Page 67 of Monstrosity

This is what I'll kill to protect.

"Morning, Daddy," Cali chirps, milk already on her chin. "Are you going to work today?"

"Tonight," I tell her, dropping a kiss on her head. "Got some important business to handle."

"The dangerous kind?" Florencia asks without looking up from her book.

That kid sees too much.

"All business is dangerous in our world,mija." I settle next to Dasha, who wordlessly hands me coffee fixed exactly how I like it. "But I'll be careful."

"You better be," Dasha says quietly. The bruises on her throat are stark in the morning light. "We have plans, remember?"

"Disney World," Cali announces. "Daddy promised after his business is done."

"That's right, baby girl. Mickey Mouse and everything."

The conversation stays light through breakfast, but I catch Dasha watching me when she thinks I'm not looking.

She knows today is different. They all do, even if we're pretending otherwise.

"Girls, why don't you go find Starla?" Dasha suggests when the plates are empty. "I think she mentioned something about a craft project today."

"Crafts!" Cali's off like a shot, Florencia following more sedately after marking her page.

Once they're gone, Dasha moves to straddle my lap, arms around my neck. "Tell me you'll be careful."

"I'malwayscareful."

"Rio." Her fingers trace my jaw. "I mean it. Don’t be risky. No heroics. Get in, get the drugs, get Bembe, get out."

"That's the plan."

"Plans go to shit," she says bluntly. "Promise me—if things go bad, you'll prioritize coming home over everything else."

I frame her face with my hands, thumbs brushing those damned bruises. "I promise I'll do whatever it takes to come home to you. All of you."

She studies my face, reading the truth there. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"I trust you." She kisses me soft and deep. "Just... come back to us."

"Always."

We stay like that for a while, holding each other in the morning light.

Eventually, duty calls—weapons to check, plans to finalize, brothers to coordinate.

But for now, there's just the two of us.

"I should go," I say eventually.

"I know." But she doesn't move. "Rio? Whatever happens tonight... I love you. The girls love you. We'll be here when you get back."

"I love you too." I kiss her once more, pouring everything I feel into it. "More than you know."

The day passes in a blur as we all prepare.