20. Harper #3
Her dark eyes meet mine. “I know exactly what my family does.” She pulls up another photo, this one of two men, both of them very attractive but looking nothing alike.
Pointing to the man with slightly darker hair and blue eyes, she smiles and says, “This is my husband Val. He’s technically my cousin, but our dads are brothers by choice, so don’t worry.
No laws were broken.” She says it with a carefree laugh like it’s a running joke that she’s been teased about for many years.
“And this is our cousin Max. He’s a pianist. He’s married and has three kids too.
They spend a lot of time in Oregon with her family. ”
I nod, but I’m not sure why she’s telling me all this.
Sensing my confusion, she says, “When I was pregnant with Veya, Val and Max were kidnapped by a cartel. They were tortured every day for weeks. That’s where Max met his wife.
She’d been taken too, and to save her, he let them dislocate the fingers in his hand.
My husband had already been freed, something he fought tooth and nail about because he didn’t want to leave his cousin.
He would’ve died down there trying to protect him if given the choice. ”
Yel sighs and puts her phone away. “That’s just one story. There are many more. Stories of all the things my family has done. I know exactly what they’re capable of.”
When I look into her dark eyes, it’s not shame I see. It’s pride. She’s fiercely protective of her family and I can’t help but admire it.
“I’m not saying they’re perfect,” she says. “And I’m not saying they don’t break the law, and that is a hundred percent off the record.”
She waits for me to say, “Of course,” before she settles back in against Watson and starts to pet him again.
“I’m just saying they’re good men. I understand if you can’t see past the Bratva, but you’re truly missing out if that’s all you see, because they’re so much more than that.
They’re good men, men who would do anything for their families, loyal men, and the kind that love with everything they have, and that’s why I came here, because you need to know that.
That’s what my brother can give you, and I think it’s also what you can give him. ”
“I understand why you’re here, but what if you’re wrong?
What if this was just more of a fling for Ev?
” I say, voicing the lingering fear that won’t let go.
“What if I misread things and this meant more to me than it did to him? I went to my office today. I wrote the article about Sasha, but when I was in my boss’s office, I couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t tell the truth about who Ev really is, and I can’t help worrying that I was an idiot for not saying something, because what if I’m wrong?
What if he used me, knowing I’d be an idiot who would fall for his charms and find myself in love and unable to squeal? ”
“That’s not who Ev is,” she says.
“I went to his house afterwards, and he wasn’t there.
He didn’t wait for me. He wouldn’t even agree to talk to me before I left.
He told me what I needed for the article and then told me I’d better get to work so I could write it before anyone else.
He was kind of an ass,” I tell her, not wanting to mince words.
The corner of her mouth lifts. “He is very stubborn, but I can promise you that he didn’t use you. I can’t stress enough how unusual it is that he even brought you to his place.”
“Why? Where does he usually take women? I mean, I know you’re his sister, so there’s probably a lot he keeps from you about stuff like this.”
“I can see how you might think that,” she says, “but our family isn’t like other families. We didn’t grow up like everyone else. There were rules and bodyguards, and no one was sneaking off to go to the clubs and hooking up with random people.”
“Yeah, but he’s on his own now, has been for a while. Surely he has his own private life now.”
She looks sad when she says, “It’s worse for him now than it ever was.
Ev has always carried a weight on his shoulders.
It’s very much self-imposed because our family would never put this kind of pressure on him.
Ev does it all on his own. He wanted to be a lawyer so he could help us, and thank god he actually did it, because he saved our cousin’s ass.
Niki may have used his hacker ways to get the proof of his innocence, but without Ev being right there on the inside, it would’ve been a lot harder, if not impossible, to get the charges dropped.
My brother didn’t run around when we were younger.
He never dated any of the girls who were obsessed with him in high school, and he never let anyone get close to him at college either.
He keeps people at arm’s length. I honestly thought he’d never tear down his walls and let someone in. ”
Her dark eyes look more amused than sad now when she says, “But he did with you.”
