Sophie 7.
“Ugh. I must leave.” I grin at Desidara’s dramatic statement.
“My children require constant attention.” It’s near the end of the school day.
She’ll pick them up from their tutors, get them a snack and help them with their homework.
And she’ll love every minute of it. She’s as devoted to her family as any of the Kosher Nostra.
“And your husband?”
She wiggles her eyebrows as she stands on legs longer than mine, maybe almost as long as Tovah’s. I’m a couple inches shorter than Tovah, but she’s all leg. “I usually tend to his needs once the babies are in bed.”
“You can stop that shit right now, Desi.” Dario glides into the room, all tailored designer suit and crisp white button-down, far more handsome than anyone has the right to be. He never wears a tie, always leaving the top couple buttons undone, hinting at the tatted bronze skin beneath.
“I can listen to the maids wax poetically about your stamina, acere (bro), you can listen to me talk about my loving, devoted, caring husband…who could show you a thing or two about stamina.”
“DESI!” he barks, but I’ve gotten used to it over the last several days I’ve been here. The leader of El Fuego de los Muertos is a deadly man, but with his family…just like his sister, he reminds me so much of my family. My chest constricts at the thought of them, and I know it’s time to call home.
“Chao, pescao (Bye, fish)!” She waves, still laughing at her brother’s discomfort. As she leaves, their brother Olegario steps into the sitting room. I like him. He reminds me of Jonah, but far less obnoxious and so far as I know he keeps his sexual life off screen.
“Soph, you ready?”
“Ready for what?” The icy tone of Dario’s voice sends a pleasurable shiver down my spine, which I ignore.
“She’s about to cut up my cucumber.”
I peek at Dario to gauge his reaction, and it does not disappoint. He’s near apoplectic. “WHAT THE FUCK?!?” Oleg leans over to brace his hands on his thighs while he laughs uproariously. So, I decide to be an adult and stifle my own urge to laugh so I can set Dario at ease.
“Overcooked.” Dario’s expression stutters and it’s hysterical. I’ve never seen a person’s face do that before. “It’s a video game. Oleg and I have a mutual fascination for the video game that no one else seems to like. We’ve been playing whenever he’s got time.”
He turns to Oleg. “That’s where you’ve been? I thought you were getting laid.”
Oleg shrugs, grinning at me. “I can get pussy anytime; I don’t know how long Soph is here for and I want to play as much as I can…since no one else will play with me.”
“Dios!” Dario smirks, leaning his perfectly toned ass against the arm of one of the recliners. “You sound like you did when you were 6 and Desi and I wouldn’t play with you.”
“Hey! Fuck off with that shit.” Oleg looks to me for help. “Do you know how hard it is to have twins for siblings? They left me behind all the time.”
I nod with a sympathetic smile. “Not my siblings, but my cousins. I do know exactly how you feel, actually.”
“This is why I like you, Soph. You get me.”
“I do.” My smile drops as I take a deep breath. “Unfortunately, I can’t play right now. I’ve got to…I need to call my family.”
“Si. You’ve put it off for too long. Do you want me to stay?” My eyes well with grateful tears that Oleg would even offer.
“Thank you, but no. I’ll be fine.” Surprising the hell out of me and Dario, Oleg crosses the room and kisses my forehead.
“Come find me after if you need.”
“I will.” I wipe away the tears that hang on my lashes and force a chuckle. “Why don’t we plan to play after dinner?”
“Sounds good, cocinera (cook).” He leaves after exchanging a long look with his brother.
Dario moves to follow, but I stop him. “Dario?” He turns to face me, and I’m hit with the full force of his piercing gaze.
He’s so intense. Like he’s restraining himself, coiling tighter.
I wonder, not for the first time, what he’s like when he lets go?
“Can I use your phone?” He nods, closing the distance between us to hand it over after unlocking it.
Our fingers touch and I bite my lip at the electricity that zips up my arm.
I’m being silly. I’ve heard the rumors. His lingering stares might indicate he’s attracted to me, but I don’t think he wants to be.
And I also know that it doesn’t mean anything more than sex.
For the first time in my life, I don’t think that would be enough for me.
When he turns to leave again, I reach out and grab his wrist in desperation.
I don’t want to be alone…and I can stupidly admit to myself that I appreciated Oleg’s offer, but he isn’t the Diaz brother I want in here with me when I finally speak to my family.
“Stay?” He holds me hostage with his dark eyes, jaw clenching, prominent brows furrowing as he tries to figure me out like a puzzle.
