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“I should be asking you that. He isn’t happy with you for some reason.” Linus stares at me dead in the eyes. He’s inherited the same eyes I have, the same ones our father gave us.
“Ambros, I have your lunch ready. Would you like it to be served here or in the other outdoor seating area?” Marsala says as she approaches my brother and me.
“Here is fine. Thank you, Marsala.”
“Of course.” Marsala walks back into my house, and within a few moments, she brings out a tray with a few perfectly presented plates. Everything looks great, but I know it’s going to smell even better. When I was looking for a chef, I had different people making me food for months, and I mean months. It had to have been around six or seven, and then I found Marsala. She blew every dish out of the water, and that’s when I knew she’d have to work for me.
Marsala places the dishes down in front of us, and she even has plates and silverware ready for us. “What would the two of you like to drink?”
“Water is fine for me.”
“I’ll take a beer,” Linus comments.
“I’ll be back shortly with those drinks.” Marsala walks away, leaving my brother and me by ourselves.
“So, what’s going on with Dad?”
“He’s got some issues with you, apparently. What did you do to piss him off?”
“I stood up to him. I’m not going to be Dad’s pet that he can push around whenever he wants to. You and I aren’t kids anymore. We haven’t been for a long time, so I don’t think he understands that we just won’t bend to his will.”
“You know he thinks we’ll do whatever he says because he’s the patriarch of our family.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck if he is or not. It’s bullshit. It doesn’t give him the right to think he can speak to me the way he is, and I’ve told him that.”
Linus smirks. “Oh, now it makes sense. That’s why he’s so bitter and upset at you.”
“Good for him. Maybe it’ll teach him that when you give respect, you get it in return.”
“He’s not going to want to do that.”
“I know he won’t, but he’ll have to. There’s no other option where I’m going to give in to him. He’s gotten really cocky and disrespectful these last couple of months, and I’m over it. With as much as I do with the family, I am completely done with his attitude problem.”
“He’s only getting worse with age, brother.” Linus isn’t wrong. A lot of the men in our family who were around my father’s age got crankier and more demanding before they passed. It could simply be a part of aging, but I’m not about to take this bullshit like my cousins did from their fathers.
“Are you going to come to dinner tomorrow night?”
“No, I’m leaving first thing in the morning for Russia. I have a job out there.”
“More like you’re trying to avoid our father, and it’s your perfect excuse. Ambros, you know you can’t avoid him forever, right?”
“I’m not avoiding anyone. I have a very well-paying job. I’ll see Dad eventually.” I look right into my brother’s eyes, needing to know he won’t be causing waves in the water for no reason. Am I avoiding our father? No. Do I really want to see him right now? Also no.
“Sure, whatever you say.” Linus isn’t buying what I’m saying to him at all.
“Ambros, here are your drinks. I also fetched this for you.” Marsala has the drinks on a tray. She hands me my glass of ice water first and then hands Linus his beer. The next thing she gives me is an envelope addressed to me. The return address is from the Umarova family, so I immediately open it. The Umarovas are a powerful Chechen family. They’re also arms dealers, whom I’ve worked with for many years. I’ve purchased a lot of what’s in my armory from them directly.
Upon opening the letter, I see it’s an invitation to Lom Umarova’s wedding. It’s in a couple of weeks’ time, but I need to make it a point to attend. You don’t want to miss events such as this. If I take a few more jobs in Russia while I’m there, I might be able to just go directly to Italy for the wedding. That would probably be the best bet.
“Thank you, Marsala,” I say to her and grab some of the shrimp with my fork. I can’t wait to dive into this delicious spread.
Chapter Two
Xava
I’m currently in Italy for my brother Lom’s wedding to Emily. He and Emily have been together for a while and are finally getting married. It seems like it took a long time for them to get here, and I’m so happy for them. Emily’s been planning her wedding for the last year—since I was welcomed into the family, actually. She was so kind to include me in helping her plan her wedding. I never really expected that in the least bit. She’s had me, Amelia, and even Mona—Nazyr’s girlfriend—help her. Eset doesn’t seem overly interested and would rather be working at the family business or focusing on her artwork.
Emily has a daughter from a previous relationship named Sierra, but you’d never be able to tell. Lom loves that little girl like she’s his own. She’ll be turning twelve in a few months, so I guess we’re going to have to throw her one heck of a birthday bash pretty soon. Emily and Lom also had a baby nine months ago, which made Sierra a big sister. Kolson is such a sweet boy with a loving personality. He’s the happiest baby I’ve ever met, and that’s saying something since my adoptive mother owns a daycare company back in Prague. Kolson wasn’t the only baby who recently arrived, either. Ruslan and Amelia had another baby, too—a boy that they named Adlan. Mona also has two little girls from before she met Nazyr. Vanina is four, and Ira is turning three very soon.
