Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
NATHANIEL
T he crystal decanter disintegrated into a million pieces as it smashed against the wall.
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” It was the only thing my father seemed to be able to say as he threw things across the room.
I looked at Ronan, who gave me the ‘ Don’t bother to look at me to save your ass’ stare. Titus at least seemed amused by the situation, his lip curling up, but that was the only indication I got that at least one member of my family was on my side.
“And what exactly would you have had me do?” My father whipped around, his face red with fury.
“I wouldn’t have stuck my cock in an FBI agent to start with. I warned you. I shouldn’t have let you talk me into letting her live. I should’ve shot her myself.”
That had my feet moving. My father could threaten me all he wanted, but he wasn’t going anywhere near Savannah and my son. Ronan stood from his chair as I closed in, but he wasn’t going to stop me, not this time.
“Fuck,” Ronan yelled as I punched him in the face, knocking him back into the chair.
My father’s eyes went wide, and he grabbed for the gun on his bookshelf. I grabbed him before he could get to it and did what I’d craved to do for years—slammed him down on top of his office desk. My fist cracked across his jaw, drawing blood as my ring cut open his lip. I pulled my gun and pressed it to my father’s forehead, so tempted to pull the trigger.
“Nathaniel, stand down,” Ronan barked out, but he was nothing more than background noise to the violence brewing inside of me.
“Brother, don’t do this,” Titus said softly, walking around the desk and getting down to look into my face. “You have to think about your family now, and this is not going to help anything.”
“Trust me, I am thinking about my family and how much safer they will be with him in the ground.”
“Do it, son, do it and end up pushed out of the family,” Father said, his tone far too arrogant for someone with a gun to their forehead. I flicked the safety on and took a step back from the desk, holstering my weapon. My brothers stayed close, waiting for one of us to erupt all over again.
“What’s done is done. Savannah is my wife, and Cutter is my heir. You don’t fucking go near them, or I won’t hold back next time.” I looked at my brothers. “That goes for either of you as well. You touch her or do anything to her, and I will come for you. I won’t stop until I’m dead, but I promise you will be too.” I flicked my suit jacket over my gun and marched for the door, sick of this conversation.
“You’ve not only shamed our family, but you bring trouble under our roof, Nathaniel,” my father spat at me.
“No more than you have with all the scandals you’ve brought to our door. Any of you go near my wife, and you will taste the steel of my gun.” Opening the door, I walked out and slammed it so hard that the pictures on the wall in the hallway rattled and slid sideways on their hooks.
My father didn’t understand. Savannah consumed the very fabric of my being. No matter how enraged I was, I needed her, and I was never letting her go.
“You good, Boss,” Goran asked from where he was standing guard across from the door. I shook my head. “Would it make you feel better to know that Savannah asked you to come see her when you’re through?”
“Why? What could she possibly find wrong already?”
Goran walked beside me as my strides ate up the ground, heading to the far wing of the mansion. I wanted my family as far as possible from everyone else, and if need be, we’d move into my condo, but this was still the safest place to bring them. You couldn’t spit without hitting another guard.
“She didn’t say what she wanted, just that she wished to speak to you.”
“Well, she’ll have to wait. I need to get work done before I deal with her. With the mood my father put me in, I’m liable to kill her.”
I walked into my office and took off my jacket, placing it on the back of my leather chair. Goran didn’t usually follow me, but he did today, and I glanced at him as I sat down.
“Do you have something you want to say,” I asked, rolling up the sleeves on my shirt before opening my desk drawer and pulling out a bottle of vodka. Pouring myself half a glass, I offered it to Goran, who shook his head.
“May I speak to you as a friend for a minute?” I glared at him, annoyed that he was asking me this stupid question again. “Fine,” he said and closed the office door before he sat down across from me. “Do you not think you’re being a bit harsh on Savannah?”
My fingers drummed on the top of the desk. “No, why? You think what she did was right?”
