Chapter 17
Georgi
To say I’m exhausted is the understatement of the century.
Every time Nina has a panic or downright terror attack, it forces me right back to the basement.
Christ, I have to greet my loved ones and get them out of here so Nina and I can take a breather from all these overpowering emotions.
“I’m just going to talk to my family, and once they leave, I’ll show you around.”
Nina nods, her face still way too pale.
“Georgi, is your castle in the clouds?” Simi asks.
“No, but when it rains, it looks that way,” I say, giving her a comforting smile. “Are you okay, malkata mi printsesa?”
“Yes. I’m not sick like Mama.”
Fuck, this child is made of some serious tough stuff, just like her mother.
“Take a moment for yourself,” I say as I walk to the doorway. “Once you feel better, you can join me in the living room.”
I don’t wait to hear Nina’s response, and when I step out of the hallway, Mom’s head snaps in my direction. She hurries toward me, her heels tapping on the tiles.
“Georgi!” I’m much taller than Mom, and when she reaches me, I bend at the waist so she can hold me. Her familiar scent hits me hard, and even though my left arm is fucking sore, I wrap her up in a tight hug. “Jesus,” she gasps, her voice straining from tears. “If I lost you.”
“You didn’t.”
Mom pulls back and frames my face with her hands, her eyes darting over all the bruises. “My God, sweetheart.”
“It looks worse than it feels,” I lie to set her at ease.
“You’ve lost weight.” Right then, she pulls free and hauls my ass to the kitchen. “I brought all your favorites. Pick what you want to eat now so I can put the rest in the fridge.”
“I ate on the plane.”
Mom levels me with a scowl. “You need to regain your strength. I think the beef bone broth stew will be best.”
To appease her, I smile and nod. “Okay, Mom.”
She moves away from me, and I watch as she packs one dish after the other into my already full fridge, until three bowls remain on the marble island.
When Mom looks at me again, her eyebrows knit together, and her eyes begin to sparkle with unshed tears.
I close the distance between us and pull her into another hug. “I’m okay, Mom.”
“Uh-huh…”
I hear her sniffle and lean down to press a kiss to her head.
As she steps away, she says, “Your father told me about Nina and Simi. I got everything you asked for.” Worry tightens her features as she lifts her hands to brush them over my chest, fixing my shirt and absentmindedly trying to wipe away a wet spot her tears left on the silk.
A frown forms on her forehead, then she asks, “What are you doing, bringing them here, Georgi?”
Knowing she will understand, I say, “Nina has suffered horrific things, and she still tried to help me.”
“She looks traumatized.”
“She is. The bastards conditioned the hell out of her.”
“Jesus.” Mom places her hand on my left arm, and as the wound begins to throb, I carefully pull away and open the fridge to grab a bottle of water so that she won’t notice.
“I’m keeping Nina and Simi. They’re mine, and I’ll look after them,” I state my intentions clearly so there are no misunderstandings between Mom and me.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” The corner of her mouth lifts. “You’re just like your father. Once you put your mind to something, there’s no changing your mind.”
While I take a sip of the water, I go over everything that’s happened. It’s wild to think it’s only been five days.
Shows you how quickly your life can change.
“Let’s join the others,” Mom says. “As much as I want to keep you to myself, it’s not fair to them.”
I set the bottle of water down and follow Mom out of the kitchen.
Rosie is the first to get to me before I even make it halfway to the living room. She practically throws herself at me, and as I catch her, pain shudders through my body.
“Fuck,” I suppress a groan and quickly set her down on her feet. “Pain.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.” She steps backward, then gives me a heartbroken look. “I swear I fried half my microchips looking for you. What happened to your phone and watch?”
“They were smashed with a hammer.”
Worry creases her eyebrows, and she glances at the other men before her gaze stops on Enzo, whom she used to have a huge crush on. “That’s not good. I need to figure out another way of tracking you all.”
Rosie turns her head back to me, then something behind me catches her attention, and her eyes narrow.
When I look over my shoulder, I see Nina and Simi. Nina gives me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I heard you say you’re in pain and just wanted to check on you.”
