He steps into the small space with me, and as we head up to the top floor, he says, “Everything was quiet, boss. The women didn’t leave.”
“Thanks.” As soon as the doors open in my foyer, I step out, and not finding my girls, I call out, “Where’s my princesses?”
“Oh, my God!” I hear Nina shriek, and Simi begins screaming, “Yay!”
They appear at the top of the stairs, and Nina hauls Simi into her arms before rushing down, her face filled with happiness.
“You’re home,” she says, her tone filled with excitement. “Finally!”
I take a wiggling Simi from her mother and plant a kiss on her chubby cheek. Moving her to my right arm so I can wrap my left around Nina, I haul my woman up my body as I lean down and kiss her on the mouth, reluctantly keeping it PG-rated.
Nina wraps her arms around my neck, and Simi tries to do the same with her much shorter arms.
“We missed you so much,” Nina says, her tone shaky.
“Yes. So, so much.” Simi nods, her eyes serious.
I’m hit hard in the chest by how emotional it feels to come home to the woman I love and my daughter.
“I missed you more.” My voice is hoarse, and I clear my throat as I set them down. “What did you do while I was gone?”
“Nothing. I just missed you,” Simi answers, her tone a little sad.
I crouch down and brush my palm over her hair. “I just have to go to work again, but I’ll be back tonight, and we’ll do whatever you want.”
“Aww. I don’t want you to go.”
I pull her closer and kiss her forehead. “I have to go fight a couple of bad guys to make sure the castle stays safe. Okay?”
Her eyes widen. “Will there be a dragon?”
“Yes,” I answer, playing into her make-believe world. “A big one, but don’t worry, fire can’t hurt me.”
“Okay. But then you’ll come home.”
Her expression is so serious that it gives me cuteness aggression, and I squash her to my chest while pressing two kisses to her cheek.
When the elevator doors open and Raya comes in, I rise to my feet and give my sister a quick hug. “Thanks for doing this for me.”
“No problem at all. You go take care of business while I play in the castle with princess Simi.” She wiggles her fingers and begins to move in on Simi. “Here comes the tickle monster.”
With a shriek of laughter, my kid runs for the safety of her little castle in the corner.
I take Nina’s hand and quickly walk to the elevator. When the doors shut, I say, “I have a surprise for you.”
She leans into my side as she tilts her head back, her eyes shining like polished stones. “What?”
“I’ve heard breaking shit is good for letting off steam, and I think you have a lot of anger to burn.”
She looks curious but also apprehensive. “Uhm…okay.”
Not wanting her to be caught off guard, I say, “I have Boris and Anton. I thought it would help you heal if you got to torture them.”
The apprehensiveness vanishes, and her eyes widen before I see the first spark of anger.
“And if you don’t want to do anything yourself, you can tell me, and I’ll take care of it.”
She shakes her head quickly. “Oh no, there are a couple of things I’ve dreamed of doing to them for nine years.”
