13. Ilias #2
Maybe it made sense to discuss some of my own issues with Galena so that she could address hers.
It would be my penance for not pushing to meet her or finding out anything about her when Conall had told us over a year ago that we were going to move forward with the blood promise.
If I had only had Kostas look her up and put a detail on their house.
On her. The woman who was supposed to be my bride, then she would have been safe.
Her mother would be alive. Guilt was a raw thing.
Maxim wasn’t the only one to blame. It was misdirected to place all my anger on him.
So I pushed it and continued. I owed her.
"He was sick,” I said. “In a lot of ways,” I reasoned.
Galena moved over and sat on the chaise, her hands now in her lap, her knuckles white.
“I mentioned that he was in business with Alexei and the others.” She nodded, her blond curls bobbing.
Today, she was all cleaned up and dressed in Polina’s clothes, which were a little too big for her.
“He liked to sample the merchandise—the women. But he liked control too,” I paused.
“Especially over me. In unhealthy ways.”
She stayed still, not looking away from me. I’d never told a living soul about my father or what he’d done. Even my brothers didn’t know.
"I used to hide in the crawl space under the stairs," I added, my voice quieter now. "It smelled like mold, but it was the only place he wouldn’t go. Too small. Too dark. I carved a little mark into the wall every time I managed to make it through a day without him noticing me.” I didn’t know why I told her that part—maybe because it was the truth, or maybe because I saw the same survival in her.
“It wasn’t anything sexual,” I clarified.
“It was almost worse. “Demeaning. Treated me worse than an animal when he felt like it.”
She looked at me with what seemed like understanding, accompanied by another feeling. Not pity. Something deeper. Resonant.
"You think you're broken because of what happened to you?” she asked softly.
"Sometimes."
She nodded slowly. "Yeah. Me too."
We didn’t speak for a long moment. Finally, I cleared my throat. "Kostas is bringing his laptop. He’ll set up in the living room. I asked him and Vaso to come by a little later. If you’re still okay with it."
She hesitated, then gave a slight nod. "Yeah. I’m looking forward to meeting your brothers, and I’m ready to start looking at those photos to see if I can identify the men.
” She bit her lip a little, nibbling it back and forth between her teeth, a gesture I was becoming familiar with.
“I’m not looking forward to it or anything, but I want to know who they are. I feel like it’ll help me move on.”
“Makes sense, and once we’ve got them identified, then we can move on to phase two of our plan.” I gave her a wink. That was my favorite phase anyway. The torture and death phase. “We’ll take it slow," I promised. "Just faces. You tell us when it’s too much."
She gave another nod that was firmer this time, like she was bracing herself.
I recognized the way her spine went straight and her jaw set.
That was the same stance I took before walking into a volatile room.
Galena had learned how to survive. The hard way.
“The judge will be here around five,” I added.
Mostly, it was a reminder to myself that we were tying the knot today. God help us both.
“I’m just going to unpack my things and change into some of my own clothes, then I’ll come down. I don’t need to wear anything special, right?”
“No. You can wear whatever you’re comfortable in.”
I left her to settle in while I went downstairs, ignoring the sound of the lock clicking. I wouldn’t blame her for needing the sense of safety that it brought, not that anyone here would ever hurt her.
While we were away, my cook, Evgenia, had come in and set out a huge spread.
When I spoke to her last night and explained that Galena would be living here, she was so excited that I’d had to remind her that Galena wasn’t coming here because we’d given her any choices.
Evgenia had been with us for years and had cared for us more than our own mother had.
She was a traditional Greek cook, which we all loved, but it was her family-style love that had cemented her place in our household.
I’d give her a ton of credit for helping us (me, Vaso, and Kostas) with our sisters.
She’d been the balance when we’d been fish out of water, especially with Polina.
Telling her about our newest house guest came naturally because Evgenia’s love language was food.
She had been frustrated with me for not knowing anything about what Galena might like to eat, but I had promised to pay close attention.
The abundant spread of food was a sign of Evgenia’s desire to impress and probably to find out what Galena liked.
It was a bit excessive, but with my brothers here, at least it wouldn’t go to waste.
I knew she said she wasn’t hungry, but maybe something would tempt her .
The doorbell rang at noon sharp. I opened it to find Kostas first, his laptop bag slung over one shoulder, and Vaso behind him. I had hoped Kostas would come alone, but I wasn’t surprised. At least they both dressed down. No suits.
"You guys good?" I asked.
“Hey, brother.” Kostas gave me a grim look as he headed downstairs to the kitchen area where we were set up. It was too cold to open the terrace doors, but it was nice to look out. “Ready when she is. We’ll keep it easy,” he reassured me, but there was still a knot in my stomach.
Vaso nodded. “Hey. You get her stuff?”
“Yeah. We got everything. Thanks for coming, guys.”
I had told them enough to know this wasn’t a normal meet-and-greet.
They understood to keep their distance and their voices low.
My family was usually loud and boisterous, so I could only predict that it wouldn’t go over well for Galena right now until she became more accustomed to things.