Reaching for her, I pull her closer to me by the back of her neck.
“Rosie just tackled me. I’m okay.” I move past Rosie, then call out, “Can I have everyone’s attention.
” My loved ones stop talking, and once they’re all focused on me, I say, “This is Nina and Simi. They’re mine.
Simi doesn’t speak English, so please keep that in mind.
” I glance over the most important people in my life.
“Don’t ask Nina any questions. She is not the enemy but under my protection.
Treat her the way you would treat each other.
I want her to feel at home as soon as possible. ”
“Well, that sums it up in a nutshell,” Enzo mutters while chuckling.
“Yours?” Christiano, the capo dei capi and Enzo’s older brother, asks. “You claimed Boris Pavlov’s daughter and grandchild?”
I lock eyes with him. “Yes. They belong to me. End of story.”
“And what about Pavlov?” Christiano asks.
I gesture at Rosie. “Once I’ve taken some time to recover, Rosie and I will work together to find the bastard. That will be my sole focus until he’s dead.”
“That’s enough talk of work,” Aunt Gabriella, Christiano’s mother, says as she comes toward me. “The rest of us would like to check on Georgi.” When she reaches me, she brings her hand to my left arm. I notice how Nina tenses, her eyes locking on where the bandage is.
I turn my body sideways and hug Aunt Gabriella with my right arm instead.
“I’m so happy you’re back with us,” she says before she pulls away from me to look at Nina. “I’m Gabriella Falco. Welcome to the family, Nina.” She smiles at Simi, then looks at Nina again. “I’ll be in touch so we can get to know each other better.”
Nina only nods, her shoulders curving forward while she holds Simi tighter.
“I want down, Mama,” Simi says.
“Not, now, milo moe,” Nina whispers, her voice hoarse. “It’s not safe.”
“Raya,” I say to get my sister’s attention. When she comes to me, I tip my head at Nina. “Will you show them to the guest room beside mine. I think Nina would like to rest after the long flight.”
“Of course,” Raya replies, already giving Nina a comforting smile.
My eyes touch on Nina’s. “Take your time getting settled and unpack.”
“Okay,” she whispers obediently.
I wait for them to disappear up the stairs to the second floor, then smile at my loved ones. “Shit’s been a bit crazy.”
“I bet,” Uncle Dario, Rosie's father, says. He comes to pat my right shoulder. “Talking about shit. You’ve looked better. Are you okay, son?”
“Yeah. Just banged up.”
Everyone takes a moment to exchange a few words with me before they slowly start to leave.
“Just so you know, I’m going to work on getting implants for you all,” Rosie mentions as she walks toward the elevator.
A couple of us groan because once Rosie gets it in her head to do something, we have no choice but to go along.
“And how much is that going to cost me?” Enzo asks as he wraps his arm around her shoulders.
“Hah. Christiano will be footing the bill,” she retorts.
“Lucky me,” our capo dei capi grumbles.
My parents hang back, and once it’s only us, Mom asks, “What can we do to help?”
“Just give me some time with Nina. She’s…traumatized is a too light word.” I shake my head. “The shit she survived…”
“And what about you?” Dad asks. “You went through hell as well, Georgi.” When my lips part to tell him I’m fine, he levels me with a scowl. “Don’t even try to play it off as nothing. I can see it in your eyes. Something happened that you’re not telling us.”
I suck in a deep breath, then admit, “You’re right.”
Mom gasps and gives me a very worried look.
I glance away from them as flashes of Nina being pinned down and raped bombard my mind.
The helplessness I felt was crippling.
Clearing my throat, I say, “I can’t talk about it. Ever.”
“Jesus.” Mom covers her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide with fear.
I take hold of her and pull her into a hug while locking eyes with Dad, and knowing I have to give them something so they’ll stop worrying about me, I admit, “It was something I was forced to watch. I’m physically fine.”
I see the moment Dad puts two and two together. “Fuck. Now I understand everything.”
“What?” Mom asks, pulling away so she can see our faces.
