Page 30 of The Umarova Crime Family

Emily works part-time during the week at a local real estate agent’s office. She said she was looking for some extra cash, and I let her know about a couple of openings at Illusion. As far as I know, Emily had an interview, and I want to see how that’s going. “It’s no big deal. Have you started at Illusion yet?”

Emily shakes her head, “No, not yet. I’m starting this weekend. Friday night’s my first shift. You work Friday night, right?”

“Yep, I sure do. I think you’ll like it there. The tips are great most of the time.” I smile and walk alongside Emily. I don’t think either of us had a specific store we wanted to go into, so I’m just walking with her.

“Perfect. I love having some extra cash. Wanna go in here?” Emily nods toward a small lingerie store. It’s not comparable to Victoria’s Secret because it isn’t a name brand like that. It looks like something that someone local owns, not some major corporation.

“Sure, I could use some new pieces.” I don’t really have anything super sexy, so this’ll be a good opportunity for me to grab a couple things to surprise Ruslan with.

We walk into the lingerie store, and bright white lights shine against dark espresso floors. In the center of the store are displays that have mannequins wearing average bras and panties. There are drawers on the displays arranged by size and color. Off to the right side, there’s an athletic area and then an everyday cotton essentials area. On the left, there’s the sexier stuff, from strappy lingerie to mesh items.

I’ve always thought the mesh stuff was super-hot, but I never indulged before. I head over to the mannequin with the cobalt blue mesh lingerie. I love how it’s entirely see-through. It’s like it gives you a sneak peek at what’s to come. “You thinking about getting this one?” Emily inquires, and I shoot her a sly smile.

“Yeah, I think it would be really hot.”

“It totally would, but I think the emerald green one would look so much better against your skin tone. You’re tanner than I am, remember?” Emily laughs, and I look over at the green. It actually would look better on my skin, but there’s a really vibrant electric purple too. I go over to that one and pull out my size. Purple it is.

Emily looks through the items in this section but moves over to the right, where it’s a mixture of mesh and lace. It’s sexy but also very feminine and pretty. She stops in front of a cherry red item. Now Emily isn’t as tan as I am. She’s a good bit paler, honestly.

“Who are you getting that for?” I cock a brow, and Emily gives me a knowing look. “It wouldn’t be Lom, would it?”

“It might be.” Emily laughs.

I want my cousin to be happy, but I have a feeling that Lom is such a player.

“Do you know if he’ll be in town any time soon?” I think I remember Ruslan saying Lom was in the States, but I can’t be too sure.

“I think he’s in the States right now on business. I can’t remember, though. I could be wrong. I can find out for you.” I thought Emily and Lom exchanged numbers. She could just ask him herself, but it seems like she doesn’t want him to know how much she’s into him. I don’t blame her. When I’m into a guy, I don’t want him to know how much I like him, either. I think sometimes it makes them feel powerful, and they can act super dicky. We don’t want to give guys too much; otherwise, their egos tend to show.

“If you wouldn’t mind. He and I flirted a lot back in Grozny. If I ever had the opportunity, I’d like to see where things could go past a few intense make-out sessions. You know?”

I totally get what Emily’s saying. I just hope she doesn’t get hurt. I don’t know much about Lom, but maybe I can ask Ruslan a little more about his brother.

As much as I want to let Emily do her own thing, I feel this intense need to warn her. “I don’t know Lom well, but everything I’ve ever gathered about him leads me to believe he’s a total player. I feel like he’s the type who drags women along and then breaks their hearts.”

Emily throws her head back and laughs as she makes her way down the racks. Now she’s staring at a soft pink baby doll number. “Amelia, Lom isn’t the first man I’ve ever had an interaction with. I might’ve grown up in Alabama, but I had my heart broken by way too many country boys. I’ve been around the block a time or two, and I know what to do to not get my heart broken again. I’m not looking for a relationship with him, but I’m expecting to at least get laid a couple times. I don’t even expect any sort of relationship. He doesn’t seem like he’s the type who likes being tied down anyway.”

Hearing Emily makes me breathe a little bit easier. The last thing I’d want is for her to hook up with my boyfriend’s brother, and then there be some weird tension between all of us. Emily and I have gotten very close since she moved in with me, and I think there will be a lot of holidays when we’re all together. That’s the hope, at least. I just don’t want any awkwardness because I plan on being with Ruslan for the long haul.

“Okay, sorry if that came across as weird.”

“It didn’t at all. You’re worried about me, and it’s adorable.” Emily offers me a soft smile and pulls me in for a hug. The two of us embrace and continue to go around the store. We both find a couple more things and then check out. We head to another store that has a variety of clothes. Emily finds a few items, but I only grab a couple. Then we say our goodbyes and head home. She’s going back to the apartment, but I’m heading with Danill back to the suite.

Within the hour, I’m back at the hotel with Danill, and we’re walking inside. Ruslan’s sitting on the couch, scrolling on his phone as I come in with Danill carrying my bags. “It looks like you had a successful girl’s day with Emily.” He’s toying with me a bit, but I didn’t go crazy with the shopping. I could’ve since he gave me his card, but I’d never do such a thing.

Danill sets the bags down on the table in the dining area, then disappears as usual. I go take a seat next to Ruslan and lean in for a kiss, which he happily obliges. “Did you have a fun day with your cousin?”

I nod, “Yeah. It was a blast, honestly. I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper girl’s day like that.”

“Then you’ll have to do it more. I’m glad you had fun. What did the two of you do?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Nothing too crazy. We met up at the mall and then went shopping. The real estate agent office Emily works at had called her to come into work for a few hours, so we only just left a couple hours ago. We went to a lingerie store and then to another apparel one.”

“Lingerie, huh?” Ruslan raises both of his brows and looks over to the bags. I laugh and kiss his lips once more for good measure.

“You’ll see them soon enough, don’t you worry.” As I finish speaking, Ruslan wraps an arm around me and holds me snugly against his body. For a few moments, I’m silent, and the more I think about it, the more I want to know about Lom. It feels like I need to know if Emily’s going to get hurt, or at least what the chances are that she will.

“Why are you being so quiet? You must be thinking about something.” Damn it. Ruslan knows me like the back of his hand.

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