I made a snack for Luca when he came home from school, and we sat together at the kitchen table doing his math homework. Math was his worst subject, while reading was his greatest, but since engineering was completely based on math, it was my strongest talent. I walked through the steps and did the best I could to teach him—not do it for him.

He was halfway done with the sheet when he lost interest. “Can I watch TV now?”

“Are you done with your homework?”

“No…”

“Then, no.” I liked being a father to Luca because he was a great kid who took after his mother. He had so many of her features, and that made me love him the second I laid eyes on him. His heart was just like hers, strong and full of forgiveness. But times like these, when I had to discipline him and be the bad guy, weren’t the moments I loved the most.

He rolled his eyes.

“Luca.” I gave him my stern tone. “Don’t roll your eyes at me.”

“We’ve been at it for an hour.”

“And we would be done by now if you concentrated. The sooner we’re finished, the sooner we can do something else. Trust me, I don’t want to do this either. Now, try again.” I pressed my finger against the sheet, hitting the problem that he needed to start. “Think about everything we went over. You should be able to do this one.”

Luca didn’t roll his eyes again, but he sighed loudly. “Whatever…” He started working out the problem with his pencil.

I watched his work, pleased that he was doing it right. When I gave him some tough love, he got his act together and concentrated. Fortunately, I’ve never had to discipline him for anything worse because he was a good kid. All Mia had to do was whistle twice, and he got his act together.

She was a good mom.

And that made being a stepfather a lot easier, especially since I hadn’t known anything about kids until Luca came into my life.

The sound of the opening garage reached my ears, and I knew it was Mia. She’d gone to the grocery store to pick up a few things, and I picked up Luca from school.

“Keep working on that while I help your mom unload the car.”

“Alright.” His pencil kept scratching away.

I went outside and watched Mia open the back end of the SUV. “Hey, sweetheart.” My chest filled with happiness any time I saw her. Even though I’d seen her that morning, it seemed like it’d been a lifetime.

Her eyes mirrored mine. “Back at you.”

My arms circled her waist, and I kissed her in the garage, kissing her hard because our son was inside and couldn’t see us. I backed her up against the bumper and dug my hands into her hair.

She kissed me back with the same desire, wanting more now from her husband than she did when I was just her love. Her diamond ring was on her left hand where it always stayed. I never took mine off either. “You missed me or what?” she said against my mouth.

I pressed my erection against her stomach. “You can’t tell?”

She chuckled. “Oh yes, I can tell.”

“Mom?”

I broke apart from her right away, embarrassed Luca had caught us in the act.

His voice came from the front of the car, so he probably hadn’t caught the details of our embrace. “Did you get me those candies I like?” He came around the bumper, seemingly oblivious to what was just happening.

I grabbed two of the grocery bags and pretended nothing had transpired in the first place.

“Depends,” she said. “Is your homework done?”

Luca dropped his head in sadness. “Mom!”

“Finish your homework, and I’ll give them to you. But I also got you another treat.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “Because I know you’ve been working so hard to bring up your math grade, and I’m proud of you for not giving up.”

Luca lifted his head again. “What is it?”

“You’ll have to wait and see. Show me your homework when you’re finished.”

“Alright!” Luca ran back into the house.

I turned back to Mia. “You’re so good with him.”

“He’s a sweetheart, so it’s pretty easy.”

“I think he’s a sweetheart because you’re a sweetheart.” I gave her a quick kiss on the mouth then walked away.

I was in my office when Luca came inside. “Dad?”

“Hmm?” I looked up from the schematic I was examining, the dimensions of the new car we were sending to the factories.

Luca stood in the doorway. “Mom says dinner is ready.”

I’d gotten used to hearing him call me dad, but it still filled my heart with warmth every time he said it. I’d grown to love that little boy like he’d always been mine, like that other asshole had never existed in the first place. Sometimes I felt bad for the guy…because he missed out on the most amazing kid in the world. “I’ll be right down, little man.”

“Alright.” Luca shut the door and left, running down the hallway to the stairs.

I turned back to my paperwork to make my final notes.

Then my phone began to ring.

It was the last name I expected to see on the screen, the very last person in the world I was thinking about. I pictured his blue eyes, stern features, and the Russian accent that emerged from that harsh mouth before he even spoke.

Egor.

Frozen to the spot, I didn’t know what to do.

