Chapter 30 Noemi
NOEMI
Sasha squeezes my hand as Fyodor opens the front door and waves us inside the Gravitch Estate.
The foyer is twice the size of my old apartment, which in itself is a bit intimidating, but the artwork and flowers are impressive too.
A large crystal vase is full of freshly cut tulips probably straight from Denmark, and they smell heavenly.
"Fyodor." A man appears from a doorway to the left. He's tall and broad shouldered and it makes Sasha cling to my side like he's frightened. He pulls Fyodor into a back-slapping embrace that's more collision than hug. "It's done?"
"It's done," Fyodor says, pulling away from the man. "Marat won't be testifying to anyone. Ever."
"Good. Good." The man's eyes move to me and Sasha, and I see curiosity there. He smiles warmly at me. "And who do we have here?"
"Uncle, this is Noemi Dragunova," Fyodor says, stepping back to put his hand on the small of my back. I'm really starting to like that. "The woman I told you about on the phone. And this is my son, Sasha."
Yuri extends his hand to me, and I take it. He brings my fingers to his lips and presses a chaste kiss there before saying, "Welcome to our home. I've heard a great deal about you from my nephew, and I have to say, anyone who can keep him in line has my respect."
"Thank you for having us. Your home is beautiful," I tell him, and I nudge Sasha so he'll say something, but he keeps his face buried in my back.
"You're family now. This is your home as much as anyone's, and I mean that sincerely." He crouches down to Sasha's level, and the boy peeks out to look at him. "And you must be the brave young man I've heard about. Your father told me how you defended Ms. Dragunova in Moscow."
Sasha looks up at me uneasily, and I nod encouragingly. "I tried," Sasha says quietly.
"You did a fantastic job, young man." Yuri straightens up and puts a hand on Fyodor's shoulder. "We have much to discuss about what happened. Come, tell me everything from the beginning."
Fyodor turns to me and squeezes my hand. "Inessa should be around here somewhere. She'll take care of you and Sasha until I'm back. I won't be long, I promise."
"Go. We'll be fine here," I tell him, waving him off.
He leans in and kisses my forehead, like it's something he's done a thousand times before, and then he's walking away with Yuri.
I watch him go and feel strangely okay about it.
After everything we've been through over the past month, being left alone in a safe home that's warm and clean while Fyodor speaks to his uncle is the least of my concerns.
I chuckle at how many times he left in the middle of me sleeping without even giving me a goodbye or a warning. This was adequate.
"They do that," a woman's voice says from somewhere behind us. She sounds amused like me.
I turn and find her coming down the stairs with one hand gliding on the polished railing and the other resting on her belly.
She's beautiful, dark hair swept back from her face and warm eyes that crinkle at the corners when she smiles.
Her pregnancy is obvious, maybe four or five months along from the look of it, and she's joyful.
"Walk off in the middle of things to discuss business, I mean," she continues, reaching the bottom of the stairs and crossing toward us.
"Drives me nuts when they do it to me." Her hand reaches out toward me and she says, "I'm Inessa, Yuri's wife.
" I'm startled as I shake her hand and take her in again. She's far younger than Yuri.
"At least he introduced us first and made sure we were settled," I say. "That's progress from where we started."
She laughs, a warm, genuine sound. "It is, actually. More progress than most of them manage. You must be a good influence on him already." When her hand leaves mine, it returns to her belly. "You must be Noemi. Fyodor called ahead to let us know you were coming."
"Fyodor told you about me?"
"Only good things, I promise." She turns to Sasha, stooping as much as her belly allows. "And you must be Sasha. I've heard you're very brave."
Sasha presses against my side, watching her with cautious eyes.
He says nothing, which is somewhat his thing now.
Even after forty-eight hours home, he's quiet.
The things we've experienced have marked him more than I ever wanted them to, but he's going to come around.
We'll get him a counselor and we'll be present for him when he has questions.
"Do you like books?" Inessa asks him, winking at me conspiratorially.
He nods slowly, but he still says nothing. It makes me feel sad for him to be so withdrawn, but I have to believe he will come out of this soon.
"We have a library here. A whole room full of books, floor to ceiling shelves with a ladder on wheels to reach the ones up high. I think there might be some adventure stories up there about knights and brave heroes. Would you like to see it?"
