Nine #3
To make his point, he curls both hands into claws and lets out a booming roar. The sound nearly makes me jump, let alone my poor daughter, who bursts into tears and clings to me tightly.
I shoot Maxim a glare, but he just shrugs. “Then how come she’s obsessed with bears?”
I roll my eyes at him. “She loves sweet cartoon bears. The ones with rainbows on their bellies.”
His response is one word: “Oops.”
He stands, his tone leaving no room for debate. “Calm her down and come outside. We need a minute alone.”
Once Aurora settles, I place her back in the bear-shaped chair and step out of the kitchen. Maxim’s in the cleaned-up living room, surveying the wreckage from last night. As I stand beside him, he speaks without looking at me.
“I’ll get new furniture for this place. If you’ve got something specific in mind, let me know.”
He turns to me and comes closer, so close I have to tilt my head all the way back to look him in the eye. I’m afraid of him, but he can’t know that. His shadow falls over me, and his voice drops to a deadly tone.
“Last word. I sat my ass down and answered your concerns with logic, something I haven’t bothered with in a century, but I did it for you. Now I’m warning you, Ava, I’ve got another side. One that’s not so patient or polite.”
He grips the back of my neck, his eyes shooting icy daggers.
“If you even try to run, if you dare put my kid in danger again, I swear on my mother’s soul, I’ll hunt you to the ends of this fucking earth and drag you right back here myself.
And this time, I’ll lock you up so fucking tight, you’ll forget what sunlight looks like.
You and that girl with my blood in her veins belong here. To me.”
I press both palms against his chest, but his rock-hard frame doesn’t budge. “So I’m your prisoner now?” I ask in an accusing tone.
He smirks. “Not yet. Don’t give me a reason to make you one.” His expression hardens. “You’re not my prisoner, Ava. But you’re not as free as you used to be either, and that’s only for Aurora’s safety.”
Seeing my silence, he lets me go, straightening the collar of his gray shirt. “Well, looks like we’ve reached an understanding. Fantastic.”
***
Aurora is sitting on the floor, happily playing house with the teapot and teacups she’d stolen from the kitchen. I stand by the tall window, staring at the trees in the yard, but my thoughts are spiraling somewhere else.
How the hell do I get out of this mess?
Last night I dialed Sister Maria, but I hung up before the call could connect. The truth is, she can’t help me anymore. And even if she could…is it worth risking everything again?
I glance at my innocent little girl and ask myself: Am I willing to put her life in danger one more time?
The answer is painfully clear. No.
Running away when it was just me was one thing. But now that Aurora is in my life, everything is different. My father is still out there. He’s already found me twice. He’ll find me again.
I got lucky twice. But will I be lucky a third time? Especially now that it’s not just my father I have to worry about. Carlo Bruni’s enemies would gladly use me and Aurora to get leverage over Maxim.
Maxim’s words have sunk deep into my bones. Even if I run to another country, I can’t guarantee Aurora’s safety. So while I go over every option for what feels like the thousandth time, I’m forced to admit one painful truth:
Right now, the safest place for Aurora is here. In the home of her real father, a man who already acts like she’s his whole world.
Lost in thought, I suddenly spot Maxim walking into the yard. God knows what’s wrong with me, but I blush like a stupid little girl and quickly sit beside Aurora before he catches me staring.
“Tea?” my daughter asks in that adorable voice of hers. I smile and nod.
The empty teapot is almost too heavy for her tiny hands as she carefully pours imaginary tea into the cups.
That’s when Maxim reaches us.
He’s wearing a gray collared shirt with the top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled to his elbows. Like always, perfectly dressed. Perfectly dangerous. One hand stays hidden behind his back.
The moment Aurora notices him staring, she puts the teapot down and presses herself against me.
The movement doesn’t escape Maxim’s attention, but he doesn’t react.
I gently stroke her hair. “Sweetheart, don’t you wanna say hi to Maxim?”
She clings tighter to me and shakes her head, though I still catch her sneaking little glances at him.
Maxim takes a slow breath before finally revealing what he hides behind his back.
A pink teddy bear with a rainbow stitched across its stomach.
Aurora’s eyes widen instantly. Excitement lights up her face as she slowly moves away from me, though she still doesn’t go near him.
Maxim crouches down in front of her and holds the bear out. “Wanna go buy kitchen toys for your new bear?”
Aurora grows a little bolder, reaches out, and takes the teddy bear, hugging it tightly to her chest.
