Page 39 of His Son's Brid
Me: I'll explain later. Promise.
I silence my phone before they can argue.
Later that night, I pull out my bucket list. Stare at number seven.
Willingly lose my virginity to someone I choose
I completed it. Checked it off.
And now I'm paying the price.
I add a new item at the bottom.
9. Survive the consequences of my actions.
Then I put the list away and try to figure out how to raise a baby alone in a world that will never accept it.
Never accept me.
7
AXEL
"Boss, you've been staring at that same glass for ten minutes."
I blink. Viktor's right—the whiskey's been sitting untouched in my hand, probably warm by now. I set it down.
"Just thinking."
"About what?"
Her. Always her.
"Business," I lie.
It's been a month. One month since Aurora walked out of my penthouse, and I can't stop thinking about her. Can't stop wondering where she is, what she's doing, if she thinks about me the way I think about her.
You're an idiot. She's gone. Move on.
I can't.
"Ready for the Luca meeting?" Viktor asks.
Right. Luca. I've been putting this off for weeks, making excuses about territory issues, about Leo, about anything that requires me to leave the city.
"Yeah." I stand, grab my jacket. "Let's go."
Viktor drives. Sergei rides shotgun, his bulk making the front seat look small. In the back, Alexei's fidgeting with his phone, nervous energy radiating off him.
"First time meeting Don Luca?" I ask the kid.
"Yes, sir." Alexei straightens. "I've heard stories. About the Istanbul job, how you—"
"Alexei," Viktor cuts him off. "Don't bring up Istanbul."
"Why not?"
"Because that's the job that put the boss in prison for seven years, and maybe Don Luca doesn't want to be reminded that Axel took the fall for him."
