Page 98 of Inked in Devotion

Kolya moved beside us. “I want my family.”

“But it appears you can’t have one.”

“Who says I can’t?”

Something was bugging me and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t asked earlier. Rocking Sebastian in my arms while still keeping enough space between me and Kolya so I didn’t make a fool of myself and simply surrender to the comfort of his broad shoulders and muscular frame, I asked, “So…who are your parents, Nikolai?”

His jaw hardened, eyes flinching from mine.

“Or is it something you can’t talk about again? You know everything about me. You say no more secrets. So tell me. What happened to your parents? Are they alive? Dead? In hiding?”

The bubbling anxiety in my throat peaked again when I saw the fleeting defeat in his eyes before his face hardened to stone. I was so fucking exhausted, but again, I braced myself for another revelation.

“They’re dead. The Vozhokari killed them.”

And with that confession, he turned on his heel and left the basement.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Chloe

“I’m tapping out,” I gasped while laughing. I was face down on the mat, and Daniel was behind me, teaching me a few takedown moves and how to get out of dangerous situations with an assailant or a would-be rapist. Not gonna lie. Some positions made my cheeks heat from embarrassment at where our body parts were smashed together.

Daniel’s weight eased off my back, and he gave me a hand up.

“Good job.” He smiled.

“Good job? You handed me my ass.” I laughed.

“You held out longer than last time.”

“That was fantastic.” Dora approached our sparring mat, carrying Sebastian. Since my foot felt better, we embarked on a field trip to The Grindhouse today. When I lived on the third floor, Trevor gave me a few boxing lessons. But I saw Ivy spar with Nico. Actually, I saw Ivy spar with Sandro Rossi—a gargantuan man I’d seen flipped over her hip.

Impressed, I added self-defense lessons to our program for our shelter staff if they wanted to learn. Dora loved the idea because we saw firsthand how abusers would come to the shelter and intimidate the employees. We taught deescalation, but taking it a step further with self-defense sounded better.

I also broached the idea to Dom, and he was all for it. True alphas weren’t scared of strong women. They quietly stood behind them, empowering them. De Lucci men were an example.

“You need to work to strengthen your legs and your core.” Daniel handed me a paper cup of water. I wanted to pour it over my head since I still felt overheated. But maybe my cheeks were flushing under his regard.

It wasn’t attraction. I hoped he didn’t think I was still on the market for an arranged marriage. I wasn’t going to lie to myself and think I could marry another while I was inconveniently attracted to the bratva assassin. And with the way my heart was aching with the revelations of the past four days, I might have fallen in love with him too.

“There’s a gym where I live,” I said. Lucy asked me if I wanted to use it. She was a runner but thought about adding weights. She also indicated that Aralina was trying to get into shape for her big day. I really should get over myself and meet Theo’s bride. We were going to be a family after all.

And Ivan? The thought of Ivan didn’t evoke the same hurt and resentment. Maybe because bigger problems eclipsed my issues from the past. But I think a part of me knew that to move forward in my life and create a happy environment for Sebastian, I shouldn’t let the past define me. My son taught me to embrace what mattered the most.

Daniel nodded to the corner where several pieces of gym equipment sat. “I could show you which ones to use.”

“You’ve done a lot already.” I dipped my head. Daniel was a devastatingly handsome man. Maybe if I hadn’t met Kolya first… “Tell you what? Why don’t you show me how to break away from a come-from-behind attack?”

“Sounds good.”

Sebastian was awake. It was almost time for his lunch, but he seemed contented observing the buzz of activity around him. “Is it alright with you?” I asked Dora. “Just a few more moves, then we can have lunch.”

“Go ahead,” my friend said. She sat on the bench that was around the sparring mat. “Sebby and I are enjoying watching his mommy kick ass.”

“Or get my ass kicked,” I snorted in amusement.