Page 214 of The Umarova Crime Family

Ira comes running out with a unicorn-themed cone birthday hat on the top of her head. Her copper red hair is as bright as ever with the light mint-colored dress she’s wearing. There are blue, pink, and purple polka dots all over the dress, and it’s adorable for a toddler to wear something like this. If an adult tried to, it would look like a whole bunch of colors threw up all over the dress.

“I thought you would have been one of the first to be here.” Eset’s voice comes from behind me.

“I was, but I had to run out to get some coffee.”

“Mmm… is that why I saw you on the cameras?” Eset licks her bottom lip as she asks me this. Now I feel a bit awkward. I wasn’t trying to lie to her, but Lom said we needed to keep this between us.

“Lom said to keep it quiet, so I am.” In no way, shape, or form am I throwing my brother under the bus, but I want her to know I’m doing this for a reason.

“I figured as much. He and Ruslan have been butting heads a bit lately on how much we should include you. I, on the other hand, as well as Nazyr, don’t really give a damn. If you want to know more, then you should be able to know more. It’s as simple as that.”

“Then why does Ruslan want to keep it from me so badly?”

“In his own way, he’s trying to protect and shield you from it. I think the rest of us are going to put a kibosh on it since someone tried to kill you, though. That’s been our argument. There’s no keeping you in the dark after what someone tried to do. Don’t worry, though. I’m not going to say anything to Ruslan about it. He doesn’t check the cameras anyway, so that’s his own negligence.”

“Thank you.” I stare into my sister’s eyes and doubt she has any idea just how much I’m really thanking her for. I want to be included in this family completely, not just partially or for certain aspects. I am glad to hear that she, Nazyr, and Lom are sticking up for my right to know what’s going on within the family and the family business.

“There’s no need to thank me. I have been wondering if you’ve given any more thought to what you want to do for school or for the rest of your life. Ruslan has been asking if any of us know about that as well.”

Meryem comes running up to Eset and pulls on her pants leg quickly before running off to play with the other children. Leave it to Meryem to lighten up the mood. She’s Eset and Santos’ adopted daughter, who turned three back in February. On paper, she doesn’t look like she’s an adopted daughter since they had a birth certificate made for her. Both Santos and Eset are listed on the birth certificate, and I sometimes wonder if they’re ever going to tell Meryem the truth.

“I’m not sure. One day, I think I’ll know that something is right for me and that I want to do it, but right now, I don’t know what that is.”

“You’re going to figure it out. I’m sure it’s just hard right now because of all the changes you’ve had over the last year. Don’t let any of them pressure you into making a decision, especially Ruslan. He means well, but sometimes he can be so overbearing without even realizing it.”

Chapter Thirteen

Ambros

It’s been about a week and a half since I saw Xava face-to-face. In the meantime, I completed a rush job, and now I’m back in Greece. I don’t want to stay here too long because my family always seems to aggravate things rather quickly. At some point in my life, I know I’m going to stop giving a damn about whatever the fuck any of them are doing. Linus is the only exception, as my brother isn’t constantly on my ass.

One thing he constantly does is try to play the middleman between my father and myself, which can be extremely frustrating. All I want is for my father to let me be, yet he feels the need to constantly butt around in my business. If that isn’t frustrating, I don’t know what is. Sometimes, I think my father creates the problem just to have to deal with it. Almost as if he gets bored.

I know the Organization is going to be mine one day, and yet my father does anything he can to make my life difficult. Part of me thinks he doesn’t want to let go of it and will hold onto the reins of the business until his very last breath. I’ve been training my entire life to take it over and feel as if I deserve to be the one to do it.

I try to push thoughts of my father away as I sit on my back deck, overlooking the sea. I’m shirtless in nothing but a pair of light blue swim trunks. My only plan for the day is to lay out here and catch some sun, maybe take a dip in the pool later. Today is all about relaxing, and I wish Xava was here to bask in it with me. I don’t believe she’s been to Greece. Man, how I yearn to show her the beauty that is Mykonos. There is no city like it in the entire world. The beauty simply does not compare.

My phone begins ringing, and Xava’s name flashes across the screen. I tap on the green button to accept and then chat with her. “Hello there, ελ?φι.” I find that every time I call her “fawn” in my native tongue, she blushes or smiles brightly. I think it’s such a good pet name for her. Xava is innocent like a fawn, yet strong like an ox, even if she might not see the latter.

“Ambros, ugh, how I’ve missed your voice. I know we’ve texted today, but I had to call you.” Xava and I often text because we’re rarely ever around each other in person. I try to call her once every couple of days and planned on calling her when I went inside later. I’m not bothered that she called by any means. I like that she took the initiative to reach out to me. It’s a great feeling. It shows she wants to communicate with me as much as I do with her.

“Is everything all right over there?”

There are a few moments of silence before Xava responds, the kind of silence where I wish I could see her facial features. I’m not sure if she realizes it, but she has a way of wearing her feelings on her face all the time.

“Yeah, I think I’m just itching to get away for a bit. Being in Italy was amazing. However, there’s a lot of pressure from Ruslan for me to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. I did get an apartment, so I’m no longer living with Nazyr and Mona. Maybe that will help me figure it out.”

“What do you mean pressure?” Ruslan is a very dominant, authoritative man. I understand it in some respects, but Xava is still getting her footing with understanding who her family is.

“It’s not anything bad. He wants to know if I have plans to go to university or if I want to be involved in the family business, those sorts of things. I don’t know what I want to do yet, and I think he wants me to make a decision to be more certain of my future.”

I understand he wants an answer from her, but pressuring Xava is going to keep her from making a decision, not escalate it. “You have plenty of time in the world to figure it out. I know he’s your brother, but don’t let him bully you into deciding something before you’re ready.”

“I’m not, and he isn’t bullying me. He vocalizes his thoughts and then asks me.” There’s a bit of intensity in her voice. I hope she didn’t take what I said the wrong way.

“Xava, I’ve known your brother for a long time. Ruslan has a habit of bullying people into what he wants them to do. It goes hand-in-hand with having as much power as he does. Now, do I think he’s being a major dick and forcing your hand? No, I don’t. I do think he could be bullying you by applying some slight pressure on you for an answer when you’re not ready to give him one.”

“I guess he expects me to know what I’m going to do, but I just don’t. I wish I did. I wish I had a passion for something that totally blows my mind, but I haven’t found something like that.”

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