9. Galena
GALENA
T he bedroom that Ilias had shown me was massive and fancier than any hotel I’d ever been in.
Whoever his decorator was should be given a raise.
Everything in the room was gorgeous and lovely to the touch.
Things that made you want to sink into them.
I sat on the edge of the mattress, staring at the floor.
I’d told them I needed a few minutes to myself, and they’d said they’d order some food while I rested.
Instead, I was hiding in here trying to compose myself while the morning replayed in my head like someone else’s life.
My hands curled into the duvet as if the bed could hold me steady. My reflection in the polished wardrobe across the room looked pale, tight around the mouth, and tired in the eyes .
My mother never spoke about the past unless it was wrapped in stories about the weather or childhood mischief.
She kept our lives small and close. Tight enough to hold, yet not wide enough to see what lay beyond.
Something in me should have known that there had been something big lurking in the dark that she hadn’t wanted me to see.
All those times that I’d asked about my father had just been huge red flags that had been hiding things I needed to know — painful things.
It wasn’t that I wouldn’t have respected her privacy, but this was something that would impact the rest of my life.
She should have told me. It was hard not to be angry at her for keeping things from me.
Important things.
My heart pounded as I tried to steady myself.
I was just… unmoored. I had questions—dozens of them.
Aches I hadn’t even named before this moment.
Then I felt like an absolute bitch because I was angry at her for not telling me, and I had no right to be.
From everything I was hearing, she had been in a terrible position with a terrible man.
She’d protected me. Why was I still mad?
Well, Maxim and Ilias had answers. Maybe after getting some of them, it would help me clarify these thoughts I was having .
They said I belonged.
But belonging had never been simple for me.
It wasn’t just about blood or names; it was about safety, trust, and familiarity.
I used to belong to the little house in Queens, at the small battered table in the nook with pale blue walls, while my mother made my favorite banana cake.
And right now, I wasn’t sure I felt like I belonged anywhere—certainly not here in this fancy place with a bed that felt like a cloud, and among these men who looked both dangerous and as handsome as if they should be walking a runway at a fashion show.
Did I believe what they had told me? I did.
There was no reason for them to lie, and Maxim seemed genuinely torn up with guilt about not contacting me sooner.
Even looking at him, I could see some similarities in our faces.
We were clearly related. I was blonde, taking after my mother, who had been really fair.
Maxim, on the other hand, had darker hair, likely inherited from his mother, but we clearly shared similar noses and sharp cheekbones.
Still, if I hadn’t seen him with his wife and baby, I might have felt unsure about being here. Maxim was an imposing man, with all his tattoos on display and that aura he had, but he was good around his little family. That made me feel better about the capacity for kindness he had.
The thought of a brother… well, that was tantalizing.
I had always wanted a sibling. There had even been a few times I’d asked my mother if she and Leland would have a baby so I could have a sister or a brother.
She’d cut that line of discussion off immediately, but she’d always known that my brother had been in the world, and that burned.
Would it have been so bad to tell me the truth?
My emotions bounced all over the place, trying to figure out where to land, but I kept returning to what I wanted most: revenge.
In the end, I loved my mother, and the three men who attacked us had beaten not only her but me as well.
They had taken something from me. I felt powerless against them.
Over the past few months, I’ve been trying to figure out how to move forward in finding them and seeking some justice, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it.
Hell, I had barely managed to survive. My mantra so far had been that just surviving was enough.
Now, there might be a chance to do more than that.
But getting married? That would be crazy.
Wouldn’t it? I shifted slightly on the bed.
The antique mirrored wardrobe reflected me, showing a girl with too-sharp cheekbones and purple shadows under her eyes.
In the past seven months, I’d lost too much weight.
I looked unhealthy. I needed to eat a bit more, so I didn’t look so… hollow.
Ilias had said it would be in name only, but panic bloomed inside my stomach like ink in water, spreading like a stain at the thought of trusting someone.
Before the attack, I’d been a normal college girl.
I’d gone to my classes, I dated, went to bars with my friends, but now…
things were different. I would have to trust that Ilias meant it when he said we’d be roommates.
This whole oath thing and getting married seemed like a condition of staying here, and I needed to stay here. It was a big risk.
My resolve tightened. If I wanted my vengeance, then this was just a step that needed to be completed.
I only needed to take some precautions. Getting my stuff was the first part of it.
If I could do that, I might be able to go through with it and have a backup plan in place.
I had more IDs ready, and I could use them if necessary.
Maxim had seemed impressed by how I’d hidden.
If I had done it once, then I could do it again if needed.
Sure, maybe there wouldn’t be a need to, but I would not allow myself to be in a situation where I was unprepared.
Maybe I could ask them to get me self-defense training. That would be a good idea, right? I’d been meaning to, but when you’re trying to feed yourself and not get caught, time melts away.
There was a knock twenty minutes later, soft and light like the person was afraid they’d wake me.
“Come in,” I answered. When the bedroom door creaked open, I was already braced for whoever it was.
Maxim pushed the door open, his expression carefully guarded.
He didn’t look surprised to find me sitting up.
He looked tired. Not the kind of tired that sleep could fix—but the kind worn into the bones.
He ran a hand through his hair, like he was trying to find the right words, but kept coming up short. There were questions in his eyes.
“I’m alright, just sorting things out in my head, that’s all,” I began, trying to reassure him. “The whole mafia thing is a lot.”
“Bratva,” he corrected with a wink. “Mafia is Italian. Angelo’s thing. You’ll meet him soon enough. You’ll like him and his wife, Theo. She’s funny as fuck. Theodosia is Ilias’s sister.” He frowned. “The brother thing isn’t throwing you for a loop?”
“Nah. I like the idea of having a brother,” I admitted.
That seemed to surprise him. His brows rose slightly.
“I want you to know that. I don’t blame you for anything that happened.
” I shrugged. “You didn’t owe me anything.
My life… it wasn’t some tragedy you were supposed to rescue me from.
My mom gave me everything. Even at the end…
” My voice caught, but I swallowed it back.
He nodded, voice rough. “Thank you for saying that. I’ll try to work my way around to believing that, but I do blame myself.
” Maxim looked down at his hands and then cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable.
“Ilias is a good man.” There was a flicker in his eyes.
“Complicated. Careful. He didn’t ask for this, but he hasn’t looked away from it either.
He won’t hurt you, but if you feel unsafe, you tell me, sestra . ”
“What does that mean?” He had said that word before, and I was meaning to ask him.
“Sister. You’re my sister—a Volkov. In Russian, for women, names like ours get an ‘a’ at the end. So, for Cora and you, your last name would be Volkova.”
I gazed past him, into the hallway where the shadows had begun to deepen. The brownstone appeared even bigger now, and I wondered what it would be like to be here alone with a strange man. “He’ll keep his word?”
“Yes, or I’ll kill him,” Maxim muttered under his breath.
“Wow, I had no idea you were such an asshole.” Ilias leaned on the doorjamb unperturbed by the threat of death. “I will keep my word, and food is here.”
“I need to get my stuff later,” I said mutinously, but under that, I was comforted by their joking around. Their easy friendship made me feel better.
He nodded. “Okay. We can make that happen. Come on. Let’s eat.”