Page 88 of Wanted
“Come inside. I’ll tell you all about what happened. You’ve missed quite a lot…”
“Dad?” Another tall man appeared at my sister’s door. Fuck. I recognized that man. He was the guy who’d been announced as Kamila’s fiancé.
“Go back inside, son,” the man ordered.
“Mandy, is that you?”
“Hey, Alex!”
Alex, as Mandy called him, jogged across Kamila’s lawn. His aura was lighter than his dad’s. He immediately hugged Mandy. It was a different hug, seemingly warmer. He let her get close. I fucking hated that she let this man touch her. His smile got on my nerves.
“Do you want to meet your niece?” Mandy asked the older man.
“Wait, what?” Aris intervened.
“Valentina is his niece. He has a right to meet her,” Mandy insisted, gesturing at Valentina. “Come with me.”
“No! Who are these people?” Aris thundered. “That’s my wife in there.”
“These people are the ones that keep your sister safe,” Jordan responded. “These people have managed to do what you couldn’t do.”
“I’m your brother-in-law now, by the way,” Alex said, offering his hand for a handshake. Aris and I stared at each other.
“Don’t be such dicks. Shake his hand. He’s the nicest guy ever,” Mandy said, her eyes gleaming in excitement.
“I’m very much confused as to what’s going on right now,” Aris blurted out.
“Weston?” I turned towards Kamila’s home. There she stood, in her strangely combined pajamas, her red hair back in form in a big asymmetrical bun on top of her head. Her eyes were tired, but they were happy, happier than ever. She looked so skinny. Was this an illusion?
“Baby, I told you to stay inside,” Alex addressed my sister. I didn’t know what to think.
“You’re not the one with the orders,” she responded, grinning. What the fuck. She waved at us to join her inside the house. My brother and I glanced at each other.
“I have a pregnant wife. I can’t… What the fuck is going on?”
“Aris, you’re both safe with us. You have nothing to fear from us,” Kamila revealed, including herself in whatever was happening in front of her house. “Come inside. All of you.”
♥♠♥
Kamila sat between two men, one more different than the other. Alex was the perfect basketball star. His team was on the path to their first championship in years, his dad mentioned. Alex charmed everyone, even without the accolades. Valentina was smitten by him the second he said her name. The other man, the one with the bleach blond hair, looked like hell on earth. He had the face of a Hollywood star, but his posture screamed at us. The scars on his upper body were unlike anything I had ever seen. His hand was on my sister’s thigh while Alex leaned back on the sofa with his arm spread out.
She wore a ring on her finger.
My sister had actually got married.
“Kamila, I knew you’d get the best of the best,” Valentina began, breaking the uncomfortable silence. I doubted that she let herself think about any adverse outcome. My sister-in-law rubbed her belly lazily, leaning into my brother’s arms. “No offense, husband and baby daddy. Sheesh. You went and outdid all of us.”
“Nonsense,” my sister replied, the smile gracing her face says otherwise. “So I’m getting a little niece soon? That’s incredible.”
Valentina nodded. “She’s very healthy so far. She keeps making me eat Greek olives for some reason. Aris has them delivered straight from Kalamata. It’s pretty cute. Oh, and then there are the strawberries…”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Kamila asked gracefully. She was still a princess at heart.
“The baby is my family, too,” Alex added. “We’re here for you guys.”
“Well, we don’t know you from yesterday,” Aris countered.
“Aris, behave, babe. Mom is really fond of her brother,” Valentina urged her brother. Kamila’s jaw dropped. Aris grew quiet, studying Valentina’s newfound family closely. They were different than us. Stronger. Better prepared. When Travis had said I had no discipline and knew no authority, he knew exactly what he was getting at. The men sitting here answered to Jordan. They obeyed his wishes. They were loyal.
