AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What would that be, Miss Eset?”
“You said I have Umarova blood inside me. How could that be possible?” There’s no way it makes any sense to me. Ruslan and Lom’s father died before I was born, and to my knowledge, my father wasn’t related to him in any sort of way. Goran must be crazier than I thought.
Goran swallows hard and looks down at my plate. I take another bite, and then he begins speaking again. “My father guarded your mother for many, many years. He was always by her side wherever she went. He told me that your mother created embryos with Ruslan and Lom’s father, Khaso, at a fertility clinic in Paris. She told me that when she was first seeing Anzor, she would have to go to the clinic once every six weeks or so. Eventually, my father confessed that the embryos she was implanted with were from Khaso Umarova. So, you and Nazyr aren’t technically children of Anzor, but we don’t need to reveal that until the time comes.
“I think she thought Anzor would protect her if he believed you were his children, but Anzor thought he could never have children. Your mother tricked him, and she did it with great success at that. There wasn’t ever a doubt in his mind that you weren’t his. Hell, when I take a good look at you, all I see is Mr. Umarova. You look so much like him, the same way Ruslan does.”
My entire life, I’ve been lied to… again.
“How certain of this information are you, Goran?” If there’s even the slightest possibility he could be wrong, I need to know.
“One hundred percent. My father was your mother’s most trusted guard up until his death. He was the one she would call to go to certain locations because he kept her secrets better than anyone else. He only told me in his dying moments so I would know how to help your family continue on. My father was always loyal to the Umarovas, not Anzor.”
“And who are you loyal to, Goran?” This man has changed his loyalties so much in the last day that I don’t know how to keep track anymore.
“I’m loyal to you, Miss Eset. I only want to ensure you stay alive and live a long, happy life. I thought that Meryem could be our daughter if you’d be willing. You promised Kirill you’d care for her, and what better way to do that than to adopt her as ours?”
Ours. He keeps saying ours.
“And what do you want from me, Goran?” By the way he cranes his neck, he knows exactly what I’m asking from him.
“I want to be your husband, Miss Eset, but first, I’ll have to deal with the fraud you were forced to marry. Then we can be together. Then we can finally be what we were always meant to be. Now, finish your food. I’ll be back in a few minutes after I tend to Meryem, and then we can discuss getting you out of this room. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with your thoughts.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Santos
We’ve just landed in Prague, and we’re currently getting into two blacked-out SUVs. Lom’s behind the wheel of one with Nazyr in the passenger seat while I’m in the passenger seat of Ruslan’s. Lom’s in the first car, driving to the coordinates where Eset’s GPS is pinging from. I’m praying to God over and over again that this is her, but it’s entirely too coincidental to be anyone else.
Lom and Ruslan are driving like bats escaping hell through the streets, and I’m damn sure the police are going to stop us at some point, but the brothers continue on. We eventually make it out of the city limits, and Lom takes a state road to the left, where we’re driving completely through what looks like farmland. There’s hardly anything on either side of the road except remnants of where the crops were cut from the last harvesting season.
Ruslan’s right on Lom’s ass as he drives over eighty miles per hour, and Lom starts tapping on his brakes. We must be close. We have to be. I scan the area and spot a house off in the distance. Could that be where Eset is? As Lom turns right down the long, dirt driveway, I know this has to be it.
We roll up to the house and throw the cars into park, then each of us gets out of the vehicles with guns drawn. Goran comes rushing out of the house, looking a bit frazzled, and it’s never been clearer to me. He’s behind this. “What are you doing here?” Goran questions us, baffled beyond belief.
“We’re looking for my sister since her GPS is pinging at this location,” Ruslan states clearly, keeping his gun pointed at Goran’s forehead.
Goran swallows hard. “Eset has a tracking device? Why didn’t I know about it?”
“Because some secrets are only reserved for family,” Lom adds, glaring at Goran with all his might.
“So help me God, Goran, if you’ve harmed a hair on her head, I will—” I start off, not keeping an ounce of rage back.
“You will what, Santos? All you are is a man who makes idle threats. Not once have I seen you in action, and I never think I will.” Goran cackles, trying to be intimidating when the reality is he’s just looking like a pathetic fool. He’s the one who got caught here. It’s not the other way around.
I pull the safety back on my gun and fire, aiming directly at his right knee. Goran goes down, and blood covers his lightly faded denim jeans. I pull the trigger again, this time pointing at his other knee, and before I even give him a moment to process that I’ve shot him in his other knee, I shoot him in one shoulder and then the next.
“Goran, I’m a man of action. You’ve just never been high on my priority list. A man knows he truly has power when he has the choice of using it or not. So tell me again what you think of me, and allow me the immense pleasure of proving you wrong,” I snarl at the man as he’s leaning on his bloody knees while blood soaks through his shirt now as well.
“Help!” Eset’s voice can be heard in the distance, and I look at Ruslan and Lom for a brief moment.
“Go to her. We’ll keep an eye on him,” Ruslan states, not taking his eyes off Goran.
Goran’s smiling, like the crazed lunatic he is, as I walk by him, but I see why out of the corner of my eye. He has a gun behind his back, and it’s like it happens in slow motion. Goran reaches for the gun, and when it’s in his hand, I begin firing into his chest, one round after the other, until he falls into a lifeless puddle on the ground.
“Fuck, that was close,” Lom says, running his hand across his chest.
“Yes, it was, but I knew Santos could handle himself,” Ruslan speaks up, and I continue into the house in search of my wife. I go in through the front door and clear my throat.
