Daddies Brat

My heart fills with happiness only a father can give his daughter and I smile when he wraps his arm around me. “I never knew why your mother always insisted you call me Father.”

He hugs me close and after several more thuds and curses, the room grows silent.

We ease to our feet to find my heavily breathing men standing over Thacker who is bleeding. He’d pulled a knife at some point or someone had. Stefan’s T-shirt is sliced once across the chest and another over his back.

I have a feeling they tried very hard not to kill the man in front of me. But I fear what might happen to him once they clear him out of here and take him back to wherever they do business. Because it was not at their penthouse, for sure.

“I told you, you will not get my code.”

“You little bitch, I’ll kill you,” Thacker snarls around Maksym’s foot on his neck holding him in place.

“Are you okay?” Maksym doesn’t move toward me. I can tell he wants to, but he keeps Thacker pinned to the ground, letting his eyes do all the talking.

I ignore Thacker and nod, offering all three a reassuring smile.

Stefan and Tomas don’t have the same problem as their brother. Both come up and wrap me in their arms. Stefan pulls a phone out and makes a quick call I fear will end with Thacker meeting an untimely death. Do I get in the middle of it? Would they even listen to me if I did?

“Don’t hurt him.”

My words go unnoticed. “We need to talk.” By the look on his face I know I’m in trouble, but despite the anger I see, Tomas nuzzles my neck and murmurs, “Thank God you’re safe. I would have killed the fucker with my bare hands had he harmed you. I never want you to see that side of us.”

Fifteen minutes later I’m relieved to find it was the police they called.

“We are not total monsters,” Maksym says as if he can read my mind. He strokes a thumb down my cheek as the police haul a snarling Thacker out of my father’s house in handcuffs. “But if he tries to harm you again, he’ll see a different side of us. I’ll promise you that.” I feel the truth to his words and see it staring back at me through those dark eyes. His hands slide up my arms and I fall into his embrace feeling relieved and a bit scared for any other person who dares to try and hurt me.Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.

I sink into the chair I once loved. It seems tainted now and the loss of the love I have for this place, this chair, stings.

Tomas and Stefan speak with a detective who looks like he’s about ready to piss his pants. He nods, and steals a couple of looks my way before ducking out of the room. That said a lot about how deep their connections run.

“Why the hell did you put yourself in this kind of danger? Why did you leave the safety of our penthouse? For a fucking computer? Why the hell do you even care about this code so much?” Stefan drags a hand down his face. I can tell he is frightened of the danger I was in so I try not to lash out. I take a calming breath and brace myself for the raging storm coming my way.

Both he and Tomas stalk deeper into my father’s office and the anger dripping from Stefan’s words can only be outdone by the hurt in his eyes.

Glass and paper crunch underfoot as they both halt in front of me.

I blink back the tears and shove to my feet. “I care so much about this damn code because I made a promise.” I cross my arms and don’t bother holding back my anger either. He wants to play hardball, well so can I.

He rakes his hands through his hair and groans with the same level of frustration I feel. It’s not like I was doing anything wrong in the first place.

“To what? Get yourself killed?”

“My God!” Stefan growls so low I almost take a step back. “Do you know what that would do to us?”

I shove away my tears and force my rattled heart back together long enough to get my next words out. “To. My. Brother. It was the last thing he asked of me and I will see it through even if it kills me. I will finish his code and help save people’s lives or at the very least help those afflicted by this wretched disease. Before he passed, my brother made me promise I would finish the code and see to it that some kind of good was done with all the money. I keep my promises.”

Their mouths are fine lines of anger and their dark eyes become impossible to read.

And just like that, the storm breaks, and their anger crumbles away, and my men scoop me up, wrap me in their strength, and let me cry out my frustrations.

“I didn’t realize my childhood home would be dangerous,” I mouth against Tomas’ neck. He tilts my chin up and wipes at my tears. “How did you know I was in trouble?”

“Don’t cry, malyshka. You’re killing us.”

Stefan takes my shaking hand in his. “You don’t get as far in this game as we do without knowing and following gut instinct. We saw you get in a taxi and tried your cell. When we found it in the bathroom, we tried your father and when no one picked up, we headed straight here. We must have been five minutes behind your taxi.”

“And all that aside, we know you and knew you were having coding withdrawals because of us.” Maksym strokes a thumb down my cheek and I lean into the touch. I can’t help it.

Pressed between my men, I turn to see my father by the office door beaming at me with an odd smile on his face.

“Dad, I can explain,” I start with no real words backing up my claim. This is probably the last thing a father wants to hear from his daughter. That she’s in love with three mafia men at once and wants them all more than life.

“You don’t have to say a word. It’s in your eyes.”

“Gentlemen,” all sweetness evaporates from my dad’s voice. “Care for her. She’s a sweet treasure you’ll never find again.”

My father leaves, closing the door behind him.

“Yes, she is,” they say and I feel content. Happy that I found my forever even if I wasn’t trying.

“Take me home. I think we have a lot to discuss.”

Tomas swings me up for a kiss and Stefan steals me away for one of his own before Maksym does the same. I wrap my arms around his neck and rest my forehead on his. “Thank you,” I whisper.

His chest rises and falls with a deep breath. “For what?”

“For keeping your promise and giving me something to live for outside of a computer screen and pain. For saving me.”

The smile he gives me feeds the warmth growing in me. “We should thank you. All we ever did was eat, sleep and breathe guns and bullets. We wanted more out of life and didn’t realize it until we saw your sweet face looking back at us. Besides, I haven’t truly kept my promise. Not yet.”

I can’t wait to find out what he means by that.

He places a tender kiss on my parted lips and I know it’s another promise of something much deeper to come.

He tightens his hold and I feel safe, loved, and desired by the men I love most in this world.

I wrap my legs around Maksym’s waist as Stefan and Tomas lead us down the back stairwell and we slip away quietly.

This is my new life. I’ll finish my code and probably start a new project right after that. I don’t ever see myself not working on one thing or another, but I also have them for however long we are gifted for and all the love I can handle and then some.

A little over seventy-two hours ago I wanted nothing to do with them or convinced myself of that lie anyway. I pretended to be content behind my screen clacking away at my keys and hiding behind my sorrow.

I see that now.

A little bit of love can go a long way in healing a wounded heart, and I know I’ll be okay with them at my side.

I have what I need now. Love, a home to build, and maybe, just maybe, a family because life is nothing but an empty box without all three.