by Faith Gibson
“So far, just spaghetti, stir fry, tacos, and chicken alfredo. I can’t get the hang of fried chicken.”
“It’s one of my specialties. How about we cook that for supper?” Maveryck wanted Natalia in his kitchen. Jenna hadn’t been a great cook, so she’d usually left that duty to Maveryck. He didn’t miss Jenna, and he hadn’t for a long time, but he did miss the domesticity of having a woman to do things with.
“I’d like that.” Natalia smiled up at him from where she was sitting beside Marshall. Maveryck took the seat next to Major, and the four of them ate lunch as if they were a family. Maveryck wanted that. He wanted to see Natalia sitting with him and his boys at every meal.
The doorbell rang, and Major jumped up, running to the front of the house. Mav followed, because all his family had keys and let themselves in without knocking. He looked through the peephole, and his Gryphon growled. Major jumped back. Mav looked down at his son. “Go back into the dining room with Lolly.” Major took off running. He hated he had scared his son, but it couldn’t be helped. The bell rang again, and Maveryck opened the door, pulling up to his full height. It was a struggle to keep his lion from breaking free.
“Jenna, what are you doing here?”
Not caring about the danger she was in, his ex pushed past him into the living room. “I wanted to check on my boys. See how they’re settling in.”
Maveryck got between his ex and the rest of the house. “They’re not your boys. You made that clear. And legal. You don’t get to worry about them. You don’t get to stop by and check on them.”
“I’m still their mother, and I’ll wor— Major?” Jenna tried to step around Mav, but a hand on her bicep stopped her. Mav looked over his shoulder, worried how his son would take seeing his mom. Since neither twin had mentioned their mother, he didn’t know if they missed her or not. Mav had no clue what Jenna told the boys, and that was a conversation they were having before he let her leave.
Major all but ignored Jenna. He only gave her about three seconds before he said, “Can Lolly play with us in our room?”
“Yeah, Buddy. That’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, because then Marshall would have to pass the doorway to get to the steps, but maybe that’s what needed to happen. Major turned and yelled, “Come on, Lolly! Daddo said we get to play!”
Mav kept his tight grip on Jenna’s arm as he waited.
“Maveryck...” Jenna’s eyes narrowed when Natalia, holding hands with both boys walked by. “You got a nanny? That’s good. You’ll need the help. They’re too much—”
“Stop,” Natalia gritted out. The boys immediately froze. Her face softened as she knelt beside them. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t talking to you.” Wrapping her arms around their waists, Natalia softened her voice. “Go on up to you room and pick out what you want to play with. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Okay, Lolly.” Major took off up the steps, but Marshall eyed Jenna over Natalia’s shoulder. He blinked a few times before looking back at his Lollipop.
“Marsh? You okay?” Natalia asked.
He nodded and smiled. “Love you, Tolly.”
Jenna gasped, and when Natalia told Marshall she loved him too, Jenna tried to wrench her arm free. Mav didn’t let go. Not until Marshall was up the stairs and his pretty Princess was inches from Jenna’s face. He should probably have put himself between them, but he was interested in what Natalia had to say.
“Those precious boys are not ‘too much’ anything. Not for their father and not for me. You don’t get to toss them away then come in here spouting bullshit like anything you have to say matters. You were given a gift in those two. There is no excuse good enough for not being the best mother you could be. Nothing and no one should come before them. Yet something did, and I’m telling you one time and one time only – I will be the best because they deserve nothing less.” Natalia was shaking, and Mav was... in love. Not the best time to realize he was in love with his Princess, but there it was.
“Are you...? Is she a...?” Jenna narrowed her eyes. “Does she know what you are?”
Maveryck did step between them at that point, because Natalia knew Mav was a mercenary, but Jenna could be hinting about him being a shifter. This was not how he wanted Natalia to find out. He had to tell her the truth and soon, because he didn’t want there to be secrets between them. Natalia pushed Mav out of the way. Not a small feat considering how much larger he was than her. Hell, Jenna probably outweighed Natalia by thirty pounds, but in that moment, the feisty Russian was larger than life.
