“Is Ive coming back here or do I have to go and meet him?”
“He’s coming back here,” he said.
I nod. “I’ll just wait.”
There hadn’t been any shoes with the dress, so I still wore my sneakers. I didn’t mind, as they were comfortable. The dress was long enough to hide my footwear. I had to wonder where we were going, though. Taking a seat, I sink back into the sofa and rest my head along the back of the couch, closing my eyes so I don’t stare up at the ceiling. My life was so strange.
I had spent many years imagining how my life was going to be once I turned eighteen and finally got away from my dad. After turning eighteen, I had to wait until I graduated high school, just before I was taken. That was so unlucky. I had all these great plans, most of which I couldn’t do because I had no money. I think my dad knew what I planned and he tried to do everything in his power to destroy it, to stop me from living. That was the kind of man he was.
My father had been a complete fucking monster. I hated him. He constantly showed me how much he hated me, how he didn’t love me. The beatings, the humiliation.
I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and opened my eyes.
“How did you do it?” Hubert asked.
I turned to look at my guard andfrowned. “How did I do what?”
“It wasn’t all bad,” I said. “Most of the time, he did ignore me. I think that was the hardest part.” I licked my lips. “Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of beatings. Some slaps, some kicks. He’d throw stuff at me, but again, I’d do something, I think. I don’t know. I’ve kind of just blacked it out.”
“Did he ever show you any kind of affection?” Hubert asked.
“No.” I didn’t even hesitate. This made me smile for some odd reason. “He never hugged me. Never gave me a goodnight kiss. Never promised to take the monsters away. He hated me. He told me that all the time. That I wasn’t lovable. Rage hugged me when he could. Told me he’d take the monsters away. Sometimes he gave me a goodnight kiss. He was my father.” I wave my hand in front of my face. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Thankfully, I didn’t have to because Ive stepped into the apartment. I don’t know if he’d heard any of what I said, but I forced a smile to my lips and got to my feet.
“How do I look?” I asked.
Ive looked me up and down, and I expected him to ignore my question. He had so many other times.
“You look stunning,” he said. “But it’s missing something.”
I hadn’t realizedIve had his hands hidden behind his back until he suddenly brought them forward. He held a matching pair of shoes to go with the dress. The heel wasn’t too high either.
“They’re lovely.”
“I was also told that they’re comfortable,” he said.
This made me laugh.
He moved toward me and knelt down at my feet. I kicked off mysneakers, and he picked one up, holding it in his palm. “Seriously?”
“Stop it. Yes.” I rolled my eyes and he chuckled.
I slid my foot into the heel and it felt lovely, like it was meant to fit on my foot. Once both shoes were on my feet, Ive stood up andtook my hand.
“How do they feel?”
“Nice,” I said. “Does that make me weird? Are women supposed to like the feel of heels on their feet?”
“I imagine at the beginning of an evening, they love it, but by the end of the evening, they don’t.” Ive tucked my hand against his side. “Come on, our dinner reservations are waiting.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“A brand-new restaurant that I think you’ll enjoy.”
Ive
I heard whatCharlotte said to Hubert. I’d entered the apartment as she began to talk, and what I heard, I didn’t like.
None of what she said came as a shock to me. I’d seen the scars and knew the men we were dealing with. It didn’t mean I had to like any of it. Charlotte had lived her whole life without human affection. Cassie and Rage had done what they could, I saw that now, but neither of them had been in a true position of power. Demon held all the power, no one else. Until we took it from him. Now Charlotte was ours.
We sat in a French restaurant. I liked to have a lot of different businesses. This was part of Ivan’s requests. We dealt in a lot of bad shit, but we also had legitimate businesses. He wanted to be completely different than his father. Ivan had already proven tenfold that he was better than his father.
The Bratva had been contained to one city. To a few men and women, a couple of families. Now we stretched across several cities, and to the Volkov Bratva there were thousands of men and women, soldiers, wives, close associates, business partners. We were untouchable.
I remember when I met Ivan. These had been his plans from the start, and I had thought they were too far-fetched to be real. Ivan made them real. I’d believed in him, even if it had seemed unbelievable. He’d made it possible.
The waiter brought us our menus and excused himself almost immediately.
I couldn’t stop looking at mywife. The blue looked amazing on her.
“How was your day at the spa?” I asked.
She lifted her head and smiled. “It was lovely. You should try it sometime. I did struggle with the massages, though.”
“How is that possible?”