Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Chloe
“I’m tapping out,” I gasped while laughing.
I was face down on the mat, and Daniel was behind me, teaching me a few takedown moves and how to get out of dangerous situations with an assailant or a would-be rapist. Not gonna lie.
Some positions made my cheeks heat from embarrassment at where our body parts were smashed together.
Daniel’s weight eased off my back, and he gave me a hand up.
“Good job.” He smiled.
“Good job? You handed me my ass.” I laughed.
“You held out longer than last time.”
“That was fantastic.” Dora approached our sparring mat, carrying Sebastian.
Since my foot felt better, we embarked on a field trip to The Grindhouse today.
When I lived on the third floor, Trevor gave me a few boxing lessons.
But I saw Ivy spar with Nico. Actually, I saw Ivy spar with Sandro Rossi—a gargantuan man I’d seen flipped over her hip.
Impressed, I added self-defense lessons to our program for our shelter staff if they wanted to learn.
Dora loved the idea because we saw firsthand how abusers would come to the shelter and intimidate the employees.
We taught deescalation, but taking it a step further with self-defense sounded better.
I also broached the idea to Dom, and he was all for it. True alphas weren’t scared of strong women. They quietly stood behind them, empowering them. De Lucci men were an example.
“You need to work to strengthen your legs and your core.” Daniel handed me a paper cup of water. I wanted to pour it over my head since I still felt overheated. But maybe my cheeks were flushing under his regard.
It wasn’t attraction. I hoped he didn’t think I was still on the market for an arranged marriage.
I wasn’t going to lie to myself and think I could marry another while I was inconveniently attracted to the bratva assassin.
And with the way my heart was aching with the revelations of the past four days, I might have fallen in love with him too.
“There’s a gym where I live,” I said. Lucy asked me if I wanted to use it. She was a runner but thought about adding weights. She also indicated that Aralina was trying to get into shape for her big day. I really should get over myself and meet Theo’s bride. We were going to be a family after all.
And Ivan? The thought of Ivan didn’t evoke the same hurt and resentment.
Maybe because bigger problems eclipsed my issues from the past. But I think a part of me knew that to move forward in my life and create a happy environment for Sebastian, I shouldn’t let the past define me.
My son taught me to embrace what mattered the most.
Daniel nodded to the corner where several pieces of gym equipment sat. “I could show you which ones to use.”
“You’ve done a lot already.” I dipped my head. Daniel was a devastatingly handsome man. Maybe if I hadn’t met Kolya first… “Tell you what? Why don’t you show me how to break away from a come-from-behind attack?”
“Sounds good.”
Sebastian was awake. It was almost time for his lunch, but he seemed contented observing the buzz of activity around him. “Is it alright with you?” I asked Dora. “Just a few more moves, then we can have lunch.”
“Go ahead,” my friend said. She sat on the bench that was around the sparring mat. “Sebby and I are enjoying watching his mommy kick ass.”
“Or get my ass kicked,” I snorted in amusement.
I positioned myself with my back against Daniel.
“Ready?” he asked.
I huffed. “Don’t warn me just…”
A muscular forearm wrapped around my neck, blocking blood and air.
You have six seconds to react before you lose consciousness.
I fought against doubt and hesitation, and just as he dragged me back, creating the space for my fingers to slip beneath his arm, I broke free.
Now, I was aware he was taking it easy on me and the element of surprise would be different under genuine circumstances, but muscle memory could be practiced.
“Look at Mommy go!” Dora yelled from the sidelines.
The exhilaration was something else, though. So, I laughed and leapt into Daniel’s arms.
He chuckled and patted my back, complimenting me on a job well done. But exuberance dissipated into an unsettling sensation when I caught blazing blue eyes glaring at me and Daniel. It was the kind of sensation that submerged my ears underwater and made my already racing heart beat faster.
I sprang away from Daniel.
Kolya, Dom, and Trevor were standing behind the bench. Unlike the menacing expression on Kolya’s face, the other two men were smirking.
They set him up. What the hell?
“What are you doing here?” My voice was raspy, if not breathless. And I shouldn’t be feeling guilty. Kolya and I were not in a relationship. We were co-parenting. I shouldn’t feel guilty about embracing Daniel, but why did it feel like I was cheating?
No, this was simply projection tacked on to the seething expression on Kolya’s face. His clenched fists at his sides were a giveaway, too, that I had done something wrong.
Which I hadn’t.
