“I don’t see any Soldier,” Mia hums, tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder.
“Well, we have to wait until they show.”
“Right,” Mia huffs, crossing her arms.
An hour later, we enter the huge mansion, our home. The long black marble floor shines, and I notice that the walls have new paintings. Everything else looks the same. We walk down the hallway to our rooms. As always, Mia stays with me since her Mamma is on vacation.
I unpack the few things that I need and then walk over to Mia’s room. I enter the room and sit on the bed, crossing my legs.
“Do you think that Don Elio will talk to us?” Mia hums, unpacking in her room—the guest room, but it might as well be her room since she always stays there whenever we’re home.
“I’m sure that Don Elio will talk to us when he has something to say. We need to enjoy these free moments.”
“We will always have free moments. Do you think that we could go out and have some fun?”
“We can try, but I know that he won’t approve.”
I look at my fingers and toenails and nod.
“I want to get my nails done.”
Mia looks at me, raising her brow and holding her perfume in her hand.
“Oh yeah, that sounds great. I want to get my hair styled and go shopping.”
“Yes! I also want to get highlights. I’ll ask Don Elio,” I hum, pulling my cell phone from my black leather jacket side pocket.
“Awesome,” Mia squeals.
I slide my fingers over the screen and send him a text.
Valentina ~ Hi. We’re home. Could we go shopping and get our hair done?
Don Elio ~ Yes. The Soldiers will take you.
Valentina ~ Thank you.
“Don Elio approved our outing. But the Soldiers assigned to us will take us. It’s better than not going. We have to get used to them.”
“Hell, yes! I’m so excited! I don’t mind the Soldiers; I feel protected.”
“Great! Get ready because I know that the Soldiers are waiting,” I say, pushing off the bed.
One
Lev
Present Day
“I’m going to get us some food,” Ivan hums, looking at his watch.
“Da,” I say, emotionless, lifting my chin.
I glance at him and pull out my cell to see if I have the GPS working on him. I inhale deeply, trying to cool my fucking temper. I don’t want to question him now in front of my Brats.
He’s been acting strange lately, always sneaking off with one pretext or another. I don’t want to think that he’s up to no good. But he’s making it harder and harder for me not to start questioning his actions.
He's changed over the years, and I don’t like it. The same thought keeps running through my mind. The one that Pakhan always repeated.
