Chapter Twenty-Five

S lowly, I come awake on a moan.

My eyes flutter open as I look at the wall. I'm still on my side, but I can feel Kado sliding between my legs, fucking me from behind as I sleep.

I clench hard against him.

One of the things on my fantasy list is him having sex with me while I'm asleep. I don't know why, but I read it in a book once, and it had me climbing Kado before the next chapter. The thought of sleeping and being awoken by someone you trust and love giving you the most pleasure sounds like heaven.

My body reacts to him, pressing back against him. His hand falls to my hip as he continues his pace. I want to tell him to go faster. Harder. I don't, though. Instead, I let myself savor this moment for a while longer.

Not ready to end the illusion, I let my eyes fall back closed, waiting to see what he does next.

He licks and nips my neck as he fucks me harder. I try to act natural, but when I feel myself about to orgasm, I moan out his name.

I clench around him wildly as my head starts to spin. Something about only being half awake has heightened my orgasm. My entire body is tingling from my release, and I can feel him jerk inside of me as he finds his own release.

We lie like that for many minutes before he pulls out and heads toward the bathroom. When he comes back, I smile up at him, kissing him softly before making my own trip to the bathroom.

I'm surprised to find Kado sitting there and waiting for me when I come back into the room.

"I really liked that," I tell him. "You're hurt, though. We shouldn't be doing that while you heal."

He rolls his eyes at me, turning the computer around to show me he has something prewritten.

I really liked what we just did. I didn't think I would like you not being awake, but it turned me on to know I could do anything I wanted to you. Like a little doll.

I slide against him. "Knowing that you were doing things to me in my sleep and I have no idea what they were, turned me on. I think we should try it again. Maybe a little more aggressive sex when you aren't hurt. Or we could make a game of it. See how far you can get me before I wake up."

He nods enthusiastically at that.

I'm glad his appetite for sex matches my own. We are going to have a lot of fun together.

After a few moments, he types again.

We need to move. This place is no longer safe.

I nod. "I figured. Do you have somewhere in mind?"

He shakes his head.

I take the laptop from him and start searching. At first, I'm looking at houses, but I don't like any of them. None of them have the security we would need. We need something that someone wouldn't be able to get into. Something for just us.

An idea pops into my head.

"Could we get a temporary house for now?" I turn and look at him.

He nods.

"Good. So here's my idea. We buy a piece of land like this one." I move the computer to show him. "This is a large piece of land outside the city. It's rural, so we wouldn't have to worry about neighbors. We build here, but not like this. I love this place, but it's too vulnerable. I'm thinking we should build an underground house. Like a bunker. It would have several rooms. I'd like a living room and a little offshoot of the kitchen for us to eat in. Two bathrooms at least. I know we can share, but we should have a backup. Do you want kids?"

I stop suddenly, realizing what I asked. Slowly, I look at Kado.

He's smiling. He points at me then nods yes.

"With me, you do?"

He taps my nose twice. I smile at him.

"Okay, so three or four rooms for any children we have. The rooms we don't use for that can be for other things. We can figure that out later. We need a big gym as well. Oh, we could have a tunnel leading to an underground shooting range too. I like that idea."

He turns the computer to him and pulls up his document and starts typing.

I like how excited this makes you. You dream it up, and I will build it.

"Will it be okay to have someone build it?"

I have some biker friends down in Pensacola who own a construction company. I'll have them come up and do it.

"That's a great idea. We could then add the security you have here there. I like that no one would know where we live, but if something happened, the important people would know where to find us. Above the bunker, we could farm too. Grow our own food."

His eyes soften as he looks at me all lovingly.

"What?" I ask him.

"You're perfect," he says in his scratchy tone.

"I hate that you talk when it hurts you."

He shrugs, pointing at me.

"Only for me. I know. I love you too," I tell him, tapping my chest twice.

He mirrors the action.

"I can't wait to build this life with you. I've never had anything of my own. This will be our home. It will have a little bit of you and a little bit of me in it." I tell him, looking back at the computer.

He leans closer to me, kissing my cheek. Then he nips my ear, making me giggle.

"You are my home, Anata ."

This time, I don't bother to yell at him. I can't. I'm too busy wiping the happy tears from my face.

Who knew that the worst day of my life could turn into the best thing that could ever happen to me?

When the guards see me approaching, they bow as they open the door, showing me respect. I make my way down the hall to Kai's office and knock on the closed door.

"Enter."

I open the door and step inside, shutting it behind me. I bow to Kai and then Kenji.

"Sit," Kai says from behind his desk.

I make my way over to the chair next to Kenji and drop into it.

"You okay?" Kenji asks.

I open the laptop Kai has ready for me and pull up the program that speaks for me.

"It was close, but we are fine," I tell them.

"Lucy? She's fine?" Kai asks.

I think back to the look on her face when she believed I killed Ben. It was as if I were a hero, taking all that stress away from her.

"Lucy is fine. She did what she needed to do," I tell them.

Kenji shakes his head. "It's hard to believe that he got into your place."

