Chapter 18 - Aleksandr

It had been a shitty day. I arrived late at the skirmish that had broken out at the same bar we'd chased away our new enemies just a few weeks before. They were growing bolder, already acting like the territory was theirs. The dust was still swirling from the fight when I burst in, ready to drop anyone who didn't belong there just to make a point.

The employees were scared and angry, threatening to quit but thankfully unharmed. Expensive bottles of liquor were broken, bar stools smashed, and some of the old vinyl booths had been slashed with knives. Just pure destruction and waste.

The worst was that Lev and Dimitry had both been hurt badly enough to require stitches. Another few inches and Dima's knife wound might have been much worse. Lev was furious, spitting out his rage at me as I tried to stanch our younger brother's bleeding while we waited for our private medic to patch him up.

"Do you see now, Dima?" he snarled. "Do you understand there's no reasoning with this group?"

Our usually stoic brother, who'd been firmly on the side of diplomacy up until now, nodded, too weak to talk. His eyes showed he agreed with Lev now, filled with the same pain and anger.

By the time I got back home, I was still fuming. My fists clenched and unclenched as I stormed toward the stairs. My plan was to try and wash it all away under a scorching hot shower so that Katie wouldn't worry, but I heard her laughter tinkle out from her favorite sitting room and had to have a peek at my bride.

She sat with her back to me on one of the cream-colored sofas, and my sister sat next to her, holding a wine glass. At something Mila said, Katie threw back her head and laughed again, leaning forward to take hold of her own wine glass. As her delicate hand guided the glass to her ruby lips, warmth and serenity washed over me.

What was this magic that Katie held? Just a glimpse of her and the sound of her happy laughter was enough to erase all my stress. My employees' trepidation, my brothers' anger, the worry about what kind of toll the increasing escalation with our enemies would bring, was gone, just like that.

I was completely calm as I stood just out of their sight in the doorway, thrilled that Katie and Mila had clicked and were possibly on their way to a true sisterhood.

Could I finally be getting the family I always wanted?

Mila had been a baby when I married my first wife, and she'd been indifferent to the infant at first. She turned utterly cruel to Mila when our own child was born, jealous of my affection for my sister and constantly comparing her to Nataliye. I saw no reason to compare them. It was slightly comical to me that my parents had a surprise baby late in their lives, but Mila brought all of us so much joy.

Of course, nothing could compare to the love I felt for my daughter when I first held her, squirming and squalling. It was foolish to compare the two. I would have died for either of them, or both, if necessary. I thought the jealousy would fade, but it only got worse.

Other than dressing Nataliye up in the most ridiculous outfits, making her look like an over-decorated cupcake, and twisting her hair into uncomfortable curls to prove she was the prettiest child, my first wife found actual parenting dull and inconvenient. It cut into her shopping during the day and her partying at night.

I tried to give her time to adjust, but then I came home from a raid late one night to find the nanny with an inconsolable Nataliye, who'd been suffering badly from teething. The nanny had no idea where my wayward wife was; she'd been gone for hours. I waited up to have it out with her, to try to make her see that our daughter needed her mother, not a nanny, when she was distraught and in pain.

She came home at the crack of dawn, reeking of booze and another man's cologne, and once I had solid proof she was cheating, I gave her an ultimatum. Choose Nataliye and me, or leave with nothing.

She was drunk again, as she often was during those last days of our marriage, and she taunted me that her plastic surgeon boyfriend was even richer than me. It hit me then that money was all she truly cared about. I'd long accepted she was over me, as I was her, but I'd clung to the hope that she had a shred of maternal instinct and wouldn't leave her only child.

She chose money and partying, and left without a backward glance. Nataliye had just turned one, but never did get to know her mother because she drank herself to death two years later after the surgeon lost his license for operating under the influence. At that time, she never once tried to visit, never sent a gift, and never so much as to call my assistant for news on the daughter, who callously gave up.

Katie was the polar opposite of that woman. Mature beyond her years, always putting others ahead of herself. Hell, she continued working when she didn't have to, and I had to practically force her to buy things for herself, since everything she asked for was for her sister and aunt. It was no wonder she and Nataliye were still the best of friends, and she was getting along so well with my sister.

I was starting to think I'd lucked into finding myself an actual angel, then remembered Katie's more devilish side and grinned, still hovering out in the hall. Just happy to watch her smile and laugh.

Remembering my gift, I reached into my pocket and patted the small box, hoping she'd like the gold heart necklace I bought her. The fight at the bar had nearly made me forget about it, but it was important. Not only because I wanted to shower Katie with nice things, but because it had a GPS locator in it.

Even though she hadn't complained about staying home, I could tell she was growing antsy being alone while I was working. Olga was reticent and liked to do her work without anyone buzzing around her, so as much as Katie had tried to befriend her and offer to help out in the kitchen, it wasn't enough for my energetic and gregarious wife.

Asking Mila to spend the day with her had been a good call. Katie was glowing and much more animated than I'd seen her in days. If she agreed to having a bodyguard, she could start going out more.

The necklace was for my own peace of mind, and I really wanted to spoil her with pretty trinkets. I'd have her dripping in diamonds, pearls, and emeralds to match her eyes if she'd let me, but I knew she'd laugh at such frivolities, saying they'd fall into her sauces and then someone would sue for a broken tooth.

I found myself chuckling quietly but was unnerved by how strong my feelings for her were. I did believe I loved the person I thought my first wife was, before she had her claws in me and felt confident enough to show her true colors. As soon as I saw them, the love blew away like smoke in the Santa Ana winds.

That wasn't going to happen this time. Katie was different. She was an open book. One whose pages I couldn't turn fast enough, eager to know every last detail about her.

Katie was no longer someone I needed to possess. The instant obsession I felt for her the first time I spotted her at my club had mellowed to something even stronger. It was no longer about the need for a male heir, either, though every time I imagined pressing my cheek to her big belly and feeling our child kick, a wild hunger still overtook me.

It was deeper than even that.

Katie's laughter rang out again, and I couldn't stand being on the sidelines any longer. I burst into the room and leaned over the edge of the sofa to plant a kiss on my wife's lips. She turned, smiling, motioning for me to join them.

One kiss wasn't enough. I pulled her up off the couch and over the edge, dragging her close to me as if I hadn't seen her in months instead of hours.

"Oh, come on, now," Mila said goodnaturedly but saw the futility of trying to reason with me at that moment. It was like she wasn't even there. "Okay, bye. I'll call you soon, Katie."

Katie pulled away long enough to wave at her, then looked up at me, embarrassed but seeming pleased by my greeting.

"I missed you," I growled.

"I can see that," she said, tangling her fingers in my hair and pulling me close for another kiss. "I missed you, too."