“I thought we could have lunch.” His eyes bounced between Daniel and me as if assessing a situation that had blindsided him.
“Oh, I came with Dora,” I said.
Then, as if knocked out of a trance, he hooded his gaze and walked around the bench to greet Sebastian.
“Dada!” Sebastian cried gayfully.
My heart squeezed each time my son’s eyes lit up when he saw his father. Sebby did the same with me, but I was still baba.
“Hey, sport.” Kolya lifted our son in his arms and rocked him while addressing Dora. “Can you spare Chloe for the afternoon?”
“She’s the boss.” Dora rolled her lips. I could tell she wanted to say yes.
She’d slept in my room for three days since Kolya moved back into the cottage.
I could have stayed with Sebastian in the nursery, but that would defeat the whole purpose of Dora moving in, evaluating my fitness to be a mother.
I didn’t want Dora to be Sebastian’s evening caregiver. That was between me and Kolya.
Dora assured me I was fine, and she was getting ready to move out of the Zahkarov property to look for an apartment closer to the shelter.
“I could do lunch.” I didn’t want to commit to more.
Kolya nodded and ignored me, still focused on Sebastian.
I breathed a sigh of relief. I think Sebastian calmed him down, which I needed Kolya to be, because damn him if I wasn’t going to thank Daniel for helping me out.
I was mindful as I approached Daniel, who was now talking to Dom and Trevor.
I stopped a foot away from him. It was like, even when Kolya had his back to us, he was throwing an invisible force field that kept me from the other guys.
Even without a word of hostility, he’d already peed a circle around me.
I didn’t know if it was annoyance or resignation I was feeling.
Since the basement conversation and revelations, Kolya and I had been civil, and our priority had been Sebastian.
And though I was appalled that his parents had been murdered, it only reiterated how risky it was to be with him and stoked my reservations.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t fear. My fear was the unknown, and apparently I trusted Kolya’s skill to protect us.
But until he explained circumstances further, there was no “wanting more” from him.
“So, that was fun. Thanks, Daniel.”
He shot me a half-smile that was part mysterious, part sweet. “My pleasure.” His eyes were warm, but they shifted briefly behind me. I didn’t even need to turn around to know that Kolya was watching us.
“About that self-defense program,” Dom said. “Trevor is going to tap one of the guys—I think Ronan—he’s a McGrath and the De Luccis’ Irish side of the family. This boxing gym started with his dad and uncles.”
“All in the family,” I quipped. “I’m glad you all would let us use this gym.”
“Anytime. If you can’t get any of us or if you have questions, you can leave a message with Renz. He’ll let us know you’re trying to reach us,” Trevor said.
“I really appreciate it, guys.”
A brooding presence made itself known behind me, so I knew I’d better wrap it up. I thanked the guys again before I turned to Kolya.
I smiled at Sebastian before glaring at his father. “Do you have to breathe down my neck?”
“You were taking too long,” he said without inflection, but he was staring coldly at someone behind me.
“Stop that, you’re causing a scene,” I hissed.
He raised a brow. “I’m on my best behavior.”
“You have this…this…grim reaper aura.”
“While carrying a baby?”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Dora said between us. “I have to go. Shelter called, but—” She interrupted me before I could interject. “It’s no crisis. I have it under control. Go enjoy your lunch.”
When she left, I said, “I’m sweaty. My clothes are on the third floor. You can’t—”
“I’ll wait in the coffee shop with Sebastian,” he said.
“Okay, thanks. I won’t take too long.” I skipped out of the gym, and on my way to the third floor, I ran into Liz and Sam.
“Hey, Chloe, long time no see,” Liz said. Renz’s wife was such a sweetie. “How’s Sebastian?”
“Growing like a weed. I need to get some new clothes for him.”
“I gave mine to Camilla,” Sam piped up.
“Bianca’s daughter, right?”
“Right,” Liz responded. “A couple of them still had price tags. Listen to me, girl. It’s so exciting to buy baby clothes, but they’ll outgrow them in a month or two.”
I laughed. “I can tell.” I squeezed Liz’s arm. “Listen, I've gotta go. Kolya and Sebastian are waiting for me at the café.”
“Oh, cool!” Sam exclaimed and hopped down the stairs. Liz and I exchanged glances, and she pressed her lips together in an impish grin before saying, “I’m not sure Kolya is ready for a Sam inquisition.”
I laughed. It might be just what he needed.