“The right thing?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’m going to need to know what this right thing is because getting rid of the bad guys, that’s the right thing to do.”
She took a deep breath. “I was thinking that it might be in her best interest if I considered adoption.”
Silence met her suggestion. She tucked some hair behind her ear and felt the tears once again well up in her eyes.
She couldn’t look at him. Just thinking about it made her feel like an utter failure.
“I want you to think about something right now, Belle.”
“I’m a horrible person?”
“No, and don’t even think for a second like that. I don’t want to hear it. I can see the tears in your eyes, hear the pain in your voice. You’re in serious agony just by thinking about giving Ava up. Just imagine what it would be like after a week, a month, a year of not being able to see her.”
“I can’t see her now,” she said, looking him in the eye.
“But you will one day. That’s the point here, Belle. You give her up, you’ll never be able to see her. To watch her smile. To make all her firsts. To hear her talk. To complain about a boy that hasn’t noticed her yet. These are all things you can look forward to and more. So much more. How can you give that right up? You love her.”
“Look at me, Drago. I can’t … my own father wanted her so that he could have someone else to train to enter the ring. He was going to kill me. Unless he’s gone, I’m not going to have a normal life with her.”
“You will.”
“Please, just listen to me.”
“I am listening, Belle. I won’t let any of them think for a second that they’ve got leverage over us. Your father’s going to wish that he never messed with you, and then he’ll wish he never messed with our daughter,” he said.
She looked at him then, taken aback by his words.
“She’s not yours, Drago.”
“I know I’m not her biological father, but she’s part of you. I’ll do anything for you, and seeing the way you love that little girl and how I feel about you, she’s going to be ours. Once all of this is done. Do you really think I’m going to walk away from you? That I’m going to be able to do that?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”
“I promise you, Belle. I give you my fucking vow, whatever it will take. I will protect you. I will keep you and your daughter safe. You’ll both want for nothing. Do you believe me?”
The tears that had been flooding her eyes spilled down her cheeks.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“You don’t need to thank me. You need to realize that you’re not alone anymore. You’re never going to be alone again.”
She threw her arms around him, holding him close. She didn’t want to let him go. He was like a lifeline she didn’t want to give up. Closing her eyes, she let the tears continue to fall as Drago ran his hand up and down her back.
In all of her life, she’d never had anyone that she could rely on. Her father had been a monster, and she was only just seeing the full scope of it now. A complete and total monster who needed to go.
Even if it meant going to prison, she was going to kill him because that was the only way she’d ever be able to sleep at night and know her daughter was safe.
“Now, how about I make us some breakfast?” Drago pulled away. He cupped her cheek, running his thumb across her skin. “No more tears. You’re not alone anymore.”
This man.
What was she going to do with him?
He’d come out of nowhere, and now she didn’t want to give him back. She loved him, and that alone terrified her.
After he wiped away her tears, he ran his thumb across her lips. The hunger in his eyes was clear to see.
“How are you feeling today after last night?” he asked.
“Fine.”
“You’re not sore?”
“No.” That was a lie, but it was a good sore. It was the kind of sore she could live with and certainly wanted to feel again.
****
Hearing Belle considering putting her daughter up for adoption really broke Drago’s heart. Belle was being pushed to her limit, and because of it she was making rash choices. He needed to keep her on the straight and narrow, to make sure she didn’t plummet over the edge. This life had never been for the faint of heart.
He’d learned that early on in life.
For most people, they were happy to pretend the horrors didn’t exist. For others, they wanted the money that came with it. There was only a small percentage of people who hated what was going on in the underground fighting circuit—a very small percentage.