Pride swells in my chest watching how deliberate she is. Each move clean, every motion timed, every shot precise. And she looks damn good doing it, too.
The range had already closed for the night, but I intercepted Remi in the parking lot, and she let me in. I didn’t have to ask, and she didn’t say a word, but I’m sure she knows about Valentina and me. The side-eye and the faint, knowing grin gave her away.
It doesn’t surprise me. From the moment Remi was born, Valentina was drawn to her, protective, patient, and endlessly gentle for a girl her age. They grew up side by side…inseparable. Seeing that bond now, still unshakable after everything, makes me feel a little less guilty about the years I wasn’t here.
Valentina props the door open with a crutch, bends to retrieve her bag from the floor, and tosses it across the threshold. When she straightens, she gasps, not expecting me, and in a flash her fist collides with my abdomen, followed by a left hook to the chin.
Even through the pain of unexpected punches, instinct kicks in, and I throw my arms out to catch her before the momentum sends her off balance.
“Maksim! What the fuck! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“No,” I grunt, wiping my mouth, “but I think you split my lip, beautiful.”
Her thumb swipes the bead of blood, guilt flickering across her face. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting you.” Her tone suddenly hardens as she swats my chest. “Why would you sneak up on me like that? What if I hadn’t holstered my weapon? What if?—”
“Shut up.”
I fist her ponytail and kiss her. She gasps, but then her bad leg hooks around my waist, pulling herself up. My hands find her hips, holding her there, anchoring her to me.
I don’t realize how much I’ve missed her until now…until everything clicks into place the second she’s in my arms.
Fuck. What has she done to me?
“How’d you get in?” she asks, lips brushing back and forth against mine.
“Remi,” I murmur, nibbling, licking, tasting.
She tips her head back as I trail down her throat. “You miss me or something, Ruso?”
“I did.”
With a laugh, she scrapes her nails down the back of my neck. “I would’ve felt terrible if I’d shot you in that pretty face.”
“Yeah, that would’ve been bad,” I say against her skin. “But I might’ve forgiven you…for the right price. Or a sexual favor.”
Valentina bursts into laughter and kisses me harder.
“Come back to my place,” she whispers, lips peppering small kisses along my jaw.
I’ve never been the kind of man for soft gestures. I fucked, and I moved on. But with her, it’s different. Every glance, every word, every taste cuts deeper. And I crave it—I crave the inevitable ruin.
“I want you to come with me somewhere first.”
She eyes me curiously. “At this hour?”
“What? You don’t trust me?”
“Of course I do. Take me anywhere.”
I pull into the back lot of the fair and cut the engine. It’s dark. No flashing lights, no music, no stray laughter or sounds of a crowd. The park has been closed for over two hours.
“I hate to break it to you, Maxy, but we’re a little late.”
I laugh, exit the car, and circle the hood to open her door, offering my hand. “You said you trust me.”
“I do. But this feels a lot like breaking and entering.”
Little does she know we’ll be adding grand theft to that charge.
