Somehow, getting cake turned into getting dinner, Viktor offered to pay for it all. But I told him I would, and made sure it came out of my money, that he had. Sitting in the booth, I was twitchy, more so because someone sat at the table behind me, and Vito. 

Viktor noticed and spoke. “Are you going to be alright?”

Picking up my drink, my hand shook, and I was growing frustrated. Vito stood up, and I reached for him. “Where are you going? Don’t leave—--”

“Ilya, breathe. I’m asking Alessio’s Nonna to make our meals to-go.”

“I’m sorry, I will—-”

“It’s more than you can handle, and there is no need to push it.” Vito said and went to the till. The older woman and Vito had a long conversation, and she headed over to the far back table and spoke with them. 

As the couple moved to a different table, they apologized for taking our reserved table, and I was pretty confused. We never reserved a table. I took the women’s looks in and could spot some parts of her appearance she shared with Alessio and the rest of those Mihails. 

Vito moved our drinks, and I followed him to the other table at the back of the diner. Viktor followed us, bringing his drink too. Setting into the seat, I looked ahead, meeting eyes with the young girl in the seat ahead of us. She had turned around and was looking at us. She was smiling, her two front teeth missing. 

Viktor looked over at her as she said hello, and her mother scolded her for bothering other diners. She was probably six or seven, and she kept looking at me. 

“Mister, your eyes are really pretty.” She was looking right at me as she spoke.

“Thank you.” I said. 

“You have a funny sounding voice.”

“It’s my accent. I speak a few other languages.” I said, her conversation not really bothering me. “Vito speaks funny too.”

Her mother finally turned around quickly to apologize and her eyes widened when she met Vito’s eyes. As if she was checking to make sure the name she heard was right. “I’m sorry, Underboss Vito. Tara, apologize for interrupting your father’s boss’s meal—--”

“That’s hardly necessary.” I said, before Vito could speak. “Vito isn’t offended.”

The mother had her daughter turn back around while they waited for their food. We got our meal first and finished before them. While Vito paid, I had him send dessert for the mother and the little girl, but asked him to pay their bill, too. 

“That was nice of you, Ilya.” Viktor said, when we got back into Vito’s vehicle.

“Was it? I had to do something. The mother looked like she might pass out when she realized it was Vito.” I muttered. 

“Her husband works under me. He’s a very useful underling.” Vito said, lacking emotion. 

“Did you do something to her?” I asked. 

“Not that I’m aware of. Her husband has only ever been reprimanded once. But not with her present. I suppose they probably talk about my temper.” Vito said. 

“You did well, after having her stare at you for a while,” Viktor said, and I realized he was speaking to and about me. 

“She is a child. She’s innocent. I don’t fear her.” I said, truthfully. Children were some of the most honest and gentle creatures. It was adults and situations that corrupted them. 

“Viktor is right, Ilya. You did very well today.” Vito praised me. 

“Give me a treat, call me a good boy, and I’ll be a pet.” I muttered. 

Vito slammed on the brakes on the dirt road leading to the complex, and I groaned. The cakes moved slightly on the floor but seemed perfectly fine. Viktor, on the other hand, looked annoyed. 

“Are you serious right now?” He said, his eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror.

“Maybe, hard to say.” I said and shrugged. 

“Whatever kinks you two have together, keep them that way, together, leave me out of it.” Viktor huffed as he yanked the seat belt from against his throat. 

“Bondage and choking are not your thing, Viktor?” I asked jokingly. 

“No. Not at all.” He said. “I quite enjoy keeping my work and pleasure pretty far apart.”

“Gross. Didn’t need to know that,” Vito said. 

“Like I wanted to know about the pet play you’re doing with my cousin, Vito.” Viktor said, his tone having a sharp edge to it. “It’s gross to me.”

I had the urge to hit him, and Vito glared at me from the front seat. “Keep your hands to yourself, Ilya. I see the look on your face. Viktor is entitled to his own opinions.”

“We aren’t into pet play, whatever the hell that is.” I hissed, and Viktor spoke again. 

“Right, I have a hard time believing that.” He said, looking at Vito, a look on his face that I could only guess meant ‘Are you kidding me?’ 

“It’s not like that,” Vito said, and Viktor huffed. “Not yet.”

“I don’t like you two talking about me in a way that I don’t understand.” I said from the backseat, crossing my arms. 

“You’ll understand soon enough.” Viktor replied. 