“I know all about him. And there’s nothing that could make me walk away from him or the twins. Nothing. Now, I’m going upstairs to play with my sons.” She stepped back and turned to Mav. “Deal with her. Or I will.”
Feisty! And now his cock was twitching again. He and Jenna both watched Natalia stalk off.
“Outside. Now.” Mav opened the front door and not so gently ushered his ex out. “I want answers. I want the truth. All of it, because this is the last time you will come here. You gave up your parental rights to them, which means you gave up the right to see them. Truth, Jenna. Start with why you didn’t tell me you were pregnant. Why you kept them from me for four fucking years. What bullshit excuse you gave them before you dropped them off without so much as a goodbye kiss or mommy loves you. And finish with why they didn’t run to you when they saw you. Speak!” Mav used his shifter voice on her, the one which gave the recipient no choice but to comply. But he couldn’t feel guilty about it, because he didn’t trust her to tell the truth.
Standing completely still, Jenna complied. “You were never home. I thought you were sleeping around on me. Then I found out I was pregnant, and I waited. Waited for you to notice. But you never touched me. Even when I started showing, you didn’t notice. I didn’t want a child to be ignored either. So, I left. I thought you would come after me if you missed me, but you never did. If you didn’t want me, you couldn’t want my child. Children. I didn’t know I was having twins until they were born. Marshall hid behind Major in all the ultrasounds.”
Jenna took a deep breath and continued, still not meeting Mav’s eyes. “I kept waiting on you, but after a while, I knew you weren’t coming for me. So, I got on with my life. Except raising twins is hard when you have no money. Childcare is expensive. What little I made barely put a roof over our heads and food on the table. I met someone. He... he didn’t want kids, but I told him we were a package deal. I tried. I tried so hard to make it work, because having someone help pay the bills had to be better. But he never accepted the boys. Couldn’t because they weren’t his. He convinced me to give them to you.”
“Why didn’t you at least ask for child support? You know me, Jenna. I never would have skirted my responsibilities.”
“Did I? Did I know you? You weren’t there for me in the end. For six months, I waited for you to look at me. Make love to me. See me. You didn’t.”
“Did he hurt them? This man, did he hurt my sons?”
“No. He never laid a hand on them. He ignored them.”
Maveryck was shaking on the inside. He dug his fingernails into his palms, his claws itching to burst forth. “What did you tell them? Before you brought them to me?”
“I…” Jenna cut her eyes to his. She must have seen the fire burning behind his normally blue eyes. He had never seen his own face when he shifted, but he had seen his brothers. The color matched the animal. Golden eyes for the lion, black for the eagle. A strange mixture of the two for the Gryphon.
“I told them I couldn’t handle them anymore. Said they were going to live with their father.”
“Have you told anyone about the Gryphons?”
Jenna looked into his eyes. “No. I swear it.”
“I want pictures. Every single photo you have of them from the time they were born up until you dropped them off. Send them to me. My email address hasn’t changed. After you do that, you will forget they are your sons. Jenna Monroe, you will leave here and never come back. Yo
u will forget all about the Gryphons. Your sons are no longer yours. After you send me the photos, you will forget them. Now go.”
Jenna blinked the fog away and walked down the steps to her car. She drove away without looking back.
Chapter Eighteen
Natalia
Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. Natalia had claimed the boys in front of their mother. She basically insinuated that she and Maveryck were together. He hadn’t stopped her from getting in his ex’s face, but he was probably pissed at her words. She had spoken the truth. Major and Marshall were hers, no matter whether she and Maveryck had a future or not.
When she heard Maveryck ask Jenna what she was doing there, it was all Natalia could do to remain where she was seated. But it wasn’t her place to confront the woman. At least not until she heard the bullshit words coming from Jenna’s mouth, saying they were too much. There was no way she could stand by and let that woman spew garbage, especially when they were within earshot. Nanny, my ass.
