NATASHA

After leaving Bear's house with his scent on my clothes and his flavor on my lips, I masturbate for the first time in years.

Once the kids are asleep and I'm in the shower, I see Bear in my mind. I feel his strong, calloused hands on my body. I imagine his fingers instead of mine are plucking my clit. His lips are against my throat. I remember how his beard felt against my bare skin. Resting my hand on the wall to steady myself, I pretend I'm running my fingers through his chest hair. I moan his name as I find relief.

Sinking down to the shower floor, I let the hot water rain down on me. As my eyes close, I replay my time with Bear today. Of course, I skip all the grumpy nonsense. The man can't express himself clearly. He spends all his time with people who either fear him or know his quirks. That's why he gets what he wants without having to find the right words.

One day, I'll know his quirks. Bear will know mine. Will we still be as attracted to each other once the mystery is gone?

I finally drag myself out of the shower and get dressed. Before I crawl into bed, I send a text to Bear, telling him goodnight. I want to say more, but I don't know where his head is at right now.

I drift to sleep with Bear's hungry kisses on my mind. Less than an hour later, I'm startled awake by a quiet rapping on the door. I scramble out of bed to answer before the kids wake.

I find Petra, Laszlo, and the night nanny in the hallway. My sister reaches for me in a panic.

"Brandon's here," Petra says as the nanny slides past me into the room with my dozing nephew. "He texted from the front gate."

"Did he say why he's here?"

Petra's bright blue eyes are filled with panic as she looks down the hall. "He said a boy needs his father." When her gaze returns to my face, she grips my hand. "I think he intends to take Laszlo."

I wish I could reassure Petra how our family won't allow that to happen. Yet, I don't really know. There are business considerations involved.

Petra steps closer when an angry voice echoes through the quiet halls. I close the door behind me, hoping to spare the kids from whatever is about to happen.

Holding my sister's hand, I shuffle down the hallway toward the foyer. A heated yet hushed conversation takes place near the front door. Petra and I inch our way closer and peer down from the second-story landing.

Leon stands at the door, wearing sweatpants, a T-shirt, and slippers. He was clearly retiring to bed when the commotion began.

Nearby are several armed Syndicate guards. Brandon stands in the middle of the large foyer with his own armed security.

Brandon's dark eyes flash up at us, zeroing in on Petra. My sister gasps and looks ready to run.

"Pack your shit," Brandon barks at her.

Petra opens her mouth to speak before noticing our father emerge from his den.

"What is all this noise?" Viktor asks.

He is wearing his burgundy robe and slippers, seeming older than usual. His black-and-gray hair is mussed up. He doesn't seem like himself. My mother follows after him. I wonder if they were enjoying a late-night rendezvous.

Brandon steps toward my father. "I've come to take my wife and son back."

Leon immediately adjusts his stance, leaving barely any daylight between Brandon and him. I sense the other man wants to step back or push away Leon. There's a silent pissing contest happening.

"I don't understand," Viktor says after his gaze flashes up to a fearful Petra. "You asked for a divorce, Brandon Arany. I've seen the paperwork. The lawyers are hammering out the details. Was that all a fever dream?"

Brandon stands tall, owning several inches over my father who shuffles closer. I can barely breathe as I hold Petra's hand.

Several scenarios play out in my head. One is a shootout, ending everyone. Another is Petra dragged away in the night.

"I've had a change of heart. Petra was never meant to leave for good. We were taking a break," Brandon says and then glances back at his men before sneering at Leon, "A vacation is good for a man's constitution."

Viktor blinks rapidly, seeming confused. His silence frightens Petra more. She squeezes my hand harder.

"I don't understand this thinking," Viktor mumbles, seeming out of sorts as he looks to Katja. When his icy gaze returns to Brandon, he continues, "I gave you a gift. Petra is one of only two daughters I have to offer. Your family was chosen over others. I personally spoke with you and your brother. Promises were made, yet you discarded my first daughter like a used condom."

"Now, here—"

Viktor brushes off his words with the same dismissive hand gesture he uses with everyone else.

"I didn't make a fuss," my father continues and nods at Katja. "I told my wife how sometimes these things don't work. I accepted my daughter back, even after she gave you three children. The son you wanted nearly killed Petra, yet she didn't complain when you sent her away. Our families remain allied."

"Your daughter complains more than you think," Brandon sneers and flashes an ugly frown up at Petra.

"Not once did you ask me for help with my daughter," Viktor says as he shuffles around the room, looking over his possessions and speaking of Petra as one. "You didn't even contact me before you sent her away. I took my daughter back and offered a home to your son. I showed you respect."

Viktor turns to Brandon and sighs. "You repay me by coming to my home, late after the children are asleep. You bring your armed men and holler until my wife is disturbed and my daughters' hearts are filled with fear. This is the respect you show me, Brandon Arany."

