration from her system.

“What about the father?” Fyodor interrupted the stare down with his question.

Annie swung toward him. “He’s not in the picture. Never was.” A flush crept up her neck. She rubbed her hands together, her gaze skipping to the floor. “To be honest, I don’t know who their father is. I got pregnant in college, a one-night stand with some guy I didn’t know.”

“You never tried to find him?” That cold inner light brightened inside Viktor.

Did he plan on offering to look into it? I hoped not. The last thing we needed was another man in the picture. A man who might take Annie away from us.

Annie shook her head and slumped into the cushions. “No. I didn’t want to find him. We were kids. I’m sure he’s moved on with his life.”

“You’re okay with his never knowing he has two beautiful girls?” I couldn’t fathom keeping that kind of information from anyone, unless the man was a total douche.

“Honestly, yeah.” One shoulder rose to her ear and fell again. “He was an asshole. I remember that much. We fucked, and he pushed me out of the room, told me to get lost while he went to find a better lay.”

“Bastard.” Fyodor sat forward.

Annie held up a hand. “Don’t say it.” A small grin slipped out. “No, he didn’t make me come. It was the worst sex of my life, but it gave me Hannah and Hailey. My girls.”

I rolled the names around, putting them together with the description I’d gotten from Viktor and Fyodor.

“You enjoy being a mother?” I suspected so, but I enjoyed hearing Annie talk about life and motherhood. It was a side of her I’d never expected, and it brought me pleasure to see her light up when she said their names.

A quick inhale preceded her nod. “I love it. I love my girls more than anything.” She plucked at the edge of her sleeve, another white shirt and navy skirt ensemble that I was beginning to think she used as a kind of uniform.

Did she have nothing else to wear and that was why she dressed in the same style every day? I took a closer look at the shirt and spotted a tiny stain near the collar, the same stain I’d noticed on her shirt last week. Was this heronlyoutfit suitable for work? I’d bring it up to Viktor later. “You told Fyodor that you are protective of the girls. Hannah and Hailey.”

“I’d die for them.” Iron infused her voice. “Which is why I didn’t tell you about them.”

“Explain,” Viktor barked.

Annie glared at him. “I’m not one of your men. You have no right to order me around.”

Damn. I stared at Annie. We all did.

She took a shuddering breath. “I was going to explain anyway, but you need to understand, Viktor. You’re the Bratva. You run Chicago. I get that. I respect who and what you are. And you have to respect me and my decisions. Because your lifestyle, the fact that you’re all dangerous men with dangerous enemies, is exactly why I kept my daughters a secret. I’m not comfortable exposing them to your world.”

An uncomfortable silence settled around us. Annie made her point and left us to decide how to proceed.

Viktor was our leader, but we were all in this together.

I turned to face Annie and drew my leg up onto the couch, folding it beneath me so I could be closer to her. “There is no safer place than in our world. Under our protection.”

She gave me a disbelieving look. “How is that even remotely true?”

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