Natalia worried about the boys not reacting to their mother. Worried what had been said for them to ignore the woman. To willingly want to spend time with Natalia instead. Was it something as simple as she showed them they were loved? They were precious to her?
When Major returned to the dining room, she watched his little face closely. He didn’t seem traumatized. He wasn’t sad. He was excited they got to go upstairs and play. Maybe she didn’t know enough about how brains of children worked, but she couldn’t imagine being separated from her own mother at that age and not reacting to seeing her again. Major just wanted to play. But Marshall? Maybe his little four-year-old heart understood more than Natalia realized. He ignored his mother and told Natalia he loved her. Had he been giving the woman a big “fuck you?”
All Natalia knew was she hadn’t been lying. She might not be their mother, but she would be the best at whatever Maveryck allowed her to be in their lives. If they never called her “mom,” she was okay with that. She was their Lollipop. Tolly and Lolly. Different titles for different boys. She loved them differently, because they weren’t the same child, but she didn’t love either one of them more than the other. Major, the louder, older boy, was funny. Marshall was quieter and just a little bit sweeter. Natalia had only been around Maveryck and his twin a few hours, but they, too, were different. Like their father and his brother, Major and Marshall were their own person with their own personalities.
“Hey, Daddo! Come play with us,” Major said. Natalia looked over her shoulder, waiting for the disdain. Instead, Maveryck winked at her. He came into the room and lowered himself to sit next to her on the floor where the three of them had been playing with trucks. Maveryck bumped her shoulder with his arm as he reached for one of the toys. Natalia sighed to herself. Maybe she hadn’t screwed up.
Natalia waited for Maveryck to say something to the boys about Jenna, but he never did. He pretended like the shitshow downstairs hadn’t happened. Was that the best way to approach the situation? She didn’t know, but he was their father, and she would follow his lead. They played on the bedroom floor until Natalia’s phone vibrated. When she noticed it was her alarm at home, she opened the app that let her look at her cameras.
“Fu… fudge nuggets!” She jumped to her feet.
“What’s wrong, Tolly?” Marshall asked.
“Uh, nothing. I just have to pee.” As she raced out of the room, she heard Major ask, “What’s a fudge nugget?”
Maveryck said something about little pieces of chocolate. She was digging through one of her bags as Major said he wanted some fudge nuggets. If her world wasn’t bursting into flames, she might have laughed. Her phone rang, the security company calling to tell her what she already knew.
“Princess?” Maveryck asked from behind. “Everything okay?”
She held up her hand. “Hello? Yes, this is she. Yes, I know. I’m on my way.” She disconnected. “I need my keys.”
“You rode with me. Princess, stop a second. What’s going on?”
“My house is on fire. I need to go.”
“No, you need to stay here. It’s not safe. Not with the contract out on you.”
“I’m going, Maveryck. Everything I own… all my weapons… I’m going.”
“I’ll drive you. Let me get my shoes on.”
“Maveryck. You can’t. The boys.”
“Shit.” He brushed a hand down his face. “I’ll call War and Kerrigan. As soon as they get here, I’ll meet you there.” That didn’t explain how she was getting home. Maveryck pulled his phone out of pocket and punched in a number. As he walked away, he was saying, “Hayden, meet me inside. I need you and Kyllian to drive Natalia to her house. It’s on fire.”
Natalia shoved her feet into her shoes and stopped at the boys’ room. “I’m sorry, but I have to go take care of something at home.”
“Are you coming back?” Marshall whispered, his eyes flooding with tears.
Natalia went to him and hugged him close. “As soon as possible.” She didn’t give him a time or make it a promise, because she would never break a promise to these kids if at all possible. “I love you both.” After wiping Marshall’s tears and kissing the top of their heads, Natalia raced down the steps where Maveryck was waiting with his two younger brothers.
