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I get a notification on my phone and see it’s a text from my brother. I really don’t want to look at it yet, so I’m not going to.
Xava’s bedroom door opens, and she walks in, shutting it firmly behind her. She tosses herself on the suede leather chair next to the door and inhales deeply.
“Are you all right?” Everything about her demeanor right now tells me she’s stressed. From the way she’s furrowing her brows to the way she’s licking her bottom lip and lightly biting it afterward.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m just… in shock about everything, I guess. At least now I knowwhyI was targeted in the first place.”
“I’m assuming everything was explained to you?” I don’t want to seem like I’m pressing her for answers, yet I am curious to know what they said.
“Yeah, you could say that. They even let me know some things about you and your family. Specifically, what you do.” Xava locks her eyes with mine, gauging my reaction to what she’s said. I’m not sure if she expects me to deny it, but I’m not going to. Why would I? Her family is involved in the criminal world, and so is mine. It shouldn’t be too much of a shock that I’m not what I told her I was.
“I don’t come out and tell anyone what I do, Xava. I hope you don’t take any offense to me lying to you.”
She shakes her head. “At first, I did. I was shocked, but the more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it ended up making me feel. You didn’t know me, so how could I expect you to trust me with something as important as that? Maybe important isn’t the right word. Heavy. What you do is extremely serious… and intense. I don’t blame you for keeping that from me. How could I?”
I don’t know if I’ve lost my damn mind or what, but I need to inquire a bit more. “Am I hearing you right? You’re okay with my job?” I raise both of my brows and look at her like she’s insane.
She shrugs. “I wouldn’t say I’m okay with it. Killing people shouldn’t be something I support, but after everything I’ve learned, I know there are very dangerous, sick people in this world. I guess, in a way, I think if you’re someone taking out a portion of those horrible people, then why should I have a problem with that?”
She has an interesting way of thinking about it. Not everyone I kill is the scum of the earth, but a good portion of them have done horrible things throughout their lives. Those are the people I don’t mind killing. The others are simply a paycheck to me.
“It’s very adult of you, even though you’re practically a child,” I tease Xava a bit, and she rolls her eyes at me playfully.
“Maybe so, but I don’t act like it. Ugh.” She makes her way over to me and plops down on the bed beside me. “At least now I understand why I was shot at in the first place. It’s a little hard to believe, honestly. I can’t freaking… I can’t believe this.”
“It’s a lot for you to process. The Umarova family has been powerful for many, many years. One thing that took me a long time to understand growing up as a Galanis is that there is always someone who wants your power. They’ll do almost everything and anything they can to take it, so you have to be ready to fight back. I want you to know how to defend yourself, Xava, especially now that you know the risks.”
“Defend myself. How exactly?” Xava laughs, taking this more like a joke than anything else. I’m not playing around with her. I’m being serious.
“I’m going to teach you how to shoot.” She knows the risks, and now she needs to know how to protect herself. God forbid I’m not around, or Rolando is incapacitated somehow. Xava will be left alone, and at least if she knows how to protect herself, I’ll feel more comfortable leaving her by herself.
“Oh, wow. Um, I guess that’s one way to scare people off. A dainty girl with a gun.” She smiles, seeming like she doesn’t have an ounce of confidence in her.
“No, not a dainty little girl. They’ll see Xava Umarova, and the moment they see you with a gun, they’ll know they should have run the other way because you and your family are not the type of people to fuck with.” Xava’s going to have to become more confident with who she is, especially now. Her and her family’s enemies will sniff out any weakness and try to use that to their advantage.
“You’re a really good hype man, Ambros. It’s sweet.” Xava gets up and begins pacing back and forth. She does this for a couple of minutes in complete and utter silence before she ultimately comes over and lays down beside me on the bed.
“I’m only trying to help you see the power within you. You’re going to need to be able to use it, Xava. You’ve got what it takes.”
“Thank you.” Xava grabs onto my arm and snuggles up against me. I pull her close against my chest and hold her while we chat.
“I heard rumors about your family’s enemies coming out of the woodwork. In my business, you never pay attention to rumors, at least not until they come to fruition. You never know what’s true and what isn’t.”
“What rumors have you heard?”
I glance down, and her eyes are boring up into mine. “They’re rumors, Xava. I don’t even know if they’re true or not.”
“I don’t care. I want to be aware of what’s being said. My family told me a little bit this morning, but not everything. I can tell they’re keeping things from me, and I’m sure they’re going to keep doing that until they feel like I can handle everything.”
I’m not sure if I should really tell her, but I’m not going to keep it from her. She’s right. She deserves to know what’s going on. What’s that old saying: knowledge is power?
“There are multiple enemies of your family who are supposedly banning together to rise against them. The two people in play are the family of Duarte, who I’m not sure if you know who he was.”
I wait for Xava to answer, but she shakes her head.
“Duarte was the man who had Mona imprisoned for years. He’s the man who raped her and who is the biological father of your nieces. Duarte was killed, and it’s believed your family is responsible. His family is the most powerful one in Portugal and has a lot of connections throughout the world.”
Xava’s mouth drops open. Did she not know anything about this? I bet she didn’t. It seems like her family kept a lot from her. In a way, they were probably trying to protect her from the knowledge of it all, of knowing how being in this life can be, but she has to know. “The other person is Julio Ramirez, who is Santos’ father. A while ago, the Umarova family was supposed to back up Julio’s claim to the Mexican cartel. In return, Eset would have a suitable, powerful husband. Eset and Santos were married, but the Umarova family has had a long alliance and friendship with Alejandro, who is the current leader of the cartel…and Santos’ grandfather. When the Umarovas pulled their support from Julio, it left him with nothing. His claim to the cartel is meaningless, and Alejandro is still in power. The rumor is that Julio is working with Duarte’s family.”
