Page 42 of Inked in Devotion

“I thought I heard Sebastian cry,” I told her. “It’s already nine. Shouldn’t she be feeding him?”

“She should have already.” Dora frowned. “Maybe she did and went back to sleep.”

My stare burned at the door, as if I were willing myself to have X-ray vision to see through it and settle the impatience thrumming in my veins. Were they okay?

“You’re like an anxious dad,” Dora chided and clasped my arm to tug me to the kitchen. “I smell coffee. Tell you what, if they still haven’t come out after our first mug of coffee, I’ll knock on their door.”

The coffee I had going finished brewing. Three mugs were set beside the machine. Dora poured me one. She knew I liked my coffee black from my custody visits. I pegged her quickly as a no-nonsense person. She didn’t care who I was or that I’d spent a year in prison. She called herself the godmother of second chances, sometimes even a third. As long as I didn’t hurt Chloe and Sebastian, we wouldn’t be having problems.

We both settled behind the counter barstools. “I’m surprised you were willing to move into a Zahkarov compound.”

Dora had a history with the bratva. She met Chloe’s mother while working together in a bratva-owned nightclub. That was where Renée caught the eye of Duncan King. The former second-in-command of House of Sokolov, part of the bratva triumvirate, became enamored with Dora and forced her to become his mistress. It was Renée who asked Ivan for a favor—ordered Pavel Sokolov to release Dora without a threat of retribution. When I was pressing Ivan on how to approach Chloe, he mentioned Dora’s past with the bratva and the abusive relationship she had with one of our own.

So, in a way, I had more minefields to navigate, but it seemed Dora made it her mission not to hide from abusive men, but to help women get away from them.

“Why? It’s in the past,” she said. “I’m not that scared young girl anymore. Pavel is dead, and my regret is he couldn’t see me the way I am now. He said I wouldn’t survive without him. That no one would ever have his leftovers. That I was a nobody without him.”

“You never got married.”

She chuckled into her coffee. “Marriage or relationships were never my calling. If I were religious, I might have become a nun, but I’m not. I don’t need religion to tell me to help women and children in need.”

“Not men?”

“Let’s just say I specialize in women and children. Don’t get me wrong, men can be victims in abusive relationships too, but I feel like because of my lived experience, women benefit more from my help.”

“So if you’re championing Chloe and Sebastian, how am I doing so far?”

“Are you seeking validation, Kolya?”

Was I? No. I never sought approval, and I didn’t think fatherhood would change that. “What else should I do to make them feel more welcome and protected? I’m at a loss on how to handle the situation yesterday without making it feel like Chloe’s fault.”

“Are you blaming her?”

“Absolutely not, but I couldn’t say I share that feeling about Theo King.”

“If you blame her brother, it’s going to fall back on her because ultimately it was her decision to let Theo iron out the terms of the arbitration.” She took another sip from her mug. “You’re being given a unique chance to spend more time with Sebastian. Use that time wisely. If I’m reading you right, you’re looking like a father who will put in the work to be with his son. I’ve watched you with Sebby.”

I nodded my thanks.

“Anything to do with joining the bratva should be set aside for now. That girl has been through a lot. Duncan and Ivan let her down. I’m still determining whether you and Theo are good for her or will become her biggest heartbreak.”

A stabbing pierced my chest. Fuck. The past few weeks I tried to be happy with the minimum time I was allowed with Sebastian, but I was finding myself sucked in more and more into a family I had no right to have.

At least, until I fixed the problem. The Vozhokari problem.

“…when the newness fades and you decide being a father is not for you, and Theo decides he didn’t want a sister and nephew after all in place of his empire.”

“I just want to make things easier for her.”

“Good!” Dora said, but didn’t elaborate. Lucy sent me first-time-dad books as a prank, but I started reading them on my phone.

We both turned toward the opening of Chloe’s door, and she emerged with Sebastian in her arms.

What the hell? She looked exhausted. The bags under her eyes reminded me of overstuffed suitcases.

Dora voiced my concerns. “Didn’t sleep well, or were you lazy taking off your mascara?”

Chloe laughed, but it came out as a groan. “Both.”