Vito stopped at the gates, and they let us through a moment later. He barely had the car parked when I got out. I saw Lev, and he was walking with another guy. They were walking back from the direction of Maddox’s complex. I was going to call him to come get his cake. I didn’t have to, though. He was walking his way over here with the other male. 

“Ilya, Do you have a free moment?” Lev asked and then spotted Viktor. He said hello. 

“I grabbed a cake for you and Alessio.” I said, turning and meeting the eyes of the other man. I’d seen him a few times in the medical building, with another guy, but this was the closest I’d ever got to him. 

“Oh, thank you. Sasha and I have a proposition for you.”

“Hm?” I said. 

“We can talk about it when you have a free moment.” Lev said, Vito passed him the cake. “Share with Sasha,” Vito said, nodding at the other male. 

“Ryer would have a heart attack if Lev let me have any of that cake.” He laughed. 

Remembering the cake for Matteo and Caio, I took it out of Vito’s hands. 

“I’m going to take this to your kid.” I said, walking away.

“Matteo isn’t home. He’s out with Alessio and Gabe.”

“Caio’s home?”

“I believe so.”

“Ok, I’ll take it to him.” 

“Wait, I’ll come with—-”

“I’m fine. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll meet back at the wing. Don’t leave just yet, okay, Viktor? I have some things I want to ask you.”

Heading to Matteo and Caio’s wing, I knocked when I got there and he opened the door.

“Ilya, hey. Matteo’s not home.” He said.

“Yes, Lev told me, I brought you guys a cake.” I said and passed it to him.

“Oh, thank you. Did you want to come in for a moment?”

“That sounds more like you're asking to come in, not asking if I want to.” I replied.

“Do you have a few seconds?”

“I sure do.” He held the door open for me, and I went into the kitchen, sitting down on one of the kitchen chairs. He set the cake down.

“Did you want a drink?”

“A glass of water, please.” I responded, and he got me a glass, setting it down on the table.

“Matteo knows Siena was here. He is moody, and anger. I understand why, but I worry about him.”

“She was unfriendly towards me and made a comment about Matteo.”

“Yes, Alessio told me. Thank you for being a loyal friend to Matteo. I mean that, Ilya.”

“I wanted to kill her right there. And there was no one in that room that could have stopped that, but Alessio asked me to think about Gabe and I couldn’t do that to him. I should have, but I couldn’t.”

“If karma is real, I believe she will have the day she deserves.” Caio said.

“You looked stressed out.” I said.

“I am. Part of the pain that Matteo had was my fault, and I even added to that when he came back. It kills me to see him so angry he cries.”

“I think she’s realized that Alessio won’t save her anymore.” I said, and Caio nodded.

“Siena had burned all the bridges with her children. The two adult ones, they despise her and Gabe, he doesn’t understand.”

“Caio. While I’m here, I want to apologize again for my behaviour.” I said, bringing the glass up to my mouth and taking a drink.

“Ilya, that’s long been water under the bridge. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you.” I said. Folding my hands together on the table. “I’ll try to keep Matteo distracted from the stress and anger his mother has caused. But at some point, he is going to have to sit down and process all those feelings fully, and maybe he should speak with Dr Martin.”

“Alessio asked him to speak with Dr Martin last night. He had a meltdown, and I agreed it was the best course of action.”

“I think that is a wise——” The door opened and Matteo came inside, Vito right behind him, Viktor behind Vito.

“Did we interrupt something?” Matteo said, a smile on his face but with hidden concern there.

“No hardly, We were just catching up.” Caio said, standing up and wrapping Matteo in his arms. “Ilya brought us cake.”

Vito looked me up, and down, and Caio sighed. “Relax Vito, I didn’t hurt your lover.”

“Caio, this is Viktor, Ilya’s cousin.”

I looked at Vito. He never even rejected the comment that Caio made. Why didn’t he? It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t Vito’s Lover. Was I? No. That couldn’t be right.

I waited until Viktor left a bit later to ask. “Why didn’t you correct Caio? I’m not your lover.”

Matteo hid a smile behind his coffee cup and looked at his father. They met eyes before he turned and looked at me.

“Was I supposed to?”

“Are you not worried about rumours, about something that isn’t exactly true?” I said, not sure what more to say about this. I wasn’t his lover, no matter how nice that sounded.

“Not particularly.” He said, sipping the coffee Matteo made for him. “I told you before that I want you to find a partner in me. I’m fine with you being called my lover.”