AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay, what’s going on? Obviously, it’s something big.”
“Lom asked me to come back to Grozny with him,” I blurt out, hardly believing it myself as I’m telling her.
“Whoa. Wait a second. What?” Amelia practically screams into the phone. I have to yank the phone away from my ear just so I don’t go deaf from her outburst.
“Yeah, I know… and I don’t know what to do. Honest to God, I have no idea what to do. I just accepted that job, and I’m just so conflicted. On the one hand, I accepted this job that’ll give me a world of opportunities, and then, on the other hand, I have this man that I’m totally in awe of, giving me a beautiful opportunity to be with him for the long term… or at least I think that’s what this is. Is that what it is?”
“I’d say so. It sure seems like it to me. Personally, I’m going to say fuck the job and move to Grozny with Lom… because then you’ll be near me, and you need to be near me!”
“Yeah, and there isn’t one bit of selfishness in your answer now, is there?”
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll lie to you and say there isn’t.” Amelia laughs, but we both know she wants me there, so I’m closer to her.
I’d love to be closer to her. We had so many years where we weren’t close with one another… but this is a good opportunityfor us to be near each other again. Amelia is the sister I never had, and I stand by that statement. There are a lot of people who have walked in and out of my life, but living life without Amelia seems impossible. She’s the one person I can say anything to, and she’d never judge me. Hell, if I murdered someone, I’d call Amelia to help me bury the body.
“I don’t know what to do, Amelia.” Emotion floods my voice because I’m so conflicted. I really, truly, completely have no idea what to fucking do. My boss is a perverted sleaze… but the company has good connections, and those connections could work out for me in the end. Then again, I know Lom and Ruslan have connections too.
Amelia sighs on the other end of the line. “I don’t know what to tell you, Em. You’ve been given an amazing opportunity to see if this is legit between you and Lom. From what I saw over the past few days, I think you could be it for him.”
“The lease is coming up for renewal in sixty days, too.”
“Ah, so it’s another sign from the universe that you should be with Lom. Hmm?”
I wasn’t looking at it like that, but maybe Amelia’s right. “Is that what you would take it as?”
“I’d say it’s another thing pointing in his direction, especially if you don’t want to renew it.”
I don’t want to renew it, and as more of these things come to mind, I realize that subconsciously I’ve already made up my mind. I don’t want to stay here. I want to take a leap of faith and be with the man who makes me feel like I’m actually alive.
“Thank you. This is exactly what I needed.”
“Girl, I needed the details too! I love it when you call me for stuff like this. I need to get going, though, so I’ll talk to you later.”
Amelia and I quickly say our goodbyes, then I take a nice, long, hot shower. After I get out of the shower, I check in onsome of my listings, and everything seems great. I reply to a couple of emails from potential buyers, as well as a couple of clients I have.
After I finish a little bit of work, I try to get some sleep, but I can’t get any sleep. So I decide to call my brother, Will, who I haven’t spoken to in a little while. I really want him in my corner with all this shit involving our aunt Lucy, so I tell him everything, every single detail… but instead of being supportive like I thought he would, Will’s condemning me for my actions.
He tells me I was irresponsible and idiotic, especially for not understanding basic birth control. I figured he’d be shocked, to say the least, but I never thought he’d react the way he has. He goes so much further as he tells me that whatever our parents do to me is what I deserve, and by the end of the call, I feel sick to my stomach with anxiety.
Why did I even bother telling him anything?
All I wanted was for him to be in my corner, but it turns out he’s on the opposing side, and I didn’t even know it.
Chapter Fourteen
Lom
It’s been a few days since we’ve been back in Atlanta, and while I know we’ll be back soon, I really want to be back in Grozny as soon as possible. Emily still hasn’t told me if she’s going to come with me yet, and every day that passes us by without an answer only makes me more nervous. If I’m being honest with myself, it makes me feel like she’s going to say no instead of yes. If she would just give me some sort of hint about where her mind’s leading her, I might feel a bit better, but she isn’t.
I’m standing near the window of my hotel suite, looking out onto the horizon as the sun sets. Atlanta is a beautiful city, but this isn’t my home. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and being here has meant I got to meet a very unique woman. One who I can’t envision my life without, and maybe one day I’ll tell her that. Emily’s the only woman who’s ever made me want to settle down, and I’d stop all my bullshit for her.
I never realized how much Emily means to me until right now. The mere thought of leaving Atlanta without her pulls at my heartstrings, and not in a good way. It would gut me, and I don’t want to experience that. Which leaves me wondering if she says no, then what will I do? Will I go back home to Grozny, or will I stay in Atlanta to continue our relationship? If push came to shove, I’d stay here for her because I’m falling for her. If it meant seeing if our relationship could make it in the long term, I would one thousand percent stay here for Emily. I only hope I don’t have to. I hope she wants to go to Grozny. It’ll give her more time with Amelia and Karim, and I think it’s a big selling factor for her. All I can do is hope she tells me soon. I’ll give heranother few days, but if she doesn’t bring it up on her own, I’ll have no choice but to ask her about it.
Out of nowhere, my phone starts ringing, so I go over to the coffee table and pick it up, seeing from a quick glance that it’s my brother, Nazyr. “Brother, this is unexpected.” Nazyr never calls without texting me first. He’s one of those people who hates being on the phone, so this has to be a good one.
“It is, but I knew you’d want to hear about it as soon as possible. I have a possible hit on Artos.”
“Go on.” Whatever he knows, I need to know too. We’ve all been using every ally we have in an attempt to find that betraying bastard, and once we get our hands on him, it won’t be pretty. At least, not for him. I’m sure we’ll all be smiling when we get him in our clutches, and if my brothers and sister don’t, I at least will be.
