Chapter 10

ten

Sergi – Two Months Later

I'm sitting outside Avery's classroom building, waiting for her to come out, when my phone rings. I look at the screen and curse.

Damian.

I just left him at the office so concern spreads through me.

"What'd you do, burn the place down within the twenty minutes I've been gone?" I tease, answering his call.

He chuckles down the end of the line. "Funny, fucker, where are you? I went to your office, and Shelly whined that you'd left."

I roll my eyes. "Out running errands," I answer, ignoring his comment about my secretary. She's wanted me since Sofia hired her for me, just before I met Avery. I didn't touch her then and I most defiantly won't be fucking touching her now, and if she continues whining the way she has over the littlest of things or because I won't fuck her, then her ass is out of here. I've even told Avery all about her, but she finds it hilarious. Me? Not so much. Yes, I'm used to women hitting on me, but Shelly, she makes me feel like a fucking swinging dick.

Damian chuckles, knowing I've purposely ignored his comment. "You've been doing that a lot lately."

I clear my throat; I don't want to lie to him, but I'm just not ready to tell him about Avery, especially when she still has no idea who the fuck I really am. I won't lose her, not like how Damian and Al lost their women, even if Sofia came back. I saw Damian's downward spiral, and Al is still going through his. I know I won't survive without my girl.

He continues, clearly understanding my dilemma, "I won't ask, Serg, I know you'll tell us when you're ready, but the reason for the call…Christian Baciu called. He's requested a meeting in forty-eight hours, with me, Al, and Basil. Apparently, he has Phoebe's trust."

I growl and reply, "Bullshit. There's no way he's got it; it has to be a trap."

He sighs. "That's what I think, too. I need you to scope it out in the morning. I know you're busy now, so I've got some other men going to the warehouse, then we'll meet up before the meeting time the next day." I turn my head and notice people walking out of the class building, including that Melanie girl, the bitch who's made it a mission to try and talk to me. I shake my head and clear my throat, hoping Avery won't be too far behind.

I reply to Damian, "Of course, brother. I've got to go, I'll call you tomorrow with my findings." I hang up without saying bye. When I notice my girl, I get out of the car with a smile on my face. She bounces down the steps toward me, wearing a long sleeve, white sweater, and leggings, with her hair up in its usual top knot, looking beautiful. I distantly hear Melanie say my name, but I ignore her, and catch my girl as she wraps her legs around my waist.

She kisses me, and I smile into the kiss. Since taking her virginity, which I'm fucking thrilled about, by the way, we've been closer than ever. I let her feet drop to the ground and kiss her nose before I rasp, "I missed you, baby."

She smiles wide, and I help her into the passenger side of my car. I'm preparing to slide into my seat when I see Melanie scowl. I sigh. I need to nip this in the bud, now.

I step away from the door and turn toward her, sighing again when her eyes light up. I don't want to be a dick, but she won't stop.

"Have you no self-respect? I'm not interested in you; I have my girl, and she's all I want, and the fact you know that and won't fuck off, proves what kind of woman you are. Go and find someone who actually wants you, because we aren't going to happen." Her jaw hits the ground, and some of the hang-arounds smirk, trying to hide their laughter.

I get in my car and see Avery is looking at me wide eyed. I smile. I put the car in gear and drive off, then grab her hand and kiss her palm. "I won't have anyone make you feel like you don't matter to me, baby. She wouldn't stop, so I set her straight." I turn to look at her and smile when I see the look of awe in her glossy eyes. My gut tightens when I realize this is probably the first time someone's stuck up for her in a long time.

I shake my head, not wanting to put a damper our time together; I meant what I said a few months ago, scars or no scars, she's mine. I've tried to talk to her about them, especially the cigarette marks on her back, but she always shuts me down. I had a guy look into her past but its sealed up tight. Someone didn't want people to have access to her records, and I'm beginning to wonder why. What did my girl go through?

I drive toward my place, fucking relieved that I managed to convince my girl to leave a few clothes there last month. I hate her living in a bad part of town, but she's a stubborn little thing, proving, again, that her life hasn't been easy.

Half an hour later, I'm pulling into the underground parking to my building. Once parked, I help her out of the car and take her bag, wrapping my arm around her waist as we walk to the elevator. I press the penthouse button and, when we get inside, I lean down, kiss her head, and take a deep breath of her vanilla smell as she leans into me. Fucking divine, I tell you. Nothing in the world smells better.

When we walk into my apartment, I drop her bag on my glass coffee table, and I walk up to her. I cup her face and kiss her lips gently, making her smile. "I've just got a few phone calls to make, then we can order dinner, okay?"

She nods. "I have some homework to do, anyway."

I smile against her lips, kissing them one more time, before reluctantly letting her go.

