Page 7 of Forgotten Vows
My goal was to come here and talk about getting away, but while I was here, I’d help.
She shook her head as she spotted me. “Teething. Literallynothinghelps.”
Well, I tried.I didn’t push. She’d know best. Continuing on to find Luka, I wished her good luck.
He was sitting at his desk, going over some papers he’d received. Even though we liked to tease him that he was getting old, he didn’t look it. This appearance could complicate that. He was a Luddite in the manner that he preferred paper documents and photos, but in this field of work, where we often dealt withdrugs, assassinations, and numerous trades in the black market, it was good to avoid a digital trail.
Noticing my entrance, he glanced up and raised his brows. Then he extracted the ear plugs he’d set in his ears. “I had to check these things out and he’s crying so loud…”
I chuckled, holding my hand up. “I don’t blame you.” I sat and faced him directly.
“What’s up?”
“I need to get away.” Coming out bold and direct was the best approach with my uncle.
“Fuck.” He huffed a weak laugh and tossed his earplug to the desktop. “With that boy teething, count me in on that too.” He saw that I wasn’t joking, though, so he sobered up and cleared his throat. “What’s going on?” he asked more seriously.
“I want to know if I could have a leave of absence.”
He nodded. “Always.” He folded his hands together. “But why now?”
I shrugged, hating that like Alexsei, he could’ve noticed how unhappy I was. That seemed like a weakness I wouldn’t freely own up to.
“I’ve got a lot on my mind and it’d be nice to just… get away. A change of scenery for a while to really think some things through.”
Lifting his hands and splaying them out a bit, he shrugged. “Go ahead. Do whatever you need to do. You can take a leave whenever you want. You know that.”
I could assume that. But he was still the boss and it was best to have his approval first.
With his blessing, I planned to head out of the city. Venice seemed like a random and far-away location where I might not have any memories of Raisa, so I booked a flight and arranged for coverage. That was when Emil stopped by my place, when I was in the middle of planning this trip.
“Mind if I come along?” he asked, hands in his pockets.
I arched one brow at the rebel among us. Unlike Alexsei and me, Emil gave no shit about looking like the “bad boy” women claimed him to be. Scarred up, tatted, and always sporting such a cocky smirk, my cousin was a devil in disguise no matter the day of the week or the occasion on hand.
“You want to come with me?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Why not?”
“Didn’t you just get back from Bolivia?”
He rubbed his jaw. “Yeah.” Another shrug. I supposed it was nothing for him to travel nonstop for his hits.
“I’ve been wanting to check out a property in Milan,” he explained.
“All right.” It was my turn to shrug. “If you want.” I wanted time alone to reflect, but I wouldn’t turn down a chance to travel with a companion.
Two days later, we were seated on Luka’s private jet. He’d offered it after the fact, and Emil insisted that we stick with flying in style instead of settling for first-class.
He sat back and sighed, looking truly at peace to get away. I took my seat and cringed, worrying if this was all for nothing. What would getting away really solve? It wasn’t like I’d stay away. I’d always come back to my family, and they would always be the same as when I left them—examples of doting lovers and happy parents of children.
Just like drinking wouldn’t do much to dull or numb the pain of my heartache, traveling for a while wouldn’t erase anything either.
Before long, we took off and were in the air, crossing the ocean.
After finishing a call with Luka, Emil set his phone aside and glanced at me. “Have you noticed how chill and settled he is now?”
“Your father?”
