Page 32 of Kneeling for Daddy
“Things aren’t settling,” Alek shares, laying a folder on the table before taking the seat opposite me. Cillian spreads the papers across the table—ledgers, accounts, and surveillance photos. Each of the photos depicts the same middle-aged man in meetings with a slew of different men. Shuffling through the photos before me, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and swipe it open to find a message from Ani.
When are you coming back home?
Don’t know.
I’m working.
Ok…
Alek taps his finger on one of the photos of the graying, portly man. “That’s Aram. He was my father’s and Uncle Rurik’s right-hand man, running the business with pretty much no oversight. If the money was flowing and the cops were quiet, neither of them gave a shit how he did it.”
Enzo lounges back in his chair with a glass of water, smirking like usual. “Apparently, he didn’t get the memo.”
The three of them talk about Aram and the best way to deal with this wrinkled, pot-bellied problem. I only half pay attention, because the other half of it is across the city with Ani. Her lastmessages weren’t the usual curt, playful, and bratty banter that I’ve come to expect from her. They’re even more solemn than her attitude this morning. Trying to rein in my attention, I pick up my phone and forgoing all pretense and pleasantries, I type out a quick message.
What’s going on?
What’s wrong?
I toss my phone back onto the table when she doesn’t respond right away. Her reply finally lights up my screen, and I sense that something is wrong before I even open it. When I do, I find three simple words.
I miss home.
She’s homesick—missing the world she left behind when her brother forced her to come to New York and marry me. My little pet is sad, and it physically pains me that I can’t be there to try to comfort her right now. Unfortunately, my family needs my help to deal with the issue Alek thrust upon us when he shoved Ani into my lap, and I can’t afford her being a distraction right now.Yet, I can’t stop myself.
I’ll be home as soon as I can.
Promise.
We’ll figure it out.
I watch the dots appear and disappear for a minute as she types. It’s sharp and laced with the quick-bratty wit I’ve learned to love—and want to crush—simultaneously.
Russian cock isn’t exactly a fix for homesickness.
There’s my girl.
I snort softly, shaking my head. Those cheeky little jabs that her brother was so eager to get rid of have been my fucking undoing.
Doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying.
“That her?” Enzo asks, noticing the grin tugging at the corners of my lips.
I shove my phone back into my pocket before answering, “Yeah.”
He leans back in his seat, his eyes glinting with amusement. “You’re fucking strung tight over her, aren’t you?”
“Watch it,” I warn, my tone flat with a hint of gruffness.
“Just admit it, brother. That little blonde princess has gotten under your skin. She’s driving you so insane, you can’t even bring yourself to acknowledge it.”
Only, I have…I can’t stop thinking about what she’s fucking done to me. I don’t know when it happened, but some primal reflex has taken root in me—growing deeper with every day since she became mine.I’m fucking falling for my wife…
“He’s not wrong.” Cillian’s deep voice cuts through my thoughts. “It’s bad enough she’s Alek’s only family, but if she’s more than just a marriage on paper to you, that makes her a liability.”
“She’s not a liability,” I bite.
“We count on you to be cold and calculated, and right now your head is split between her and business. It’s not safe… For her or for us.”