I head to my office and sit in my black chair behind my black desk. The office walls are light gray, so it doesn't seem too dark, and there's a bookshelf to the right of me, with a panic room installed behind it. I haven't shown Avery yet; she's still in the dark about my lifestyle, and it's going to stay that way for a little while longer. I pick up my phone and call Jono, one of the men inspecting the warehouse. Damian normally sends him if I can't go.

He answers on the second ring. "Sergi, the warehouse looks to be in order."

I lean back in my chair. Hmm . "No evidence of a trap?"

I hear him shout at one of the men to leave shit alone, and I smirk.

"Nope, none. There's a small gap on the other side of the building, but no one can fit down there. Everything looks good, including inside. There're a few dark spaces where Christian will probably hide before we all arrive, but that's about it."

"Alright, do one more sweep, and meet me there again tomorrow. We'll do another sweep together." He says okay and I hang up, then call Sofia. It's our ritual; every other day I call.

"Hey, Sergi," Sofia answers sweetly, and I smile.

"Hey, sestra , where's my niece?"

She chuckles. "I see how it is; second best and all that." She tries to sound serious but the smile in her voice gives her away. I chuckle, then a sweet voice comes over the other end of the phone.

" Dyadya Sergi, guess what, guess what ?"

I chuckle. "What, sweet girl?" I expect it to be about ballet, but nope. I growl at her next words.

"I have a boyfwiend."

I scowl. I can hear Sofia giggle in the background, then Damian's voice comes over the line, "What the fuck does she mean she has a boyfriend? She's fucking three."

I snort before I hear the sigh in Mila's voice. "Daddy, he's a boy and my fwiend." This time I laugh my fucking ass off despite being pissed that she has a ‘boyfriend.' The logic and sass of this three-year-old is funny as shit.

We talk for half an hour before we hang up. I smile as I walk out of my office and down the hallway to the living area, where I expect to see my girl. Nope. Her books are there, all spread out, but she's not. I furrow my brow and head toward the kitchen before a huge smile spreads across my face. My girl cooking while wearing nothing but one of my shirts, her favorite one, with her hair loose down her back. I walk up behind her, ignoring the scars on the back of her thighs. She has several of them, and has only, in the past few weeks, been comfortable showing them around me. So, I ignore them unless I'm kissing them. I wrap my arms around her waist then place my chin on her shoulder.

"Smells good, baby, but I thought you wanted Chinese?"

She chuckles a little, tilting her head toward me, before kissing my cheek.

"I do; this is homemade Chinese. You had all the ingredients for chicken Chow Mein, so I thought I'd surprise you."

I move my head into the side of her neck, breathing her in. Fuck, I love this girl, and I tell her so. "I love you."

She leans into me, and hear the smile in her voice when she replies, "I love you too, babe." I smile against her neck.

"Did I hear growling a little while ago," she asks. I tense, still not happy with Mila's new ‘boyfriend.'

I sigh and state, "Mila has a boyfriend, or in her words he's a boy and her friend ."

Avery giggles. "You went all growly bear on her, did you?" Full laughter erupts as she switches off the stove, moving the pan over. She goes to grabs the plates, but I quickly pick her up, tickling her sides, making her laugh louder. Fuck, I love that sound.

I place her on the charcoal-colored countertop. "Not funny, dragotsennyy , she's only three, she's not allowed to have a boyfriend."

Avery shakes her head with a giggle and says, "She's not saying he's her ‘boyfriend,' she's saying she has a friend and he's a boy." She raises an eyebrow at me, and it clicks.

"Oh," is all I can say, and she bursts out in laughter again. I shut her up by kissing her, making her moan, then I pull away, making her scowl at me.

I chuckle. "One second, baby." I get my phone out and call Damian.

He answers grumpily, "What?"

I chuckle, then state, "She's not saying she has a boyfriend. She's saying he's a boy and he's her friend."

"Oh," Damian mumbles, making me chuckle because that was my same response. I look back at Avery, who's biting her lip, trying to hide her laughter. I give her a mock glare, and she loses it, making me shake my head. Then I remember…I'm still on the phone. Shit.

"What the fuck, who is that Serg?" Damian asks in shock, and I look back at Avery and smile because of how happy she looks. I shake my head and answer, "Someone I'm about to attack for thinking Mila having a ‘boyfriend' is hilarious. Catch you later, brother." He goes to say something else, but I hang up.

I pin Avery with my gaze, and her eyes widen. She quickly jumps off the counter and takes off, giggling like crazy. I chuckle and chase her. We do this for about five minutes before I finally catch her. I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her passionately. I lift her, hands on her ass, then place her on the kitchen counter again. She wraps her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck as I quickly unbuckle my belt. I grab a condom from my pocket, and shove my jeans and boxers down my legs, without breaking the kiss. Fuck, we need to get her on the birth control shot.

