Page 39 of Inked in Devotion

“I’d listen to her.” Dom quirked a brow at Kirill. “Or should I call Lucy?”

Kirill narrowed his eyes and compressed his mouth into a thin line, a muscle working in his jaw.

My mood lightened briefly. These men at least knew when not to act like morons and listened to their women.

I turned to Theo. “Kolya and I are taking Sebastian to the hospital.”

Sebastian was given a clean bill of health. Many of the De Luccis met us at the hospital. I’d gotten to know most of them during my stay at The Grindhouse—the building that was the heart of the De Lucci crime family located in Hell’s Kitchen. Renz, who was Nico’s youngest brother, ran a café, and I was around him and his wife the most.

“You can come back,” Renz told me. “Don’t you miss my cappuccinos? Liz and Sam miss you. Sebastian can be Sam’s little brother.”

“If only that were so simple.” I glanced over to where Kolya was holding Sebastian and giving instructions to one of his men. Come to think of it, the man he was talking to looked familiar, and I’d seen him around in the building's lobby or outside the shelter. I shouldn’t have put it past Kolya to post his own man to guard us whether I agreed to it or not. But what struck me the most was how commanding he appeared despite having a baby in his arms, clapping his face. Ugh, my ovaries stirred at the most inappropriate moments.

It didn’t escape me how the women in the waiting room were swooning over Kolya and Sebastian, and I wanted to claw their eyes out. It was an irrational reaction, especially since Kolya and I weren’t in a relationship.

“Just know you have a home with us,” Renz said.

“Thank you.”

Next to give me a squeeze was Ivy. “Wow, that dinner turned interesting.” She handed me the purse I left at Quorum. I was so glad she picked it up instead of having something else to worry about.

I glanced around for Daniel. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think⁠—”

“Petrov was going to go all caveman?” She sighed. “We’re used to that, believe me, and it’s looking like you’re going to experience it too.” She glanced at where Nico was talking to Renz.

“What do you mean?”

“Chloe!” Lucy came rushing towards us. “Oh my God, where…” Her eyes fell on Kolya and Sebastian. “Aw…they look so cute.”

She glanced at Ivy. “When are you and Nico planning little ones?”

“And you?” Ivy shot back.

“Hey, I just got married,” Lucy protested.

“Didn’t stop Chloe.”

“All right, ladies, I don’t recommend unplanned pregnancies because the drama…” I sighed.

“I heard what happened at arbitration,” Lucy laughed. “I told Kirill I should have been there. Anyway, I was late because I’m so excited that you’re staying with us!”

“Wait, that’s a done deal?” Ivy demanded.

“Of course!” Lucy said. “I don’t see Theo around? Did he go home?”

Yes, after almost losing his temper with Kolya, who was insisting Sebastian and I come home with him, I stepped in, because what the hell, it was my choice. I told my brother to go home after I’d extracted a promise from Kolya that me going home with him wasn’t equivalent to joining the bratva. That it was just temporary until we discovered who attacked the apartment.

Kirill and Dom also put in their two cents that Lucy was in charge and she wouldn’t let the bratva steamroll us.

“He’s worried about Gage,” I said.

“That’s Theo’s son, right? Have you met him?” Lucy asked.

“He brought him over twice to meet Sebastian.” I couldn’t read the boy. He was an introspective eight-year-old. Spoke one-word answers as if he were bored, but seemed generally interested in Sebastian. But then again, one of the reasons I was more inclined to go with Kolya was the lonely state of the King family.

Scanning the waiting room, I saw it was filled with De Luccis and bratva and not a single King around except for Theo’s employees. It was so sad, really. I remembered the mansion where Jeremiah had held Aralina. Massive and teeming with the grandeur of the roaring twenties, but it left me chilled as though a ghost had walked over my soul. It probably didn’t help that the entrance had been littered with two bodies, killed by the rage of an unstable mind.

Kolya saw Lucy and approached us.