21. Sofia
SOFIA
Things definitely look different around here.
There are more Bratva around in general. On the grounds, in the house. They all seem to be meandering about.
Titus hasn’t locked my door since he had his meeting the other day, but with so many of his men roaming around, I kind of feel the need to. At least at night. I don’t think any of them would touch me, but one never knows.
It makes me wonder if the jig is up. Does everyone know about us? At the very least, no one knows about his son. His door has been locked at all times and anytime I’m with him, Titus has asked me to keep him in his room.
Something is definitely up around here.
I guess I’m not all that surprised after what happened with Adam. I broke down and he was there to comfort me. So was one of his guys. That couldn’t have looked good.
And yet, of all the things that Titus could have done about it, killing me doesn’t appear to be on the menu. I suppose I should be grateful, and I am, but I’m also racked with guilt about Adam.
This morning, I asked that breakfast be brought to me. I’ve been in my room ever since, watching them walk the front yard from my window. Something is definitely, definitely up.
I wish I had someone to talk to about it. Someone to mull all this over with. At least my dreams are getting better. That first night was hell. The only reason I got any sleep at all was because I was crying so much and that wore me out enough to drop off.
Adam just didn’t deserve what happened to him. And I’ve got nobody to blame but myself. I can’t even really blame Titus. That would be like blaming the snake for biting me.
“Sofia?”
I look over and Titus is standing in my doorway again. He never knocks. It’s annoying. I walk away from the window and sit on my bed.
We haven’t had sex since Adam was killed. He’s kept his distance from me for the most part except to check in with me from time to time, make sure I’m eating. As strange as it is to say, I miss being with him.
Or maybe it’s not so strange. He walks all the way into the room and his scent reaches me. I breathe it in, welcoming him.
“I’m just checking in,” he says. “How are you this morning?”
I smile thinly at him. “Pretty good for a woman who had to have her boyfriend kill her brother for her.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Boyfriend?”
I shrug. “I don’t know a better word for us. Master seems too severe, Keeper makes me feel like a zoo animal—”
“Let’s not slap any labels on whatever this is. Not yet, anyway.”
I blink at him. That’s another thing we haven’t done. We never did talk about the last time we had sex and how everything shifted. I bite my lip, wondering if I should dare to bring it up now. Instead, I ask, “What’s going on around here?”
“What do you mean?”
I scoff. “What do I mean? I’m not blind or stupid. Something’s changed in protocol. Are we at war?”
He flinches slightly and suddenly, I realize what I’ve just said. We. Are we at war. That’s a hell of a slip. He doesn’t acknowledge it. He says instead, “You shouldn’t be worried about any of that.”
I don’t want to press him. In fact, I don’t really think it’s my place to. “Fine,” I say, letting it go. He pauses, then goes to step away.
“Wait,” I say, and he stops. “Can you stay for a little while?”
His shoulders move as he takes a little breath. I notice that he’s dressed in a tight black top that highlights his muscles with matching slacks and shiny black shoes. It’s not his business attire, but he looks good. Something is up. Or somebody’s waiting for him.
“I have a meeting, Sofia.”
I nod. I miss you. I almost say it aloud. I can’t say that, though. I don’t think I can handle what he might say back.
“I’ll… come up afterward,” he says. “If you want.”
“I do want,” I say softly.
And then, without another word, he leaves me again.
What a weird, strange trip this has been. And my door is unlocked. I think that if I asked him to let me go, he’d oblige me. Maybe. I don’t know.
What I do know is that something big is happening in this Bratva. And if there’s going to be war, I should at least know what I’m up against. I get up and slip out of my room.
It’s quiet in the house right now. No random Bratva patrolling the halls. Not even any staff anywhere to be seen. I pad across the marble floor on bare feet, walking and listening to the halls as I move toward Titus’s office.
He said he had a meeting. I wonder if this is a big one. Maybe something has happened that will cause him to make moves of some sort. Maybe…
I don’t know. And I won’t know until I find out.
His office door is closed, which sucks a little. It’s always harder to hear through the door when it’s closed. I hunker down and press my ear to the wood.
“Cyrus and his boeviks have been at the warehouse,” someone’s saying in Russian. “They’ve been meeting almost nightly at this point. We think that’s where they’re doing their planning.”
“Has it just been his people?” Titus asks. “Any other allies?”
“We’ve seen some of the sixes as well.”
“That’s expected,” Ignat says. “They’re too green to know better.”
“Well, if this escalates any more, they’ll find out which is the better side,” another one says.
“Okay,” says Titus. “So, they’re meeting up. What about provisions? Any word from any of our people about visits from anyone in their camp?”
“Stasio has been silent,” says Ignat. “And Boris hasn’t had any visits. However, I heard the Italians are suddenly very interested in trade.”
“Hmm,” Titus says. “We don’t usually sell to them. That’s an interesting move.”
Titus’s voice is low and pensive. I imagine him sitting at the edge of the long table in there, rubbing the hair on his chin as he thinks this through. “Keep at our regular sources,” he says.
“Do you want me to tell them not to sell to Cyrus and Cyril?”
