Page 1 of Innocent Bratva Hostage

Chapter 1 – Giselle

Death never comes when you’re ready for it. It doesn’t knock; it doesn’t wait. One moment, life is normal. The next, it’s in ruins—unknown

“Do you think it ever gets easier?” I asked, twirling my coffee cup and watching the steam dance. “Missing someone who’s alive but no longer here, I mean.”

Hazel lifted her beautifully arched brow. “It depends on who you’re missing and why.” She narrowed her eyes on me. “Are you missing an ex?”

I huffed. “You wish. I miss my mom.”

It’d been three months since she moved to Oregon, and it’d been hard to adjust from seeing her every day to only speaking to her on calls and emails. I missed her coffee, her omelets, and her warm hugs on gloomy afternoons. I’d never thought the day would come when I wouldn’t see my mother for this long.

Hazel threw a piece of carrot into her mouth. “Oregon is only six hours away, Gigi. You can always visit her.”

I took a sip of my coffee, savoring the flavors of the full cream milk and honey. “You’re right. Maybe I’ll move to Oregon soon. I’ll need a better job to afford my flight ticket and art school.”

Hazel’s eyes gleamed. “Art school? You’ve not given up that dream, have you?”

Giving up my dream of becoming an artist would mean giving up on life itself. I put the dream on hold for a while so that I could get a degree in psychology. Now that I had finished college, I intended to pursue becoming an artist with all I had.

I’d found a job at a new art gallery a couple of weeks after graduating from college. The pay wasn’t great, but I was happy to be surrounded by such beautiful paintings and creativity.Whenever I looked at the artworks hidden behind display glass and hanging on the walls, all I could think about was how I would have the chance to display mine like that someday. People would pay to see my talent, and they’d be happy doing so. I could already feel the immense joy it would bring me to see people find delight in my creative skills.

I didn’t realize I was smiling until I caught my reflection on the glass door to my right.

“Good luck on that, girl,” Hazel said as she reached for her strawberry and banana smoothie. “You know I’ll always support you.”

“I know, Haze,” I replied, tapping her nose softly.

She groaned as she sipped on her smoothie. “This tastes really good,” she said, setting the glass back on the table. “You should try it sometime.”

I peered at the healthier option sitting in that fancy glass, all pretty and pink. Unlike Hazel, I didn’t always go for the healthier option; I preferred whatever I thought tasted better, and in this case, that was heavy-creamed coffee and a croissant. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

She shook her head and went back to chewing on her Caesar salad. “Have you spoken to your dad lately? You never talk about him.”

My shoulder sagged, a sad sigh leaving my lips before I could stop it. I hated talking about my father, not because I hated him—I loved him just as much as I did my mother. It was just…things between us were really complicated in a way.

Before his very brief visit last night, it had been six months since I last saw him.

I remembered that day like it was yesterday. It was my twenty-second birthday and the day of my graduation. I could still picture the tears trailing down my face as I hugged mymother. I’d been happy to see her, but my chest ached from missing my dad, too.

My parents had been divorced for years because my mom couldn’t handle his complicated dealings with the Russian mafia. She used to panic whenever he was running late or when the phone rang late in the evening. Every knock on the door early in the morning made her dread each step she took to answer, as it could either be my dad coming home exhausted or the police arriving to announce his death.

She’d endured, but one day, she decided she couldn’t take it anymore. It wasn’t just Dad’s safety she was worried about; it was ours, too—hers and mine—and what would happen if he messed with the wrong people.

When she asked for a divorce, Dad granted it without trying to convince her to stay. He must have had the same fear as her. He’d given her the house and half of his assets, and he never faltered on child support until I was twenty-one and done with college.

Their divorce was hard on me. I’d been only fourteen, and it felt like hell watching my parents go from a loving couple to strangers. Everything changed after. My mom still resented Dad, and I barely ever saw him again.

I’d not expected to see him on that day, too—my birthday and graduation.

But he’d been there.

A smile pulled on my face as the memories of him striding up to me with a bouquet of roses and his arms wide open for a hug infiltrated my mind. I’d run up to him at the speed of light, throwing my arms around him and inhaling his scent. Dad always smelled like tobacco and citrus, and God, had I missed him—even more than I missed Mom….

My phone buzzed in my tote bag, pulling me from my thoughts.

Both Hazel and I flinched, startled by the sudden ringing.

“Jesus, that almost gave me a heart attack.” Hazel clutched her chest and exhaled while I rummaged for the phone.

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