Page 91 of Sexting my Bratva Daddies

Reality clicked in an instant.

Peyton paled and stiffened, her face smoothing and eyes going wide.

The contrast of her reaction cemented the truth.

Peyton did not just run away from us. She did not just abandon us. She took our child with her.

I did my best to keep a tight hold on my anger, but the force of it set my lungs on fire and sent heated breaths pouring from my mouth. “You were pregnant when you left, and you’ve been keeping him from us all this time.” All the charm in the world could get fucked. There was no way I could possibly charm the truth into the moment. It deserved all the force that rocketed through me.

Leo and Misha turned stunned gazes my way. Leo opened his mouth, no doubt to turn on that very charm I’d been thinking about. He fell silent without saying a word.

“Peyton?” One of her brothers–I only recognized him because Leo had shown us pictures before we arrived–put a hand on her shoulder.

Misha almost ran me over in his attempt to get to Peyton while also throwing his body backward to keep away. I understood his body’s confusion. The simultaneous need to scream and hug Peyton at the same time battled for dominance.

“Why?” Leo gripped my arm, and I realized I was shaking.

I forced my hands to unclench and slowed my breathing.

Her family lined up behind her, and I took in the sweep of faces. Part of me wanted to hate them for helping keep her away from us. The other part loved them straight away for protecting her.

“I chose not to tell you so I could have a clean break. I needed to protect Luka.” Her head dropped until her cheek rested on Luka’s head. “If it had been just me, I might have stayed. But Luka…” Her eyes dropped, the pain in them as visceral as what tore my body apart.

“Well, if you’re going to tell them everything, at least let them come in and sit down.” Mom planted her hands on her hips. “You, there, on the right. Close the door behind you.”

I pointed my thumb at myself, and she nodded.

Peyton let out a sound that might have been a laugh but came out almost like a sob. She took a step back as we all moved forward.

Her family remained in the room, spreading out but staying close enough that I knew they’d interfere at a moment’s notice if they thought Peyton were in danger.

Misha stayed close, his eyes locked on Peyton and Luka. He hadn’t spoken since the day in Leo’s office when he showed us the picture of Peyton, the one he said had disappeared from social media. I’d been tempted to argue that it had been faked, but I didn’t have the heart for it.

We’d flown straight here after a deep hack into her family uncovered the address.

“Luka’s happiness is all that matters. His safety and his happiness.” Peyton patted Luka’s back, her body swaying from side to side.

Luka’s eyes shuttered, then flew open. He curled into a ball, the fluttering lashes showing his fight against sleep.

He’s going to look like Misha. That was my first coherent thought after the shock cleared. The dark eyes could belong to any of us, but the set of his jaw, the way he held his mouth when half-asleep, that was all Misha.

And if Misha hadn’t seen it yet, he would soon enough. He was enamored with the boy the instant he walked into the room. Even Leo looked at the boy with an expression I’d never seen on his face before. The charm was gone, as were the calculation and management that made us frightful. He blinked and the rawness in his eyes vanished. Didn’t matter. I’d seen it.

My anger surged at all the years, all the firsts, we’d missed. Our son. I’d thought my heart couldn’t break any more, but knowing I’d missed our son’s birth and every subsequent milestone gutted me. I turned that anger on Peyton despite knowing I bordered on irrational. “You can’t keep him from us. Not anymore.”

“Maybe not.”

I’d expected an immediate denial, so her almost acceptance did wonders on my temper.

Her chin lifted in that familiar way I’d never forgotten. “Everything I’ve done has been for him. I gave up everything to protect him from your world. From you.”

Those last words seemed to tear their way free, and she pressed her lips together into a flat line, refusing to take them back.

Silence stretched. We stared at each other, nothing but a couple of feet and years of deceit separating us.

I understood why she’d done it. I might even agree with it once I stopped being angry. But right this second, I was only capable of feeling the hurt.

Leo stepped back, bumping into me. “I believe that is our cue to go.”