“Tell them that if they sell to them, then they need to let us know what they got from them. And if they don’t and we find out, retribution will come their way once we’re done with them. Otherwise, I don’t want to get anyone else involved in this if I can help it. This is family business.”
“Yes, sir.”
“In the meantime, continue to watch our properties. The guard here is sufficient, I think, but I want to put people on our more valuable storehouses. I don’t want them resorting to stealing from our coffers.”
“Yes, sir,” they all say in unison. I hear movement and I get up, sliding to the side as the doors open. The Bratva all walk out and toward the door in the other direction, basically ignoring me. When they’re gone, I walk into the room.
Titus is in the middle of a conversation with Ignat. He stops as soon as he sees me, mild anger crossing his eyes. He looks to Ignat and dismisses him.
Once he’s gone, he says, “I told you about eavesdropping, Sofia.”
“So, it’s a civil war, then,” I say. “That’s what’s happening? Is this about what happened with Adam?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“It’s definitely my business if I’m in danger, Titus, don’t you think?” He glares at me, but I ball my fists and dig my nails in my palms to chase off the chills he gives me. “Please don’t shut me out of this. I want to help.”
His eyebrows arch. “Excuse me?”
“Let me help you, Titus. I’m capable. You know that. I can be of use to you. I don’t want to just sit up in my tower while war comes knocking on the front door. Please.”
He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. “Sofia, I cannot let you fight for me. That would be insane.”
“I’m not going to stand by and let somebody kill me or Luka or… or you.” I swallow hard and stand up a little straighter. “I want to fight. Let me.”
He regards me for a long moment with those gold and amber eyes and for just a moment, I think maybe he might grant me my wish to fight. Instead, he stands up and walks over to me. He stops when he’s a few inches away. My eyes drift to his hands, longing for him to touch me again.
“I’m not going to let you fight any of my battles,” he says to me. “Not now. Not ever. It’s not your place.”
“My place is with—” I stop myself, nearly biting off my tongue. I try again. “I deserve to be able to defend myself.”
“I expect you to,” he says. “Listen, I don’t think this whole thing is going to go very far. I don’t expect to see any bloodshed. I think it will resolve before then. But just in case, I want you to stay safe. Do you understand me?”
I nod in response. He says, “I also expect you to defend Luka. Keep him safe at all costs. Promise me you’ll do that for me.”
“Of course,” I say almost automatically. “Titus, I just don’t… What I mean to say…”
“Stop,” he says, his voice like a low rumble against my chest. “Right now, I have to worry about keeping my Bratva together. Please don’t complicate this any more than it needs to be.”
I just stare at him, wondering what in the world he means by that. Then it clicks. Us, whatever we are. That’s not something that we can address. At least not until whatever happened is solved. Hell, from what I can tell, it’s all intertwined.
I take a deep breath. “Okay,” I say to him. “I’ll do what you ask.”
“Thank you, Sofia.” He looks me over, his eyes tracing the features of my face. I want to touch him, kiss him…
“Now, if that’s all,” he says as he turns away from me, “I have work to do.”
I nod. “Right.”
I step out of the room and walk away. I start to go to my room, but then I find myself changing direction and heading for Luka’s room.
Whatever we are, however Titus feels about me, I know he loves Luka more than life. And he will move heaven and earth to keep him safe. I should honor that. Especially now.
I go to his room and knock. After a few seconds, I hear the patter of his feet. “Sofia?”
“Yeah. Can I come in?”
“One second.” More pattering, then the sound of the lock jiggling. He manages to pick the lock quickly and the door clicks open. At this rate, I think it would probably be better if Titus just gave him a key.
I walk into his room and he bounces over to his bed. “I was hoping you’d come by for breakfast. Sorry, I already ate mine, though.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “I just wanted to come in here to check on you. How are you doing?”
He shrugs. “Wish I could go outside. I miss my friends.”
“Yeah,” I say as I sit next to him on the bed. “You’ll be able to go out again soon.”
“How soon?”
“Well,” I sigh. “Honestly, kiddo, it’s going to be a minute. Your father is dealing with some heavy stuff right now. That’s why he asked you to stay in your room for now.”
“What stuff?” he asks. “Maybe you can help him finish whatever it is.”
I shrug slightly. “I did ask him.”
“What did he say?”
I look at him, this little boy with butter blond curls and big blue eyes. He doesn’t know anything about the life that we’re all living. He won’t have any idea how hard it is until he’s older. I hope that day doesn’t come for a very, very long time.
“He told me,” I say, “That he wants me to hang out with you until he’s done with the thing he’s got to do.”
Luka frowns a little, then, “Do you know what he’s doing that’s so important?”
I nod.
“What is it?”
“Sorry. I was sworn to secrecy.”
Luka rolls his eyes. “Lame.”
“Hey, if you asked me to keep one of your secrets, it’d be pretty lame if I ran around telling anyone who asked, right?”
He sighs. “Right. Okay, not lame.”
I smile and ruffle his hair. “Come on,” I say. “Let’s play a board game.”
His face splits into a smile and he jumps up, rushing over to his closet. “That’s a good idea, Sofia.”
It is. For now, anyway.