Sheathing myself, I run my fingers along the gusset of her panties, and they're soaked. I tear the fabric off of her, and she moans as I run my finger along her slit. I smile into the kiss, placing my rock-hard cock at her entrance, and I thrust forward. She breaks the kiss, tilting her head back, moaning. I grip the back of her neck, making her look at me, and I fuck her hard and fast. I tear open her shirt and pull a hard nipple into my mouth, gently biting and sucking it. I keep my hand on her nape and move my other to her clit, and I rub her, hard and fast. Her cunt tightens around me as she screams out my name, coming all over my cock. I follow right behind her, then lean my forehead against hers.

I gently kiss her and rasp, "We really need to get you on birth control, baby."

We spend the rest of the evening cuddled up on my sofa. She's wearing another of my shirts. We eat her homemade Chinese, which is delicious, and I can't wipe the smile off my face.

A couple of days later, I'm leaning down and kissing Averys lips. She rouses a little from her slumber and smiles at me. "Go back to sleep, dragotsennyy. I've got a couple of meetings and won't be back till later, but make yourself at home, yeah?" I say this every time, but every time I arrive home, she's left gone. It drives me fucking crazy. She smiles and nods. Leaning up, she kisses me again, and I groan; the blanket has slipped, and I can see the mound of her breast. She doesn't notice as she turns and lays on her stomach, going back to sleep. I smile, lean forward, and kiss her nape. I leave for the office to get some work done before our meeting at the warehouse. I went there yesterday, scoped out the area, and it all looks to be okay. More men are already there now, just as a precaution.

At four o'clock, I leave the office and head to 9 th street to the warehouse, and meet Damian there. Al isn't here yet; he's probably with his mistress. He acts like he cares about her, but the problem is, he doesn't, and he doesn't seem to realize it. He's passing the time until we find Phoebe, and it's going to bite him in the ass when he finally finds. I shake my head. When he told me about Candy, I gave him a black eye, and told him he's on his own now where Phoebe's concerned. We haven't talked much since.

Damian raises a brow at me, and I know he wants answers. I sigh. "Not yet." He nods; he knows I'm not ready to talk about her. I'm bound for her, and she's bound for me. If I tell Damian and Alexandr about her, then I have to tell her who I really am, and I'm just not ready. I can't lose her, she's my world.

Damian slaps my back and says, "When you're ready."

I nod as Al pulls up with his usual scowl on his face. We make eye contact, and I shake my head, knowing where he came from, making him sigh as we all head inside.

Not even five minutes later everything goes nuts as Phoebe, yes fucking Phoebe, drops through the roof, decked out in fucking leather, looking like a badass bitch. I tense when she calls Juan; I immediately realize she's been trained. I shake my head. Fucking Juan and Athena. My mother told me all about their operations. They train assassins. Athena tried to convince me to join but I declined. How the fuck did I not remember that when Phoebe returned at sixteen? She was different but I thought that was because she had to live with Basil again. Fuck, she hid it well. My whole body vibrates with anger; my sweet, shy cousin is no longer present, and I swear I'm ready to fucking blow. I can't, though, because Al's going to get himself killed, and as pissed as I am at him, he's still my brother.

I watch in awe as Phoebe kicks ass, then leaves without even fucking looking back. Al looks broken and my heart hurts. She's my best friend, my blood, and she doesn't even fucking acknowledge me. I slap Damian on his shoulder and turn to leave, he gives me a sad smile, and follows Al out after Phoebe. I get to my car and wait for her to leave, fucking pissed she's not wearing a helmet but proud that she can ride a motorcycle like she always wanted to.

I follow her back to Juan's mansion in Boston.

The guards recognize me and let me straight in, and I park, then knock on the door. She opens the fucking door empty-handed, with a bored expression on her face. I shake my head.

"You know you should at least have a knife, gun, or hell, even a fucking frying pan aimed at my head. I could be a cold-blooded killer." She shakes her head, and I smile; I fucking missed her.

"You are a cold-blooded killer, Sergi." I chuckle while she steps aside to let me in, and I kiss her head. "Let me guess, you want names."

I sigh, fucking pissed she'd think I'd just want information. She knows me better, and to be honest, I'm fucking hurt.

"Phoebe Pie, you and I were close. No matter how long you've been gone, we will always be close. I'm still pissed that you left without saying a word to me, but I have always had your back, way before your father switched out the contract with you and your sister."

She lets out a sad chuckle as guilt shines through her eyes. I sigh, making my way through the hideous house toward the kitchen.

