Orlando Bloom as David McKenna-Carlton

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Fighting Temptation: Capítulo Venticinque

"Eh?!"

I jumped in sudden realization when I figured out who this man was. "That must mean..." I trailed off, hoping that I wasn't right in the slightest. Maybe he was just someone who had the same name. "I'm the father of that good for nothing Antonio." He rolled his eyes playfully and I could see that he held nothing but love for his son. "And you're Ramiro Valentin Vega, my son's significant other, correct?" He had this sharp, shiny glint in his eyes as if he was challenging me to defy him but I didn't. I nodded my head rapidly, watching a smug smile took over his face.

Man, Anton Kozlov was one scary motherfucker.

"Haha!" He let out a hearty laugh once again, adjusting his shades and I gulped. "No need to be so scared, little rabbit." He grinned as he tapped the tip of his white cane against the door. "Open it and let's go in, shall we?" He nodded to the door and I wondered if he was truly blind because he could sense everything. "You got it." I muttered and he grasped my shoulder with his hand at the same time I held onto the knob. "In fact, you can call me dad in law. Has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you say?" I felt like he was just toying with me now. I could see that same part of him in his son. "I think asshole dad would be better," I scowled impulsively, but before I could realize my mistake and beg for utter mercy, Anton just stood there with a dead stare on his features before letting out a loud laugh. "Man, my son really knows how to pick them. You're quite the entertaining man, aren't you?" He seemed to be so different than what I expected of the former head of the Kozlov family, but who knew? He could really be a sadistic son of a bitch underneath all of that.

"T-there you go!" I stuttered as I opened the door, trying to discreetly make my way inside. "Go in." He said in a commanding tone that had the hairs on my body standing as straight as possible, the motors in my body designed to listen to his every order. What is this? Why can't I move? He nodded to the inside of the room and I did as he told. Damn, how fucking infuriating!

"Hey, uncle!" I heard a familiar voice squeal in happiness as I frowned, following it. "You?" I murmured in confusion as the guy from the parking deck grinned in glee as Anton shut the door, his blind cane no longer clacking against the floor. "Why are you here?" I pointed to him as Anton took a seat, cracking his neck. "Hi! We've met before, haven't we?" There a twinkle in this man's eyes like he was playing with me. I rolled my eyes in mere annoyance, wondering why I was even attempting to have a conversation with the idiot. "Of course we have." He chuckled, his voice full of Russian. These people really reminded me too much of what I was trying to avoid. "I haven't formally introduced myself." He stood to his full height and bowed just a bit. "My name is Timofei Smirinko," He rose back up. "I am the right-hand man of the Kozlov family." My eyes widened as I realized just who he was the right-hand man too.

Aw shit.

"Cool," I nodded in reply, wondering what the fuck I was doing here. "Name's Ramiro Vega, head of Los Zotos. We done here?" I pointed to the door with both hands, hoping that it was a done deal but they both stared at me, unamused. "Tonio didn't say you were this mean!" The man called Timofei whined and pouted as he sat back down in his seat. It really made me wonder how someone as stoic as his boss became friends with him. "What do y'all want with me? I have things to do, people to see, enemies to kill..." I trailed off, sitting in a chair across from them.

"Kozlov boss to fuck?"

I stared in horror at what had just come out of Anton's mouth, his brow quirked up and he stifled a chuckle. I didn't even know what to say so I just sat there in shock, listening to Timofei cackle. "It's not funny!" I glared at him, folding my arms. "Too bad, little rabbit, I thought it was." Anton grinned mercilessly as he leaned forward, that grin falling with the quickness. "We're here because I need to talk to you about something." He stated and I sighed. "About what?" He clicked his teeth as he muttered something in Russian.

"My good for nothing son."

My heart skipped a beat as I gazed, wide-eyed and nervous. "What about him?" I murmured and he sighed.

"I know that he left you because he thought you betrayed him when your father shot his mother, Timofei caught me up." Anton leaned forward and I looked away, not wanting to be reminded of that. "I know my good for nothing son, I raised him," He began, the scent of his cologne flooding the room. "I know him more than he knows himself. He probably knows that in the back of his mind, you were there well before anyone. He knows that you would never betray his trust like that. Antonio knows." Anton looked me in the eyes adamantly and I let out a sigh.

"Then why does it seem like he doesn't?" I questioned, trying to will myself to have hope. "You didn't see the way that he looked at me, Anton." I choked up a bit, trying not to cry. "It really broke my heart." I confessed and Anton sighed, nodding in agreement. "I know, little rabbit, I know." He sat back in his chair before falling silent.

"You know," He began, rubbing his stubble. "My son is afraid of being abandoned so he'll do everything he can to leave you before you leave him." He stated and I furrowed my brows.

Autophobia.

"What?" I pondered and he clicked his teeth. "From the time that he was four, when I first met him, he was so scared that anyone he met, would leave him in the end. Think about it, his mother gave him up with the quickness all the while, telling him that he was her pride and joy," He raised a brow and I went to interject but he stopped me. "We all know that she did it to protect him, but he doesn't see that." Anton sighed, shaking his head. "When his father, Victorio, died, he was absolutely distraught. That man was everything to him so when he died suddenly, he felt as if the world was against him. I mean, how do you tell a kid that it just naturally happens?"

Antonio was afraid of being abandoned.

