Page 6 of Gabriel
“I was in a club tonight.” Her brows lifted, but she said nothing. “And I ran into Jetmir.”
“Amara’s brother?”
“Adoptive brother,” I corrected her, although it was silly, because it was completely irrelevant. She considered them her family.
“Okay, whatever.” She watched me as if she was waiting for me to elaborate, and when I didn’t, she continued, “Did you try to talk to him or something? You know, the stories surrounding him and Elira aren’t very… nice.”
“So you know him?” I asked carefully.
She chuckled. “I know of him. I mean, who doesn’t? Honestly, I’m not sure that I want to meet those twins. They are locos, those two. You have to stay away, Gabriel.”
Relief washed over me, but dread accompanied it. If Anya had never met Jet, how was it possible that the fucker was interested in her?
“Anya?”
“Yeah?”
“Is there a… boy you’re?—”
“Gabriel!” She shot me an undignified look as she continued. “When I’m ready to share boy names with you, I will. Until then, respect my privacy like I respect yours.”
My eyebrows met my hairline. “So thereissomeone?”
She looked away before she answered. “No, there isn’t. Although I’m not sure why I’m being interrogated at this hour.”
“It’s a brother’s job to worry,” I retorted half-jokingly.
“Uh-huh.”
Silence stretched between us while I considered my options. There weren’t many. I’d have to change my priorities, and that meant shifting away from stalking Amara to protecting Anya. Every fiber of me resisted at the idea of not seeing Amara, but I owed too much to my family, and I’d never forgive myself if something happened to Anya.
I shot to my feet, and Anya’s slim hand caught my wrist.
“What’s going on, Gabriel?” I paused, eyes locked on her hand. “If you need something, you know I’m here for you. Always. You’re not alone.”
I leaned in, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead. “Gracias, hermana. I love you, you know that, right?”
She smiled. “Of course I do. And I love you, especially because I know you’ll back me up with our parents when I bring up my desire to travel to Albania again.”
I groaned, drawing a sweet, innocent smile from her.
“You don’t know what you’re asking of me. Why can’t it be Italy or Greece? Everyone’s flocking to those.”
She shrugged. “I don’t want to be like everyone else."
I tugged on my wrist gently. “I’m not making any promises.”
She stood up, the top of her head barely reaching my chest. “I know you,hermano, you’ll have my back.”
A sardonic breath left me, but I didn’t comment on it. “Good night.”
She rose on her toes and pecked me on the cheek. “Good night, my favoritehermano.”
I didn’t bother reminding her that I was her only brother as she vanished back into her dorm suite. Instead, I made my way to another building in search of my nephew, Nikola Nikolaev. If I was going to deal with one unhinged psycho, I might need to recruit another.
I found Nikola in his dorm room. Judging by the bloodstains on his dress shirt, he’d just come back from one of his own chaotic escapades, probably involving someone else’s untimely death. I didn’t ask. With Nikola, it was better not to.
I wasn’t thrilled about dragging him into my mess, but the list of people more unhinged than the psycho I was dealing with—and still marginally on my side—was short. Nikola topped it.
