“She isn’t built for this life, Monty. It’s unfair to tie her to us. Violence is in our DNA. She’s been in three shootouts! Three! She deserves a quiet life in suburbia, with a dog, and kids running around, no bodyguards necessary. She is so sweet and I am terrified that we are going to sour her and turn her bitter with resentment. She escaped this life once before; how can we drag her back into it? Put her in the line of fire!”
“Are you gonna break up with me?” Monty and I whip around, Sophia is standing in the doorway, tears on her cheeks, my shirt on her body. She looks like an angel, a gift I do not deserve.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“I was, but you’re loud.” She steps into the room, her shoulders trembling, despite looking me in the eye. “You didn’t bring meinto it, my father did. Dottie did. But I never, not for one second, thought I didn’t belong here. I’m not strong…I’m not built like the others. I’ll never be brave like Blanche, never shoot enemies as easily as breathing like Tovah. Even Ruthie is deadly when needed. Maybe…maybe I was fooling myself. Maybe I’m not the type of woman you want. Need. The head of security for the Kosher Nostra deserves a strong, capable, BAB at his side…not the damsel in distress.”
“Baby, no.” Monty and I rush to her, wrapping her in our arms. “We love you, exactly as you are. You don’t need to be anything other than you.” I sigh against the top of her head, looking to Monty for help. He just stares back. It’s up to me to fix this. “I want to keep you safe.”
“Aren’t I safest with you?” Her voice is so small, almost childlike. I frown at Monty’s raised eyebrow.
“Yes. You are. But I can’t…what happened today just showed that sometimes it isn’t enough. It won’t matter what I do, how many contingency plans I have, how hard I train—”
“Yak.” She pushes us apart, grabs Monty’s hand, resting her other on my chest. “You could be an accountant, and I’d still be in danger. My father was a bad man, he made a lot of enemies, and he lived a selfish life. No matter where I go or who I’m with, I will always be a target. I don’t know the whys or whos, but I know what happened today was not your fault. I don’t need promises of keeping me safe, because it isn’t a promise that can be kept. I just need to know that you love me. That I’m…I’m enough for the two of you. You can’t control what happens out there, but you control what happens with us.” She smiles cheekily, and Monty chuckles.
“I love you. I love you both so fucking much.” I run my hands over her head, down her back, grazing Monty’s abs.
“Can we snuggle on the couch?” she asks almost shyly. Like Monty and I would ever deny her anything. “I don’t want to go back to sleep. Today was…it was scary.”
I scoop her up and carry her around to the couch, dropping down with her in my lap. Monty grabs the remote and sits right next to me. Sophia shifts around until she’s draped over both of us. Wrapping the blanket from the couch around us, she snuggles in with a contented sigh.
Doesn’t want to go back to sleep, my ass. She’s out before Monty picks something to watch.
Monty 9.
Looking up at the stands, I spot Yakov sitting with Sophia in his lap. I wave as my teammates run off the field to the locker rooms. I’ve been playing rugby for years. I got into it during college, and despite Yakov making fun of me relentlessly, he’s always been supportive of my love for the sport.
It took quite a bit of convincing for Yakov to agree to let Sophia come to today’s match. We are still on lockdown, and I can admit it is a security risk to have her here, but it felt vital to me. I don’t know why, but I was adamant they both attend. Something about the two of them watching me…it’s a rec league; it’s not like I’m pro or semi-pro. I just wanted my people in the stands. And Sophia and Yak are my people. The two most important people in my life.
Did I show off for them? Yes. Do I feel silly about it? Nope. My dick is eager to celebrate our win and fucking Sophia while Yak fucks me sounds like a great way to honor our victory.
Everyone is still on edge. Yak and Tev have been unable to find who hired the mercenaries, but they are working on it. The women are nervous, and cabin fever is setting in. Sophia has had nightmares every night since. Her first therapy appointment went well, according to her, but she didn’t want to discuss any of it in detail. Her appointments are once a week, and Yak and I are committed to helping her in any way we can.
The name of the game has been distraction. Or dickstraction. I’ve never had so much sex and while I’m dehydrated, I ain’t mad about it. I’m fairly well-adjusted, my fucked-up childhood didn’t adversely affect my outlook on love or life. In the back of my mind, I always imagined I’d fall in love and settle down, have a few kids, and live in domestic bliss. Occasionally, I thought of Yakov doing all of that with me. Not living next door in his ownLeave it to Beaverepisode but living with me. It always felt like something was missing though. I didn’t think he felt the same, so mentioning my sexual attraction to him seemed moot. Even in my wildest fantasies, though, the two of us playing house was an incomplete picture.
Sophia was the missing piece. In so many ways, she is what makes us whole and connects us. And I am grateful to have found her. Grateful Ezra fucked a random stranger during an elevator ride and brought this sweet angel into our lives. I hate the circumstances that had her sneaking into our suite or napping in our laps during the day…but God, it brought everything to the surface, forcing Yak and I to recognize what we’ve long swept under the rug.
I don’t know that I ever believed in soulmates…but I do now.
“So, who’s that sitting in Yak’s lap?” Forrest asks and everyone seems eager to hear the answer. Men can pick on women all the time for being gossips, but I’ve never met a man who didn’t enjoy a little tea every now and then.
“That’s Sophia Goldman…she’s their girlfriend.” Deker, who works at Burning Bush, answers for me.
“Their?” Several voices echo in the locker room.
Astin slaps me on the back. “Turns out our Monty here is a kinky fucker.” He works at Exodus Freight.
“So, you two share her?” I growl at Dante and he holds his hands up in surrender. “Chill. I’m just trying to figure it out.”
“Yak, Sophia and I are in a committed, monogamous relationship.”
“The three of you?”
“Yes.”
“Is it you, Sophia, and Yak or Yak, you, and Sophia?”
“What?” Orren is confused, and so are a few others.
