Page 51 of Prince Charming

This might be the biggest one yet for the champ.

FIFTEEN

“It was no holly jolly Christmas.” - Marianna

The transition into Christmas happened fast in Armado Springs.

She came out of her apartment one morning to see a hugely decorated Christmas tree in the square.

Marianna’s heart pinged until she thought she might be having an attack.

She was nothing but sadness.

It was the smothering pain of panic.

What if she never got her children back?

The hopelessness of their life overwhelmed her, though she tried to keep an upbeat positivity whenever she spoke with her family.

Despite Marianna sending every dollar she could to pay someone in Russia to help Galina, there had been a setback. She ought to have known Anatoly would be a fucking liar too. He was a prick from the old neighborhood with ambitions of joining the ranks of theBratva. He’d also been best friends with the twin’s father. He’d wanted Marianna from the moment she grew breasts, trying to get into her pants for years. The man repulsed her, but he was the only one with connections to help Galina and the twins out of the country without passports.

He won’t budge,Galina had told her.He wants you to agree to marry him.

Fuck him. She was back at square one.

She would sell her soul first to get her kids back before she’d let that cretin put a ring on her finger.

Could she marry him if he had the means to get Lily and Pasha to the States?

No, absolutely not. She’d find another way.

It would be like being under the regime of theBratvaagain.Been there, got the t-shirt.

A second and third job were looking necessary.

She’d already started looking on the dark web for people who ran illegal operations. Unable to face the prospect of the twin’s spending a Christmas without her. This morning’s call didn’t go well. Pasha was still not talking to her. He stood next to Lily, glancing at the screen. No matter how she tried to engage him, he wouldn’t utter a word.

No pain was as worse than that.

Deportation would send her back to Russia. And that was after being placed in an immigrant detention center. It was theBratvashe feared, and what would happen to her on her return. She would be no closer to the twins than she was now.

The chill in the air stung her cheeks and she welcomed the feeling.

Memories of the first two Christmases with Lily and Pasha joined Marianna on her walk to work. With so little money, her job as a beautician paid a basic salary, she ensured they had a small tree and some presents. Galina made the food, and they’d watched A Christmas Story.

She intended to ignore the holiday, the smell of cinnamon and gingerbread. If she squinted she wouldn’t have to look at the twinkling lights or see Christmas trees everywhere.

Before the gym, she stopped at Goodwill. Buying a pair of skinny jeans for herself and four outfits for the kids. Over the past few months, she’d accumulated a trunk full of new clothes for them. It was hope and optimism at its highest level.

Luckily for Marianna, the very large distraction appeared almost as soon as she took off her coat.

“Morning, darlin’, you look frozen. Coffee?”

Blinking, she studied him. The knot in her stomach tied itself tighter.

With his t-shirt damp from exertion, she knew he must have already worked out.

He was stunning, devastatingly so, but nothing in his features revealedwhohe was. Even his bare feet were intimidating.And sexy.

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