Page 28

I’d convinced Miyori to come back to Florida before our son was born. That was my first win. She was safe now—with Lilith, Sebastian, and their father dead.

I’d declined taking his seat at the table. Don Genovese’s legacy wasn’t something I needed. I wasn’t hungry for his power or the weight that came with it. I had my own empire, built with my own hands. That was enough. Something I could leave my son.

What I wanted now was something different. I wanted Miyori. I wanted my family. And this time, I was willing to play the long game to keep them.

Miyori had drawn her own line by not letting me move in with her. That was her win.

But she was back in the condo I bought her. Back in my city. She was back where I could see her, touch her, protect her—back where I could remind her, without words, that she’d never really escape me.

She was different now, though. Hypervigilant. Careful. Watching me in a way she never used to. She didn’t trust me, not fully. I couldn’t press the way I wanted to, couldn’t manipulate her the way I’d been able to before.

I think she finally realized she held all the power now. And for now, I would let her.

Because patience wasn’t something I’d been born with. But I’d learned it for her. Did that mean I was growing?

I stepped off the elevator with a bag of groceries and heard her before I saw her.

Miyori stood in front of her door, talking to her neighbor. Some asshole in a hoodie and faded joggers. He stood too close, cradling a crying newborn.

She was smiling up at him and I didn’t like that.

I watched her for a minute. Let my gaze drag over her, cataloging every inch of her, because every inch of her was mine.

Her hair was growing fast. The tight little beige dress she wore hugged every curve she had— since the baby, her hips were a little wider, ass rounder, thighs softer and thicker.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who noticed. The neighbor’s eyes dropped low—lingered a beat too long on what belonged to me.

I gritted my teeth. The dress she was wearing would be another dress she wouldn’t be able to find after today.

When she noticed me watching them, she stopped mid-sentence and stepped away from the guy fast, crossing the hall like she couldn’t get to me quickly enough.

Good girl.

“He was just asking about Ezra,” she said. “He’s got a newborn too.”

Ezra. My son. Our son.

I smiled, slow and easy. “No worries. I told you—I’m not like I was before.”

And that wasn’t a lie. Not entirely.

She stared at me like she didn’t believe me, then nodded. “I know you are,” she said quietly. “And… I appreciate it.”

She pushed up onto her tiptoes before I could say anything else and pressed a soft kiss to my mouth, then another until she was feeding me her tongue and I was sucking on it. She tasted like sweet coffee. I groaned—her kisses and sex with her were the only things keeping me sane.

When she pulled away, her eyes lingered on mine like she was searching for something in them.

“I’ll never stop trying to be better for you,” I said, my voice low.

She nodded. “I believe you. Want to stay for dinner?” she asked after a moment, her voice softer than I’d heard it in months. “Maya’s inside.”

Of course, Maya was inside. She was always there. But I couldn’t object. I wanted to go back to the days it was just me and her. Now my son.

But Maya had been the one who put the words into my mouth that day I showed up at Miyori’s front door in New York. She knew her sister better than anyone. Knew exactly what Miyori needed to hear. She texted them to me and I memorized them, delivered them like they were mine.

Maya might’ve thought I was dangerous, but she also knew I was good for her sister in a way no one else could be. I’d kill for her. I’d bleed for her. I’d ruin the world and call it love.

I said yes to dinner.

As soon as I walked into the house, I heard Ezra fussing from the nursery. I didn’t wait for Miyori to move. My son cried, I went. That was how it was now.

He quieted the second I picked him up. My hand spanned his whole back. I stared down at his handsome little tan face.

I would bide my time—for him. For both of them.

Because I wasn’t giving up on the three of us. I wasn’t done with my little Saint. Not even close. I never would be .