Darkest Sins - Page 107

“I wanna nicky name, too,” she demands, then dashes across the carpet to climb on the bed. My heart races like a runaway train as I watch her crawl over and snuggle between us.

“Okay.” I barely manage a reply. “How abouttygrysek? It means baby tiger.”

“I like.” She grabs a handful of my hair and starts to brush it. “I have a nicky name, Mommy. Rapunzel-boy loves me, too.”

My lungs contract so hard that I can’t draw a breath. Nera’s hand grabs mine, squeezing it.

“Yes.” I barely manage to speak. “I love you very much, Lucia.”

“I know.” She looks up at me, right into my eyes. “It hurts, but you let me make your hair pretty. ’Course, you love me.”

Warmth erupts inside me, burning as hot as an exploding star. I almost melt from the onslaught of feelings overtaking me. I reach out and carefully stroke Lucia’s soft cheek with the back of my hand. I’m not sure she’ll ever understand the depth of my unconditional love for my two tiger cubs.

“I’ll love you till the last drop of blood courses through my veins,tygrysek,” I whisper.

“Yucky.” She makes a disgusted face. “I don’t want blood. I want breakfast. Can I have cookies and ketchup again?”

“No,” Nera says next to me and rubs her eyes with her hand. She’s been silent during the whole exchange. “But we can show Kai how to make oatmeal with fruit for you.”

“Okay. Oatmeal is yummy.” Lucia shrugs, takes the elastic from her ponytail, and tries to put it in my hair. “Last time Mommy made me oatmeal we had lotsa boomers and big rain,which made Mommy sad. But she told me a secret then. She said my daddy gotted lost a long time ago in the storm. But that he gonna find us one day. Are you my daddy, Rapunzel-boy?”

I feel like someone dropped a fucking mountain on top of me; its weight bears down on my chest. I can’t move. I can’t even breathe. I open my mouth to say something, but no sound leaves my lips.

“Yes,” Nera says, her voice breaking. “He finally found us.”

“Oh. Good.” Lucia nods in a serious manner, then pulls on my hair with a quick tug. “Don’t get lost again.”

I close my eyes and kiss the top of her head. “Never again. I promise.”

Chapter 39

“We need to reschedule today’s meeting,” Brio’s voice comes across the line. He sounds really strange. “I’m not feeling well.”

“All right,” I say. “I’ll just have Primo come by so we can go over this month’s numbers.”

“I’m afraid Primo is indisposed, as well. He’s still at the hospital. The doctors are trying to remove the remnants of rubber glue from his esophagus.”

“What?”

A coughing fit overcomes Brio before he’s able to respond. “We’re both very sorry for disrespecting you. Please assure Mr. Mazur it won’t happen again.” He finally wheezes out the words.

I throw a look toward the kitchen where Lucia is sitting on the counter. Kai is standing behind her, braiding her hair. She wanted her hair done like his and wouldn’t let me do it.

“I’ll let him know, Brio.” I cut the call and approach my demon. “Where did you go after breakfast?”

“To get you flowers.”

My eyes wander to the bouquet of red tulips on the dining table. “And that’s all?”

“I might have had a small errand to run on my way back.” Kai shrugs.

“Did it involve my capos?”

“I haven’t put a finger on them, cub. Only asked them to open their dirty mouths real wide.”

“Kai—” I start but my phone rings again. A call from the gatehouse.

“Two men are at the gate, requesting to be let inside, Mrs. Leone,” the guard tells me. “They say they are Mr. Mazur’s friends and have a delivery for him. I tried calling Mr. Mazur, but he’s not answering.”