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I stay where I am for several minutes, trying to calm my wildly beating heart. I listen for the sound of the front door closing which means he’s leaving, but I don’t hear it.
Oh, great. Now I have to try and be normal sitting across from him through a whole dinner.
With a sigh, I plaster a normal expression on my face and go upstairs to see if Dad’s awake. He is, and I put away my handbag and help him downstairs.
When I enter the kitchen, I’m hyperaware of Uncle Kristian handing plates and cutlery to my nine-year-old stepbrother, Noah, so he can set the table with them. As he passes over a handful of forks, Lana says, “Avtobus povorachivayet naleva.”
The bus is turning left? What?
“Nalevo,” Uncle Kristian corrects her, and Lana repeats the phrase without the mistake. “That’s right,” Uncle Kristian says, and I smile as I realize he’s helping her with her Russian. I wonder if Lana is thinking about joining the family business after high school or if she’s merely learning about her heritage.
“Excuse me, Zenya,” Eleanor says behind me, and I move out of the way as I see my aunt behind me with a dish full of roast vegetables held with oven gloves.
Lana smiles at me. “Privet, Zenya.Ty golodnaya?”Hello, are you hungry?
“Ona vyglyadit golodnoy,” Uncle Kristian murmurs, a dark glimmer in his eyes.She looks hungry.
His tone and the expression on his face catch Eleanor’s attention and she peers from Uncle Kristian to me. I’m reminded of how much it would annoy Chessa when we would speak Russian in front of her. Uncle Kristian catches Eleanor’s disapproving look and holds her gaze until she tightens her mouth and turns away. It irritated him to have Chessa telling him what to do in this house, and he’s not going to stand for it from Eleanor.
I busy myself, pouring cups of soda for everyone on the other side of the kitchen, but I can’t help but hear my uncle’s voice over everyone else’s, laughing and talking with my brothers and sisters like he always used to. It brings back fond memories and makes me smile. We feel like a family again.
When we sit down to dinner, Dad sits at the head of the table and Uncle Kristian takes the place opposite mine. He’s so good at pretending there’s nothing out of the ordinary about today, while I feel like I’m riding a roller coaster. Upstairs in this very house not long ago, I had sex with a man for the first time.
I glance at Dad, who’s talking with Felix about a recent football game and picking at his food more than eating it, dark smudges beneath his eyes. I’m still not sure how he feels about Uncle Kristian being back. I wonder if he would have been allowed to come back at all if Dad didn’t believe I needed some strong family support that he couldn’t provide. My loyalty to Dad should have me holding Uncle Kristian at arm’s length but instead, I’m…
I flick my gaze at the handsome man across from me, only to find that he’s staring at me as well.
Adoring him.
“Can we all have dinner together again on the fourth?” Lana asks hopefully, looking from Dad to me, Uncle Kristian, and Eleanor.
I think for a moment, wondering what’s significant about the fourth. Of course, it’s Lana’s sixteenth in just two weeks. How could I have forgotten?
“A dinner? Why would you want a dinner when I’ve been planning a party for you?” I ask her. I haven’t, I’ve been woefully distracted, but there’s still enough time for me to organize everything. Just.
Lana’s face lights up. “You have?”
Uncle Kristian turns to her. “Of course she has. I’ve been helping your sister make the arrangements. Do you remember her sweet sixteenth?”
“Of course I do. Zenya’s party was beautiful.”
It was beautiful. The house was decked out in silver decorations and white and pink balloons. I had a wonderful night, but the best part of my birthday was actually the next night when Uncle Kristian secretly took me to an underground cage-fighting match. There were no seats, the spectators were all crushed in together, and he stood behind me with his arms around me to protect me from being knocked off my feet. We yelled ourselves hoarse during the fight. He let me choose who to bet a hundred dollars on and my fighter won. The cops raided the place just as the fight was wrapping up. Uncle Kristian grabbed my hand and led me through the panicked crowd and out a side entrance. He didn’t let go of me until we reached his car. It was one of the best nights of my life.
After dinner, Uncle Kristian asks me to walk him out to his car. I suspect he wants a kiss goodnight, but I have other ideas.
As he draws me into the shadows beneath a tree and lowers his head to kiss me, I say, “We have a problem.”
“Yes, we do,” he murmurs. “I’m not kissing you right now.”
“Arealproblem. If Yuri and Jozef didn’t send those men to attack me in the warehouse, then someone else did. We need to find out who it was before they try to do it again.”
Uncle Kristian’s hands tighten murderously on my waist. “I’ll find out, and then I’ll rip every organ from their body and stuff it down their throat. Meanwhile, don’t worry about your safety, princess. No one will dare attack you with me by your side.”
He tries to kiss me again, but I sidestep his advances and slip out of his grip. “Goodnight, Uncle.”
His eyes are bright with determination as he watches me walk back to the house, and I wonder how long it will be until he has me pinned up against a wall again.
Over the following days, I’m professional, detached Zenya, getting through the challenges of work as well as planning a sweet sixteenth. Eleanor helps me by sending out e-mail invitations to all the family, and I ask Lana’s best friend at school to make sure all her friends are invited.