"It's unsettling when something like that happens in your safe place," Kai adds.

"Yes, we are actually looking at buying a place, just outside of the city," the computer's voice tells them.

Kai leans back in his chair and adjusts his glasses. "Really? Was that your idea or hers? I know in the past you've always said you like being close in case we need you."

Quickly, I type. "If you need me, I will always be there, but this is something that we both want."

Kai nods. "Then you have my blessing. Although I can only assume you would have done it with or without my blessing."

I shrug. "So what happens now?"

"Now we have a meeting with the others," Kai says as he stands.

Kenji and I follow suit and follow him out of his office and into the conference room. Kenji pulls up the video call with the others on the projector so we can see everyone and they can see us.

"Hello everyone, let's make sure the comms work before we get started," Greer O'Reilly, the wife of Killian, head of the Westies, says.

Everyone murmurs back.

"Perfect. Who would like to start?" she asks.

Her brother Bastiano Catalini speaks up. "We conducted a raid after we watched men enter the railyard. We apprehended them and brought them in for questioning."

He continues on, telling us about the information they were given.

Killian nods. "I know we've been fucking up their jobs for a while now, but this time it felt like we got something useful out of them."

"Who would like to go next?" Greer asks.

I sit silently as I listen to Kai fill them in on what's happening here in Chicago, with Callum chiming in from time to time.

"Three weeks? Are you sure?" Nikolai asks.

I nod, typing into my computer. "He said the auction was in three weeks, and Artem was his handler. He didn't say where."

Nikolai curses under his breath. "The Polish have an auction in three weeks. It's not in my territory, so I can't do anything about it without causing a war, but I would bet that's where they are going."

"Sounds like you may need some more men. You want us to send some?" Callum speaks up.

All eyes shift to Nikolai, head of the Bratva in California.

"Not yet. Let me figure out what is happening here," he says.

"Have you heard from Maxim?" Greer asks him.

Maxim is one of his closest men and is deep undercover right now. He speaks Ukrainian, thanks to his grandmother, so he was the perfect fit for the job.

"If everything goes according to plan, we will be able to take down the organization within two months. The evidence he's managed to slip us is…" Nik frowns as he tries to find the word.

"Nauseating," Alexei, his computer guy, says.

"Disturbing," Nik finally says.

"If you guys open the file I just sent each of you, you'll see what I mean," Alexei says.

The file pops across the screen, and Kenji opens it. Everyone falls silent as we read. My stomach turns more and more the farther I read. I've seen and done some messed-up shit, but this is cruelty on an entirely different level.

I feel Kai tense as he reads about the Bratva that is helping the Ukrainians and Polish. He has a personal vendetta against them, considering they wanted Cleo's hand in marriage. Thank God she never ended up with that family, otherwise, who would know what her life would be like right now.

"We need to come up with a plan," Kai says after a moment.

"I couldn't agree more. Anyone have any suggestions?" Killian asks.

"Torch the place with all the buyers and the Ukrainians inside after we get the survivors out? Then pick off the ones who manage to scatter like roaches and make it outside." Tristano, Bastiano's computer guy, offers.

"There's no way that we will be able to end this without entering his territory. If we all back you, are you good with going to war, Nikolai?" Callum asks.

Nikolai sits, stoic as ever as he considers it.

"It would be difficult, but we could manage. I would personally come out and assist," Bastiano offers.

Greer nods. "It's a delicate balance, that's for sure, but if they hold it in their own territory and we take them all out…"

Bastiano nods. "Then we could eradicate them all."

"I like that line of thinking. Then we could put someone of our choosing into power in that area," Kai says as he cleans his glasses.

"How is Maxim holding up? I can't imagine how difficult it is being as deep as he is," Callum asks.

"He is pushing through. He knew what was at stake before he went in. He won't let us down," Dimitri, Nikolai's right-hand and brother-in-law, says.

Nikolai nods. "He will have earned himself a vacation when he comes home."

Tristano smirks. "Who knows, maybe he will come home with a wife."

Enzo, Greer's bodyguard, slaps Tristano on the back of the head, making the other man groan.

"The tides are changing, boys." Greer leans back in her chair with a sinister smile playing on her face. "I would love to see a woman take over whatever area we find ourselves in."

None of us say anything but smile and shake our heads because we know she's right. The tides are changing, and a new generation of leaders is being born.

"We will end this one way or another, but I want us all to remember that when you pick one weed, more grow up in its place. This isn't a permanent solution, only a way to ease some of the horrors," Kai tells everyone.

The smiles fade. He's not trying to be a dick. We keep thinking of this as a singular problem, but even if human trafficking were to end in our areas, it will always be a problem somewhere. All we can do is play our part and try to end as much of it as possible.

While they end the call and sign off, I can't help but wonder if Lucy's and my future children, if we have any, will be sitting at a table just like this, making deals with other crime families.

I probably shouldn't, but I kind of like the idea that they will be. I never want harm to come to them, but I also like the fact that they will have the opportunity to be part of something great.

I guess time will only tell.