“I didn’t say that. I think that Savannah was in a difficult situation and chose what she felt gave her son the best chance at a normal life. How many times have you said you wished you’d never been born into this family?”
“That doesn’t make it right that she kept my son from me. I know nothing about him. He is a virtual stranger, and she’s so…so…infuriating.” Chugging down the vodka, I let the burn settle in my stomach as I stared at the folders of projects I had on the go.
“I never said that choosing to keep him from you was the right choice. But would you have chosen differently? I guess I’m just saying, maybe try talking to her about it rather than…well…what you’ve been doing. You may get better results.” Goran stood and did up the button on his suit.
“She is far too bold, and mouthy, and aggravating, and….”
“She is all the things you fell in love with years ago and still love today.” I glared at Goran. “She pushes your buttons because you push hers. The chemistry between you is tangible, but you’re both strong-willed. Continuously locking horns isn’t going to work.”
He was right. Savannah could push my buttons like no one else, and even when she yielded, she never fully handed herself to me on a silver platter. That wasn’t true. She had let go at the resort and allowed me to see all of her. That was when I knew I was in trouble. It was why I left before she was awake. I was too tempted to stay at that resort with her forever, and we’d already discussed it until there was nothing more to be said. She would go her way, and I would go mine, back to our worlds, and pretend that our time never happened.
“Just think about it. I’m heading to Shameless and then Delirium. There has been some trouble with drunk patrons, and you know how much I love handling that.” He smirked.
“Are you planning on sleeping?”
Goran walked to the door. “I’ll sleep when you sleep.”
“Then you may never sleep again,” I teased.
“So be it,” he said and slipped out. If I could only find a cloning machine so I could make a hundred of him, I would be set.
I grabbed the folder off the top of the pile and flipped open the top, but the words were all blurring together as my mind zoned out to Savannah and Cutter upstairs. A soft knock on the door jerked me out of my confounding thoughts.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and my mother stepped inside. She looked as livid as my father had. Great, here comes round two.
I stood and walked around the desk as she marched forward and slapped me across the face. My mother had never hit me. I grabbed my cheek out of shock, not because it hurt. Her eyes filled with tears.
“How dare you, Nathaniel Grigoriy Mikhailov.”
“Not you, too. I already had to hear the rant about bringing shame down on the family.”
I went to turn away, but my mom grabbed my arm and pointed at me. “I don’t care about that. I care that you got married without me there. I spent my life raising you four and have done nothing but look forward to the day that I could watch my children fall in love and marry and give me grandbabies to dote on. I wanted to help pick dresses and pour over flowers with your betrothed, and instead, you get married across the world with none of the family and….” Mom sucked in a deep breath from her rant and collapsed into my chair, tears running down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have struck you, I….” She broke down sobbing. I hadn’t been expecting this reaction at all.
I kneeled in front of my mom and grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice. If I brought Savannah back here without being married, Dad would try to kill her. This was safest. I didn’t mean to cut you out.” I grabbed some tissues from the holder on my desk to hand her. She dabbed at her eyes.
Mom sighed like she was carrying the weight of the world. “Tell me, Nate, is it true? Do I have a grandbaby?” I smiled and nodded. Her face morphed immediately.
“He is incredible. I…I can’t even explain the feeling I had when I saw him.”
“It’s called love, my son. I know you haven’t had a chance to see much of that in this house, but I have wished nothing but love for my children. What’s his name?”
I stood and leaned against my desk. “Savannah named him Cutter Nathaniel Freeborn after her, but I’m going to rectify that and make sure he has the Mikhailov name.”
“Can I meet them?”
“Mom, it’s been a really long and traumatic day already.”
She stood and grabbed my hands. “Please. I won’t take up too much of their time. I’m just so excited. Did you get her a ring? Can I arrange another ceremony here? Have the two of you talked about what school Cutter will go to?” I brought my mom’s hands to my lips and kissed them. At least someone was happy about this. “I’m rambling.”
