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Chapter one
Natalia
Sixteen Years Old
“Dad, you're being completely unreasonable.” I say, sitting across from him at the dinner table. It was the one night a week that my mother made the meal. This week she chose my father's favorite. Steak, baked potatoes, and other various sides lay spread out over the large red oak farmhouse table.
“Natalia, you do not need to concern yourself with the family business right now. You’re too young.” He chides, using his knife to cut a piece of his steak. His dark brown eyes find mine, his face twists into a scowl as I speak again.
“But Declan’s dad lets him do stuff.” I counter, and he drops his utensils.Declan O’Connor is my best friend and has been since we were babies. Our mom’s always said we were inseparable from the very first time we met.Great. I’ve made him mad.Declan has been telling me lately how his father has been giving him more responsibility and even though I won’t be the one taking over the Belov Empire, I still want some type of responsibility.
“Natalia. I said no. So, drop it,” my father says sternly. I frown.
Dmitri looks over at me and gives me a knowing look. “I don’t think it’d be a bad idea for her to learn a little, dad.” I give him a grateful smile and the sides of his brown eyes crinkle as he returns the smile. Looking back at my father, I try to mimic the same posture Dmitri is holding. Dmitri is always the perfect example of obedience. His deep brown hair is never out of place, he is always poised with the seriousness of a businessman.
Until it comes to me.
“Fine. But, you won’t get special treatment,” he shrugs. “You will do the same work your brother does.”
“I didn’t mean that far,” Dmitri says. “She doesn’t need to be torturing men.” My brother doesn’t disagree often with my father, but there are times that his protective side comes out. Although he agrees that I need more responsibility, torture seems to be the place where he draws the line.
“Don’t tell me what I need or don’t need to be doing.” I cross my arms.
My mother clears her throat and glares at the three of us. “Can we please get through one meal without having a discussion on whether or not Natalia can torture someone?” She asks as her blue eyes bounce from me to the two men at the table.
We all nod and go back to eating. She has been so quiet, I forgot she was even at the table. She’s wearing her favorite yellow dress, her auburn hair is tied up in a high updo. My mother doesn’t take part in any conversations about the family business. My father has said before that he didn’t want to give his enemies any more reason to use his family as pawns. He may be an ass to my mother half the time, and act like he doesn’t care, but she is the thing he is most protective of.
Our family is in charge of the weapons trade that comes in and out of Philadelphia. My great grandfather took over after he overthrew the previous family and murdered them all. We run closely with the O’Connor family who control the drug trade.
Once we finish dinner, I head up to my room and grab my phone off the bed. I have a missed call and a text from Declan asking me to call him back.
Hitting the call button on his contact, I wait as it rings.
“Hey,mo ghrá.” He picks up on the third ring.
“What’d I say about that nickname?” I chide. But deep down I actually love it. I asked him about it once and he told me it meant ‘My Love’ to which I promptly whacked his arm and told him not to call me that.
“Yeah, yeah.” He mutters.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, noticing the lack of enthusiasm in his voice.
“Think you can get away to the safe house?” He asks and I glance at the clock. My father should be in his office going over tomorrow's agenda, so it’s the perfect time to sneak out. “Yeah, I can. Give me about an hour and I’ll be there.”
“You think Dmitri will be up for a movie night?” Declan adds. Something must be going on with his father. Any time he calls outside our normal weekly movie night, it's usually because his father has pissed him off or something went haywire.
“I’ll go ask,” I tell him before adding, “I will see you at the house.”
After we hang up, I walk down to Dmitri’s room. There’s hardly any sound from my bare feet as I walk down the long hallway that’s lined with photos of my brother and I. Coming to a stop a few feet from Dmitri’s room, I look at one picture in particular. It’s from my very first dance recital. Dmitri has me on his side and we are both grinning from ear to ear. Smiling at the memory, I walk on to his room. I don’t even bother knocking since the door is open.
“No, Natalia,” Dmitri says as soon as I enter his room. He has showered already, laying across his king sized bed in a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants. The familiar scent of blue cypress, vetiver, and coastal air fill my nose. I sulk over to where he is, flopping down on the edge of his bed.
“Dmitri, please. Declan specifically asked that you come too.” I stick out my bottom lip, giving him my best puppy dog eyes.
“Nat, you know I am supposed to hang out with my friends tonight.” Dmitri frowns. However, the longer I stare at him with my pouty face, the more I see his resolve breaking. “Okay, fine. I get to pick the movie.” He grumbles, sending his friends a text.
Usually with Dmitri, I get my way. He has a major soft spot for his baby sister and one for his honorary brother, Declan.
“Great! Hurry up so we can go.” I walk out of his room and go grab my overnight bag. Throwing in a sweatshirt and a pair of pajamas, I zip it up sliding it onto my shoulder.
