AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Emily’s right, and in a way, I think I was nervous while trying to figure out how to tell my brothers all of this. They’re going to think I’m absolutely insane, but I’m not. I’m just trying to do one damn good thing.
“I might have jumped the gun a bit, but I don’t regret the choice I made. She would have been killed, and I needed to take her with me. I do need to speak to my brothers, though,” I trail off, thinking about how I’m going to present this to them.
“You do. You need to talk to them today. This is crazy, Nazyr. I understand your heart’s in the right place, but this is fucking insane.”
“You’re right. You’re right,” I say again and again, then look into Emily’s eyes and ask a favor of her. “Would you mind staying with Mona while I head over to Ruslan’s?”
“Of course not. It’ll give me a good opportunity to get to know her a bit more.”
“Thank you,” I say as I walk toward the door of the study and open it. I make my way through my house until I find Mona in the kitchen.
She’s in front of the stove, making something for herself. “Mona, I’m heading over to my brother’s house, but Emily is going to stay here and keep you company.”
Mona turns to look at me and licks her bottom lip nervously. “All right.”
She doesn’t say anything else, which I find to be a bit odd, but I can’t focus on it right now. I leave the kitchen, moving through my house until I walk out the front door. Paulo is hot on my heels and gets behind the wheel of my SUV while I know the women are well-protected in my home. I have a few members on my security team who always stay at my house, and in moments like this, I really like that.
I arrive at Ruslan’s condo in no time, and soon enough, I’m walking inside, finding him in their living room area playing with his son, Karim.
“I was beginning to think you ghosted me.” Ruslan chuckles, and I force a smile.
“No, but I do need to speak with you.”
“Then speak,” Ruslan says while he stares at Karim playing with blocks on the floor.
“You know the meeting with Duarte went well, but there were a few details I left out.”
“I figured that since none of us have seen you much,” Ruslan points out, and I swallow hard.
I’m in the dog house, and I didn’t even realize it.
“When I arrived at the meeting, Duarte told me he had something for me. I didn’t know it then, but what he had was a woman. Long story short, Duarte had her for years and was trying to pawn her off on me. I kept saying no until it started getting to a point where he was being aggressively adamant. Eventually, I was in a room with her by myself, and I found out a lot about her. He was going to kill her, Ruslan. I couldn’t just leave her there.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You could have left her there, yet you chose not to, so why did you make that choice?”
I inhale deeply and then tell him the rest. “Duarte used her like a cow to give him children. They have two little girls together, who are in Duarte’s care… and that’s a dangerous place for them to be. Mona, their mother, has scars on her face from Duarte’s care, and he hurt her badly during her third pregnancy, which resulted in her losing the baby.”
For the first time since I’ve been speaking, Ruslan’s eyes flash up to me. “You think he’s going to hurt the children?”
“I do. It’s only a matter of time before it happens, and I’m trying to help her get the children back as soon as possible. I know we’ll have to do something methodical. I know we can’t just act… we need to be smart about this.”
“Is she important to you?”
Ruslan’s question surprises me, but I should’ve expected something like this from him. “In a way, yes.”
“Is that why you want to get the children from Duarte?”
I shake my head. “No. I want to get them away from him because I know the longer they’re with him, the more risk they’re in. That is no place for children. The man obviously can’t hold his temper, and those little girls are going to end up dead if he stays with them long term.” With every word I’m speaking, I know without a doubt that it’s the truth.
If we don’t intervene, those little girls will die.
Chapter Eight
Mona
To say I’m totally fine that Nazyr left me here with Emily by myself would be a total and complete lie. I understand she’s with his brother, but he practically ran out the door as soon as she got here, and they spoke. What did they talk about? Was it about me? Was it about Duarte? I have so many questions right now.
All I know is that I’ve been stuck with a stranger for the last half an hour, who is smiling brightly at me like she’s been in an insane asylum for years. I know there’s no way she has, but it really feels like she’s trying to be overly kind to me. I think Nazyr did talk to her about me and, more than likely, the situation I came from. That has to be why she’s being so nice, right? At least, it’s what I’m thinking.
