Chapter 29
KAZIMIR
Zora clings to my side as we walk through the doors into Roman's house with Stepan on our heels.
He hasn't said much since I told him to shut up, and Timur has been quiet too. I know neither one of them approves of me and Zora, but their opinions don’t matter.
Roman is the only one who can make or break my choices, and I think now that I'm with her, even he doesn't stand a chance at separating us.
"It'll be okay, alright?" I pull her tighter against me and she trembles.
"I'm sort of scared," she mumbles, glancing over her shoulder.
I imagine Stepan glaring at her in his usual way, but he'll get over it.
As soon as he sees Ro approving of her and our life getting back to normal, he'll understand it was her brothers who put her up to that and they're out of the picture now.
"I promise," I tell her, stopping at the threshold of the dining room, letting Timur and Stepan pass by us.
"I won't let anyone hurt you or talk bad about you, okay?
" Looking her in the eye, I see how terrified she is.
But she nods like she trusts me and I take her hand. "Come on. They're ready for us."
Zora walks a step behind me as we enter the dining room.
Roman's maids are setting plates out, and one of them smiles politely at her.
We're all a little dirty—Stepan and I a little bloody—and we're on edge.
But the family is here, ready to have a meal and finally learn what punishment Ro will hand out to me.
"Sit," he says, nodding at the empty seats across from Timur and Stepan. Ro sits at one end of the table, and Mila sits at the opposite end. She talks quietly with one of the maids as I pull Zora's chair out for her to sit.
It's all very tense. I can feel every eye on me as I sit in my own seat and drape my napkin over my lap.
Normally, family meals are lively and full of laughter and conversation, but this family has lost so much over the past month, I'm not sure how we'll ever heal.
I hate knowing it was my fault, that if I'd have caught it sooner, maybe we wouldn’t have lost so much.
Maybe I'd have been able to help Zora sooner.
"Kazimir," Roman says, setting his fork down. He wipes his mouth with his napkin and lays it on his lap, then sighs hard. "I've had a lot of time over the past few weeks to really think about how to handle this, though I must say that I'm a bit shocked at how bad things got."
I don't even have to look at him to know how disappointed he is. I'm grateful he let me go to Zora and get her, but I know his compassion for a person in need doesn't negate the horrible things that have happened or my responsibility for them.
"Sir… Mr. Kuzin…" Zora says, and my spine straightens. I touch her knee under the table, but she's determined to say whatever it is she wants to say. I just cringe knowing if she speaks out of turn, it may have bad consequences for me and her. "I just want to say I’m sorry."
Her voice shakes as she speaks. I can hear how scared she is in her tone of voice. She should let me handle this and shield her. I know she doesn't know any better, but I'm worried how he will react.
"Go on," Roman says, and I look up to see him watching her curiously.
"Kazimir had nothing to do with anything that happened.
" She glances at me and then turns back to him.
"My brothers wanted me to get close to you to get information about you and your fight club.
They said it would help them weaken your alliances and cast doubt on your organization.
In exchange, they promised me a chance to run my own fight club… "
This is a part I haven't heard, and it stings.
Knowing she was targeting this family purposefully feels like a gut punch, but she continues.
"And I willingly cloned Kazimir's phone to let them play pranks on him. I swear I had no idea what they were planning, and once I was in deep, they planted a tracker on me that I didn’t even know was on me.
I thought it was a bug in my apartment or something…
" She sounds on the verge of tears. "That's how they found the gym and the offices. "
Ro sips his wine cautiously, narrowing his eyes on her. I know he's a forgiving man when he wants to be, but some of this sounds unforgiveable, even for me. If I weren't madly in love with her, I'd be angry enough to kill.
But Mila chimes in and every eye turns to her.
"I know just how that is…" she says softly, smiling at Roman.
"I know what it's like to have a family member manipulate you and use you.
" When she looks right at Roman, his eyes darken for a moment and then he lets go of his anger.
It's like I can visibly see it lift off him.
"My stepmother sent me to steal from Roman," Mila says with a smile, "and now I'm married to him…
Forgiveness is a powerful thing. Isn't it, Rome? "
A bit of the tightness in my chest loosens up as I watch Roman sit straighter, relax his shoulders, and down his wine.
