Page 30 of Climbing Everest

Kato

A fter leaving the kitchen, I end up pacing the hallway, intending on going into the office to get some shit done.

But now that my cheek is throbbing and my anger is boiling to the point of overflowing, I take a sharp turn and jog down the stairs. I need to work off some of this energy before I do something we’ll all regret.

Wearing nothing but my sweats, I don’t bother wrapping my knuckles before I go to town, pummeling the heavy bag hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the massive home gym.

My dad used this space for less savory activities, like the fucking orgies he used to throw with paid – and sometimes trafficked – whores who entertained his allies or clients.

That was one of the first things I did when I took over, completely gutted this place in hopes of clearing the bad mojo from the space. Over the past four years, I not only changed the house, but the business, as well. Anyone caught dabbling in the skin trade in my territory met with my wrath.

That wrath used to be in the form of Maddox and his twisted sense of justice.

I can admit he looks…happier. There’s life in his eyes again, where he seemed as though he’d been walking around soulless before we tracked Everest down and brought her home.

This is her home. We are her home.

Yet she just threatened to walk away. Again.

Only this time, it would be on her terms. Not because she’d been scared to return, not because she feared what would happen to all four of us, but because I refused to risk everything I have built and everyone who trusts me for one Russian asshole.

She’s Russian, too, dumbass.

Fuck. I’ve already put so many things into motion.

I have no idea whether it’s too late to reel this shit in.

I’ve already slapped down over a hundred grand between the wedding coordinator and the location.

Then there’s the cost of the dress and all the other bullshit that goes into the type of wedding I planned.

The wedding I’d planned to punish her, to force her father to watch as I married his precious daughter.

The wedding that could very well end up being a massacre if I don’t get this shit under control and planned out better.

I will marry Everest. She will take my last name. She will give me an heir.

Shit. I had Nick remove her birth control implant, and she has no idea. Just like she has no idea she’ll never be able to vanish from my life again thanks to the tracker under her skin.

If she gets knocked up, she’ll probably end up hating me. It’s a price I’m more than willing to pay to finally get the family that was stolen from me.

A stair creaks, and then I feel more than see Everest approaching as though her anger is a physical beast preparing to attack.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she bites out.

I glance in the mirror hanging on the wall. She’s not within touching distance. She’s got her arms crossed over her chest, her hip popped out, and her dark brows are tightly knitted together.

Fuck, she’s stunning. Even full of rage like she is now, she’s the most beautiful creature on this entire fucking planet.

Turning my back on the bag, I suck in deep breaths of air as sweat beads along my forehead and glistens on my exposed torso.

“Be more specific,” I taunt her.

“You were actually starting to be nice to me. What happened between last night and this morning?”

“The fact you expect us to risk our lives, or the lives of my men to rescue one piece of shit Bratva member doesn’t seem a bit of an ask?”

Her head jerks back and she gapes at me.

“That piece of shit Bratva member is the only reason I’m alive and standing here.

Unless, of course, everything you said yesterday was bullshit and you still think I’m lying.

Do you still believe the bullshit my father fed you, or do you believe me, K?

Because I’m not going through life with you if you’re going to do this hot and cold shit nonstop. ”

“Again, you don’t have a choice. You can try to leave, but my men will stop you.

And, if you somehow manage to make it off the property, I’ll track you down and drag you right back here.

I’m not sure how to make this clearer for you – you are my wife .

You will legally be my wife in a month. Is there something confusing about that? ”

Now her nostrils flare as her rage builds and builds and her cheeks turn pink. Again, I find her so fucking irresistible. Pretty sure she’d try to bury her knee in my balls again if I crossed the room and took her hard and fast on the floor until we both got all this shit out of our system.

“You know what? Fuck you, K. I won’t marry you. You can’t force me to.”

“No?”

“No,” she says, dropping her arms to her sides and balling her fists. “What are you going to do? Drag me to the altar? Tie me to a chair? I can still say no.”

“I can always doctor the documents. How do you know I haven’t already? As far as you know, we could already be legally married.” Eh. Total bullshit.

Not that I haven’t thought about it.

A few times.

If we were legally married, everything I own would be hers. If something were to happen to me, she would still be taken care of.

I love her. Motherfucker, I love her.

So why the fuck can’t I keep from stirring a hornet’s nest? Or maybe it’s more like poking the bear, because she sure as hell looks as though she’s ready to go toe to toe with me, like she’s ready to lunge at me and tear my head off with her bare hands.

When she storms toward me, I instinctively squeeze my legs together and cup a hand over my junk. She can slap me or punch me all she wants, but I learned the hard way the kind of power she has behind her legs. I’m pretty sure my balls are bruised.

“I’m not doing this, K. I will not allow you or any other asshole to treat me like shit.”

I take a step closer, until I’m looking down my nose at her. “Unless they’re paying you?”

This time, I’m prepared when she raises her hand to slap me. I catch her wrist and hold it tight, using her forward momentum to drag her closer until she’s pressed flush against my body.

Tendrils of hair lift with her heavy panting as she glares into my face. “What happened to you? Where did my Kato go?” she whispers, but there’s no softness to the tone.

“What happened? You really need to ask that? I lost my child. I lost my wife. I killed my own father to protect you.” The words come out in a growl as all that anger from the past bubbles to the surface.

I’m fucking this up. I’m fucking it all up. I’m fully aware of that. Yet I can’t stop my fucking lips from moving, can’t stop the words pouring from my mouth.

“I lost my child, too!” she screams, attempting to yank from my grasp. “I almost fucking died to protect you, to protect the three of you.”

“He already knew it was us,” I say, glancing down at where the skimpy sleep tank barely covers her tattooed and scarred skin.

