20. Theo
THEO
AFEW WEEKS LATER
Morning light fills the kitchen of the townhouse in soft gold. Theo sits at the wide oak table with his laptop open, the screen reflecting in his eyes as his fingers move with quiet precision across the keys.
Across from Theo, Nikolai cradles a double espresso, watching him work with the same calm attention he once reserved for more lethal tasks.
Maximus the blue cow sits propped between them, an empty miniature cup in front of him as if he too is part of the morning briefing.
Theo is deep inside the digital life of a corrupt judge who has spent the past year putting Nikolai’s men away on manufactured evidence and inflated charges.
The man’s offshore accounts are layered but not layered well enough.
Within twenty minutes Theo has the full map: account numbers, transfer histories, the quiet payments from the same intermediaries who once funneled money for the Rossinis.
Theo glances up. “Do we show this to the press, or do we take the money?”
Nikolai takes a slow sip of espresso. “Do both.”
Theo smiles and returns to the keyboard. He downloads every incriminating file, packages it cleanly for later release, then moves the funds in a series of rapid, untraceable hops until the balance sits safely inside one of their own hidden offshore accounts.
When the final confirmation appears he leans back, closes the laptop, and exhales.
“Work’s done,” Theo trills with a satisfied delight. “Yay!”
Nikolai sets his cup down. “Want to hit the Little club later? Have a proper playdate?”
Theo shakes his head, already feeling the softer part of himself rising. “I’d rather just chill at home and play here today, Daddy.”
“Great,” Nikolai replies. “I’m beginning to actually enjoy this big old house with you here. So much so I actually don’t like leaving!”
Theo laughs and he is on his feet at once, padding quickly upstairs to the bedroom that is now fully his as well as his Daddy’s.
From the drawer he pulls a soft, snug onesie—pale blue with tiny cow patterns—and changes into it. Maximus comes with him when he returns downstairs and drops onto the thick living-room rug, the onesie making him feel small and safe in the best possible way.
Nikolai joins Theo on the floor, long legs folded, expression already shifting into the quieter, warmer register he uses when they play.
“We can play together for an hour,” Nikolai tells him.
“Then Milo is coming over to continue the fun. I have to meet Maxim… there’s a cartel issue.
Turns out the Rossinis were in deeper with them than we knew.
Neither of us is taking a knee to anyone, so we need to figure something out sooner rather than later. ”
Theo looks up from where he is already arranging the stuffies.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help,” Theo says. “Those a-holes won’t know what’s hit them for messing with us.”
Nikolai reaches out and brushes a strand of hair from his face.
“Ha! That’s true,” Nikolai says. “But for now all you need to do is focus on having fun and letting your Little side out. That’s an order.”
Theo grins. “Cops and robbers? Our favorite?”
Nikolai laughs once more, the sound low and genuine. “Of course.”
Nikolai leans in and kisses Theo: slow, deep, and full of the steady certainty that has settled between them since the night the Rossini stronghold fell.
When they part, Theo rests his forehead against Nikolai for a moment…
“With the money I took from Tracker,” Theo says softly, “I’d love to buy back my grandpa’s ranch. After he died it was sold off to the highest bidder. I hate thinking of strangers living there.”
Nikolai’s hand settles at the back of Theo’s neck, warm and sure. “Of course. I’ll put in whatever extra is needed. We’ll use it as a country retreat, somewhere quiet when the city gets too loud.”
Theo feels his heart swell so fully it almost aches.
The truth is that Theo knows he will never live an ordinary life. There will always be threats, late-night meetings, the quiet machinery of the world Nikolai rules.
Yet sitting here on the thick rug in a snug onesie, Maximus under one arm and the man he loves already reaching for the grey rabbit to begin their game, Theo knows he is happier than he ever believed possible.
Theo has found not only his perfect Daddy, but his perfect life too.
Not to mention a custom made gun that won’t ever miss…