Page 36 of Protective Phlox

“That the hell is going on in here,” Mom said as she rushed into the room. “Dimitri, what the hell are you doing?” She put herself between me and Dad. “Don’t you dare hit him.”

“He’s exactly like you. The boy doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut and does whatever he wants. Look what he brought into the house?”

“It’s a puppy, Dimitri, not a bomb. Give it back to Nate.”

“No, he needs to learn to listen and obey. Mario, take this thing to the pound where it belongs,” Dad said, and I fought the guard holding me.

“No, no, don’t take my puppy. He’s mine,” I screamed, but my dad walked out of the room with the guards, and Mom held me back as I cried.

“I’m so sorry he’s like this. I’m so sorry,” she said, holding me tight.

What I couldn’t figure out was why I’d wasted so much time trying to earn his approval or why it even mattered. I couldn’t remember a birthday he attended, but he always made time for the rest of my siblings. Why did my mother bother to write Love, Mom and Dad when it was only ever her? He missed my graduation from Wayward Academy because he was in Tahiti with his secretary. I knew what he was working on, and it had nothing to do with the businesses.

“Are you okay?”

Savannah’s concerned voice washed over me like a warm bath, and I looked over my shoulder at her standing just inside the gym. I couldn’t have said when she arrived. Marching over to her, I cupped her face and assaulted her mouth with a harsh kiss. Pushing her up against the wall, I was relentless, wanting nothing more than to lose myself in the feel of her.

Grabbing a handful of her dress, I pulled it up. She pulled back from the kiss and gripped my forearms, stopping them from going any further.

“I know you’re hurting, but you can’t fuck all the pain away. Talk to me.”

“I don’t talk about my feelings,” I growled but let go of her dress.

“Well, I think it’s time you learned. You have a son upstairs who needs you to be different from your father.” I sucked in a ragged breath and closed my eyes. Savannah placed her hand over my heart. “Now tell me, are you okay?”

Pushing away from the wall, I wandered over to the bench and sat down. “Yeah, I just…fuck, I just.” I couldn’t find the right words for the fucked-up shit swirling around in my head. “He’s such a fucking prick. I have come so close to killing him so many times, and I don’t know how I’ve stopped myself.”

Savannah walked over and sat down beside me. I watched her as she picked up my hands and stared at my split knuckles before her eyes found mine. “He doesn’t deserve you as his son, or this blood spilled because of him.”

“I know. I’m a fucking adult. You’d think I could ignore his constant jabbing and disapproving remarks.” I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “I’m sorry he treated you like that.”

“Don’t be. This way, I know exactly where I stand. I’d rather that than have him be nice to my face but stab me in the back. Now I know to look over my shoulder.”

I snorted and then smirked. “That is very introspective of you.”

“I know,” she said, her eyes shining. “Has it always been like this between you two, or has it gotten worse?”

“Always the same. He says I’m like my mother as if that’s an insult. He’s called me everything: weak, pathetic, and an idiot. He even said he wished I was never born.”

“Oh my god,” Savannah gasped. “I can’t even imagine.”

“He’s not going to stop. I’ve told him I’ll kill him if he tries to hurt you or come between Cutter and me, but I don’t trust him.”

“Do you want to move? I don’t care if we stay here,” she said, and I rested my head back against the wall.

“I need to speak to Cesare first and get this hit canceled. The man is fucking stupid when it comes to all things Russian. He always thinks we’re out to get him and pops up to annoy us like a bad rash on the ass every couple of years. I’d love to kill the fucker, but he has a seat on the council. How? I don’t know.”

“Okay, so I can explain to him that I didn’t know who he was and….”

“No way, I’m not letting you anywhere near that bag of crazy. I’ll take care of it as soon as the fucker returns my calls. I may have to pay him a visit to get this sorted. In the meantime, we’ll stay here. But as soon as the threat is lifted, we will move out. Hell, I may even move states.”

“But all your businesses are here, and your family. Are you sure you want to do that?”

Wrapping my arm around Savannah, I kissed the top of her head. “We’ll see. I just know that if I stay here, then one day, his blood will be on my hands.”

She was quiet for a long time. We sat there staring at the empty workout equipment, our thoughts and ghosts waltzing together.

“I need to ask you something,” she said, and I knew what was coming. “Is Alex really still alive?”