Nodding once, he sits in the recliner next to the couch I’m sitting on.
I offer a soft smile in gratitude, then dial my dad’s number. It rings twice before his frantic voice fills my ears. I sag into the couch at the achingly familiar sound. “Sophie? Sophie, is that you?”
“Hi, Dad.” He cries, sniffling over the line as he screams to anyone who can hear him that I’m on the phone. A video call request beeps on the screen, and I hit Accept with a watery chuckle. “Dad.” I trace my fingers down the screen along the contours of his face.
“Shayna maidel.” He’s called me his pretty girl for as long as I can remember.
We just stare at one another for a long moment, until the phone is ripped from his hand and several people start arguing about who gets to talk to me first. I laugh when I hear a few manly grunts of pain and then Tovah’s face fills the screen.
Honestly, seeing her…I relax completely.
I’ve been here for days, but I wasn’t ready for the interrogation.
Desirada has been a constant companion, as well as her children, husband and Oleg.
It felt like home without the pressure of familial relation.
I put it off but seeing her, my dad, I left it too long.
I’m honestly surprised Tovah hasn’t burst through the wall of Dario’s compound like the Kool-Aid man.
“Fucking cunt.” Dario tenses in his seat, shifting as if to jump into action to defend me. I wave him off with a grin. “You are going to start at the beginning and explain yourself!”
“Put the phone down so everyone can see me.”
“I don’t wanna.” She caresses the screen like I did with my dad moments ago. “My precious.”
“Tovahbub! The phone, now!”
“Fine! Unclench your asshole before you shit out a diamond, Aunt Sarah.”
There’s some maneuvering, and then I’m looking at damn near my entire family crowded around the entertainment room of the mishpocheh compound.
“Mom.”
“Oh, Sophie.” She’s soft and warm as she stares back at me.
Instantly, her expression hardens and she starts smacking my brother.
“How dare you get kidnapped! We have been worried sick! I can’t believe you were seeing someone for a year without telling us!
You have so much to answer for, young lady! ”
“OW! MOM! Why are you hitting me? I didn’t do anything! I wasn’t kidnapped, I’m a good boy!” I glance at Dario to find him holding his stomach and laughing silently as tears stream down his stubbled cheeks. He looks so light like this, younger.
“She’s not here! I can’t smack her.”
“ENOUGH!” Tovah snaps, sending everyone a death glare before raising an eyebrow at me.
I huff out a breath and glare right back.
Surprisingly, she gives in first and gives me the rundown from their end.
When they tell me that Clark died, my throat constricts at the needless death of a genuinely nice guy.
He didn’t deserve that. I cry for Sam and Matt, but I’m relieved that Shul is alive and on the mend.
“First, I want to know what you were doing fornicating with a man named Clark Smith. I mean how fucking basic can you be?”
“Listen, bitch,” I see Dario shift in his seat out of the corner of my eye.
Is he interested in my answer? “He was a really nice guy. A nice, non-mafia guy. Didn’t know I was a part of the Kosher Nostra, just liked me for me.
It wasn’t true love, I didn’t meet my soulmate, but…
he fucked well enough, so why not?” I wince when my dad and brother gag.
“The guys I’ve dated in the past, even just out at a club…
when they find out who I am, who my family is, they get one of two looks in their eyes.
They’re either disgusted by my connections or want to use them to their advantage.
Clark was…easy. Simple. And in the end, it didn’t matter, because my connection was used against him.
” There’s a heavy moment of silence following my words.
I inhale slowly, then exhale, putting Clark to rest in my mind.
There’s nothing I can do; he can’t be saved or revived.
I cross my leg over the other and lean my elbow on my thigh and rest my chin in my hand.
Smiling at Tovah, I change the subject. “Tov, thank you for those skills exercises when we were younger. Those times you trapped me in a suitcase and forced me to find a way out paid off.” Knowing my cousin was right outside in case anything went wrong is a lot different than being drugged, stripped naked, and locked in without knowing where I am or who I’m with, but the lesson was the same.
I was able to remain calm enough and I appreciate that more than she could ever know.
Behind her, everyone explodes. My parents and hers are yelling at her, my cousins are laughing their asses off though.
Uncharacteristically, Tovah avoids eye contact with me.
“Uh, yes, training exercises. That is exactly what I was doing and certainly not entertaining idle curiosity. Bully for me! It paid off and you’re welcome for my very important forethought. ”