Page 167 of Pink

No, he knew.

It was exactly why he was Pink for Andino.

And always would be.

• • •

The drive home was quiet, but Lev didn’t mind. It gave him a moment to think and while he certainly had more than enough time for that in jail, this was different. Then, he had been thinking about all the things he was going to lose. Everything he had yet to do. Now, the only thing on his mind was what he wanted.

Home.

Love.

His girls.

Lev barely took a step out onto the quiet street before the front door of the townhouse was thrown open with enough force to knock into the flowerpot off to the side. The first person out of the house was Arely.

Arms wide open.

Smiling huge.

Crying already.

“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!”

He barely had time to consider the other women who slipped out of the house because—they would understand—he had to deal with the most important thing first. The very idea that his child thought he somehow abandoned or forgot about her during his time away absolutely gutted him. He would spend the rest of his life making sure Arely knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

Ever again.

Her feet hit the paved walkway with hard smacks, bringing her closer and closer to his open arms until he had her wrapped in them. Nothing had ever felt better than lifting his daughter from the ground, hugging her tight enough that even God himself wouldn’t rip the child from his arms, and forgetting everything else.

None of it mattered.

Just that moment.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he told her.

Over and over.

I love you.

I’m not going anywhere again.

Daddy’s here, baby.

He kept saying those things. Again, and again. As much as she needed to hear them. Because each time he said it again, Arely cried a little harder. He rained kisses over her wet eyelids, on her pinked cheeks, and even a peck on her now-smiling lips. Her heartbeat raced—beating as fast as hummingbird wings against his own chest.

Face to face …

Eye to eye …

He stared at his daughter, and everything was right again in the world.

Or almost.

In his haste to get his daughter back where she belonged in his arms, Lev had spun to face the road and his boss leaning against the BMW. Turning back to the house, he stopped at the sight of the two women standing side by side, their arms locked together as they smiled at the sight in front of them.

Nessa and Gigi.