24. Chapter 24

Chapter twenty-four

PAVAL

I sneak away from the other two, cradling my phone in my hand as I call Valentyn back. He sounds pissed if the numerous texts he left are anything to go off of. "Yes?" I whisper just as I slip into the bedroom and close the door.

"Don't yes me. Ada's on campus and you're fighting to protect Tia? Do you know how stupid that sounds? Paval, what is going on?" There's an anxious edge to his words but I can't blame him. I didn't give him much of an explanation in the text that I gave earlier.

"Ada wants Tia back and she's cornered us. The main road is cut off and the police sent people but I only see hers. Or weird guys in suits? They're not police. Dad, if I don't give Ada what she wants… she'll take Tia." The thought of losing her is too terrifying to dwell on, so I don't. "We don't have anything left."

"And you forget who your fathers are. A little blocked road won't stop us. You are not alone in this, Paval. You never have been."

He's right. Even when my parents died, my uncle—Valentyn—took me in. He made sure I knew who my father was and how proud Valentyn was of his brother. I've never been unloved or left alone and Rhys joining our unconventional family only made it better. I wouldn't be the man I am today without those four in my life.

I should have fucking told them everything the moment Ada showed up.

"We thought it was weird when we couldn't get an update from the department and they seemingly couldn't find any evidence of the protection order. Whoever we were calling definitely wasn't the police. We're almost there. When's this fight?"

My face scrunches up as I move toward the back of the room, afraid that Tia or Cairo will hear me. "You're almost here? What do you mean?"

"Paval, I told you once that you can't write an algorithm for how a person works. They aren't that predictable. However, a person's driving force can help you predict their next step. Ada wants her daughter and she's going to put herself in the right place to take her—which would be right after you lose and everyone is distracted. She's going to be there tonight and she'll move into the public eye so that she's positioned perfectly."

That doesn't make any sense. "Why wouldn't she send someone else to do it?"

"For the same reason you made sure Tia was safe. You never had someone else watch her, follow her, and document her moves to create something logical for you to understand. It had to be you. Ada's similar in that way—I suppose it runs in the family."

I tighten my grip around my phone, growling into the mouthpiece. "I don't want to share that with Ada."

"I know, son. I know. Now, I need you to do something for me and it might be one of the hardest things you've ever done. I need you to trust me and your fathers that we will be there. We will have your back and Ada will no longer be a bother to Tia or anyone else." I say nothing and my phone vibrates, signaling a video call. Hesitantly, I answer, my shoulders sagging in relief as my fathers' faces populate through the phone. Rhys is happily standing in front with those large-rimmed glasses, the other three dressed in tactical gear. "How are you doing? You look better than you did a few days ago."

"I got hit in the head but I'm better now."

I hear Dmitri choke on a laugh in the background just as Gianni does something—probably a kick to the shin—that has a yelp tearing from Dmitri's mouth. "After all this shit is over, I'm taking you to the hospital. Paval, do not argue with me. Your pain tolerance rivals Val's, which means you're either okay or you're one step from death." I don't respond, trying to understand where they are and why Rhys is the only one not dressed appropriately for this mission.

Rhys starts laughing as he catches onto my confusion. "I do not and will never have the skills of the other three but you better believe they were a little bit too excited to pull all this shit out of the closet. Dmitri is staying with me and the other two are going inside."

Valentyn continues with, "We've got a few helpers just in case. I need you to be careful, Paval. There's one other thing I need you to do for me."

"Yeah?"

"Win. I don't care what Ada wants or what she's promised you."

"She has—"

"Paval, listen to me for a minute. Listen really well. Ada has an agenda and it's more than just her daughter. It's control. She craves it but not in a way that helps her understand the world. She craves it in a way that allows her to be the aggressor in every situation. This asinine little fight ring you were all dragged into wasn't just something college kids do. The fact that no one has brought it up and not one soul has leaked it to the administration? Paval, Ada's had her hand in Tia's life far longer than any of us knew. She wants Tia to know that everything she has is because of her. That kind of control."

I hate that. I hate all of it. How could I have ever protected Tia from this invisible force? We've been losing a war we didn't even know we were fighting. "I'll pay for everything. Tia won't be going anywhere."

Valentyn snorts as he presses a kiss to Rhys' head and hands him off to Dmitri. "No, she won't be. I'll see you in a few hours. Stay safe and take care of them, alright?"

He said them . He said it once before but I love that none of them even blinked when Cairo came up the other day. And now, I get to win because the support I was trying so hard to protect has my back.