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I walk out of the small room Eset was forced to stay in and see Eset walking barefoot across the hardwood floors out toward the small porch. She pushes open the door, and I finally catch up with her. Her eyes immediately drift to Goran, who has a gun in his hand. “I wanted him to pay for what he did. He… he fucked with me, Santos. He lied to me and then told me he lied. I tried to keep a clear head while I was here, but there were moments when I didn’t know what to trust.
“He told me things… things that might be true, or they could be a lie as well. Fuck, he told me he killed Meryem, and then he came and told me he lied to me about killing her. Who the fuck does that? Who jokes about killing a precious child?” Eset’s crying once more, and now she’s looking back at the baby girl in my arms, who somehow has turned her head to look at Eset. “God, she’s beautiful.” Meryem is no longer crying, and the little girl furrows her tiny brows and holds her arms out to Eset.
“I think she wants you, mi amor,” I say lowly.
Eset swallows hard and takes Meryem into her arms. “Hey there, sweet girl,” she coos lightly to the baby, and the corner of Meryem’s lips pull upward.
“What will you do now that you have her?” I question, really curious as to what Eset has planned for her.
“Take care of her. I… I couldn’t bear to let anyone else. I promised Kirill I’d make sure she’s safe, that I’d make sure she’s provided for. I can’t simply hand her off like she’s a stray dog in need of a home. If you ask me, this little girl has been through so much hell, and she shouldn’t have to go through any more of it.”
I nod, understanding where my wife is coming from. “I have a contact in Mexico who can get us a birth certificate. He works for the government, so it would be legitimate. It can say she was born in Cancun two years ago, and we’re the parents.” I don’t know how far she wants to take this, but I do know she doesn’t want anything else to happen to this little one.
Eset takes a moment and then nods. “Yes. Let’s get it done as soon as possible. Her name will be Meryem Khaso Umarova-Ramirez since she was born before we were married,” Eset gives me a playful wink through her tears, and I nod. I’ll do anything this woman wants whenever she wants me to do it.
God, she’s a fucking survivor, and I’ve never been surer of that in my life. I honestly feel bad for those who aren’t close with my wife because they’ll never understand the lengths she’ll go to do what’s right and protect those she cares about.
We were married not too long ago, and now we’re parents.
I guess the two of us can’t help but move fast.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Eset
We got the hell away from Goran’s property as soon as we could. Ruslan called a clean-up crew to deal with Goran’s body, and Ruslan said he’s having a team go through the home, then they’ll burn it to the ground. He wants it to be like the place never existed, and I didn’t fight him in the least bit on that.
We stopped for a car seat in Prague for Meryem, plus some clothes for her, diapers, food, and pretty much anything we might need while we’re flying. Then we headed straight to the private airstrip. Ruslan already had a jet there, waiting for us to return. So by the time we arrived, the jet was already refueled, and everything was checked again before take-off.
Now we’re on the plane, and Santos was smart enough to bring me a bag of my clothes. Ruslan’s jet has a bedroom and a beautiful bathroom, so I left Meryem sitting next to Santos. She’s fast asleep, so while she’s dozing off, I decide I need to shower. It’s been days, and I feel horrible. I’m sticky all over, my skin feels itchy, and my hair is a frazzled mess. The bag’s already back in the bedroom, so I open it up and see Santos grabbed my hairbrush, blow dryer, and even my make-up bag, shampoo, and anything else I’d need to shower.
I strip out of the old, sweaty clothes I’ve had on for the past few days and turn the shower on. After a few minutes, I stand under the warm water, grab my fresh bar of soap, and lather it against my entire body. Since I’m by myself, all I can think about is how lucky I was to not have been hit or raped while with Goran. I was terrified it was going to happen, and the longer I stayed there, the more likely I knew the possibility was.
After I scrub my entire body thoroughly, I take my bottle of shampoo and pour some into my hand. I lather it into my hair until the suds are overzealous, then wash it out slowly. It’s been a couple of days, so I repeat the process again and then open my conditioner. I opt for leaving the conditioner in for at least five minutes, and in the meantime, I take the bar of soap and rub it across my entire body again. I want every spec of grime and dirt to be gone by the time I’m done. Ten more minutes pass, and there isn’t one soap sud on my body or a bit of conditioner left in my hair. I grab the towel on the heated rack and run it across my skin, then rub my hair, so I’m not dripping onto the floor.
For a moment, I debate blow-drying my hair because I don’t want to wake Meryem up, but I do think I’m far enough away that I won’t stir her awake. So I plug the blow-dryer in and then turn it on. Ten minutes later, my hair is dry as a bone and brushed through, cascading down in my naturally thick, bumpy waves.
I throw on some clothes and then go sit back out in the main area with my husband, new daughter, and my brothers. Everyone has been super quiet around me since they rescued me, but I can’t blame them for it. They probably don’t know what to say, but we don’t have the liberty of not discussing what I learned. Not when it comes to our mother or mine and Nazyr’s possible paternity. I know this will be a shock to them.
“We need to talk about things instead of simply sitting in silence,” I speak up, making sure everyone can hear me.
“Right now isn’t the time, Eset. You need to rest. This is all something we can discuss later after you’ve had some time,” Ruslan states, but he doesn’t know the things that I do. He has no idea what we’re dealing with, and I need to get this out into the open.
“Ruslan, I love you, but no. I’m not going to sit back and relax when we don’t have the luxury of doing that right now. Goran told me quite a bit, and I’m not sure if some of it is true, but I need to tell you so you can at least get the ball rolling and see.”
Ruslan turns to look right at me. His own curiosity is becoming evident as ever. “What sort of things did he say to you?”
“He said quite a bit. There is a ploy against our family. Prominent Chechen families are supporting our mother’s claim to be the head of the family, and Goran told me he faked a car accident because it was the only way to keep me alive. They’re trying to pick us off, one by one,” I state, making sure I look at all my brothers and then my husband.
“Do you believe what he said is true?” Lom questions me.
“I don’t see a reason he would’ve lied about it. Guerrero even told us the same sort of thing about the ploy in the first place. Goran confirmed it, and I… I don’t think there are many people we can trust right now, even on our security team. Think about it, Kirill betrayed us, and now Goran… we can probably only trust Ludvik and Danill,” I state, looking at Ruslan, then Lom.
Ruslan nods. “I was going to let go of the rest of our team when we get back to Grozny. I don’t like how many of those who are supposed to protect us are, in turn, doing things to directly harm us or our family. We need fresh blood.”
“We need different blood,” Nazyr speaks up, then he looks at my husband. “Santos, do you know of good men you could bring in from Mexico that are loyal to you?”
Santos takes a moment before he answers. “Me? Not so much, but to my Great-Uncle Alejandro, yes. I can make a call to him when we land and see what he can do.”
