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“I never know what to expect with that one. One minute she wants to be all affectionate and stuff, and the next minute, I’m her worst enemy. She hasn’t even hit the teenage years yet, and we all know those are going to be horrible.” Emily grabs the wooden spoon from its holder and stirs the sauce she has cooking in her saucepan. “Oh, and they’ll be here any minute. I’m sure something happened with Karim, and that’s why they’re late. The last time Amelia and I had plans, he had a blowout diaper which made her forty-five minutes late.” Emily rolls her eyes, and the two of us cackle.
“Like it takes forty-five minutes to change a diaper, right?”
“Exactly!” Emily throws her head back in laughter when my brother comes into the kitchen.
“I should’ve known Eset was here with the way you’re laughing. She walks in through any door, and people do the same thing,” Lom thinks he’s funny, and I ball my hand into a fist and punch him.
“Don’t be a dick. It’s too early in the night for that,” I warn him.
“What are you going to do to me, huh?” Lom’s eyes sparkle with mischievousness, and he knows better. He’s seen firsthand what I’m capable of, but still, he insists on playing around with me. Then again, that’s my brother for you.
“Stop pushing your sister’s buttons, will you? I could honestly need some help getting everything ready, and since you’re acting like a child, I think you’re the one for the job,” Emily cuts in, and I can’t hold back my smile. His woman has a complete hold on him. It reminds me of when he was being naughty when we were younger. Our mother would come up and grab him by the ear. Only Emily’s doing it with her words.
Our mother.
Ugh, what a sad situation it is with her. She decided to stay loyal to my father, despite every atrocious thing he’d done to my brothers and their father. Personally, I think in the back of her mind, she knew everything that happened, but I think she was holding onto a small sliver of hope that he wasn’t as awful as we’d discovered. She’d spent years of her life with him after she lost the one man she loved more than anything, and the man she moved on with was the one responsible for his death. It’s a truly fucked-up story. Months have passed by, and our mother is still being as horrid as ever, so none of us communicate with her. If she’s going to continue to be like this, then good riddance.
The doorbell rings again, and Ludvik walks across the entryway and heads for the door. Within a few moments, Ruslan comes into view with baby Karim in his arms, and Amelia is in tow behind them, followed by Danill.
Ruslan turns back to his wife, and they speak about something before he hands the baby off to my sister-in-law. He comes into the kitchen and greets everyone before walking over to me. “We need to talk. Privately.”
I turn my head to look at my brother, and he has on his typical poker face. “What? Now? It’s a family dinner.”
“And dinner isn’t ready, so we have a few more minutes. So come,” Ruslan says, and we head out through the back door into their decently sized backyard.
There’s an eight-foot brick wall that goes around the length of the yard, and trees line the wall, giving them a better sense of privacy. “What’s so important that we have to discuss it right now?” It’s obvious Ruslan needs something. If he didn’t, he would’ve waited until tomorrow or maybe even after dinner.
“Julio called me earlier today. He wants to know where you stand on the marriage proposal.”
I’m unable to hold back my cackle. “I told him I never agreed to a marriage proposal in the first place, and yet he asks you about it. A lot must be riding on this for him.” I make sure to look right into my brother’s eyes. Julio is showing his desperation more and more by the day.
“I agree, though I’m curious where your mind is with the whole thing. I want to know what your plan is, Eset.” Ah, he’s not asking. He’s subtly telling me I need to confess what my intentions are.
“I’m not sure as of yet. I haven’t met Santos at all, so how can I accept a proposal when I don’t know anything about the man I’ll be tied to for the rest of my life?” I’m bringing up a good point, and the way Ruslan clenches his jaw tells me I am.
“I assumed that might be part of the reason you haven’t decided. Santos is going to be in London next week, and I think it would be wise if you take the opportunity to meet him. After you meet him, I’ll expect some sort of decision to be made. Regardless of what it is, I have to know how to prepare, so I can protect our family. If you decline, I doubt it’ll be without recourse on Julio’s side.”
“Whatever I decide, there will be a good reason for it.” I lock my gaze with my brother’s, and he gives me a curt nod.
I know how lucky I am to have a brother who isn’t marrying me off to the highest bidder. In this life, this sort of support from men in your crime family isn’t known. Many criminal families still use women as bargaining chips, and I’m thankful my family isn’t one of them.
The back door opens, and Emily clears her throat. “Come on inside. The table’s set, and we’re all ready to eat.”
Ruslan and I head inside, and we all get to the table, even Sierra. Lom grabs dishes of food, and we pass them around the table. Emily made some sort of roasted chicken with a creamy sauce, steamed broccoli, mashed potatoes, and carrots. There are also two cakes on the side, which Sierra is eyeing up any chance she gets. It’s mainly American food from the looks of it, but that’s perfectly fine. I love American dishes, but who am I kidding? I love all food.
Lom clears his throat, and everyone looks over at him. “Emily, Sierra, and I have a special announcement to make. Since we’re all in one spot, when better to announce it than right now? Emily is pregnant.” My brother smiles bigger than I’ve ever seen him do before, and the entire table makes their congratulations known. We’re so excited for them all, and over the last year or so, I’ve seen my brothers find the love of their lives. That just leaves Nazyr and me as the only two who are still on the market… but he could be alone in that soon.
As Emily and Lom continue speaking about how excited they are, my mind wanders to the little girl I promised to find.
Kirill, one of the people who worked for my family, betrayed my brothers. In doing so, it was inevitable that his life be taken from him… but before he was killed, he said they had his daughter.
I made a promise to a dying man, and while he wronged my family, I don’t plan on breaking the promise I made.
I have to find her because she’s an innocent bystander in this fucked-up game.
Chapter Three
Santos