"My son can be rather impulsive and act before thinking, and often times, he lets his feelings dictate the way he moves." Anton shrugged, his face full of sorrow. "My son is a strong, fierce man. He knows what he wants, when he wants," He looked at me. "But he lacks confidence in himself and in others." I could hear the unsaid words.

He's very insecure.

"You could promise the world to him, Ramiro, but that fear will never leave him. It seems so small, so insignificant but to someone like Antonio Esposito, it becomes all you think about." I sighed, looking down at my fingers.

"Especially when everyone you have come to love has left you."

I looked up once again in confusion and he didn't expand further on that, but I could infer that at one point in his life, he had abandoned Antonio, maybe it being of some extraordinary reason because he seemed to worship Antonio.

"Tonio feels like he has no worth but in reality, he's worthy of everything. He's such a good person and he has such an amazing heart, but he has so many insecurities, Ramiro," Timofei spoke up. "It pains me to see how little he thinks of himself." I grimaced in reply, wondering how someone as sexy, sweet, funny, caring and all around adorable as Antonio think that he meant nothing in this world?

He meant everything.

"Shit," I sputtered, putting pieces together. "Once you sink your nails back into him, don't let that idiot go," Anton folded his arms and deadpanned and I let myself softly chuckle. "It would be a pain if I had to fly over here again just to talk some sense into him." He shook his head, a soft smile on his lips. "That boy, I tell you. My successor has some issues he needs to work on." Anton glared at the floor playfully, thinking of his son. "Um," I spoke. "What was Antonio like as a child?" I asked and Anton stared. "For starters, he was a bit more reserved, quieter. He only spoke when he was spoken to, but he was so kind, so caring," He stated with a leer. "He had the biggest heart, crying when a worm died because it got ran over. He gave food to animals that bit him because he knew they were starving. He was such a sweet kid, so loving and I'm happy that trait has followed him into adulthood."

I smiled as I thought of baby Antonio, so tiny and so cute.

"But I'm glad he's met you, little rabbit." Anton mentioned and my face turned red immediately, ducking low. "I was starting to think that he wouldn't take the initiative to find someone," He huffed, perplexed, and Timofei nodded in agreement. "I also thought that it would be hard for him to find someone who understood him but you seem to have got it down to a T." Timofei grinned and I scowled in reply. "You know, he was internally fighting between his love for you, and the fear you would continue to leave him behind," He continued and I clicked my teeth. "I'd never leave that asshat behind. I love him too much to do such a thing." I stated seriously and Anton chuckled.

"For someone whose bright idea it was to break into a mansion in Long Island, I'd say you better love him a whole hell of a lot." He began to laugh to himself and I just stared, embarrassed. He calmed himself down and the atmosphere of the room darkened.

"I know he broke your heart and he hurt your feelings. I know that it hurt that he couldn't trust you but can you please," I could hear the begging in his voice and I let out a sigh, knowing what he was asking me. "Can you find it in you to forgive him?" He questioned and I rolled his eyes before closing my eyes, my heart feeling tight and my chest feeling taut.

I wanted to scream because I knew the answer.

"I love him, I love Antonio," I confessed, a mere tear slipping out of my eye. "I love him so much that it scares me. I never met anyone in life that made me feel the way that he makes me feel. Every day that I am with him, I find the little things about to be more attractive, the crinkles by his eyes when he frowns, the way his eyes light up when he talks about his time in Russia, the way that he blushes when he catches himself saying embarrassing things, the way that he drools slightly when he sleeps in exhaustion. Anton, everything about Antonio is beautiful, so perfect. He makes me so mad sometimes but it's hard to stay mad at him when he gives me that look. He pisses me off so much but it's hard to stay angry when he wipes my tears away and apologizes in that smooth Russian voice of his. I'd take everything about him, the good, the bad, the ugly because it's all beautiful to me." I didn't realize that I was rambling until I looked up and Timofei all but died on the table and Anton just sat there, his face blank and void of emotion.

"I know for sure that he's my one and only." I would never find another person like him. 

Never.

"So, yeah, I'd forgive that asshole ten times over because I love him. If he cheated on me, I'd kill him." Though I doubted that he would.

"That's utterly sweet," Anton removed his glasses, wiping his eyes. "Glad my son has someone like you in his life." He cleared his vision and fixated his sky blue eyes on me. They looked clear, too clear and he smirked at my confusion. "What the fuck?" I gasped and Anton just smirked widely, closing up his white cane and placing it on the table. "I'm only blind in one eye, little rabbit," He smirked evilly. "And even if I was blind, it would take a whole mafia family and then some, to take me out." I cringed in fear. Just how dangerous was he?

"I pretend to be blind because you really get to see your potential enemies around you and my cane serves me as a purpose of a weapon." He grinned sadistically and I let my jaw dropped. This guy was Antonio's father? No shitting way. He was too crazy. Too much a mad man for me. "Tonio knows the truth now, Ramiro," Timofei cut in. "Your father came by and spoke with him." My eyebrows raised in surprise and I let out a sigh of contentment, glad that he could realize the truth of everything. "He did, didn't he?" I murmured, running a hand through my hair.

It was clear as water. 

"You know what you need to do, little rabbit," Anton smiled gently before reaching a hand out to grasp my open one. "You have my blessing." My heart soared as I stood up, feeling happier than I ever felt before. I felt on top of this shitty world and nothing could drag me down. "You got it, asshole dad!" I beamed.

Then I ran out of there, willing to do everything I could to find my Adonis.