“How about this? I’ll take you up, but let’s try to keep the visit to fifteen minutes.”
Mom squealed like she was a child and yanked on my hand. “Yes, let’s go. Hurry up.”
Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I couldn’t help smiling as she pulled me along with her. I hadn’t taken the time to enjoy the thought of having a son or finally having Savannah under my roof after dreaming of it for so long. It had been all fear and then anger since Goran first showed me his phone.
We walked up the stairs to my wing of the house, and I could hear Cutter laughing before I reached his bedroom, which was only a couple of doors down from mine. There were thundering feet, and then he squealed and laughed as we stepped up to the door to see Savannah toss Cutter in the air and catch him.
As she looked at me, my gut tightened, and all the air in my lungs came to a complete standstill like I’d forgotten how to breathe. Her blue eyes were bright with laughter, her hair piled on her head in an adorable messy bun. She was wearing some of my sister’s sleep clothes that I’d brought in for her. The red and white kitten shorts and t-shirt showed off her long legs. My mouth watered at the sight of her. Savannah put Cutter on her hip and stared at us, but I couldn’t seem to form words.
My mother gave my hand a light smack. “Don’t be rude, introduce us.”
“Oh…um….”
Savannah saved me as she padded over, her bare feet showing off the tattoo of an ankle bracelet that I didn’t remember her having before.
“Hi, I’m Savannah Free…I guess now, Mikhailov,” she said, holding out her hand to my mom.
“Hi there dear, I’m Helena, Nate’s mom, and you are stunning.” Savannah blushed. “And this must be Cutter.” Mom gushed and shook Savannah’s hand before turning her attention to Cutter. “Oh my god, you look like Nate did when he was just a boy. It will be so nice to have a child in the house again.”
“Hi, I’m Cutter.” He held out his hand like he was introducing himself at a business meeting. “It’s nice to meet you.” My mom looked over her shoulder with a smile so wide that she lit up the entire room.
“Nice to meet you, Cutter. Aren’t you quite the gentleman?”
“My mommy says that it is always best to be polite. Do you speak Italian? I was learning Italian in school. Come sta?”
Mom laughed and shook her head. “No, sweetheart, I don’t know Italian, but I can teach you some Russian if you want?”
“Really? That’s cool,” Cutter said, and nothing was stopping the stupid lopsided grin from pulling at the side of my mouth.
“Cutter, Helena is Nathan’s mom, so that makes her your grandma,” Savannah said, and he pursed his lips together as he thought.
“Okay. Do you want to see what I found,” Cutter asked Mom.
“Oh, I don’t think that….” Savannah started, but my mom patted her hand.
“I’d love to see what you found,” Mom said. Savannah put Cutter down, and he grabbed Mom’s hand and dragged her across the room.
Savannah turned to look at me. “Well, it looks like one member of this family doesn’t want me to die. Point for me,” she said and pushed the wild strands of loose hair out of her face. I’d always loved how her hair did that. It was as untameable as the woman herself. “I told Goran I wanted to speak to you to find out what room is mine. I’m going to sleep in here with Cutter for now until he gets used to being in a new place, but I’ll need one at some point.”
“You’ll stay with me. Where else would you stay?”
Her face twisted into a confused expression, and I couldn’t understand why she’d be confused when I married her. What the hell did she think was going to happen?
“Mom, come see what grandma showed me,” Cutter called from the other side of the room as Savannah opened her mouth.
“Well, like I said, I’ll stay in here for now. I don’t want Cutter to wake up scared in a strange place.”
Standing there and watching them, I felt out of place and decided to leave. I needed a shower, sleep, food, and to get some work done. The first thing on my to-do list was changing Cutter’s name, and then I would hunt down Aldo. As long as there was an active hit on Savannah, they weren’t safe. I could only imagine the fight I’d have when I said that Cutter couldn’t go to the beach or playground or she couldn’t leave the house. One problem at a time, I’d start with the shower.