Page 124 of Inked in Devotion

Kirill moseyed over with Maksim.

I felt the tension leave Theo’s body when he finally found someone he could talk business and numbers with.

Aralina needed to work on my brother and loosen him up.

Kirill took a bite out of the pastry in Lucy’s hand.

“Hey, get your own,” she said.

“Just helping you out, Lusenka. She’s still eating too much sugar,” he explained to us.

“And you’re still the food police,” she shot back.

Aralina signed at Kirill.

“I left him with Rurik. That man was talking my ear off,” Kirill muttered. He grinned at me slyly. “He might just be the person to convince Kolya to assume the other brigadier position.”

“That would mean managing people,” Ivan said.

“Who knows?” Kirill said. “It might be time.” His mouth twitched, but I was sure he directed that statement at me. Would being a brigadier be like a managerial position?

I rearranged Sebastian in my arms. This boy was getting heavy.

“Chloe,” Irina said. “Sorcha is managing the children. She has a full staff with her, and one of the bratva wives is a nurse and has volunteered to help.”

“I saw a bounce house,” Lucy told Gage. “There are soccer balls there too if you’re into that.”

“He’s wearing a suit,” I told her.

“Roll up your sleeves.” Lucy winked. “The buffet is up for fried chicken tenders and fries and mini burgers.”

“Oh, man,” Gage mumbled. “Can I go, Dad?”

Theo glanced away from Maksim to look at his son, then at me.

“I’ll deliver him to Sorcha safely,” I promised.

“All right.” Theo pointed at his watch.

Gage raised his wrist. “I got it.”

“Oh, is that like an alarm?” Lucy asked.

“Yes,” Theo answered. “And GPS.”

“We should get you one,” Kirill told his wife.

“You already put a tracker on me.”

“This is different. You can alert us instantly instead of fumbling for your phone.”

“Not a watch. A bracelet is better.”

“Where do we go?” I asked.

“End of this hall.” Irina pointed. “You can’t miss it.”

She was right; it was hard to miss. Gage skipped ahead toward the sound of children’s laughter. I was heartened to see how the bratva was family oriented although it wasn’t like this before, according to Sorcha. It was Lucy’s influence because of her Italian side. Kirill’s improved relationship with Ivan also strengthened the bratva’s core.