"You win the title yet?" she asks, trying to change the subject, and I let her, knowing how guilty she feels about leaving. I take a seat at the breakfast bar, looking around, while she gets me a bottle of water and sits on the other side of the counter.

"No, but I will." She chuckles again, and I state, "You're still her favorite. She misses you." A lone tear falls down her cheek. I know she misses Mila; they grew close. I change the subject seeing the pain in her eyes. "Angel of Death?"

She sighs, and states, "What do you want to know?"

"Why didn't you tell me? All these years, we all thought you were this shy, quiet girl."

I'm fucking hurt she couldn't trust me. She looks out toward the garden and says sadly, "I was that girl, Sergi, until my father sent me away when my mother was killed. When I came back, I was still training behind my father's back, just not as much. So that shy, quiet girl came back a little more each day. Alex helped to make me feel normal, but the day I got that link…."

My heart hurts for her; he fucked up big time. Shooting him sounds really fucking good right now. She loved Al with all her might, and probably still does.

She looks at me. "It was like the assassin rose up to protect me; my emotions shut off, and I was no longer that girl once again. Heck, I didn't even make my first kill until three months ago, when two men tried to rape my best friend." I lean forward, elbows resting on the side, keeping my eyes trained on her as she tells me about her first kill. "She was waiting for me to get out of the library, and I heard her scream, and ran toward her. One guy was holding her down while the other was trying to undo her pants, and it was like a switch flipped. I sliced the throat of the guy who was trying to undo her pants, and I shot the other in the back of his head when he took off. Since then, I've have done my best to get rid of rapists and traffickers…with Juan's help."

I drop my head into my hands and sigh. I hate her talking about ‘him', and I hate how she had to kill to defend her friend. I quickly move on from ‘him' and ask, "The three traitors?" I need to know, before she left the warehouse, she made a comment to Damian about us having traitors. And as much as she loves him like a brother, I'm the only one she'd confide in; we're close, have been for years, and I need to change the subject from Juan.

She gets up and heads to the living area, bringing back a folder. She passes it to me. "If this was Damian or Alex, I wouldn't be handing this to them. I was going to handle this myself, but I know how much you love dishing out pain to scum." I smile at her; she's right, I love breaking bones, especially the bones of traitors.

She continues to explain while I read the information, getting more pissed by the second.

"I have evidence of three men involved in trafficking children between the ages of three and six on the east side of Brooklyn. All these men are Bratva, but they are low on the totem pole. Except for Grigoriy; he's a sovietnik, and the front runner for finding the kids in group homes. The two lower-level men, unknown names, pick them up from either foster homes or group homes, then takes them to the meeting point for the Mexican cartel or the Romanians to pick up. There is also information on Alex's m-mistress Candy. It seems she's been using him, and has managed to take three million from your businesses undetected." I hear the struggle in her voice and the pain when she mentions the shit about Candy. Fucking Alexandr. A black eye wasn't enough.

I slam my hands down on the counter, and shout, "Fuck!" I look back at Phoebe. "I'll sort this out, I promise." She smiles and nods, knowing I mean it.

"Good. I have classes tomorrow that I really cannot afford to miss."

My eyebrows shoot high into my hairline. "You're still doing your veterinary courses."

She smiles and nods, and I grab a hold of her, hugging her tight. I'm so fucking proud that she's continuing her studies. "I'm proud of you, Phoebs."

She squeezes me tighter. "I've missed you, Sergi."

I nod, giving her a sad smile. I know she thinks we're not going to see each other again, but she's dead fucking wrong.

"This isn't goodbye, Phoebe. You're not disappearing on me again, you hear? You're like my little sister. Now, I have to go and get our money back and inform Damian of everything you've reported. I expect our normal weekly phone call." She chuckles and nods, before I move toward the door. She clears her throat and I sigh. I knew she wouldn't leave it alone; they're obviously closer now.

I turn slightly. "I'm not ready to meet him yet, cuz. Denying your child, and leaving the mother to struggle and have to depend on others, only to try and get in touch again after twenty-nine years…. It wasn't right. The only good thing out of everything is having you as family. Just…just tell him to give me time."

She nods. "I know, Sergi. If it helps, I know he regrets it, especially after Aunt Valerie ripped into him when she saw you last year in the background while I was FaceTiming her. I believe he's still sleeping on the couch. She blames him for keeping her child from her, even though you're not biologically hers, she sees you as hers. Just think about it."

I give her a sad smile. See, that's the problem, I'm not Valerie's and I never was, as harsh as it sounds. I had a mama; she was my everything. Valerie would have tried to take me from her, all because her husband couldn't keep it in his pants. She felt entitled. I shake my head, I'm not ready to talk about it with Phoebe; I know she's close with Valerie.

Offering her a gentle smile, I hug Phoebe, kiss her head, then I leave.