I didn’t have time to try to decipher her moods. I was going on patrol today, and while that was normally pretty easy, it was a much bigger deal in light of what had happened with the Russians.
When I got out of the shower, Kaley was in the living room with Alexei. She was changing him, and I just made a face.
“I’m out of here,” I said. “Stay in this room. Call my cell if you have issues.”
“Okay,” she said vaguely.
“You all right?”
She blinked at me and smiled. “Yeah. Fine. Go do your thing, papa.”
I laughed and left the room.
She seemed distant and a little odd, but what did that matter? She was going through a lot of shit; that was for sure.
I moved through the halls and met Rafa at our little office.
“Morning, boss,” he said.
“Any news?”
“Nothing new,” he said. “Patrol today?”
I nodded. “Strap on, man. We’re going for a ride.”
He grinned. “Sounds fucking good to me.”
We both put on our Kevlar vests, got our rifles ready, and headed toward the garage.
We spent the day checking out my turf. I controlled a decent section of the city, and it was my job to make sure that the people in that area were well protected.
Nothing went down. Whether that was because we had both hit each other and we were all gathering our forces again or if just nothing happened, I wasn’t sure. It was hard to tell if it was the calm before a storm or simply a calm.
But either way, we rolled around the territory, keeping an eye out for anything strange. I’d been a central player in the war so far, and I knew that the Russians would try to hit me back sooner or later. It was just a matter of time.
And I had to be ready when that happened. I did my best to keep any thoughts of Kaley to a minimum, because I couldn’t afford to be distracted.
True, her lips wrapped around my cock kept coming back to my mind. I couldn’t completely forget about that, not when she was so fucking sexy.
At the end of the day, after sunset, our teams switched out. Rafa and I headed back to the compound while a few other guys went out on patrol overnight. We pulled back into the garage and got out of the truck, slinging our guns over our shoulders.
“Today was a good day,” Rafa said.
“Why?”
“I didn’t have to use my AK.”
I laughed. “Good one.”
He grinned. “What are you doing for the rest of the night, boss?”
I shrugged as we walked side by side back into the main house. “I’m not sure.”
“Come drinking,” he said. “I’m going back into the city with a few of the boys.”
I shook my head. Normally I would have been all over that, since I hadn’t been out drinking with the guys ever since Kaley had shown up. But for some reason I just had no interest in getting hammered, or at least in getting hammered without her.
“Another time,” I said.
“Shit. You’re not going soft on me?”
“Fuck off, Rafa,” I said. “See you tomorrow.”
He headed down a different hallway and I went upstairs, walking back to our room.
Kaley was on my damn mind. Since we were back in safety, it was okay to indulge in a little fantasy. I wondered what she’d let me do to her tonight if I could get Alexei to fall asleep again. If it was half as hot as the night before, then turning down Rafa would be more than worth it.
I pushed open my door and headed inside. “Honey, I’m home,” I called out.
No response.
“Shit, you didn’t leave the room, did you?” I called out.
Still nothing.
Damn girl. I told her not to leave the room, but who knew what had happened while I’d been gone all day? She didn’t call, so I had to assume she was safe.
“I’m coming in,” I called out as I pushed into the bedroom.
It was totally empty. On the bed, there was a piece of paper folded in half. I walked over and snatched it up, reading.
Vince, I’m so sorry to do this. I know you won’t understand, but I had to leave. I had to go back. I hope you can forgive me one day. Love, Kaley.
I stared at the paper and read it over and over again. It just made no fucking sense.
Why would the girl leave? Hell, where would she even go?
She said she went back, which meant she went back to her fucking family, her piece of shit family, the fucking Russians. She ran away as soon as things were getting good, maybe a little dangerous, but fucking good.
I crumpled up the paper and threw it at the wall. I stormed out of the room, rage flowing through my veins. I kicked open the door and headed out into the hallway, walking fast.
I made it up to Lucas’s room in half a minute. I banged on it loudly and waited.
The door opened slowly. “Vince?”
It was Natalie, looking concerned. “Nat, I need to talk to Lucas.”
“He’s not here. Vince, our kids are inside. You can’t bang on the door like that.”
“Shit. Where is he?”
“At his father’s office.”