The wariness in Sasha's face melts into excitement. He looks at me for permission.
"Go ahead," I tell him. "Explore."
When his eyes turn back to Inessa, she says, "It's the last door in the hallway," and he takes off down the hall before I can change my mind.
Inessa calls after him, "Past the painting of the horses!"
"I see it!" His voice floats back, followed by a gasp of delight that makes us both smile.
Inessa pushes herself upright with a small grunt. "Come on, let's sit. My feet are killing me."
She leads me into a sitting room just off the foyer, with comfortable sofas and books stacked on side tables and a blanket thrown over one armchair. We settle onto a sofa by the window and she tucks her feet up beneath her with a relieved sigh, one hand rubbing at her lower back.
"Thank you," she says after a moment, but her voice sounds more serious now.
"For letting Fyodor help us. I know everything you went through wasn't easy, but because of what he did, I'm not going to prison.
My baby will have both parents there when he or she is born.
" She touches her belly with both hands. "I'm eternally grateful."
I don't point out that I didn't exactly let Fyodor do anything. It doesn't seem like the right moment to say something like that. The man is stubborn and if I had told him to stay in St Petersburg, he'd have just gone to Moscow anyway.
"What's it like?" I ask instead. "Being married into this family?" It's a question that's been in my head for weeks now, but without anyone to answer me, I've kept it to myself until now.
Inessa smiles softly, but it's sort of a sad smile. "I'm probably not the best person to ask about that, honestly. I grew up in this life. My father was Bratva, my uncles were Bratva. It's all I've ever known."
"I see…" I say, feeling a bit of discouragement. Fyodor is an amazing man, but I feel like we've come from two different worlds.
She shifts against the cushions, getting comfortable.
"What I can tell you is that Fyodor is a good man underneath all those rough edges.
I know that's hard to believe given what he does for work, but I know him.
If he says he wants a life with you, he means every word.
If he's made you promises, he'll keep them.
Not all the men in this family can say that, believe me. "
I open my mouth to respond but hear footsteps in the hallway, and then Fyodor and Yuri walk back into the sitting room. Fyodor's eyes find me immediately, like he's checking to make sure I'm okay, and I give him a small smile to let him know I am.
Inessa pushes herself up from the sofa and crosses to Fyodor, pulling him into a tight hug that almost throws him off balance. "Thank you. For everything you did. For everything you risked."
"You're family," he says, his arms coming up to return the embrace awkwardly. "You don't have to thank me for protecting my family."
She pulls back, wiping at her eyes and laughing at herself. "Hormones. Ignore me. Let me go make some tea for everyone."
"Tea?" Yuri looks genuinely offended by the suggestion, like she just proposed they drink dirty water.
"We're celebrating here, not having a book club meeting.
This calls for vodka. My wife is a free woman because of what this man did for us.
" He claps Fyodor on the back hard enough that he takes a step forward.
"We drink properly or we don't drink at all. "
"It's two in the afternoon, Yuri."
"And? Your point?"
Inessa rolls her eyes and grins at me, then turns and heads out the door calling, "Tea for the ladies, then…"
Yuri turns his attention to me now, and I get a better look at him up close. He's intimidating, there's no getting around that, but there's genuine warmth in his expression when he looks at me. And he's just as handsome as Fyodor is.
"So. The teacher who's been keeping my nephew in line."
"Someone had to do it," I say with a grin, and he laughs loudly.
"I like her. You've done well, Fyodor."
Fyodor walks over and sits by me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "I know."
"Welcome to the family, Noemi," Yuri says. "You have the full protection and provision of the Gravitch name."
"I'm not sure what that means."
"It means if anyone causes you trouble, you have all of us behind you." He grins. "And if this one treats you poorly, call me. I'll handle it." Yuri's eyebrow lifts as he nods at Fyodor playfully.
Fyodor pulls me closer. "What it means is I'm keeping you. And I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Is that so?"
"It is," he says, placing a kiss on my temple.
I lean into him. "Well then, I suppose I'll have to teach you some manners. You can't just tell people you're keeping them."
"Why not? It worked."
Yuri laughs again as he pours the vodka, and I nuzzle Fyodor's nose and smile at him. "I love you," I mouth, and he pinches my ass hard. It makes me yelp and him chuckle.
I think I might fit in just fine around here.