Page 106 of Inked in Devotion

“Why not?”

“Let me rephrase. I don’t want you to take a job where you’re not happy or fulfilled. You’re only going to resent us later.”

I had to keep a straight face because “fulfilled” was such a terrible euphemism for torturing information out of someone or even worse. And why was I so blasé about this?

Sebastian pounded the table and reached for the fry I’d forgotten between my fingers.

A faint smile traced Kolya’s mouth as he watched his son nibble on the cheesy treat.

“You and Sebastian give me something else to live for,” he said. “I’ve thought about this, Chloshka. It might not make sense because anyone with my blood is bound to a dangerous life. But being around you and Sebastian brings me peace. I don’t think about the violence that drives my actions. I think about protecting the peace I have with you and my son. I think about…” He exhaled heavily. “Happiness. An emotion I never truly felt before.”

“What happened to your parents?” I’d been dying to know since I asked that question. It wasn’t prying. It affected Sebastian, but I also understood that Kolya needed time to tell me. The information I gleaned that day in the basement left me reprocessing all my doubts and alleviating some of my fears. It turned out all I needed was honesty from the father of my son.

Kolya took a sip of his beer as if contemplating what to tell me. “They died because of me. My father’s mistake was choosing to leave the Petrov clan when they could have protected us then. My mother…didn’t want to have anything to do with the Petrovs nor…you know…”

I nodded. The Vozhokari.

“I won’t make the same mistake. I know you have the Kings and an army of security should you choose to use it, but to survive being related to me, our son needs to understand the ruthlessness of our enemies.”

He said this so quietly even when the chatter in the restaurant drowned out conversation coming from adjacent tables.

“But what can we do? That post that went viral is inevitable because I will not live as a secret again. I’m sure they’re watching and it could only inflame them.”

“That’s why I had Ilya take down as many videos as possible.”

“Trevor is at it too because of Sam.”

“It’s a mess.”

Something else occurred to me as I started mindlessly eating a fry, sipping my Coke. What was it? Oh...

“Do you think there are any clues to who might be after us in your fan mail?”

“Stop calling it fan mail.” But his voice was resigned.

Despite the situation, I laughed. Here was a fierce-looking man. Strong angular face; his hair had grown out of its close crop, and was in messy waves that fell across his eyes. It gave him a sinister air. He had tattoos snaking up his neck like most of the bratva.

And he had fan mail.

“What else are you going to call it?”

“I’ll never hear the end of it from Kirill and Maksim. The other guys snicker behind my back. I’m sure of it.”

“Well, at least they’re scared enough not to do it to your face. You haven’t lost your edge.”

Our burgers arrived, and the food occupied us for a while. Kolya and I took turns feeding Sebastian charred ground beef.

“He loves it.” Kolya chuckled.

“I read that the flavor window for babies is between four months and two years, where they’re willing to entertain different tastes.”

“I’ll have him chewing on a steak yet.”

I rolled my eyes. “Vegetables, Kolya. I hated vegetables as a kid. I don’t want Sebastian to grow up hating broccoli.” I shook my head. “I was a picky eater who loved chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and baked spaghetti.” I sighed. “I feel so awful now about what I put Renée through.” But maybe I was acting up and blaming her for Ivan leaving.

He stared at me. “You turned out all right.”

I rolled my eyes.