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“I assumed that might be part of the reason you haven’t decided. Santos is going to be in London next week, and I think it would be wise if you take the opportunity to meet him. After you meet him, I’ll expect some sort of decision to be made. Regardless of what it is, I have to know how to prepare, so I can protect our family. If you decline, I doubt it’ll be without recourse on Julio’s side.”
“Whatever I decide, there will be a good reason for it.” I lock my gaze with my brother’s, and he gives me a curt nod.
I know how lucky I am to have a brother who isn’t marrying me off to the highest bidder. In this life, this sort of support from men in your crime family isn’t known. Many criminal families still use women as bargaining chips, and I’m thankful my family isn’t one of them.
The back door opens, and Emily clears her throat. “Come on inside. The table’s set, and we’re all ready to eat.”
Ruslan and I head inside, and we all get to the table, even Sierra. Lom grabs dishes of food, and we pass them around the table. Emily made some sort of roasted chicken with a creamy sauce, steamed broccoli, mashed potatoes, and carrots. There are also two cakes on the side, which Sierra is eyeing up any chance she gets. It’s mainly American food from the looks of it, but that’s perfectly fine. I love American dishes, but who am I kidding? I love all food.
Lom clears his throat, and everyone looks over at him. “Emily, Sierra, and I have a special announcement to make. Since we’re all in one spot, when better to announce it than right now? Emily is pregnant.” My brother smiles bigger than I’ve ever seen him do before, and the entire table makes their congratulations known. We’re so excited for them all, and over the last year or so, I’ve seen my brothers find the love of their lives. That just leaves Nazyr and me as the only two who are still on the market… but he could be alone in that soon.
As Emily and Lom continue speaking about how excited they are, my mind wanders to the little girl I promised to find.
Kirill, one of the people who worked for my family, betrayed my brothers. In doing so, it was inevitable that his life be taken from him… but before he was killed, he said they had his daughter.
I made a promise to a dying man, and while he wronged my family, I don’t plan on breaking the promise I made.
I have to find her because she’s an innocent bystander in this fucked-up game.
Chapter Three
Santos
My father called me early this morning and said he was going to be swinging by. He’s not the type of man who simply swings by, so I know he has some sort of news. Why he can’t just tell me over the phone is something I don’t understand, considering he does it all the time.
I’m leaning over the railing of my veranda, looking down at the people on the beach. There are multiple umbrellas, lounge chairs, and even kites being flown at this time of day. Since Cancun is one of the hottest destinations in Mexico, it’s always packed around here. Most of the condominiums in my complex are a mixture of vacation homes with a few year-round residents. Some rental agencies own condos here, while others are time-share agreements. Regardless, I hate having to deal with tourists. You’d think when you purchase a condo in a complex with extreme security measures that there wouldn’t be too many tourists moving in and out of the doors. But, unfortunately, not. It appeals to the crème de la crème, or the elite.
I sip on my tequila on the rocks while I change my attention to the horizon in front of me. The sky is a mixture of light and dark purples, with bits of white and orange. The waves crash against the sound, and birds fly in the sky. Some of them even stop on the beach, praying something was left behind for them to munch on.
I already know what my father wants me to do when it comes to Eset Umarova, but it will mean I’m leaving everything behind, including this condo that I love so much. When I don’t have to be with my father, I prefer to stay here. I think the ambiance of the ocean calms me down. Growing up, I was always moving so much with my mother, and then she had me meet my father for the first time at thirteen years old. At that point, I spent the rest of my teenage years being raised by him. Every once in a while, she would come to visit, typically on my birthday or around Christmas.
Even as a child, I saw what I was to him. I had some hope that he was going to look at me like I was his pride and joy. I even thought that for a while, but I was an innocent little boy, wanting only to be accepted and loved by his father. By the time I turned seventeen, I had realized what I really was to him—an heir—after he gave me a speech about how we were destined for greatness.
I didn’t know it back then, but I’m sure he was already forming his plan to take over Alejandro’s throne. My father had a little bit of money left for him by his father when he passed, but he had to turn whatever his inheritance was into more, so that’s what he’s done for so many years. He knew having money would catapult him into being taken seriously, and while it has, it also meant he’s had to make very monstrous decisions.
I want to hope my father is a good man underneath the surface. I believe every child hopes their parent is a good person, but I know mine isn’t. When he has the option to make a good decision versus a bad one, he’s always going to choose the worse of the two. It’s in his blood, quite literally.
I hear stories about my grandfather all the time, and not one of them is good. I doubt there is one person in this world who has ever had a positive experience to tell after meeting my grandfather. Everything I know has been horrible, vile shit. Truthfully, I don’t know how he wasn’t killed before the day he was. There are even rumors about his death and the circumstances.
I believe the Romanian Clans and the Skulls Renegade MC had to work together quite a bit to get him where they wanted him. There are rumors that a woman he raped killed him, but I don’t have confirmation. I hope someone he wronged was the one to take him from this world. It might sound cold since he was my grandfather, but I think everyone gets what’s coming to them.
My doorbell rings out of nowhere, so I turn around and walk back into my condo. I walk past the dining room area and down the hall until I’m at my door. I take a peek through the peephole and see it’s my father, so I unlock the door and let him inside. “Hey.”
“Hello, son,” my father greets me as he loosens the tie around his neck. He even unbuttons a couple of buttons near the top as he walks inside. He’s frustrated, and right about now, I’m wondering why. Something must have happened.
“What’s going on?”
My father inhales deeply through his nostrils and licks his lips aggravatingly before he speaks. “You know one of my facilities was broken into not too long ago, yes?”
I nod, remembering how badly he flipped out when he was told about the break-in. “Yeah, what about it? Have you discovered who was behind it?”
He looks right up at me. “That’s where things get a bit tricky. I think the Umarovas could’ve been behind it.”
What in the world? “Why would you say that?”
“Because of this.” My father taps away on his phone and then hands it to me. I’m looking at a photograph of Lom Umarova with his girlfriend, or possibly wife, Emily. In the photograph, there’s also what appears to be a teenage girl. “That girl was at the facility before it was broken into. Now she just so happens to be with them? It’s not a coincidence, son. I know that for certain.”
I don’t believe in coincidences either, but if that girl is somehow important to the Umarova family, then I don’t blame them for taking her back. My father is despicable for dealing in child trafficking anyway.
