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“No one will take you seriously as the head of the family if you stay here. Anzor was in power for so long. They’re going to want someone who’s present. If you aren’t present, I’m afraid of what could happen.” He thinks the entire order of power could fall if I’m not there, and it’s an excellent concern to bring up.
Things aren’t as simple as they were before. I don’t feel like I can just get on a plane tonight and return home. It isn’t just about me now. I have Amelia, too, and what she wants in life matters to me.
“We will do whatever we can to hold things over until you make a decision or can come back home,” Nazyr speaks up, and I give him a nod in thanks.
“Yes, we will do what we can. What do you want done with his body?” Eset asks, and it surprises me that she’s the one asking this.
I’ve thought about this long and hard. “I want him beheaded and his head to be displayed in the center of Grozny. His body can be burned here in the woods for all I care. Anzor will be an example of why not to cross the Umarova family.”
“When we arrive back home, we’ll begin searching high and low for Artos. He will be the next one we make an example of,” Lom says, and I nod in agreement. Some days I feel like he can read my mind.
This day has been a long time coming. Now all I have left to do is tie up a few loose ends. Artos and Carter are high on my priority list, and then maybe I can leave and go back to Grozny, with Amelia, of course.
Chapter Twenty-One
Amelia
Ruslan was only gone for a few hours before he came back to the hotel suite. Once he got back, he went straight into the shower. He didn’t even say a word to Danill or me. Nal has been off on some sort of assignment. Part of me thinks Ruslan told Nal to track down Carter, and deep down, I think I’m right.
I head into the kitchen and grab two slices of bread, tie up the bread container, and then go to the fridge. I grab some butter and a pack of cheese slices.
I’ve really been craving a pan-fried grilled cheese, so I’m going to make myself one today. I grab a pan from the cupboard and go ahead and head up to the stove. I’ll give it a few minutes to warm the pan before I put the bread in it.
I butter the bread and tuck two slices of cheese between them when my phone starts ringing on the counter. I have just enough time to plop the sandwich down in the pan and answer the phone. “Hello?” I say into it, without even looking to see who it was.
“Hey, are you busy?” It’s Emily, and she sounds a little frazzled.
“Not really. I’m just making a grilled cheese sandwich.”
“Oh, okay. Um, well… your mom showed up at the apartment. She was banging on the door like a mad woman, and I had to let her in, or the neighbor was going to call the cops. She’s…” In the background, I can hear my mother asking Emily if I’m on the phone and when I’m coming over. My mother sounds so different, and there’s a desperation in her voice I’ve never heard before.
“She’s not like herself, Amelia. Can you come over and see what’s wrong? I… I have a theory, and I’ll text you about it,” Emily whispers the last bit, and I can sense how uncomfortable my cousin is right now. She doesn’t want to be alone with my mother, and while I don’t know why, I’m going to find out.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Okay?”
“Yep, sounds good. Hurry if you can.”
Emily and I quickly say our goodbyes, and while I flip my sandwich over, I call out for Ruslan. He comes out of the bedroom and walks up to me. “That smells good. What is it?”
“It’s a grilled cheese sandwich, but that’s not why I called you in here. My mother showed up at the apartment, and Emily’s keeping her there. Em sounds like she needs our help.”
Ruslan comes over to me and shuts off the stove, then moves the pan over to a burner that isn’t hot. “All right, then let’s go.” Ruslan takes my hand in his and waves Danill to come with us. We all head out of the suite, go down the elevator, and rush to the SUV as quickly as possible. Ruslan even drives like a madman as he speeds through Atlanta to get to the apartment.
We’re there in no time, and my heart is beating intensely in my chest with every waking moment. I don’t know why my mom would show up out of the blue. She’s never done this before, which makes me feel like she’s losing it. She only ever needs me for some money or something, so I have to figure out what’s going on.
Before the car’s even parked, I throw open my door and get out. Danill follows close behind me since Ruslan’s driving, and he’s hot on my heels as I approach the door. I place my hand on the knob and turn it, pushing it open with intense speed. There’s this gut-wrenching feeling I have like something isn’t right.
Emily’s sitting on the couch, tapping her fingers on her knees nervously, and my mother’s pacing around the living room. If that isn’t nerve-wracking enough, the gun in her hand adds to it. “I don’t know why he’d do this to me. It doesn’t make sense.” My mother smacks herself on the forehead and repeats how he did this to her, over and over again.
“Mom…” I say her name, trying so hard not to let there be any inflections in my voice. I don’t want her to know I’m afraid right now, but I am. Footsteps come from behind me, and Ruslan fills the doorway.
My mother looks me up and down. “Amelia!” She waves her hands around and points the gun in the air. I don’t know if it’s real or not. These days they have fake guns that look like the real thing, but all they shoot are BB pellets.
“Mom, what’s going on? I wasn’t expecting you.” I try to act nonchalant, and it’s taking everything in me not to freak out right now.
“I know you weren’t. Yes, I know you weren’t.” She shakes her head and does it a couple of times. “Yes, you were. You should’ve known I’d come here for you. We need to talk.” She stops speaking and stares at me blankly. “You’re hiding him. Aren’t you?” My mother charges for me, but Danill steps in between the two of us and knocks the gun out of her hand. It falls on the floor a couple of feet away from my mother, and Emily gets up and grabs it so my mom can’t get it.
Ruslan shuts the door behind him and locks it while Danill pulls my mother’s hands behind her. He’ll hold her because she can’t be trusted right now, and I’m grateful for it. Now that Danill’s holding her arms back, the red and brown speckles along her arms are undeniable. She’s been using. Heroin, if I had to guess.