It kept ringing.

Why would he call me after all this time? Mia had been mine for over a year now. Was he still thinking about her? Did he spot her in town somewhere? Or did he want to discuss something else entirely?

I wanted to ignore the call, but I would be haunted by curiosity. I’d rather face him and know what he wanted than wonder if my family was in trouble. I cleared my throat and took the call. “Long time, no speak.” I kept it casual, like I still had nothing to hide from this man.

“Too long.”

I waited in silence over the phone, waiting to see what he wanted without giving myself away. I had to be casual, indifferent. After all, I had nothing to hide…at least, that was how we’d left it.

When I didn’t speak again, he did. “I wanted to catch up, Carter. How have you been?”

The strangeness of the conversation told me my worst fear had come true. There was no other explanation for his random call. When we spoke before, he always got straight to the point because he was a busy man. “Busy. You?”

He chuckled. “Yes, I know you’ve been busy, Carter. You’ve been busy being a father and a husband.”

Fuck.

I didn’t say a single word because there was nothing I could say to help myself. It would only make it worse.

“Luca is a cute boy.”

My hand immediately tightened into a fist at the mention of my son, the boy who was off-limits.

“Doing pretty well in school…except math. Doesn’t take after you, I guess.”

My pulse was so loud in my temples, I couldn’t hear my own breathing. My eyes moved to the window, as if I expected twenty pairs of headlights to break down the gate at the front of my property.

“And your wife…exquisite as always. I would know…since I’ve fucked her so many times.”

I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw, furious and heartbroken by the comment. I didn’t care that Mia had been with other men—but I cared that she’d been fucked by another man against her will. I should have killed Egor when he least expected me. I should have put him in the ground so this conversation wouldn’t be happening now.

“Carter, I’m disappointed in you. I had such a high opinion of you…but now I know you’re just a thief.”

I tried to think of a plan. The first thing I would do was contact my father and uncle. Griffin would be next. I would need to organize as many men as I could if I hoped to match Egor as an opponent. I wasn’t letting this man hurt my family—not again.

“Have you nothing to say?”

I couldn’t hold my silence forever. “I’m willing to settle this like a man.”

“Really?” he asked. “Good. I was hoping you would say that. If you’re an honorable man, you will return the stolen good—along with the boy.”

Over my dead body. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll buy her from you.”

“How can you buy something from me when I don’t have it?” he countered. “And we both know that’s not what I want.”

“A hundred million,” I offered. “And we’re even.”

“Oh, we’ll never be even, Carter. I expect you to pay a fee for your actions—in addition to giving her back to me.”

Never. “Egor, that’s not gonna happen. You know that.” I would rather die than let him take my wife and son. I would take a bullet in the heart to spare them. “I say we find another compromise.”

“Carter…be very careful.”

A stretch of tense silence ensued. His threat was audible, but I had no idea what it meant.

“This is your last chance. Give Mia back to me, along with her son. Or there will be consequences you can’t afford to suffer. Trust me on that…”

The fact that he wouldn’t tell me specifically what it was terrified me, but there was nothing more terrifying than giving up my family. “I don’t want to fight you, Egor. I want to settle this. But I’m not going to—”

“That is your final decision?”

Fuck.

“Carter?”

“Yes…it’s my final decision.”

“I figured it would be. Alright, then. Let me tell you a little story…”

I wished I had another phone to call my father and relay all this to him.

“I’m sitting in the back seat of a black car. I’m in Florence. There’s this beautiful woman walking down the street, brown hair, green eyes…gorgeous figure.”

No.

“If you won’t give me Mia, then I’ll take something else—your sister.”

“You fucking piece of—”

“Goodbye, Carter. When I fuck her, I’ll think of you.” Click.

I dropped the phone as I launched to my feet. I snatched it back off the desk and pulled up my father’s number. My hands were shaking so much that I nearly dropped it again. I finally got the phone to start ringing and placed it against my ear. “Pick up!”

It rang twice before my father answered. “Son—”

“Egor is going after Carmen right now. He’s in Florence. She’s walking. He sees her. We’ve got to do something.” Words tumbled out of my mouth like vomit. I probably didn’t make any sense over the phone.

But my father got it. “I’m leaving now. Stand outside your front gate. Crow and I will pick you up on the way.”

“Hurry.”

Click.