Absolution (Road Kings MC And Underworlds 1)

The divorce wasn’t a secret, but I hadn’t presented Donna and her father with the paperwork for it all until tonight. With Sacha here and now sending the signal to do it, I felt some of the weight on my shoulders lift.

The papers were fake, just like the marriage had been, but knowing that they’d see for sure that it was all over… It was either going to tip their hand by getting their new friends to attack us harder, or they were going to have to attempt to withdraw from that friendship.

We were all ready for both options.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Nell

Two weeks later…

We’d been in Taras’ home for two weeks, and I wasn’t going crazy. Some people might not be able to stay inside and not get cabin fever, but when it’s your life on the line, you find a way around it. I wouldn’t do anything to risk mine, my sons, my family, or anyone else’s lives, so I wasn’t going to even entertain the idea of going outside.

Lena also seemed to be doing well, but that was likely because she was on a three month break between shoots, while they updated the seasons for next year, and finished making the garments.

The only thing she had to do was to maintain her current physique which wasn’t an issue. Taras had a gym, so she worked out every day, and stuck to her balanced diet.

“Don’t you miss burgers and potato chips?” I asked her as she looked over some photos on her laptop. All the stuff that could be saved from my house had been brought to us, and fortunately, our bedrooms had been relatively okay. “What about a pizza?”

Not looking up as she skimmed through what she was looking at, she shrugged. “It’s not like I don’t eat it. I just know to eat it in moderation. Working out helps me keep my muscle tone and fitness, but what I put into my body helps my health all round.”

I hadn’t thought of it like that.

“So you eat the way you do out of choice?”

Finally, looking up from the device, she watched the boys, who were lying on their backs and staring up at the animals hanging over their floor mat. “Put it this way, once the boys can eat, if they asked you for fast food every day, would you give it to them?”

“Hell no.”

“What about if they wanted ice cream and donuts every day?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Because it’s not good for their bodies, right?” When I nodded, she lifted her hand and pointed at herself. “I’m just doing the same thing for mine. There’s a history of diabetes, heart problems, and cancer in both of my parents’ families, and my brother was born with diabetes.

“I know I’m not waving a magic wand that’ll keep me healthy, but I want to do as much as I can, by being as healthy as possible. Having the yummy stuff in moderation is all part of that.”

“Maybe I should start working out again? It’s been a while since I was able to do it.”

“We’ve been doing Krav Maga with Taras’ men every night since we got here, and I’m going to be the first to say—that shit ain’t exactly light exercise. I ache all over thanks to those guys.”

That was something Taras had organized on day one, but only filled me in on the next morning. Krav Maga’s a self-defense and fighting system, developed for and used by the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Security Force.

Given that he had a lot of them working for the family, they were pros at it. Apparently, it was one of the best forms of self-defense, and that’s why he wanted us to be adept at it.

I can’t say I hated it, but I won’t say I enjoyed it. I hurt all over, and given that I was still breastfeeding the boys, I had two heavy weights on my chest that interfered with my movements. The men had told me to imagine I was protecting my sons, and that’s how I’d found a way around it.

“It’s definitely not light exercise,” I agreed, then decided to shift the focus of our conversation. “Benito De Luca’s hot, isn’t he?”

Over the last two weeks, we’d also met a lot of the Fedorov's allies. Given that the Bratva had now linked itself to the Club, they were allies for my family now, too.

I’d never thought of the Club as being anything but impenetrable, until Dad told me about the murders, and how they were still searching for whoever was responsible.

Added onto that was what Taras had told me—that I hadn’t told anyone about—so knowing they had all of these extra people behind them helped.

Something else had happened since we’d been here. I wouldn’t say Lena had softened toward Hunter, but she kept it civil instead of hostile. I didn’t want to keep asking her about it, but periodically I would, so that I could make sure she was okay.