54. Targen
She finally fell into a restless sleep, her body jerking as she no doubt fought her demons in her dreams. I rose from the bed, all she revealed resting heavily on me. But that is how it would be from now on. This shit was no longer hers to bear. I’d promised her that, and it was a promise I intended to keep.
The trek back to Prime’s, where I knew I’d be able to find a truly secure phone, didn’t take long. I dialed the number I had memorized long ago, even though I rarely used it. It rang once.
“ Privet, brat ,” my half-brother Maxim greeted.
“Hello, brother,” it meant, said as casually as if we spoke regularly. Maxim always sounded calm, collected, controlled, as if filling the role that he did, didn’t fuck with him in the least.
There was no use playing around. My brother was a busy man.
“I need help,” I announced.
“More than you have there?”
“Much more.”
“Granted,” he said without hesitation.
Like I’d known he would. Like I knew what would come next.
“And you will come home to family.”
It wasn’t a question. This was the price of his assistance, one I’d long believed was too high to pay. He didn’t mean a house or even a city. Coming home, to my father and brother, meant that I would join them, that I’d undertake the training and become part of the Organizatsiya that dominated their lives.
The Sidorov Bratva.
My mother had been right about my father all those years ago. He’d grown his hustles into billion-dollar interests as pakhan . Maxim now held that title. They thought of it almost as a birthright.
I thought of it as a curse. I’d vowed to never bow to their demands. But it was a vow made before her.
Before Theory.
Before this need to avenge, to protect.
For her, I’d break this promise to myself.
“They’ll never accept me,” I warned.
Even as Sergei’s son, I was an outsider, the negr brother of the current pakhan .
“They will accept you or die,” Maxim countered. “You will come.”
“When?” I asked.
“Soon. A show of… unity is required,” he said vaguely. “I assume you’ll go somewhere to tell me what assistance is needed.”
I sighed. “I’m in a good spot.”
“Then give me details. I brat, dobro pozhalovat' domoy .”
And brother , he’d said, welcome home .
I shook my head at his words, praying I didn’t regret this. But then, for her, how could I? Together, Maxim and I worked out a plan. We would erase everyone who had directly hurt her and subdue the rest of the bastards they associated with.
During the walk back to the Stone House and the shower I took after, I made an uneasy peace with the promise I’d made Maxim. I’d need to tell Theory the truth about me and my paternal family. I hoped it wouldn’t scare her too badly, because I wasn’t letting her go. I’d tell her, just not right now. We’d cleared the air about so much so far, I didn’t want to overwhelm her.
Soon , I vowed, sliding into bed with her, ready just to hold her. I was surprised to find her awake. She came willingly into my arms.
“Targen?” she murmured.
I pressed my lips against her forehead. “Hmm?”
“I want you to touch me.”
I held her more tightly. “Always,” I promised.
“This time, no stops.”
Ahh, shit . I sat up abruptly. Baby wasn’t playing fair. It was too soon after what she had revealed. She probably wasn’t in the right headspace. I had to handle her carefully, talk with her more. And even as I told myself all that, my dick was getting harder than quantum physics.
“It’s too soon, milaya . Your feelings have to be everywhere right now.”
This principled shit when all I wanted to do was get lost in her thick curves was hard. She shook her head sharply, then she sat up, too.
“But I’ve been wanting to be closer to you, Targen. I was just scared that the scars?—”
“I will never figure out how you thought I, looking like a fucking monster, would judge you for your scars.”
Small, soft hands cupped my face and stroked my ruined cheek. “I know I’m short, but if you ever call yourself a monster again, I’m kicking your ass,” she threatened.
I smiled at her before pressing a kiss to her palm. Heat zinged between us, and she sucked in a breath.
“Targen, please.”
“Fuck. You beg so pretty, malyshka .” I wanted to hear her beg for my dick just like that. “I don’t want you to have regrets.”
“I could never regret anything with you.”
“Theory—”
“Do you know how hard it’s been to hold back?” she asked.
I looked at her like she’d suddenly grown another head. She giggled softly before telling me, “I don’t wanna wait anymore.”