Page 7 of Shattered


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Chapter 4

Leon

I sit down in front of the coffee table and place my drink on the coaster. I will be scolded by the woman of the house if I don't make sure my whiskey doesn't mark the designer wood. Not that I can blame her because it is a nice piece. I admire most of the decor in this house now that Anton has settled down and let his woman have her way with the place.

I know the question is coming, because there is no way I can be summoned to New York to talk to the queen and king of the mafia and not garner some attention from one of the other Clan leaders, and best friend, Anton. I knew that it would come up when I decided to stop here before going back to Romania, but I also did not expect to be bombarded with the questions that I had been while I was meeting with Ion and Mariana.

“So, I would love to think that you just came to visit on a whim, but rumor has it that you've just come from New York,” Anton says, swishing his own drink in his mouth as if it's mouthwash and not a strong, aged scotch just the way he likes. Of course, he always could hold his alcohol and then some, so maybe it is nothing more than a mouthwash to him.

“Then, you heard right.” I take a swig of my own drink, needing more liquid courage to deal with the laughter that is probably about to ensue when I tell him what the king and queen of the mafia had assumed about me.

“They rarely summon one of us by ourselves. So, are you going to leave me hanging or you going to tell me what went down?” he presses, leaning over as if we are conspirators. There's really no need considering Natasha is downstairs putting the kids to bed.

“They basically gave me an ultimatum.” I know I am tiptoeing around the subject, but I'm also doing it to give him a little bit of shit. Anton is the kind of guy with a dark sense of humor, and he is always giving it to me, so maybe it's time I feed it back to him. “They basically want to know why I am not married and having babies yet. Something about continuing my Clan line and all that blah blah blah.”

I throw my drink back and pour myself another, which is not exactly like myself. But I also don't like being told what I can and cannot do. I may be a good man for someone who's in the mafia, and a quiet man, but I like my control. I prefer full control over my life and who is in it, which is why I never accepted an arranged marriage like so many others in this business. I always thought the right girl would just come to me one day and that would be that.

“Well, you know so many of us are married off now, they're probably trying to just finish it off here. Really, though, haven't you thought about it at all?” I'm surprised by the seriousness of his question, and I realize, not for the first time how much being a father and a husband has changed him. I know enough about the details to know that he and Natasha were off to a rocky start because of a big mistake that he and some of the other Clan leaders made in going after the wrong person for trying to assassinate Mariana, and that person happened to be a family member to Natasha. But once they came back from that, they were as strong as ever, and they were both glowing the moment they found tout hat they were going to be parents. I never really saw it before, but it fits now.

“Of course, I have. But it's complicated. But apparently that complication has Mariana and Ion worrying about the fact that I might be gay.” I just sit there and let what I said sizzle inside the tension in the room for a moment until it sinks in. For all the years that Anton and I have been friends, we haven't really talked about girls that much, to be honest. For all I know I know, maybe he believes that I could be gay too and just has never said anything as not to offend me.

“Well, I can see where they're coming from. So, I have to ask you, are you gay?” He looks at me with complete seriousness in his dark eyes, and I grin, starting to laugh.

“No, I am 100% straight.”

“Then, why haven't you settled down yet, or at least started dating?”

“I think I have an old-fashioned point of view about all of it; love, women, marriage. I've just been waiting for the right one to come along and sweep me off my feet.” I bat my eyelashes at Anton, and he knocks me hard in the shoulder with his fist. “Seriously, though - I am looking for a very specific woman, and I will know her when I see her. A lot of the women that come around me and want to date me - they're all so fake. They have those lip injections, fake tits, and they want all my money and to look good on my arm. That is not what I'm looking for. I want the real deal, and as rare as it is in our line of business, you clearly see that it's not impossible.” I point down the stairwell in the direction of where his wife has disappeared to get their two children, Nina and Simion, to sleep. I don't know how this asshole got someone to love him like that, but it's clear in the way they look at each other that that's exactly what this is - true love.

