Bring the girl for dinner soon!! I want to meet my future daughter-in-law and get her ideas for the wedding.
Have you two discussed nursery themes? I’ll need to ask your grandmother to start the quilt soon. You know how she struggles with her hands.
Have you visited your grandmother, Aleksandr? Are you taking the girl there?
I expect to meet my grandchildren soon, Aleksandr. And maybe ask her if she has a nice friend for Nikolai. That boy needs a leash.
Have fun at work, my darling. We’ll chat soon :)
Aleksandr
Fuck.
I pressedbullets into the magazine of my favorite pistol when Nikolai barged in, draped in a belt of weapons like a wannabe warlord. For once in his life, the smirk was gone. “The Vallens are moving their shipment to the North Docks.”
“Tonight?”
“Yup. Same crew as planned. Trying to throw you off, I guess.”
I smiled, sharp and cold. Sometimes, he was justso predictable.Men like Julian Vallen never failed to underestimate the power of men like me—a mistake that would cost them.
Julian Vallen was head of the scum of the Earth known as the Vallen family. Though he was my prize, I knew I had to take out the rest of the organization before reaching him. His parents were off traveling the world, which made them regrettably too much of a hassle to target. For now. And the daughter, Anne-something, was somewhere off at school. I was hesitant to involve a woman and a child who seemed to have no true ties to her family’s darker dealings. So, unless she decided to stick her neck where it didn’t belong, I would leave her alone.
Julian, though… I would break him piece by piece, watch him beg before he even thought to breathe.
“Prepare the rest of the men. I guess we’re going north,” I said, adjusting my suit jacket as he slipped out of my office.
It wasn’t necessary to dress so cleanly for a night like tonight, but I figured I should look decent. After all, my face was going to be the last several men saw tonight. Might as well give them something nice to look at.
Plus, black hid the bloodstains well.
I was about to head out the door when my phone buzzed from atop my warehouse desk. The picture on it made me smile. It was a selfie Evangeline took from the front seat of my car as we were on our way to our first date. She looked stunning in her satin pink dress and fluffy white shawl. A true prima.
“Hi, baby,” I said, holding the phone up to my ear. “How was your rehearsal?”
It would have been over a few hours ago, but I knew she was staying with her brother tonight, which helped me breathe a little easier as I walked into a danger zone. Knowing she was somewhere supervised and protected, away from any potential Vallen retaliation, made my beast somewhat relax.
But only somewhat. I knew that I was the only one who could truly protect her.
“It was good,” she said, breathless in that way she got when she was excited. “We worked on the balcony pas de deux.”
I leaned back, letting the world fade. Her voice—always soft and careful—made the edges of my rage dull. Everything about her reminded me that she was a delicate thing in a brutal world. And I would be the one keeping that perfection alive.
“And how was that?”
“Good! Rapha thankfully has had some experience as the male lead, so he’s been giving me tips, which Ireallyneed.”
I gritted my jaw, hating the fact that another man got to touch her intimately, even if it was for show. But I knew how important this role was to Evangeline, so I kept my mouth shut, vowing to destroy the man if he ever hurt her or made her uncomfortable.
“I’m sure you’re even more wonderful than you think, solnyshka.”
Nikolai walked into the room, spotting me on the phone. He rolled his eyes before tapping his watch and mouthing, “Time to go.”
Eva giggled, one of my favorite sounds she made. That and her soft moans as she came around my fingers and tongue. And soon, my cock.
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s always true.”