The mood in the foyer shifts.

Viktor's body language morphs from confused geriatric to hungry predator waking from a long slumber.

Leon seems closer to Brandon now, yet my brother never moved.

More Syndicate guards have slipped into the foyer, swallowing up the space.

Brandon's henchmen detect the shift before he does. I sense them considering their options.

"You didn't come here alone," Viktor says in the icy way he tells someone they're facing death. "You brought your family's muscle. I assume your brother is aware of your choice to steal back the daughter I gifted you. Is this how your family shows the Kovak Syndicate respect?"

Brandon's ego takes a back seat to this new situation. He's far from his territory. People often disappear in Banta City with few questions asked.

"Now, we don't need to make this personal issue into anything more," Brandon says, daring to look up at Petra for help.

Viktor allows a smile on his handsome yet impossibly cold face. "You came here to undercut me in my own home. Did you think I would stand quietly while you stole away my daughter and grandson?"

"Laszlo is my son, too. And Petra belongs with her daughters."

"Is that a threat?" Viktor asks Brandon as they play chicken. "I have your son. You have my granddaughters. If I don't obey you, Shari and Vica won't be allowed to visit their mother? Is that what you're telling me?"

"Don't put words in my mouth."

"Who is speaking to me now, you or your brother?"

"This is a personal issue between Petra and me."

"Then, why bring these armed men to my house at a late hour? No, no, this is a sign of aggression from your family toward mine. I would hope if your brother wanted to renege on our alliance, he would have had the courtesy to inform me himself. Instead, he sent you."

My father's disdain drips from his every word. He can't believe he's been insulted by the Fredo of the Arany family.

Brandon feels scolded. He isn't a strong man. That's why he brought his security to scare Petra into obeying. Too often in these arranged marriages, the men with power won't submit to having wives chosen for them. So, instead, a forgotten child is pawned off to create an alliance. That's what happened with the Arany family.

Brandon squares his shoulders and tries to intimidate a coldly unimpressed Leon. The man's dark gaze flashes up to a shaking Petra who leans into my embrace. Brandon studies the room, avoids looking at Viktor, and focuses on my mother. Her scornful gaze literally makes him shiver and fess up.

"My brother doesn't know I'm here," Brandon admits and shows submission by stepping away from Leon. "He wouldn't have agreed to my trip, but a man's heart can't be denied sometimes."

"And what does your heart say now, Brandon Arany?" Viktor asks, inches from him.

"Petra is my wife, and I want her back."

Viktor considers Brandon's words and nods. "Marriage is a beautiful thing, but it doesn't sever the tie between a father and his daughter. I've decided Petra belongs with her family now. You sent her back to us, and we choose to keep her."

Petra's entire body goes limp in response to our father's words. She nearly drops to the floor with relief.

"I choose to speak to you man to man, now, Brandon," Viktor says and exhales in a deeply unsettling way. "You've shown me disrespect. If I allow you to leave without extracting a concession, I will be viewed as weak. You've watched your brother for long enough to understand how weakness gets a man killed."

"Are you threatening me?" Brandon asks, sounding like his throat's gone dry.

"I want my granddaughters sent to Banta City to live full time with their mother. This will be the price you pay for insulting me. If you disagree with this cost, we will involve your brother and allow him to decide how to make things right between our families."

I suspect Brandon fears his brother more than the predator in front of him. Of course, the Fredo in "The Godfather" movie nearly got his brother killed. Even a weak man can be very dangerous.

That's why my heart doesn't stop racing until Brandon agrees to move the girls to Banta City by the end of the month. Thoroughly scolded, he mutters about respect and family before walking out of the foyer and back to his car. Once his men are gone and the door closes, Petra nearly flies down the stairs and into our mother's arms.

"Thank you," she cries and smiles at Viktor.

"His family offers the Syndicate benefits," he says and cups Petra's face. "However, Brandon is a liability. He won't be allowed on the property without calling ahead. We will inform security around the city to keep an eye out for him. The children will never visit Ohio until we've been assured of their safety. Brandon's behavior is unacceptable. If you see him in town or he contacts you, inform your brothers. Maks will take the lead in this matter."

As I hurry downstairs, I find my father's coldly formal tone reassuring. He doesn't view Brandon as a personal problem but one for the Syndicate to handle. Such power is now wrapped around Petra and her children.

I'm surprised when Viktor finishes stroking Petra's head and gives me a gentle touch. His gaze holds mine, and he seems pleased by how I am back. So relieved after the Brandon incident, I can't control myself. I hug my father and thank him. He sent help when I needed him. He protected Petra tonight. He's welcomed my babies into the family.

Though Viktor Kovak might be the scariest man in Banta City, he's also my heroic dad keeping the monsters at bay.