Page 44 of Tav

What a goddamned rollercoaster that was. I knew Royal and Co were fucking evil, but not this evil. I’d like to blame the drugs and things on Hammer, but I know deep down that Royal is sadistic enough to come up with that on his own. I’m willing to bet that Hammer is Royal’s puppet, not the other way round.

“Mommy! Look what we’ve been doing!” Cove calls out, holding up a drawing. Well, I think it is. It’s hard to tell because she’s waving it around in the air.

“Wow, baby, that looks amazing!”

Elio looks up for a moment, giving me a little smile before turning back to his chess set. He’s moving the pieces one side at a time, effectively playing himself. Shitting hell, what am I going to do with a chess genius?

“Just breathe, Mom, he has years before we’ll have to spend weekends traveling to chess competitions,” Niko says with a snort.

“How are you feeling? Still headachey?” I place my hand on his forehead, but he leans away from it.

“Mom, I’m fine. Still a little sleepy, but not bad. So, what was all that stuff with that police officer?”

I side eye my eldest for a moment, then the second eldest sidles up looking just as interested.

“He’s involved in the whole Royal people auction thing.”

They both suck in a breath. “What are we going to do?” Sage asks, snuggling into my side.

“We -” I wave my finger at her and her brother, “aren’t going to do anything. Marx is coming up with a plan. DRMC will shut it all down.”

Sage stares wide eyed at me. “They’re not going to go to the police, are they?”

“No Sagey, they’re not.”

“Good.”

I try to hide my smile at my girl’s vehemence but instead decide to share it with her. She may only know about the Keep and the people there from my stories, but she knows from the times we’ve had to run or hide how dangerous they are.

“Just so you know, I’m not sending any of you back to school until Royal’s taken care of.” I hold my hand up to stop any protest. “I know it sucks, but I think it’s best. I’ve already contacted your teachers and they’ll be sending your work through. Same for the Littles.” I give them my stern mom eye, only to be met with little resistance.

“It’s OK Mom, we talked about it last night. We’d feel safer not going back and sticking close to the Littles until this is done.” Niko pulls me in for a hug. “Love you Mom.”

“Love you too, Son.”

I pull back and see Sage side eye her brother. They’re scheming something.

“Because we’re so worried about safety and all that, we’ve asked Takoda to teach us to use weapons safely and responsibly,” Sage says all in one breath.

She must see the look on my face because her eyes dart to her brother, who backs her up. “Mom, we would feel better if we could protect ourselves. We’re not going to go on a rampage or anything. It’d just make me and Sage feel better if we knew how to use them. Just think about it, yeah?”

They smile their very best smiles and back away slowly, before turning and hustling their cheeky asses down the hall. I keep my frowny, angry mom eyes glaring at their backs until I can’t see them any longer.

“Come on,kotiro, help me in the kitchen and we’ll solve all the ills in the world, yeah?” Debs gently loops her arm through mine and none too gently walks me into the kitchen. From the serving hatch I can see Cove and Jovie coloring and chatting to their heart’s content, Elio with his chess and Takoda watching over them. After years of doing this mom thing all alone, it feels weird to have all these people happy to help keep an eye on my kids.

“So, tell me all about what has your angry mum eyes on,” Debs asks, bent over with her head inside a cupboard. “We’re making brownies, so maybe you can tell me while you get the ingredients for me.”

I get the butter out of the fridge, then start rummaging in the cupboards for the cocoa and the flour. “The kids asked if Takoda could teach them how to use a gun,” I sigh.

“That sounds reasonable. I mean, I’m sure you know this, but you’re American. I thought everyone knew how to use a gun,” Debs says, concentrating on getting the oven preheated.

I try not to smile. “Well, yeah, I mean, a lot of us know how to use guns and open carry. But they’re my babies,” I pout.

Deb’s rich laugh washes over me. “They’ll always be your babies. But at some stage those babies grow up. I never once thought that my daughter would grow up to work for the Bratva. I mean, a little girl from the other side of the world in the Russian Mafia? That’s crazy!”

I mean, yeah, it is kinda crazy, so I nod in agreement with Debs.

“You want to know the thing that made me feel better about her job?” She raises her brows at me, waiting for my nod. “What made me feel better is knowing that as a little girl she learned to hunt and fish with my husband. Ana knows how to use guns safely. That made me feel better. That as a parent we had provided her with the education and the knowledge. Even if she never grew up to wield a gun, at least I knew she was safe.”

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