“I’m sending Hayden and Kyllian with you. Hayden will drive. This is non-negotiable. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“You ready?” Hayden asked. The younger Lazlo was dressed as he normally was in faded jeans, white T-shirt, his Hounds kutte, and biker boots.
“Yes, let’s go.” She turned to follow, but Maveryck stopped her.
“Princess…” Maveryck kissed her softly. When he stepped back, his eyes were on his brother.
“I’ve got her,” Hayden said. Maveryck nodded and blew out a breath. “Go, I’ll be there soon.”
Natalia followed Hayden out to the garage where Kyllian, dressed identically to Hayden, was holding the passenger side door open. She muttered, “Thank you,” and climbed into the front. Hayden had already started the SUV. As soon as Kyllian’s door was shut, the garage door rolled up, and Hayden maneuvered the large vehicle out of the driveway.
Once they were on the road, Hayden said, “I’m going on record to say you shouldn’t be anywhere close to your house. Having said that, I know better than to argue when a woman gets something in her head. When we get there, I don’t want you running off. You need to stay in the SUV until we know there is no threat.”
“You seriously think whoever did this will hang around?”
“Someone wants you dead, Lollipop. Maveryck didn’t do the job he was hired for, so it’s obvious whoever took the contract out on you is getting impatient. If this is another assassin, they’re going to need you dead to get payment. Since you didn’t come running out of your burning house, they’re probably going to realize you aren’t home. This is probably their way of smoking you out. Literally.”
“Fucking Mikael,” Natalia muttered.
“That bastard needs to die,” Kyllian said from the back seat.
“I know you’re a badass assassin, Lollipop, but say the word, and I’ll take your cousin out,” Hayden said, sounding both proud and pissed off at the same time.
“It doesn’t bother you what I do for a living?”
Hayden grinned at her, looking more like Maveryck in that moment than she’d ever noticed. “Nah. Like I said – badass. I hope when I find my mate, she’s half the woman you are.”
Mate? That wasn’t the first time that term had been used by someone in Maveryck’s family. Kerrigan likened it to animals having mates, possibly since the bikers were Hounds. Natalia looked over at Hayden. He thought she was badass. What did his brother think about her?
Hayden was focused on the road, and when they were taking the exit toward her house, Natalia realized she hadn’t given him directions. They were a family of mercenaries with a niece who was a computer hacker. Maveryck hadn’t said that’s what Lucy was, but it was apparent she
wasn’t merely a programmer working in an IT department somewhere. Not if she’d tracked Natalia down using cameras around town. Natalia had yet to meet Lucy, but if she was anything like the rest of the Lazlos, Natalia would like her. They were what Natalia always imagined families to be. Loving. Loud. All up in each other’s business, but not in the way her father and Mikael had been in hers. Not controlling or stifling.
The Lazlos were mercenaries, but they took down those people in society who hurt others. People like her father. Natalia had never taken a life she felt was redeemable. Those members of the Russian mafia she’d killed when she was younger had been no different than Anatoly. They had an agenda that included making money any way they could. Drugs. Guns. Humans. Natalia grew up hating her family while protecting them. She’d wanted to learn the business so when her father was gone, she could dismantle it from the inside. Maybe he realized that early on, and that was why he didn’t groom her to take his seat. He hadn’t given Natalia a choice in what she did. It was either kill or be killed. He never said those words, but he didn’t have to. It was clear being a Volkov meant she was either loyal to the family, or there was no room for her in it. And one didn’t leave the family alive. That fact was something Mikael was making sure of with the contract on her.
The red and blue flashing lights of all the first responders filled the windshield before they reached her house. It wasn’t hers, since she was renting, but it had been the first place she lived alone. Natalia needed to call the property management company and let them know. She had renter’s insurance, so her things could be replaced. Some of her things. Luckily, she had stuck her mother’s photo in her bag she packed to take to Maveryck’s. It would have broken her heart to lose it. Her guns and ammo should be safe in the fireproof cabinet. Her pistol, however…
