Page 26 of Unspoken Vows

“Is there a point to this Levkin family history?”

“Patience young grasshopper, patience.” I flip him off and he laughs. When he looks at me, his face slowly becomes serious again. “Anya married a man that none of the brothers liked but Abram.”

“I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“Abram liked the man because he was his resident killer for hire. He was known to be ruthless, bordering on the line of sadistic. His name was Dimitri Bazin.”

“Fuck.”

“Anya had two children with this man. Gossip was she didn’t get pregnant by choice. It was said she never had choices. If she tried, he beat her until she couldn’t argue.”

“Jesus. Ivan didn’t step in?”

“Apparently, the brothers didn’t know what was happening. Abram probably did, but he viewed women as servants who were to be used for sex and whatever else he required of them.”

“I wish we could bring the man back and kill him all over again,” I mutter.

“It would be good to see Ivan go bowling with Abram’s head again,” E-Z laughs. “Anyway, Ivan never knew what was happening with Anya until years after Anya’s death. They never sought revenge because by the time they found out what he had been doing, Dimitri had turned into a man who was paranoid as hell. It’s said his guard rivals the ones at Fort Knox. They didn’t push it because they were afraid they wouldn’t be able to protect the children.

“Okay, let me have the rest of the story.”

“Their first child was a girl. Now, I don’t know her name?—”

“So, it could be Lennox.”

“Maybe. Ivan once told me that Dimitri raised his daughter to be just like him. He planned on her taking over the family business.”

“Well, that would explain how she kicked Weasel’s ass.”

“That it would,” he agrees.

“The second was a boy who Ivan told me had Down Syndrome.”

“I don’t think I need to research anymore. I’m thinking I need a meeting with Ivan.”

“I’ll see what I can arrange,” E-Z responds. “Are you going to let your woman know that you are aware of her secrets?”

“Not yet. I’m pretty sure that’s not all of them.”

“What more could there be?”

“I don’t know, but I will say I’m worried it’s dangerous. She told me that evil stalks her footsteps.”

“Well, shit.”

“You can say that again,” I agree.

“You know, Ghost, we might want to ask ourselves why she was wasting time with Weasel to be near the clubhouse.”

“Trust me, that’s something I’ve been thinking about nonstop since I found out,” I admit with a sigh.

We sit there in silence for a bit, then we get up and go into the other room. I may know a lot more than I did about my woman, but I’m convinced I’m still missing something vital. I just hope I find out what it is in time to shield my woman and protect her.

Chapter 16

Lennox

“Hey, Len.”

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