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Standing, I extend my hand and shake Osip’s. His grip tightens and he doesn’t release my hand. He tugs me forward slightly, his gaze focused on mine before he speaks. Maybe I should be scared, but I’m not. This fucking man is a greatPakhan. He was made for this job, and he is not one to lose his cool, no matter what happens.
“This is over for you now, Ruslan. Live your life, marry your woman, be happy. Because it will not touch you or Isabel again, I promise you that.”
“That’s a promise that I’m not sure even you can keep,” I say with a chuckle.
He’s not laughing though. He is dead-ass, fucking serious, so I just stare at him. He releases his grip on my hand and as much as I want to take a step backward, to stand up straight, I don’t. I stay exactly where I am, frozen in my spot.
“I can keep it and I will. If anyone who is not Bratva causes you any more troubles like the ones you and Isabel have had the past few weeks, you have my permission to do what you enjoy doing and I will turn a complete blind eye.”
“That is a very broad statement,” I offer.
His lips curve up into a smile. “And I’m okay with that. I said exactly what I meant, and I meant exactly what I said.”
ISABEL
I’m not convincedthat Ruslan is going to be coming back tonight or anytime soon. I think that I could have lost him, at least lost part of him. The part of him that I love so much, that raw, dangerous side of him. I think he’s going to keep his distance from me and my chest aches at the thought.
There is no way that I can just let him slip through my fingers. It’s not just him staying away from me out of fear, it’s also who he works with. Maybe he won’t visit a call girl today or tomorrow, but he is a man, and he has access. I know that he will do as he wishes, and it won’t be me.
Breathing in deeply, I let it out on a heavy sigh as I close my eyes. There is a knock on the door what feels like seconds later. Jumping, I look over to the closed door and suck in a breath, holding it until there is another knock.
Tiptoeing over to the door, I rise to my toes and look through the peephole. My breath comes out in a whoosh when I see that it’s Vadim and Zinaida on the other side of the door. Taking a step backward, I unlock and open the door.
Zinaida gives me a warm smile at the same time Vadim dips his chin. They slip into the room together, and I close and lock the door behind them before I turn to face them. Neither of them explains why they’re here, but I don’t really demand it either.
Instead, I wait for her to say whatever it is she’s here to say. “I’m sorry if she was your friend,” she whispers.
Shaking my head, I clear my throat. “She wasn’t. I’ve only even met her a handful of times. I don’t even know her name, she was just Rostam’s wife.”
“I’m worried you’re going to be angry with me,” she murmurs. “This is because of Osip.”
“But it’s not,” I point out. “There is no doubt an underlying reason why Rostam took his daughter to the gentleman’s club to work. I don’t know the reason, I’m sure that I could think of a few different scenarios, but they don’t matter. The fact is, he took his own daughter there. She should have been angry at him for that, not us.”
“She should have,” I whisper, imagining if I had a daughter. Though my parents had a daughter and had no qualms about handing me over to Azar. “Where is the protection for our daughters?” I ask.
Zinaida takes one step toward me, then another. She wraps her arms around me, bending over when she does because her belly takes over most of the space. “We are the generation that will protect our babies so that they never have to be scared,” she says softly against my ear.
“So that they never have to be used for their bodies…” I pause. “Unless they want to.”
Zinaida laughs softly and I join in. We break the hug, each of us smiling. Taking her hand, I guide her over to the sofa and urge her to sit down, then go and make some tea for us both. She places her hand on her belly and takes the tea happily.
“I’m sorry to burst in here. I’ve just been worried about you.”
Giving her a smile, I shrug a shoulder. “I’m fine,” I lie. Because I’m most definitely not fine. I think that I’ve lost my future completely.
“You lie,” she states. “I can see by the bruising on your neck that you are most definitely not okay.”
My lips curve up into a small smile and I nod my head. “I’m not, but it probably isn’t what you think,” I begin.
“Do tell,” she murmurs, leaning forward slightly. Vadim clears his throat, then looks over to the side, trying not to make any kind of eye contact at all with me.
I laugh softly. “It’s not that salacious,” I say. “He had a dream. He was asleep, dreaming that Azar was attacking him or something, and he started choking him out, except it was me.”
“Fuck,” Vadim hisses.
“Have you experienced that before?” Zinaida asks.
He doesn’t answer, but judging by the way he’s looking at me, he has. Vadim holds his hand up as if he’s innocent and shakes his head. He doesn’t verbally answer, and I know it’s because he’s done it before.
“It doesn’t matter,” he says.
I want to ask him if I’ll get Ruslan back, but I don’t. Vadim is not our male confidant and advice giver. So, I don’t ask him anything.
Instead, I change the subject. I don’t know what we talk about the rest of the afternoon, but the three of us end up talking, laughing, and having a wonderful afternoon. It’s an extremely odd turn of events, but it’s also something that I very much needed.
But when they leave, I look around my empty condo and wonder if this is what my future will be. Being alone. I know I’m being overly dramatic. I know that this relationship could go through many turns and twists over the years, but right now, everything seems really bleak.
Mostly I think I’m just really scared.
