Petor held the door of the black Mercedes open for us, and I sat down, while he closed the door and quickly set to drive off in the direction of headquarters that were located only thirty minutes away.
“Shh.” I patted Jake’s back as he hid his face in the crook of my neck, while I rocked him from side to side. The psycho almost killed them all with the gun pointed right at Rosa and Jake. I almost destroyed the operation while I refused every plan they had come up with until Dom lost patience, punched me in the gut, and proceeded on his own.
Thank fuck, he held a calm head in this situation, because I had lost my damn mind with my kid in danger.
“It was scary, Daddy,” Jake whispered with a hiccup, and I squeezed him tighter in my arms.
“They can’t hurt you anymore,” I said furiously, while self-disgust poured through every bone in my body. How could I have just sent him with Rosa, blindly believing nothing would happen to him? I broke my word to Vivian, who’d told me how reckless it was.
“That person said that happiness is a privilege not everyone has.” He sat up on his knees, his teary face breaking my heart as he asked quietly, “What does it mean, Daddy?”
Ruffling his hair, I pushed his head back on my shoulder while opening the window so the soft breeze could slip inside and calm our nerves.
“Someone hurt them in the past, son. They live with hatred in them and don’t know how to deal with it. Happiness is a privilege everyone has. You should never believe otherwise.”
He didn't say anything and in a second grew quiet, and I glanced down to see his eyes closed in sleep.
“Radmir, it wasn't your fault,” Petor said, catching my gaze in the rearview mirror.
A hollow laugh escaped my mouth as I covered him with the jacket lying nearby on the seat.
I was the only one to blame here.
And I couldn’t wait for the anger Vivian would rightfully unleash on me. I just hoped and prayed one bad decision didn't cost me my family.
Vivian
The minute I heard the car driving up, I burst out of the building as soon as the enforcer unlocked it. As the car stopped, I opened the door, not bothering to wait for everyone else.
Jake sat on Radmir’s lap, his face red and swollen from crying. I covered up my sob at all the fear he must have felt and took him in my arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around me as I squeezed him tight, kissing his neck and head and any other place I could touch.
“It’s okay, Mommy.” He tried to calm me down, and for his sake, I swallowed the fear that had turned me into a basket case, and I patted his back. “Let’s take a bath and then watch some cartoons with pizza. How does that sound?” He smiled weakly, resting his head on my shoulder and rubbing his eyes.
“Awesome.” I didn't even glance at Radmir, because frankly I didn't give a fuck right then.
He had put my baby in danger, because he wanted to find the director; maybe he was just paranoid. He was the sovietnik. God knows how many enemies he had during the years. What if it was some gang effort?
Yet he risked my child,ourchild for this!
“Vivian,” he called behind me.
“I have no words for you right now.” Anger and pain still ran deep, and he had to give me the time to deal with them so I wouldn’t strangle him in his sleep.
“I didn't mean for this to happen.” I spun around, sheltering Jake from this with my hand as he already had his eyes closed and was breathing calmly.
“But it did happen. You didn't listen to me. I’m his mom and I’ve been raising him for the last five years, six if you count the pregnancy.” Exhaling a heavy breath, I cast my eyes down, because I couldn't look in his. “Radmir, let’s talk in the morning. We both need to cool off.”
“Okay.” He made no other move, so I went to our rooms, hoping we could have a good conversation in the morning about it. I was mad as hell, but it didn't mean I held a grudge against him.
It was just one of the things we needed to learn how to handle being a new couple.
Director
“What do you mean, you fucking missed?” I shouted into the phone. My hand gripped the golf club tighter while my opponents paused midair with their clubs, giving me curious glances.
Mastering a smile, I covered the phone and murmured to them, “Sorry, a deal went wrong. Continue without me. I’ll be back soon.” With that, I walked soundlessly on the green grass while sweat dripped down my back, plastering my golf shirt to my skin. I wanted nothing else but to stand under a cold shower so it would clear my head.
Instead, a red haze blurred my vision, as I was minutes away from losing my control and doing something stupid.
