Dangerous Beauty: Part Three: This is War (67 page)

They all chuckled.

“Hi again, little Aleks,” Robert replied before he gave Nathan a nod. “How are you, Nathan?”

Nathan walked over to the counter and sat Aleksandr down in front of him. “I’m well. How are you? How’s your trip going?”

“It’s going well. I’m actually headed to London tomorrow.”

Nathan nodded. Carter had told him that Robert had found the country—Nigeria—where he and his brother were taken from. He was happy that Robert was finally seeking some answers about his past.

“Why London?” Nathan asked.

Robert smiled. “I found some family members that I’m interested in looking in on—”

“His mother!” Carter blurted out, bursting with excitement. “It was his mother, he found his mother.”

Robert chuckled softly, and Carter bit her bottom lip. “Sorry, Daddy,” she muttered sheepishly. “I’m excited, is all. I told him he should meet her, but he just wants to
stalk
her. She was only
sixteen
when she had them. She’s about 68 or 69 now, and she lives in London.”

“That about covers it, baby girl,” Robert said in amusement. “She just couldn’t help herself.”

Nathan chuckled. “She’s an information junkie. She loves learning something new, and can’t wait to share it when she does.”

Carter rolled her eyes when Robert voiced his agreement. Suddenly, he sighed. “All right, I have to say ’bye now. I have a flight to catch.”

Nathan saw the sad expression flash across Carter’s face before she quickly perked up. He always hated to watch her end the calls with her father. He only contacted her twice a week, once over the phone, and once where she could see him like this, but Nathan knew Carter wanted more. She missed him. He already could see her fighting to keep her emotion in check.

She sighed. “Okay, Daddy.”

Her father gave her a stern look. “Carter, please don’t—”

Carter waved her hand in the air. “I won’t, I won’t. But if you keep talking I will, so please, Daddy.” She quickly brought Maksim around to the front of the camera with his brother. “Okay, boys, say night-night to Grandpa.”

Aleksandr leaned toward the camera with a wide, toothy grin. “Night-night, Gam-pa. Ove you, Gam-pa …”

“Good night, Aleksandr. I love you as well.”

His brother whined and tried to lean forward to see his grandfather, too. “No, Sandr,” he whined. “I night-night, Gam-pa.”

Nathan reached forward and scooted Aleksandr back some. “All right, Aleksandr, give your brother a chance to say goodnight.”

Aleksandr laughed and turned to jump in Nathan’s arms. He caught him, but quickly reprimanded him for jumping off the counter.

Maksim leaned in front of the camera and whispered, “Sleep, Gam-pa. Night-night, I ove you, too.”

“I love you as well, Maksim. Sleep well, little one.”

“Have a good trip, Robert,” Nathan said. “Stay safe.”

Robert nodded. “I will. You, too, Nathan. And take good care of them.”

“Always,” Nathan promised.

After saying goodnight to Robert, Nathan took the boys with him upstairs to give Carter some time alone with her father. They sat on the bed with their toys while he went in the closet to change into something more comfortable before they headed back down to dinner. When they made it back down Carter was all smiles and waiting for them to join her at the table for their meal.

~*~

Later that night after dinner, Carter left the boys with their father, knowing they’d be watching classic football on ESPN after they ate dessert. When they went into the living room, she quickly went about cleaning up the dishes from dinner and putting away the leftovers.

After the kitchen was tidy, she peeked in on the boys and Nathan and smiled. Maksim was on Nathan’s lap, leaning back against his chest looking as if he were about to fall asleep. Aleksandr was lying back on the couch, resting his feet on Nathan’s lap with his brows furrowed in a serious expression as he watched the television, and twisted the curls in his hair with his little fingers.

Carter took the time to go upstairs and have some
‘me time’
in her favorite tub. When she finished, she went about her nightly routine, then laid in bed with her tablet looking over her work schedule. She knew Nathan would be putting the boys to bed soon, so this was the perfect time for her to get a little work done while she waited for him to come to bed.

It wasn’t easy having such important roles in two very different organizations, but Carter was … Well, she was Carter. She’d never been one for tooting her own horn, but
fuck
the haters, she was a badass motherfucker. A beast. A fucking genius.

Learning the ropes of the French Mafia—which was referred to as
Unione Corse
—
had been an eye opening experience. It was insanely different from the Italian Mafia.
Mum’s the word in France.
Everything
was a secret. There were no rumors or allegations, because everything existed only in the underworld. Outsiders were not allowed in the tightknit, organized crime community in France. Law enforcement had tried to infiltrate the secret society countless times, but they’d failed every single time. There were no snitches in
Unione Corse
, and there were no competing families. It was actually the strong bond with each family that ensured their protection, it ensured their loyalty to one another. It was incredible. Carter had only been learning the way of this lifestyle with her mother for a year in a half, but she was catching on effortlessly. Somehow her mother and father had groomed her for this lifestyle without her even knowing it. She was more than ready to take over for her mother … as long as she remained available after she retired. Just in case Carter had any questions for her in the future.

The bedroom door opening took Carter’s attention from her schedule. Nathan walked into their bedroom quickly and darted straight for the bathroom.

Carter’s brows furrowed and a smile pulled at her lips.
What on earth …
Not too long after his speedy entrance into the room, Carter heard the sink running.

“Everything all right, honey?” she asked.

The water went off, and a few seconds later, Nathan came walking out of the bathroom. He had removed his sweats and T-shirt, and now he wore only a pair of light blue boxers.

Carter sighed. Nathan was so damn gorgeous.

“Aleksandr made me jump through hoops before he finally fell asleep.” He fell back on the bed and rested his head in her lap.

