“What about Daddy? Has he missed me?” I coo, walking with her over to Z. I grasp the back of his neck, and knead the tension there.
“We shouldn’t say things like that to her. It may confuse her.” He frowns, clicking off a screen and leaning back in the chair, groaning when I apply more pressure.
“She’s the luckiest girl in the world getting two of us,” I tell him, having fallen even more in love with him watching him father Roza these past weeks.
He’s a natural. There’s something so magical about being a parent. This tiny human was created from the essence of both Alyona and Z. I didn’t realize there were layers to love, but what I feel for Roza is different to how I feel about them. It’s just as intense, but it’s wholesome and precious.
A knock on the door draws both our attention.
“Come in,” Z barks.
The door swings open and Roman, the former doorman, is standing there.
“What do you want?” Z snarls, subtly jerking his head for me to get behind him. I think I could take him with Roza in my arms, but I wouldn’t, so I move behind Z’s chair.
“I know I fucked up, but I know who you both are, and I want a second chance.”
“And we’d give that to you, why?” Z asks, bored, fiddling with a paperclip on the desk.
“I’ll prove myself in the ring.” He shrugs and crosses his arms. “I like to fight underground.”
Z’s brow quirks up and he leans forward in his chair. “Are you any good?”
“Why not give him a run, Z? You’ve been wanting to hit something,” I drawl, turning with Roza in my arms, smiling at her when she decides my ears are the best toy she’s ever had.
“With my eyes blindfolded and an arm tied behind my back, it still wouldn’t be a fair fight,” Z muses.
A chuckle reverberates my chest. It’s true.
“Where is Alyona?” Z suddenly snaps and leaps up from the desk, his eyes darting toward someone behind Roman, a look of panic etched on his face.
My heart races, pounding violently against my ribcage as anxiety grips me. I see Jason standing in the doorway, his chest heaving as he clings to the door frame for support. Romantakes a step back into the hallway watching the interaction with confusion.
“I lost her,” Jason gasps. "She slipped me."
Z walks past me and raises his leg, booting Jason into the hallway and slamming the office door closed behind him. Grunts and groans echo through the walls. I race to put Roza in her pop-up cot, giving her her favorite dolly to play with.
Swinging the door open, I find Jason lying at Z’s feet, out cold with blood streaming from his nose and lips.
“Call her,” Z demands, his hands clenched and body practically vibrating. My own hands shake as I retrieve my phone from my pocket and pull up her number.
“Get rid of him and you’ll have your fight,” Z tells Roman, who jumps into action, gripping Jason’s feet and dragging him away. “Do it,” Z roars at me when I hesitate with my phone.
One ring. Two. Three.
“I’m not running,” she says as soon as she answers, and oxygen floods my lungs. “Put me on speaker with Z.”
“Where are you, Alyona?” he demands, eyes closing tight.
There are people chatting in the background wherever she is. “I know I don’t deserve to ask this, but I will anyway. I need you to trust me. Give me three days.”
What the fuck.
This isn’t happening.
“To do what?” I ask, confused.
“Just please give me three days. I’m leaving you with my life, our Roza. Believe me when I tell you I’ll be coming home to you all.”