I run through everything she’s said and shake my head, unable to believe it. “Are you telling me that I’m the first person Ev’s ever been with?”
“I would normally never butt into something as private as this, but I can’t let my little brother spend the rest of his life regretting the fact that he let you get away.
You deserve to know the truth so you can talk some sense into him, so you can fight to stay in his life, because he won’t believe it from anyone else but you. ”
“He won’t believe what?”
This time she smiles when she says, “That you love him and want to be with him just as he is, that you accept him, criminal family and all, and that his secrets are safe with you.” She stops to give a soft, disbelieving laugh before she adds, “The investigative journalist.”
“It is crazy,” I admit, giving a soft laugh of my own. “On the plus side, no one would ever suspect it. He’d actually be safer with me. I’m a great cover.”
Yel smiles and nods her agreement. “It’s perfect.” She keeps petting a very happy Watson while she asks, “Did he tell you about our parents?”
“He did, yeah. I’m so sorry for what happened to them.”
“They’re amazing people,” Yel says, and I hear the love in her voice when she talks about them.
“Our family has seen enough pain. I’ve kind of made it my mission in life to make sure my parents are surrounded by enough love and happiness to erase what came before.
If by coming here I’ve caused more damage than good, I’ll never forgive myself. ”
“You haven’t,” I quickly say. “Thank you for coming and telling me all this. I was afraid he didn’t want to be with me, and I’ve been coming up with every horrible reason you can think of for why he might feel that way, and it’s been driving me crazy.
It’s a relief to hear I’m wrong, which isn’t something I think I’ve ever said before. ”
She smiles over at me and then surprises me by saying, “Do you want me to bring you to him?”
“What? Now?”
“I know exactly where he is, and there’s no way the guards will let you through without me there to tell them it’s okay.”
The realization that I could actually be facing him again so soon after everything that happened this morning makes me want to say no, but I refuse to give in to that kind of irrational fear.
I want Ev. I want to be with Ev, and if that means I have to do something really scary like face a Bratva, then I will.
I’d do anything for him, so I tell his sister yes and then jump up so I can try and make myself look a little more presentable.
Twenty minutes later, I give up, run a brush through my short hair, and realize this is as good as it’s going to get.
I changed into my nicer pair of jeans and paired it with a cute red top that hadn’t been in my suitcase at Ev’s, so it’s one he’s never seen, but that’s as far as my extreme makeover took me.
He’s already seen me as soon as I wake up and after he’s had his way with me and left me a messy, quivering mess.
The man knows what he’s getting into. He’s seen all my body’s flaws, and he doesn’t seem to mind them.
If anything, he loves them. He’s shown nothing but excitement and appreciation for every inch of my body.
Yel’s words roll around in my head. I still find it hard to believe I’m the only woman he’s ever been with.
I wish I’d known that our first time was also his first time.
The blow-job comment he made makes a lot more sense now.
It’s a talk we’re definitely going to need to have, but first I need to get him back.
Tucking my hair behind my ears, I check my makeup one last time, and then step out to where Yel is still sitting next to Watson, stroking his back while they both watch cartoons.
She looks so normal and not at all how I was expecting her to be.
I have no doubt she has the money to have walked in here with red-soled heels and a Gucci bag, but instead, she’s in jeans and a T-shirt and looking perfectly at home on my ratty old couch.
When she sees me, she grins and asks, “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” I tell her.
“Does Watson like kids?”
“He seems to. He’s never really been around them outside of the dog park, but he never acts aggressive or anything like that.”
“Perfect,” she grins. “The kids are going to love meeting him. Come on, let’s get his leash and get going. I want to get there before Ev has a chance to slip away.”
I’d assumed we’d leave Watson here, but it’s a relief to know he’ll be with me.
I hurry and grab his leash, and when we walk outside, I stop at the sight of the black SUV that’s waiting for us, complete with a very large wall of muscle with black sunglasses and a serious don’t fuck with me attitude.