"As I said," he continues from where he left off, "I've had some time to think about things, and I have a few things to say.
" He looks sternly at Timur, then Stepan, holding each gaze for a solid ten seconds before turning to me.
They get the message that what follows is his final decision and he is not to be challenged.
Then he lifts his chin and says, "Kazimir, you have cost this organization more money and reputation than you can imagine. You were stubborn and you refused wise counsel, and you risked everything."
My neck burns and I rub it, but I feel Zora's fingers slide into mine right there on the table where everyone can see.
It's bad enough to know what I did wrong, but to be called out in front of the whole family is humiliating.
It's tempting to pass the blame on to Zora, but that's not the right thing either.
She did the wrong thing, but she did it for a good reason.
And when she saw the consequences, she tried to stop it.
"Zora," Roman snips, narrowing his eyes on her, "you purposefully deceived Kazimir and it's not something we can let slide. We're only as strong as our ability to be transparent with each other. Lairs have no place in this family."
"Yes, sir, I—"
"Put it on me, Ro," I say, interrupting her. "Whatever you want to do to punish her, put it on me. I'm taking the full blame. She's pregnant with my baby, which makes us one now. So you can blame me for everything."
I hear Mila murmur, "Aw" under her breath, but the men at this table are eating in silence with their heads down.
"Good, then you agree this is your fault." Roman nods at the maid who comes over to refill his wine glass.
"Entirely my fault." If my chest got any tighter, I'd be able to pluck it like a guitar string.
"Kazimir, you are in charge of the entire fight club," Ro says plainly.
"What?" I say, mumbling. "Ro, you can't be serious. You're back now. People will want to see it rebuilt and be strong and—"
"And you'll do that." He isn't joking. His eyes are locked on mine in a stern expression. "You let the poison in that destroyed it, and you will rebuild it. The only way to do it right is to build it from the ground up the way I did. You gotta pick up the pieces and put things back together."
"Ro—" Stepan interjects, but Roman cuts him off with a hard glare.
"So from now on, Stepan, you're in charge of all enforcement and security, and that little problem we have going on with the Belova syndicate…
" Roman lets his words punctuate themselves, then turns to me.
"And Kazimir, you're responsible for rebuilding the fight club to its former glory.
We'll let our allies know we've handled the problem.
" His eyes flick to Zora and then he sits back.
"Ms. Volyn, welcome to the family." Roman lifts his glass of wine and says, "To new beginnings. May we be as prosperous and plentiful as ever."
"To new beginnings," Mila chimes in, and she raises her water glass. One by one, each glass is raised around the table.
Glasses clink and the tension finally breaks. I drink the wine and sigh, letting the rest of the stress ease out of my shoulders.
"One more thing," Roman says, setting his glass down.
He leans back and crosses one leg over the other and looks around the table.
"I'll be stepping back from the ring entirely for a while.
The Radin operation needs my full attention.
Their gun outfit's been coasting and it can't coast anymore, not with how things are shifting.
This new alliance is important for business. "
I wait because I can feel there's more coming.
"So I am fully trusting you all to keep things on the Kuzin side running smoothly." Roman picks up his fork. "Now can we eat like a normal family for five minutes before someone else drops a bomb on me? Figuratively speaking."
Mila laughs first and Stepan shakes his head with the ghost of a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. Timur reaches for the bread and tears off a piece and passes the basket to Zora. This tiny beginning feels like the first stone laid on a new path we're carving toward a stronger family.
"So," Mila says, leaning forward with her chin in her hand, looking right at Zora. "When are you due? I need to know how much time I have to plan."
Zora glances at me, and I squeeze her hand and she turns back to Mila. "Late spring, I think."
"You think?" Mila repeats, grinning. "You two are getting a proper appointment this week. I'm calling my doctor tomorrow."
"Mila—" Roman starts.
"Not negotiable, Rome."
He holds up his hands in surrender as the women start chatting about pregnancy and life in general.
All I can do is sit there holding Zora's hand feeling awestruck by how things worked out.
Roman's choice upset Stepan. I can still see it on his forehead, but whether he likes it or not, it's done.
I'm the new leader of the fight club and I get a second chance to prove myself.
And better than that, I get a chance to prove to Stepan and Timur that Zora really is everything I always knew she was, and more.