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“I wanted to wait to tell you until we got back to Grozny. I didn’t know if you were going to be excited or if you’d be frustrated because this wasn’t something we had exactly planned. It just happened, and you’re so new at this whole fatherhood thing with Sierra. I just… I didn’t know if it was too much.”
I grab onto Emily’s hand and run my thumb over the top of her hand. “Do you realize how silly you sound right now? We did this, not you. We got you pregnant. You’re not solely capable of creating a child on your own.” I toy with her a bit, and she ends up smiling.
“So, you’re not mad?”
I shake my head. “No, not in the least bit. I’m elated, really. We already have a family together with Sierra, and now we’ll be adding another child to the mix. I couldn’t be happier. I’m here in Greece with the woman I’m going to make my wife one day, and we already have a daughter, and now I’m told we’re having another baby? This is what dreams are made of.”
“I’m so relieved to hear you say that. I kept working myself up that you weren’t going to be happy about it.”
“I’d never put you through something like that. A baby is a blessing, Emily, and I’m feeling very blessed right now. Our family is coming together, and I’m so very proud of it.” I lean over to kiss Emily. Once my lips press against hers, I smile, and she smiles as well. I hate that she was so nervous, especially when she had no reason to be.
Once we pull away from each other, I decide to share some great news with Emily. “As you know, I have connections, and those connections helped me get birth certificates for those children who were with Sierra. Well, I had them create a birth certificate for Sierra. I know you knew that, but I had them put Mathers as the last name. I want to formally change Sierra’s name to Sierra Umarova if you’d let me do such a thing.”
“If I’d let you? Lom, she’s assumed you were her father this entire time, and you’ve never broken her heart, not once. Of course, I’d let you do such a thing.”
“I’m never going to break her heart. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be a good father to her at all, now would I?”
Emily shakes her head and leans over her chair to kiss me again. “I haven’t told Sierra about the baby yet, either. Maybe we can wait to get back to Grozny before we tell her about her little brother or sister’s arrival?”
“That sounds fine. It’ll be nice to have something to myself for a little while. That hardly ever happens these days.” I poke fun, and Emily laughs. “I do want you to get some more nutrients in you. The baby needs something, and even if we need to get you some nausea medicine, we will. You need to stay strong as well.”
“I know, and now that we’ve talked, I’ll do a better job of it.”
“Good, and I’ll do a better job at finding the right ring and us throwing together the biggest wedding Grozny has ever seen. I want you as my wife, Emily, and I mean that with all my heart.”
“What if I don’t want a big wedding?” Emily sticks her tongue out at me in jest.
“Then too bad because I’m going to show off my soon-to-be wife and my daughter to the entire city. I don’t know how I ever got this far without the two of you, but I love you both dearly.” I never knew love could be so calming, but with Emily, I discovered it firsthand.
* * *
Book 3
Vicious Angel
Prologue
Eset
Six Weeks Ago
“Are you nervous?” Ruslan asks me out of the blue, and I almost laugh at his question. Of course, I’m nervous, but I’m not some feeble little girl. I know exactly what I’m walking into, and it’s something that we have to do. There aren’t any other options here. Not any good ones, anyway.
“I’m going to be fine, brother. All we’re doing is meeting with him. We aren’t agreeing to anything yet.” My words are a gentle reminder of what’s happening today.
Ruslan is my eldest brother, and he’s the leader of the Umarova crime family. He’s technically my half-brother, as is Lom, but I hate to refer to them as that. We all share the same mother, but we don’t share the same father. Ruslan and Lom’s father was killed many years ago, and the person behind it all was my own father, and man, was that a hard pill to swallow. I, of course, knew what he was capable of doing, but it didn’t make it any easier. When I found out he was the one behind their father’s death, I had to tell them. In doing it, I risked putting myself and my brother Nazyr in jeopardy, but our father’s sins don’t automatically mean they’re our burden to bear.
Ruslan shakes his head and sinks his hands into his pockets as we walk down the Parisian street. “Sometimes I don’t know what to think. You act so callous, like nothing affects you in the least bit… but I know how difficult agreeing to this meeting had to have been for you. Why not talk to me about it? Why not get your anger, or whatever you’re feeling, out of your system?”
I stop dead in my tracks and look right at him. “Feelings won’t help me right now. Being emotional will not positively impact us. So, why would I do it? I’m choosing to look at this situation like a business deal because it’s what it is. You and I know that. If you want me to scream at you and hit you, now is not that time. The fact is you could’ve blindly agreed for me to marry Julio’s son without my consent, but instead, you spoke to me. Sure, it didn’t go too well at first, but you’re letting me do it on my own terms.”
Ruslan swallows hard and inhales deeply, not saying a word at first. “I’ve never been able to force you to do anything, Eset. Even as a little girl, you were always so firm in your decisions. It was impossible to get you to do anything you didn’t want to, but we’d usually threaten you with telling our mother, then you’d fold.”
“It only worked for a short while, if you remember correctly.” When I was little, I used to be afraid of our mother, but as I grew into my teenage years, I began seeing the world for what it is—a power dynamic. If you have power, you have endless possibilities. That’s why I’m taking this meeting because there’s a potential of gaining more power… but I’m not sure of it yet. What I really want to discover by meeting Julio is what sort of angle he’s trying to play.
Julio Ramirez sent a request to my brother for me to marry his son, Santos. Julio’s a man who came out of the woodwork not too long ago, claiming to be the son of the most heinous cartel leader Mexico had ever known, Rafael Ramirez. Right now, Rafael’s brother Alejandro rules Mexico. He’s been doing a great job at it, and I don’t see a reason to cause a rift in the water unless it’s absolutely necessary. From what I’ve heard, Julio feels like he should be in power because it’s his birthright, but I think it’s a load of crap. Alejandro hasn’t done anything wrong, and my family appreciates the way Alejandro leads. He puts his people first, and he always has.
“Yeah, we were never really able to get a one-up on you.” Ruslan chuckles lowly and opens the door for me as we reach our destination. On the fifth floor of the building is a restaurant called Les Ombres, which has a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower.