“I didn’t know that, asshole. I thought…

I was terrified that if I told him, he would have you all killed.

Then I would have lost everything. I was prepared to die that night, prepared to die for you three and all I kept thinking the whole time was I hoped you could forgive me for not fighting harder to protect our baby.

I kept praying you three would grieve my death then move on, fall in love, have families.

And the whole time…” She sniffles. “Even now , you fucking hate me for something I couldn’t control. ”

Tears well in her eyes then stream over her lashes and down her cheeks.

I’m pretty sure a knee to the balls would hurt less than the way I feel right now. Her words are like a physical strike, like someone shoved a serrated knife directly into my heart and twisted it.

She doesn’t say anything else. In fact, she drops her eyes from my face and her shoulders curl forward, as though the weight of our past is too much for her.

And why wouldn’t it be when I constantly open my big fucking mouth and make her feel like shit.

I don’t intend to. I never want to hurt her but any time I get scared, like thinking about losing one of my people to this crazy ass idea of hers to get Viktor away from her father, I lash out verbally. I would never hit her, never physically hurt her.

But words can sometimes do far more damage than a fist.

“Fuck,” I grit out between clenched teeth.

Lifting my free arm, I wrap it around her back and hug her to me, holding tight when she pushes at me in a feeble attempt to free herself from my hold. I say feeble because there’s very little energy to her little shoves.

Her breath hitches on a quiet sob, and I swear I can literally feel my heart cracking a little more.

“Fuck, E. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of that shit.”

She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t tilt her head back to look into my face, doesn’t even try to pull away from me anymore, as though all the fight has left her body.

As though I finally stole the last of her fight.

I hate that shit.

I love when she’s riled up, when she’s defiant, I love the fire in her eyes. I refuse to be the one to douse the fucking flame.

Her body shakes again, another of those quiet sobs. I release her wrist and wrap my other arm around her, threading my fingers through her hair to cup the back of her skull, holding her tightly against my body and not caring one bit that I’m getting sweat all over her.

“I’m sorry,” I say softly, leaning down to rest my cheek on the top of her head.

I’m such a dick. Why the hell would she even want me in her life? How she ever loved me to begin with will always be a mystery.

Then again, I wasn’t always this big of an asshole.

Part of my soul was ripped away from me and turned me into someone else, just like Brix and Madd, but the missing piece is back.

My soul is whole again. While my heart might still be in slivers and riddled with cracks, it’ll heal as long as I have Everest.

If I continue pushing her like this, if I keep letting my anger and the hurt feelings from the past control my mouth, I’ll lose her.

Maybe not physically – I will never let her out of my sight again.

Losing her trust, her loyalty, and her love would be even worse than if she were to walk through the front door and disappear for good.

Lowering to my knees, I keep my arms wrapped around her waist and bury my face in her stomach.

She stays still for so long, her muscles locked, that I wonder if I finally pushed too far, if I’ve already lost her.

Until her fingers tangle in my hair so tightly it stings, and she jerks my head back so I have no choice but to look up at her.

“I love you. I have always and will always love you. I was willing to sacrifice my life for you. I sacrificed my dignity and safety for you. Today…that’s it.

That’s the last time you disrespect me. Do you understand?

I am not that same girl. My heart only has so much left to give, and I won’t freely give that little bit to someone who sees me as the enemy. ”

“You’re not the enemy. I know that,” I say, keeping my voice low, soft.

Her fingers tighten even more in my hair until I’m sure a few strands are pulled from the roots. Not a single person on this planet would have the balls to manhandle me the way she is now, not a single person I’ve ever encountered would have the gumption to speak to me the way she is now.

But she’s not simply any person. She’s the queen of my life. She’s the very heart beating in my chest. She’s the only person keeping my soul alive.

“Shut up and listen to me. I want Viktor out. I want to tell Flora the truth myself.”

Fuck. I forgot we contacted her slut friend. I don’t like the thought of the two of them gallivanting around again. Not that I distrust Everest, but Flora has never been overly picky about who she opens her legs for.

“And I’ll decide how and when we announce my reappearance.

You want to marry me?” I nod instead of speaking.

“Then prove you’ll be a good husband, because I’ve been through enough, K.

Too much. More than anyone my age should have to endure, and you won’t be yet another man in my life that I have to survive. ”

Why the fuck are the backs of my eyes burning? I haven’t cried since the night we were told Everest killed our baby and ran off to marry someone else. We hadn’t known then it was a lie. All I knew, all we knew, was our life had been stripped down to its barest forms.

Oh, and I committed patricide for no fucking reason.

Not that Christos Antoniou didn’t deserve the bullet I sent through the back of his skull. He deserved it and so much more.

“I’m sorry.” I can’t think of anything more to say. And those two words aren’t even close to enough. “I’ll prove it. I’ll prove to you I deserve you. I’ll prove I’ll be a good husband to you, and a good father to our children.”

She huffs a laugh. “You realize there’s no guarantee I can get pregnant after…” She squeezes her eyes shut and inhales deeply. “Just don’t get your hopes up.”

Everest is putting on a brave face, but I can see the pain in her eyes at the thought of that one night possibly ruining any chance of her being a mother someday, and it sends a fresh wave of rage coursing through my system.

But I said not twenty seconds ago I would prove I deserve her, and I will. That means not lashing out at her like a fucking emotionally stunted asshole.

No. The person who deserves my wrath is Dima fucking Sidorov.

Everest’s grip on my hair loosens and she smooths her hand over my head.

I continue staring up into her face. I’ll stay right here on my knees as long as needed to convince her of how fucking sorry I am for being such a royal asshole. I might be the Don of the region, might lead the Antoniou syndicate… but she is my queen. She owns me, heart, body, and soul.