“They hurt the woman in front of him,” Dad tells her.
“I’d really appreciate it if we could move on from this subject.”
Mom gathers herself and nods. “Okay. Ah…so I’ll keep bringing food over. Send me any shopping lists you have.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I press a kiss to her forehead.
Dad gently rubs my shoulder. “Have Nina look at your…bruises. Keep me up to date with what’s happening.”
“Will do.”
I walk my parents to the elevator, and once the doors close behind them, I let out a heavy sigh.
What’s the time?
Heading to the kitchen, I check the clock on the microwave and see it’s already past ten.
I take the stairs up so I can check on Nina and tell Raya she can go home. When I near the bedroom, I hear Simi ask, “Do I really get to sleep in the big bed?”
“Yes,” Raya answers. “In this castle, all princesses have big beds.”
“Yay!”
“Don’t jump, milo moe.”
As I walk into the bedroom, Nina’s about to take hold of an excited Simi, and I say, “Leave her be. It’s fun jumping on the bed.”
“Georgi!” Simi shrieks, bouncing toward the foot of the bed with the widest smile on her face.
I move fast, and hooking my right arm around her, I catch her mid-air. She wraps her tiny arms around my neck and plasters a kiss on my cheek, then whispers, “Thank you.”
The emotion hits me square in the chest, and I fall completely in love with the sweet little girl in my hold. My voice is hoarse as I ask, “For what, malkata mi printsesa?”
“For coming to save us.”
Her eyes are big and filled with so much innocence, I make a silent vow to protect her from the evils of our world so she never loses that look.
“I’m sorry I was late,” I say, before pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“By taking me to the toy store?”
“Yes.” Grinning at her, I add, “First thing tomorrow morning, so you have to get to bed and sleep so you have energy for all those toys.”
“Yes!” She squirms in my arms, so I’ll put her down and quickly crawl beneath the covers. “Night.” She squeezes her eyes shut but can’t stop smiling.
I did that.
Christ.
Good job, Georgi.
My heart clenches before it feels like it’s exploding with affection for Simi, and the moment is so intense, I have to rub my hand over my chest.
When I glance at Nina and see terror darkening her eyes, it pops the bubble.
I clear my throat again and look at Raya. “Thanks for everything.”
“No problem. I’ll stay on top of things and keep you in the loop. Take off as much time as you need.”
A smirk forms around my mouth. “Don’t look so happy to be rid of me.”
I follow Raya to the doorway, then she turns around and says, “I get a feeling I’m about to have a lot more freedom, now that you can focus your obsession to protect on someone else.”
“You wish.” Chuckling, I shake my head. “I’ve just been through hell, don’t give me a heart attack by telling me you want to date.”
“Hmpf.” She shoots me a playful glare, then walks toward the stairs. “I’ll check in on you tomorrow night after work.”
Turning around, I lock eyes with Nina, who’s still standing in the exact same spot, her body tense.
I stay where I am as I tilt my head. “You’re not feeling any better, are you?”
“I’m fine.”
Sure, and I’m a virgin.
Letting out a sigh, I ask, “Have you finished unpacking?”
She shakes her head. “Not yet.”
“Take care of it, then come down to the living room so we can talk.” Nina nods, but noticing she’s looking even more scared, I add, “We’re just going to talk, Nina. Nothing else.”
“Okay,” she whispers, but she still doesn’t move, her eyes glued to me as I pull the door shut behind me.
I head back down to the kitchen and open the medicine cabinet. Tossing two painkillers into my mouth, I down them with water before I walk to the living room and gingerly lower myself onto a couch.
Fuck. What a day.
Scratch that. What a fucked-up week.
My eyes fall on the new phone lying on the coffee table with a sticky note.
I peel it off and read the message.
Call if you need me. No matter the time.
Love you, Mom
When I unlock the device with the code Mom provided, I see it’s already been set up. Rosie probably did it while they were waiting for me.
Christ, I have the best family.
I go into my emails, and seeing the long list, I let out a sigh and get to work.