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“Guys, out,” I order my men, and they step out. When we talk to Father, we don’t usually have an audience. I dial his number knowing unfortunately that he’ll take a call from me faster than he will from Grayson. It has nothing to do with the fact that I’m his legitimate son but more to do with the fact I run his business here.
“Syn.” His thickly accented voice comes across the line, calling me son in Russian. He’s always spoken a blend of English and Russian around me, just as my mother did French. Because of that, I speak all three languages fluently.
“Pakhan.”
“Your brother is trying to get a hold of me. Do you know why?”
“I’m here, Otets,” Gray says loud enough for him to be heard across the speakerphone. Gray calls him Father instead of his title as head of the Bratva.
“Well?”
“I wanted to go over a few things with you.”
“Go on. I do not have all day.”
"I got married,” Gray says, then quickly adds, “and I’ll be moving across the country where my wife lives. I’d like to convert to a partnership with Alek, and someone is fucking with the casino.”
We discuss what’s going on with the casino and how much trouble this could bring down on the Bratva as well as Grayson. Father agrees that Gray should have considered Alek years ago as his partner. Even though the family has nothing to do with my brother’s casino, Gray shows our father respect by seeking his input in these matters. It’s decided I’ll look into the runners. I need to find out why they’re operating in the Lucky Dice Casino. They work for bookies holding bets, but the practice is illegal on casino properties. I need to find out if they are associated with our cardroom or with another family. If so, just being on these premises is a direct insult to us. In the meanwhile, Gray and Alek will work on the hacker issue and with the authorities.
As we head back down to the car, I have a feeling this whole situation has something to do with our past and will need to be handled without any more people getting hurt or involved. That means I’ll have to wait to bring Sparrow into the fold. I’ll keep a contingency on her just in case something goes wrong. I hate that I have to wait even longer, but as long as I know where she is, she can’t run from me. We head to my office located above the restaurant and poker cardroom I run. The Russian Cardroom, like my restaurant, is exclusive. Everyone is vetted before they can enter a game. It’s attached to Yelena’s, named after Babushka. We cater to Russian, Baltic, and Ukrainian cuisines.
Sparrow
I watch the SUV pull away from the curb and drive off. I know he’s watching me. My body senses him when he’s close by. Even though Andrei has left, I still feel safe. I know he’s got someone watching over me. It sounds weird, but I can feel him. He’s so powerful and consuming it’s as if the air changes when he’s around. But I’m not afraid of him.
I crave him.
I’ve tried to keep his presence a secret from my brother because I know he’ll think I’m being naïve and stupid. At first, I thought Andrei was after me because Brett owes money to most of the bookies in town. When the big, scary bodyguards started showing up with food, water, and gifts that’s when I figured that wasn’t the case. Andrei could have had them just grab me up and take me right then, not this wooing he’s doing. I hide the gifts from Brett so he won’t pawn them for money or break them. He hates me getting any attention or special things. I once went to the store and bought myself new shoes for work and he threw them out.
Brett hates me, and since I’ve started having more and more dreams about the night our mother died, I hate him too. I doubt the stories I’ve been told are true. But he’s my brother and I’ve been taught to be loyal to him, no matter what. Even though now I question everything. Things my mother said before she died flash through my mind. I was only four when I lost her. My father always told me a bookie he had owed money to killed her by mistake. But these images keep flickering through my mind of my father doing it. I don’t know who to trust. I’m worried it really was my father and I wonder why.
I finish cleaning the salon. One day I hope I can afford to come to a place like this and get my hair trimmed. I usually trim my own hair. It’s easy with it being all one length. I can’t wait until the day I can get away from my brother and this life of working just to pay his bills. I can barely afford the rent for our small apartment. Just this morning the building manager cornered me and demanded I pay him with my body. I shiver at the recollection of his grimy hand brushing down my cheek.
I exit out the back door of the salon and lock up. The bus ride home is quiet in the late hour. I keep my head down so I don’t attract any attention. I’ve learned through the years to make myself less conspicuous. I blend in. I wear hoodies to cover the shape of my body. Most people mistake me for a young teenage boy when I wear my hair up and covered with the hood on cooler nights. During the heat of the day, I still wear my hair up but keep my head down and move around the crowds. I avoid the strip and the main tourist areas.
As soon as I open the main door to the apartment building, I notice the landlord standing there. But when he spots me, he turns his back on me and runs the other way. Before he turned, I saw bruises on his face. I wonder if he propositioned another woman who instead of saying no just punched him. I proceed to my apartment and smile when there is no notice on the door, that’s one less stress I’ll have. But my smile dies as soon as I step inside. My brother is standing there with his body shaking in anger. His fists are clenched along with his jaw.
“Where did you get these? Did you steal them?” He holds up the cell phone and earbuds that Andrei gave me yesterday. I left them here because I needed to read the directions as I’ve never had a cell phone before.
“They were a gift. Why were you in my room?” I move toward him to take them from him, but he backhands me. I step back in fear he’ll hit me more. I drop my head as he and my father programmed me to do. I fear most men because of them.
“They are mine now.” He pushes past me and heads out the door. I’m so upset. I should have put them in my backpack instead of leaving them here for him to find.
I move to my room and find it destroyed. Brett overturned the mattress and dumped all my clothes out of their baskets. Besides that and a threadbare blanket, that’s all there is to my room. I take a deep breath and start cleaning up the mess. When I’m finished, I take a shower and head to bed so I can start all over tomorrow.
CHAPTER TWO
SPARROW
“Sparrow, how are you doing?” Lennon says as she joins me on the carpet where I’m sitting with several kids playing games. I love coming here and spending time with them. I found Clare’s House, a women’s shelter, one day as I walked past it on my way to my night cleaning job. Lennon was sitting out front with some of the kids and stopped me. She asked if I needed help and our friendship grew from there. Little by little, I opened up to her about my family. We have a lot in common, except that my father was a gambling addict and hers isn’t.
She’s beautiful. She has long brown wavy hair, like mine, and deep brown eyes. She jokes with me all the time that we could be sisters. I just smile at her and laugh.
“I’m doing okay.” The hitch in my voice gives me away, and she knows I’m lying.
“What’s the matter?” She helps me up off the floor and wraps her arm around me. She’s taller than me by five inches. Normally, she’s dressed in designer jeans, heels, and a nice shirt. I envy her clothes. She’s offered to take me shopping many times, but I don’t want to take a handout from her. Lennon has money, and she runs this shelter.
Her father is some bigwig who owns a casino. She didn’t go into his business but instead studied social work. She started Clare’s House in her late mother’s honor. Clare was her mother’s name. Lennon’s father didn’t know about her until after her mother’s death. Lennon and her mom lived in bad situations until her mom was killed by a john. When her father found out about her, he came into her life and took her away from all that. But she never forgot where she came from. She wished there was a place like Clare’s House when she was young. A place that helped women get out of those situations and helped them learn new trades that didn’t require them to sell their bodies. Lennon’s shelter helps women find jobs and takes care of their children in the process.