I wanted her to get used to my family, not too overwhelmed all at once.
“Just a heads up. The tag on that shipment has been clean so far,” Vaso mentioned as he sat himself down at the large dining room table where Evgenia had arranged all the platters of food.
He rubbed his hands greedily. “I swear I’m going to convince her to come live with me and work for me full time.
” He dipped into some honeyed Feta with a piece of pita.
“The Scarpato shipment?” Vaso nodded, chewing vigorously.
“Thanks for telling me. I’ll worry about that tomorrow, but I appreciate the heads-up.
And Evgenia will work full-time when hell freezes over.
” I laughed at the face he was pulling. Vaso and Kostas had both tried to get Evgenia to split her time between their places, but she was getting older now.
It really would be too much for her. She would do small food prep for them and leave it in the garage refrigerator for them to pick up, but that was the agreement, and only when she felt like it.
I’d let the Scarpato shipment slip my mind, and while we waited for Galena, I worked on my laptop, catching up on some work I’d missed.
The office ran smoothly without me, but I preferred to be hands-on.
I reviewed our shipments from the last two days to see if anything stood out and double-checked the tracking on Scarpato’s delivery.
So far, no anomalies, but I didn’t trust it. Something was off .
When Galena came down a few minutes later, she was wearing a hoodie I hadn’t seen before. Too big for her. Probably something she’d used as armor.
Kostas stayed seated but gave a small smile. "Galena, I’m Kostas. That’s Vaso. We’re Ilias’s brothers."
She gave a short nod. "Hi. Nice to meet you. I can see the resemblance.”
No handshake. No unnecessary closeness. They read her cues well.
"I brought the laptop," Kostas said. "I figured we could start slow, just a few photos at a time. You tell me if you recognize anyone."
"Okay." She slid into a chair, giving a glance over at the food that was spread over the kitchen table. “Wow. That’s a lot of stuff. Are you expecting more people?”
“My cook decided we needed to be fed.” I gestured towards the pile of plates with a rueful shrug. “She wasn’t sure what you might like. Most of it is traditional Greek food, but there are a few other things sprinkled in there in case that doesn’t appeal to you. She’s big on feeding people.”
“We’re going to start with an older mafia outfit. The Olivetos. Most of them aren’t around anymore, but some of them might still be in the neighborhood, particularly Queens, and they’re Italian.” Kostas turned the computer over to her. “We pulled the best photos we have, just click each slide.”
We left her to it, trying not to crowd her as she peered at old surveillance stills, mug shots, and even candids with people circled.
It looked like Veronica and Kostas had taken their assignment seriously.
Galena leaned forward slightly, her fingers curling into the arm of the chair as she concentrated on each set of images before she moved to the next one.
An hour later, she was still just as focused but hadn’t found anyone who caught her attention.
Part of me wanted to interrupt her or question whether she was sure she could identify them, but that wouldn’t be helpful.
Instead, I slid a soda over to her and an assortment of snacks from the platters.
She gave me a grateful smile and forked some fruit salad into her mouth, humming around it as she paused on another set of pictures.
I took careful note of each item she picked through and those she seemed to revisit with a little more enthusiasm, as I knew Evgenia would want a full recount.
“I think that’s the last of the Oliveto crew. That set there. Want to take a break?” Kostas asked. He’d been working on another laptop, trying not to interrupt her focus, but I know we all found it hard not to ask her how she was handling it constantly.
“No. Let’s keep going. There are more, right?” There was a hopeful note to her voice that I couldn’t discount. She didn’t sound like she was having a hard time. If anything, she sounded energized.
“Okay. Just so you know how the process works, everyone you’ve eliminated will be sent to Veronica.” Kostas rubbed his hand over his mouth. “Veronica is helping me organize all the photos,” he supplied.
When Galena’s nose wrinkled slightly as if she were trying to figure something out, I explained, “Veronica is your and Maxim’s cousin. She lives in California. You’ll like her. She’s great at computers and helps all of us out when we ask.”
“So I have more family than just Maxim?”
The question was so tentative that I wished I could reach over and hug her.
“You sure do. There is Veronica, and then Natasha, who is her sister. Both of them are your cousins. You also have a half-brother named Dimitri. I know he’ll want to meet you soon.
He’s married to a nice woman, I think you’ll like, and they have a daughter, Olive.
So, you have a niece.” Technically, she had a few more family members I didn’t mention.
Natasha and Veronica’s mother was still alive, but she was a pain in the ass. Not worth mentioning at this point.
She took a drink of her soda and then trailed her fingers around the rim of the can. “One of the things I always wanted was a big family.”
Vaso barked a laugh that made her jump. “Well, you’re going to get your fill of that.” He winked at her. “We’re a big bunch, and loud.”
“A big bunch of something …” Kostas said under his breath.
Her laughter shimmered from her, and my heart lurched in surprise as I watched her. She didn’t have any shadows at that moment. They were lurking, but had pulled back just for this moment to reveal the glow she was capable of … and it was stunning. I wanted to see it all the time.