Page 81 of Marked By the Devil

We’d all moved out over the years and had our own properties, but none of us were too far from this headquarters. Taking advantage of the quiet morning and being here at “home”, I went to visit my father.

I didn’t come by often, because I had a hunch that if my father were alive and lucid, he’d harp on me to not linger. Not to dwell on the wait for him to die. He was a man of action, and I had a strong suspicion that was why he hid his cancer diagnosis from us all. He hadn’t wanted to be coddled or anything like that. Dmitri Volkov was a man who’d lived all his life to the last possible second.

I sat in the chair next to his bed and sighed.

“Not living life to the last possible second now, are you?” I asked wryly.

I leaned over, resting my elbows on my knees, and clasped my hands together. He could go any day now, and I had to trust that was for the best. To put him out of misery. The only reason we kept him as stable as possible in this coma was because it was his order, his words in his living will.

“I’m determined to, though. I’ll live for you.” I sighed, shaking my head at how much he’d shrunken, how his life was already leaving him.

“And I’ve got someone to live with, Father.” I smiled crookedly, imagining Wren waking up in the guest room soon. “Let me tell you this. She’s a keeper.”

Beeps sounded from his vitals monitor. Nothing more.

He wouldn’t be lucid again, but it didn’t stop me from talking on and on.

“She’s smart. Sharp. So damn sweet, with a good heart. Now I know you’d think I’m crazy, and I am—crazy about her—but get this. She was a federal agent. I kidnapped her when someone tried to kill Adrik.” I held my hand up, getting more animated than this called for, as if he was engaged in a conversation with me. “He’s fine. He’s fine. Of course you know he’s fine. He visits you often. Sorry, I’ll try better. I know you’d rather I stay busy instead. But anyway. Wren. My Red.” I sighed and sat back. “She was an agent and I caught her. But once I realized how much she could know, I couldn’t release her. Right?” I huffed a laugh.

More beeps sounded on the monitor panel, indicating it was capturing his blood pressure for his dying heart.

“I couldn’t let her go until we could get more answers out of her. But in the process, I got so… so…” I looked off to the side of the room, smiling and shaking my head. “So addicted. She looked at me like I was the devil himself, but she was this angel I couldn’t let go of. And she is. Angelic, that is.”

I shifted on the chair. “She wants to always make the world a better place. Always wants to take out the bad guys, which is what we’re doing now. We’re doing our best to stop Gregori. I know how you feel about that. But don’t worry. We’re a team. We’re working together. Even Adrik and Alexei.” I smirked at how the two oldest would always butt heads.

“And I’m glad to be able to add Wren to the team. She’s already been on our team, but I can’t wait until she’s really committed. Fully in and sworn in like the rest of the family.”

I watched him a little longer, knowing that he would always look over us, wherever his spirit would reside. He’d raised us the best he could, and now in the present, we had to make the most of what we could with what he’d taught us. To defeat his brother and to ensure our legacy would stay strong for the next generation.

I slapped my hands on my knees and got up to go. It used to break my heart to leave this room, but the closer he came to taking his last breath, I made more peace with it. There was no chance to save him, and once that was realized, all there was left to do was carry his wishes forward and keep the family strong.

Before I returned to the guest room, I headed downstairs and grabbed a tray for coffee and a light breakfast for Wren. On the chance that she might be awake by the time I got to her room, I wanted to be prepared.

Red, this is what it means to be pampered.

Brace yourself.

I smiled as I carried the tray to the room.

She wasn’t only awake, but also just coming back to bed from the attached bathroom. Turning to face me, she smiled tentatively. “Hey. Did everything end up as well as it seemed to last night?” Climbing back onto the bed, she yawned widely. “Oh! Is that for me?” She perked at the tray in my hands.

I set it on the nightstand and sat next to her, perched on the edge of the bed. “Yes, and yes.” I took her hand, glad that she seemed more relaxed than she had last night. Hell, we all were. “Everything turned out well last night. Thanks to you.”

I leaned in to kiss her tenderly, savoring the warmth of her soft lips.

“No one was killed.” Other than the perps and contractors we ran into on the way.

She nodded, happy.

“No businesses were ruined.”

She smiled more.

“And your idea worked brilliantly.”

“Well, it’s not like I did it alone. Trojan and Elena were there too.” She cleared her throat. “Like a team.”

I looked down at her hand, imagining a ring on her finger to symbolize how she and I could be a team on our own. The two of us. Among the others.