Neither of us gets to say anything else as an earth-shattering scream rips through the house and interrupts the calmness that was there just moments before. Both Anton and I jump up and look down the landing to see that Natasha it is holding on to a woman that is falling on the floor. I don't know why we didn't hear the door or anyone coming in, but I can see now why this person is screaming. It is a brunette woman, but I can't make out many other features to tell if I know the person. All I know is that there are some blood stains on her face and obviously blood on her clothes as well. I can even see quite a bit of bruising from up here.

“Jesus, is that Bethany?” Anton calls down to his wife. I can see that she's struggling with her, and I begin to descend the stairs to see how I can help.

“Yes, it is. Can you guys help me get her onto the couch. She needs to calm down so I can find out exactly what happened.”

I get down there and turn around to see that Anton is at my heels. We both cradle her and take her into the formal living room that is downstairs, setting her on the leather couch. She is crying hysterically, which I guess anyone in that physical state would be. Natasha is now rubbing her back and shushing her like a baby, trying to get her to calm down. The tears don't seem to be stopping, until suddenly, they do.

“Anton, can you please go get me a warm, wet washcloth?” Natasha asks in a low, calm, voice, and he goes to do what she asks without hesitation.

“She looks like she can use some tea,” I say heading towards the kitchen so that I can brew some lavender chamomile. I know that it always soothes me when I him in a bad mindset. It is the least I could do considering she's clearly been through an ordeal. I don't know much about her other than the fact that she is Natasha's best friend, though I haven't exactly seen her around. I remember meeting her briefly at their wedding, but that was it. And I don't know if there's was something that happened to lead up to this considering I just arrived on a plane only few hours ago.

I take my time bringing the tea, figuring that she doesn't need a stranger in there right now while she is trying to compose yourself and get her bearings. I am hoping that the time alone with Natasha as Natasha cleans her up will give her a chance to tell her story so that we can find out exactly how she got hurt and found herself on their doorstep. Something in my gut tells me that it has to do with a guy, but doesn't it always? But I'm not going to jump to any conclusions here until I know the full story. I'm just going to ride the wave and help my friends as they try to care for her for now.

Finally, it is quiet as I come back into the room to see that she's a little bit more cleaned up. Anton is on the phone when I set the cup of tea on the coffee table in front of her. This time I don't bother looking around for a coaster because I don't think that that is a priority right now for anyone in this house.

“Lavender and chamomile,” I tell her as we make eye contact for a second. I can immediately tell a few things about her, but I'm not going to judge her for any of the right now considering she's probably had about the worst day of her life so far. She clearly has some injections maybe some fake boobs going on, but something genuine shines in her eyes and makes me feel like she's not the typical woman to get or want these things. There is some real pain in there. Her eyes are still watery from crying, but no more tears fall.

“Thank you,” she croaks out, clearing her throat which is thick from the sobbing. Who knows how long she was doing it?

“I'm Leon,” I tell her, reaching out and giving her my hand to shake. I figure treating her as normally as possible might make her feel a little bit more comfortable about this awkward situation.

“Bethany,” she says, grabbing my hand and shaking it.

“I believe you are Natasha's best friend; I am Anton’s friend. Sorry we had to meet like this, but it is nice to meet you.” I try to charm her with a wink, and I get a weak smile back. It's better than nothing.

I hear a miring coming from the children's bedrooms down the hall, and then little feet patter down the hallway and into the living room. There's Nina, in her pajamas and carrying her teddy bear. “Mommy? What wrong?” the little girl asks, rubbing at her eyes. Natasha taps Bethany on the shoulder before she goes to see if the now crying baby needs soothing, and Anton hangs up the phone and takes Nina to settle her back down. I nod to him to let him know that I'll stay here with Bethany and try and keep her company until she feels comfortable going to sleep. It's not like I don't have all the time in the world right now. Well, technically. I am supposed to be back in Romania in two days, but I am the boss, so who cares?

I slide down across from her on the matching loveseat and casually sit back. When she looks over at me, I allow myself to look at her, and I notice that her nose is just a little bit off set. “You should probably see someone about that as soon as possible to get it reset.” The point to my own so she knows what I mean.

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