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Rolando makes eye contact with me in the rearview mirror. “I know you better than that. Something is amiss. I can see something is bothering you.”
I swallow hard and think about what I’m going to tell Rolando. I don’t know if I should lie or be honest with him, but as I think about it, I don’t see a point in keeping anything from him. “I’m going to speak to Ruslan about a couple of rumors I’ve heard since being here.”
Rolando makes a left at the intersection and then looks back at me in the rearview mirror. “What kind of rumors?”
“Ones about our family being dangerous. I… I don’t know why people would even say it, but I brought it up to Eset when we were in Italy for Lom and Emily’s wedding.”
“And what did Eset say?” Rolando questions.
“She said I should talk to Ruslan about it.”
“I see.”
“Do you know something I don’t?” I already know the answer to my question. Of course, Rolando knows something. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be speaking to me the way he is. He’s been driving me around and has been my protection detail for the last year. I’m certain he knows more than I do, and maybe he’ll give me some sort of information. I need something. I don’t want to go into this meeting with my brother without knowing anything at all.
“I am privy to certain knowledge, yes, but as your sister said… this is something you should discuss with your brother.”
“I am getting really tired of people saying that to me. Rolando, you’ve been very close to me for the last year. I’d even say you’re a friend, and you’re going to let me walk into my brother’s without even knowing one thing?”
Rolando pulls down another street, and I know we’re only a few minutes away from Ruslan’s place. “Xava, you have to understand this is putting me in an incredibly difficult position. If I speak up and your brother finds out, I could lose my job or worse.”
Or worse.
“What do you mean by that?” I ask, staring at him in the rearview mirror. His eyes are glued onto the road, but make no mistake, I see the uncertainty on his face. He doesn’t know what he should do right now, which only proves there is something about the family that I don’t know.
“Xava.” His tone is a plea for me to stop digging, but I won’t.
“Rolando, come on. Please, tell me something.”
“Your family is very powerful, and their business is as well. All your siblings have a hand in the business, and it’s a dangerous one. That’s why I drive you around. That’s why I protect you… because there are people who want you all dead.”
As he finishes his words, I can’t understand why someone would ever want us to die. What have we ever done to anyone else? My family… we contribute to local charities and do great things for the community. We’re good people.
“That seems preposterous. We are good people.”
“You are, but not everyone thinks so.” Rolando’s tone drops slightly. I’m sure he’s already worried about what he’s said to me. “Your brother will tell you things in more detail, but please do not tell him I said anything to you.” Again, I hear the plea in his voice. Rolando is scared. He might even be terrified for saying more than he should have.
“Don’t worry. I won’t say a thing.”
Rolando pulls into the parking garage attached to Ruslan’s building, and before long, we’re out of the car, heading up to Ruslan’s place. Ruslan’s guard lets me in the condo, and Amelia greets me with a big smile.
“Xava, how are you? It feels so weird that we haven’t seen each other since the wedding.” Amelia pulls me into a big hug, and I wrap my arms around her.
“I’m good. You know things can just get so busy.” It’s a bullshit answer, but I think she’s going to take me seriously. She’s a mom, and she’s always got something to do.
“Don’t I know it. You know, I did want to talk to you about something. Well, it was more like me and Emily were chatting about it. You’ve been staying with Nazyr, Mona, and the kids for almost nine months now. If you want to, I think Emily should show you some apartments around Grozny that are available. I doubt you really get any privacy over there, and a single young woman like yourself probably wants some privacy, right?” Amelia gives me a knowing smirk, and I nod.
“It would be nice to have some alone time every now and again, yes.”
“Perfect. I’ll text Emily and have her find some listings for you. Maybe sometime in the next few days, the two of you can actually get out and look.”
“That would be awesome. Thank you for setting that up.”
“You’re very welcome.” Amelia looks like she’s about to say something to me, but then Karim starts screaming in the background. “That’s my cue to go. I’ll text you later, and we really need to grab some lunch soon. There’s this new restaurant on the other side of town that I’ve wanted to try really bad.”
“Xava, you wanted to speak with me?” Ruslan’s deep voice comes from out of nowhere, but I quickly realize he’s come from the same way Karim’s screaming was.
“I do, yes.”