Still shy, she asks in a quiet voice, “Can we get her a slide too?”
A faint smile pulls at the corner of Maxim’s mouth. “We can, little carrot.”
Then he stands and looks at me. “Get her ready. I’ll wait in the car.”
***
Less than an hour later, we’re inside a toy store filled with so many colorful toys that Aurora practically vibrates with excitement. She lets go of my hand and happily runs through the aisles. Maxim pushes the cart behind her, his entire attention fixed on his daughter.
It doesn’t matter what Aurora picks up. Maxim tosses everything into the cart without even checking it.
Seeing Aurora so happy makes me happy too. This is almost her first real toy store experience. During our time at the hotel, I never took her to one. Her toys were only the occasional gifts Emily bought her.
So I don’t stop her. I let her choose whatever she wants, only quietly putting back a few things I know she won’t actually use. Maxim glances at me but says nothing.
After he pays for the mountain of toys, I assume we’re done for the day. Instead, he takes us to an amusement park. Aurora plays so much that by the time night falls, she passes out in my arms from exhaustion.
Once we get back, I lay her gently in the big bed and go take a shower. While the water runs over me, my thoughts drift to Maxim. To how different he was today, how patient he’d been with Aurora. She’s still shy around him, but I can see her softening.
My heart clenches with a strange, heavy feeling. My daughter is starting to get attached to this man, and I have no idea what I’m supposed to feel about that.
I turn off the water, wrap a towel around my body, and another around my wet hair before stepping out of the bathroom.
Then I freeze.
Maxim has dragged an armchair close to the bed. He lounges there with his shirt completely unbuttoned, a bottle of liquor dangling loosely from one hand while he stares at Aurora sleeping peacefully in the bed.
He takes a sip without looking at me.
“How can something so small leave such a huge mark on a person?” he murmurs. “How can she take over your whole damn life without asking for a single thing?”
I pull the edges of my towel tighter around myself before sitting across from him on the edge of the bed.
“That’s what kids do,” I say softly. “They change everything.”
A faint, almost broken smile touches the corner of his mouth. He takes another drink, then sets the bottle on the table.
“Yeah…they turn everything upside down. Everything.”
I hesitate before speaking carefully. “You don’t have to change anything…”
His eyes finally shift to me, but he stays silent.
Hope flickers stupidly inside me anyway. “Help us start a new life somewhere else. If you want to, no one will ever find us. I’m sure of it.”
For several long seconds, he just stares at me.
Then finally asks, “Why did you keep her?”
The question catches me completely off guard.
But he continues before I can answer. “You knew her father was a monster…why didn’t you get rid of the pregnancy? You could’ve had an abortion and kept your life unchanged.”
My heart clenches at the mere thought of not having Aurora and I look at her.
“Abortion is a great sin.”
He doesn’t even hesitate. “You know that’s bullshit.”
I tear my gaze from Aurora and meet his eyes. He leans forward slightly.
“You kept her because you were lonely? Weren’t you?”
My throat tightens. I swallow hard, fighting back tears.
He leans back in the chair again. “You want Aurora growing up with the same loneliness and fear you lived through? No family. No father to protect her. No friends?”
Tears spill down my cheeks. I shake my head.
He takes a slow breath. “And that’s exactly why you didn’t make that call to the nun today. That’s the smartest decision you’ve made in a long time, Ava.”
I wipe my tears away and don’t bother asking how he knows about the call.
Of course he knows.
His gaze returns to Aurora. “My daughter isn’t growing up broken and miserable,” he says quietly. “I won’t allow it. She’s gonna grow up like a princess. Safe. Loved. Spoiled rotten.”
“You want her because you’re lonely too?” I whisper, almost accusingly.
He locks eyes with me, his voice dark, possessive, and full of absolute certainty, “I want her because she’s mine. She’s a part of me lying in that bed. My responsibility. And I’m not the kind of man who runs from his responsibilities.”
“I’m scared, Maxim,” I confess honestly, my voice shaking. “I’m terrified that one of the monsters from my world or yours will hurt her.”
His eyes narrow. He nods slowly. “You have every right to be scared, Ava. There are evil people around us. Ruthless killers, child predators, bloodthirsty psychopaths, hired assassins—all looking for a way to hurt us. But there’s something you don’t know yet…something you’ll learn very soon.”
“What?”
He stands and walks toward me.
Towering over me.
His fingers brush over the freckles scattered across my cheek before he grips my chin, forcing my gaze up to his.