Page 192 of The Umarova Crime Family

“Exactly. You can deny it as much as you like. I’ve been around the block before with people trying to slip their security. You wanted some freedom last night. That I understand. What I don’t understand is why you would inadvertently put your life at risk by doing so. You know better. You know you need to be careful. So that’s what I’m telling you. Don’t slip your detail again. It’s for your own good.”

I suck in another breath and nod. “I understand.”

Ruslan’s phone starts ringing, and he answers it. He doesn’t officially tell me I’m free to go, but I’m pretty certain I am, so I leave his suite. It’s not like I’m a damn prisoner, but my brother is really good at intimidating me.

I exit the room, and Rolando follows a few paces behind me. Once I’m sure Ruslan’s door is closed, I look right back at Rolando. “Wanted to take me to get yelled at, did you?”

“No. I wanted you to be aware of the importance of communicating with me. I don’t care what you do, Xava. However, I do care about keeping you safe.”

We continue walking throughout the villa until I’m at my suite. Once inside, I feel like I can finally take a deep breath. I don’t see my best friend, so I head into my bedroom and shut the door behind me.

The one thing I need now more than anything else is a long, hot shower. Luckily, at this villa, they have bathrooms attached to all the suites. I take a lengthy shower, and when I get out, I go ahead and blow dry my hair, put on some light makeup, and get dressed. When I finish, I head back into the main area of the suite, and Yara’s sitting at the table with a coffee in her hand, but she isn’t alone.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Yara giggles, obviously amused with herself.

“Was your night as interesting as Yara tells me?” my sister asks with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“It was a very good, long night,” I say with a smirk and walk over to the coffee machine. Yara gets up and practically shoves me out of the way, but I know it isn’t in a rude manner. I’ve never been the best at making fresh coffee drinks, and she was pretty much born knowing how to do it right.

“Good. We all deserve to have some fun every once in a while, even if our brothers don’t see it that way.” I find that Eset and I have the closest bond out of any of my siblings. My brothers are all very overprotective. Ruslan is by far the worst with how overprotective he is, but he means well.

I’m fortunate to have good relationships with my blood siblings, but my relationships with my adopted ones aren’t as great. I haven’t seen my brother or sister in the last year, and my adoptive mother has made some comments to me that I should reach out more. It’s hard to do when my relationship with Andrej and Branka hasn’t been good for years.

“Yeah, they’re fun killers, in a way,” I say.

“Most people are,” Yara says as she hands me my perfectly made coffee. I take a sip, and it’s like liquid happiness wafting over my tastebuds.

“Not to change the subject, but you know Ruslan’s going to be asking later. Have you given any thoughts about school? You know he wants you to pursue your dream, no matter what that might be.”

Ever since I found out I was part of the family, Ruslan made it a point to tell me the family would support me through whatever I wanted to do.

“It’s not that I don’t want to go to school. I do. I just don’t know what I want to go for. I haven’t found my passion yet, and I don’t want to rush into anything.”

Eset nods. “I completely understand. Whenever Ruslan asks you about it, just shoot it to him straight like you did to me. He’ll appreciate your honesty. Not to mention respect you for not just jumping to do something because you feel pressured.”

“I’m sure I’ll know what I want to do at some point. I just don’t want to rush into anything just yet.”

“Say no more. You’ll know what you want to do eventually. It will hit you at the right time.” Eset’s trying to be reassuring, and while I appreciate it, I don’t think she understands what I’m saying. She’s always had a love for art. I don’t think she’s ever struggled with knowing what she wanted or didn’t want to do.

“Not to be rude, but I’m going to take my coffee outside and enjoy some fresh air,” Yara says, and she proceeds to walk out of the suite.

It’s the first time I’ve had my sister alone in a really long time, and there are some things I’d love to discuss with her privately. Typically, we have a couple of children running around or some adults. This is the sort of thing I’d love to talk to her about in private.

“You look like there’s something on your mind,” Eset states.

“I’ve heard a couple of rumors circulating about the family.”

Eset cranes her neck to the side. “What sort of rumors?”

I lick my lips nervously. “The kind about our family being powerful, dangerous people. I mean, I know we come from a powerful family… but I don’t know how we could be considered dangerous. It’s something I’ve wanted to talk to you about. I just can never find the right time to do it.”

Eset sucks in a deep breath and slowly lets it out. “This is a conversation we need to have with our brother, Xava.”

She only said one sentence, but it’s all I need to know that there’s some truth to it all. If there wasn’t, she would’ve denied it completely.

How could we be dangerous?

What is going on that I don’t know about?

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