Carter smiled and sat her tablet on her side table. “Did he?” she asked, gently running her fingers through his hair.

“When I put Maksim in his crib he got right under his blanket and went to sleep, just like he always does. Usually Aleksandr falls asleep after a few animal crackers and warm milk, but tonight he cried every time I put him in his crib. I had to walk around with him until he fell asleep. Even then it took me a long time to pull my shirt out of his little death grip without waking him.”

“Did you feel his forehead? He could be getting sick. You know how they get when they have a cold.”

Both twins were the same when they got sick. They would cling to their parents, refusing to be anywhere without them. Carter hated to see her babies sick, but even with runny noses they were
so
cute. They were extremely cuddly whenever they had a cold. Their little noses would be all red, and their big, innocent eyes all teary. They were just so perfect.

“Damn,” Nathan sighed. “He did feel a little warm when I kissed his forehead, but I’m not sure if that was because he’s getting a cold, or because he had his head on my shoulder too long.”

Carter nodded. “Well, he was fine when we went swimming earlier today. We’ll just see how the night goes. If they’re sick, they’ll wake up tonight.” It was never just one of them sick, it was always the both of them at the same time.

“They told me about their day. I’m glad you all enjoyed yourselves.”

“It was fun,” Carter said with a smile. “How was the rest of your day?”

Since they spent most of the evening every night with the boys, when they were in bed was the only time they got to talk about their days with each other.

“Other than that run-in with Niko, my day went well.” A frown fell over his face at the memory of it. “It took everything in me not to kill him for talking to you the way he did.”

Carter leaned forward and kissed his lips. “I know, bubby,” she whispered. “But that’s just the way things go for me sometimes. Men always assume they can talk to me anyway they like until I show them otherwise.”

“How often does that happen, Carterina?” He sat up and faced her. “And why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you can’t fight all of my battles, honey. This lifestyle is not kind to women who are active in it. It takes us a lot longer to earn respect, and even after we earn respect we are still tested.”

He shook his head. “I’m not okay with that. I wish you would tell me these things so that I can handle it.”

Carter sighed and sat back against the headboard of the bed. “Me running to you for something like that would only make me look weak, Nathan. This is just something women have to go through in every lifestyle. My mother had to endure much worse, and look at her now. No man or woman would dare disrespect her because they know the consequences are not worth it.”

Nathan’s jaw ticked with annoyance. “Your mother had to do it alone because she had no one that would stand up for her, Carterina. I can make this stop. Why the hell is it always so hard for you to just let me?”

“Nathan, there are times when I need you to speak up for me, and there are times when I don’t. Today, dealing with Niko, I needed you, and you were there for me. I would have just cut out his tongue, but Mickey held me back, and you came in and handled the situation the way it was supposed to be handled. I am grateful for that, and I’m grateful for you, but you have to realize that I will never be the woman that runs to you crying every time someone hurts my feelings. You know I’m not wired that way. If someone pisses me off, I handle it. Right after its handle, I let the shit go. I don’t tell you because there’s no reason to. If an idiot disrespects me, they get fucked up. Honestly, it’s always been that simple for me.”

“Carterina—”

Carter shook her head, poking her lips out in a pout. “No, bubby,” she whined and slipped her arms around his neck. “I don’t want to argue about this. I’m sorry that I’m so frustrating. I’m crazy, I know this, but it’s true. I’m capable of defending myself.” She sighed, deciding that she should give him an example. “Once, a Jersey mob boss that invaded Salerno territory called me ‘
the
Salerno’s sexy black bitch’
, then he turned it up a notch by grabbing my ass. I beat him with a baseball bat that he’d had framed because it was signed by Derek Jeter.”

Nathan laughed. He pulled her to straddle his lap, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “So I guess you don’t need me, huh?”

Carter gave him a soft kiss on his lips. “Of course I do. You’re my husband, Nathan. There will always be times when I need you. I just want you to trust me to know when those times are. Trust that I won’t hesitate to tell you if I’m in trouble, if I need your help.”

Nathan nodded. “I trust you. And I love you, too.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“I know, you know.” He smirked. “Just like you know that I’m going to find that Jersey mob boss, chop off the hand that touched your ass, and cut out the tongue that aided him in calling you a bitch.”

Carter nodded. “I know that as well, yes,” she laughed. She gave him a kiss, then gazed into his eyes. “You’re a good husband, Nathan. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better husband, a better father for my babies.” She pushed a strand of hair back from his face. “I feel very … blessed.” Carter had never been a religious person, but this had to be God’s love for her, right? Nathan, and the twins; her life, her family, both were just too good to be true.

Smiling, Nathan rested his forehead against hers. After kissing her lightly on the lips he laid back on the bed. Carter rested comfortably on top of him while he ran his hand up and down her back. She loved nights like this, when they weren’t so tired that they’d just pass out. She loved spending time with Nathan, just her and him. They never even had to say a word to each other. It was always enough just being in a room with him, being held by him. He made her feel safe, like nothing could hurt her when she was in his arms. He was her superhero.

My Super-Man
, she thought as she placed a kiss on his chest. “I’m starting to get more and more excited about our week vacation coming up, bubby. I’m going to miss the boys when they go away with your dad, but I am happy that you and I are going to have some time for just us. I miss having you all to myself.”

He brought her in for a kiss. “Me, too,” whispered. “Who knows, maybe baby number three will be conceived while we’re away.”

Carter saw the hopeful gleam in his eyes and smiled, even as her brows furrowed in confusion. “You want another baby? Already?”

He chuckled. “Why wait? The boys are almost two …”