Chapter 20 - Selene
Simon spent two solid days scouting out the best possible location for my family dinner.
Alek wasn’t in the least bit concerned to switch venue.
He didn’t mind at all that we wanted it to be at a restaurant rather than at his home.
I honestly don’t know if that is good or bad or if it means anything at all.
At this point, I am just constantly telling myself to breathe.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Everything is going to be okay.
Before we met my father for the first time, I was convinced it would be easy for me. Ok, maybe not easy, but I was convinced that I had a clear picture of who he is, and who I am, and what I will never allow him to do to me ever again.
Then, as soon as I was in front of him, I crumbled.
At the time, I didn’t even realize it was happening. My old, fearful ways snapped back into place, and I started doubting myself, questioning my thoughts, and wondering if I had misunderstood everything that had happened and maybe overreacted.
Simon and I spoke about it for a long time, and he helped me find my way back to myself.
Of course I don’t trust my father. Of course, he was wrong to keep my babies and me locked up in his home for five years. That’s before we even begin to talk about the emotional and physical abuse.
I can’t believe I doubted myself for even a second.
The dinner we have arranged now is with everyone. My four brothers and my father will all be there, and I am more focused on my brothers than on my father. I hope that Yaroslav or Yakov will slip me information somehow. All I want is to end this. I want this horrible situation to be over.
“Are you ready?” Simon asks, looking at me with a gentleness that makes me angry. I tilt my chin up in defiance, and I clench my fists at my sides.
“I won’t make the same mistake I did last time. He won’t make me doubt myself again,” I snap at him.
Then I bite my bottom lip and soften my shoulders. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude.”
Simon chuckles and wraps his arms around me. “It’s okay, princess. Bring out your fierce side. Let her run free. I know tonight isn’t going to be easy for you. But don’t forget that I am right there with you. And you know the exit plan, right?”
I nod. “I know it because you made me run through it a hundred times,” I grin.
“The twins are safe here with Raya. We have guards with them and guards with us. We’ve prepared for this. He won’t be able to harm you,” Simon says.
I nod, reassuring myself that we have planned and planned and planned again to be as safe as possible when we meet Alek this time. “I’m ready.”
Simon gently kisses my lips, then steps away from me.
“Then let’s do this,” he says.
The restaurant is near the harbor. A thin layer of fog has settled over the water, and you can hear the fog horns like an early call in the dark.
I swallow away my fear and let Simon take my hand as we walk into the restaurant. The patron leads us to a back room, a private dining area with glass walls. We have the privacy of soundproofing, while, again, the security team can still keep an eye on us.
My whole family is already there and seated. Only my father stands up when we enter the room.
“Hello, welcome, hello,” he says with his arms spread as though he expects a hug from me. I consider turning him down, but then decide to play his game. There is no point starting this meeting on a sour note anyway. Not if we hope to gain information from him.
Yaroslav and Yakov hug me as well, but Bogdan and Vasya don’t even bother to stand up. Their eyes are steel blades as they watch Simon, and I walk in and get settled.
“Volkov scum,” Bogdan mutters under his breath.
Simon ignores it.
Alek picks up a fork and flings it at Bogdan. “I told you to mind your manners, boy,” he snarls. Then, in a flash, his face returns to the pleasant smile it was a second before.
Bogdan sneers, and Vasya continues to glare at Simon.
“If I’m so pretty to look at, why don’t you take a photo? It’ll last longer,” he taunts Vasya.
“Your scum bloodline has tainted my family lineage, you fucking asshole. You brainwashed my sister, and you want to come here and…”
“Shut up!” Alek snaps. “I swear if I have to speak again, I’ll have you both removed from the dinner.
Vasya presses his lips together, angry, but scolded like a child. He looks down at the table and presses his hands against the surface so hard that his knuckles turn white.
“Sorry about the boys. They are young and hot-blooded. You will have to excise their manners,” Alek smiles at Simon.
“Sweetheart, you look wonderful tonight. I love that color on you,” he remarks, commenting on my emerald sweater.
I didn’t dress up for the occasion. Not in a glittering dress and heels.
It didn’t feel right. I’m wearing my favorite jeans and a very pretty emerald-colored cashmere jersey.
It is, after all, a family dinner, not a gala or a date night.
The dinner drags on. Bogdan and Vasya continue to make nasty remarks at every opportunity.
My father continues to reprimand them while being as pleasant as ever to us.
It doesn’t make sense. It genuinely doesn’t make sense at all.
Why would my father be so nice when his two oldest and closest sons are treating Simon like shit?
Surely if he wanted an alliance with Simon, the boys would have been prepped to be nice, to be as manipulative as he’s being.
Or they would want an alliance too? Because they want what Father wants by default.
The longer it goes on, the worse the knot in my stomach gets.
The lingering feeling of uneasiness grows bigger and bolder inside me until it’s so loud, I can’t focus on what’s being said at the dinner.
I stand abruptly, earning the surprised stare of every man in the room.
“I… I’m just going to step out for a breath of air,” I say, hoping my voice sounds steadier to them than it does to me.
“I’ll come with you,” Simon says, standing up.
“No, it’s okay, I’ll be right outside the door here, in the hallway. I’m not going far,” I reassure him.
“Besides, Simon, we should start discussing your thoughts on what I proposed last time we met up?” Alek says.
“A little bit of business while she freshens up, then she won’t be bored by the conversation?
” He smiles as though he’s doing me a favor, but what he’s really doing is insulting me by suggesting women don’t get involved in business decisions.
I ignore the provoking remark and smile at Simon.
Simon’s face knots. He’s not happy to have me out of his sight, but I will be close. I just desperately need a moment alone to try and figure out what my instincts are trying to tell me.
I nod politely at my father, the tight smile on my face feels fake, and I really don’t care at this point. Simon was right. Alek is the fakest person on the planet. Would he even know the difference between a real smile and the one I’m wearing? I doubt it.
“I won’t be long,” I say, stepping away from the table. Neither of my older brothers bothers to make any remark at all. Yaroslav knots his brows and glares at me, not in anger, but as though he’s trying to tell me something.
I wish I understood what is going on.
I leave the glass-walled private dining area, gently closing the door behind me. The sound of their voices disappears the moment the door clicks closed. And suddenly I am very alone.
I stare at Simon for a moment; he is leaning back in his chair. One hand rests on the table, the other on his knee. He looks ominous and strong. He looks like someone I would not want to mess with. He looks like he can keep me safe.
But how can he do that if he doesn’t know what’s coming? And I feel very deeply in my heart that something is coming… tonight.
I walk away from the glass room, past other private dining booths, into a back passage that leads to the bathroom. My eyes drift to the red glowing exit sign right at the end of the passage.
I wish I could run away right now. But it’s just old habits stirring up. I have things in my life that I don’t want to run away from. Simon, the most amazing father. His family, who welcome my children and me.
I push my fingers through my hair, brushing it from my face, and I force myself to take their deep breaths.
What is bothering you so much? Is it just being around your father?
Is it being around your brothers and seeing their hostility?
Or is it something deeper, something new, a nagging thing that you noticed but can’t quite pinpoint?
The frustration grows when no answers come to me.
I’ve been gone for five minutes. I should probably head back.
But as I turn back towards the private rooms, I see my brothers walking towards me. Bogdan and Vasya, their faces stern and cold.
I try to sidestep when they get close.
“I’m just headed back,” I remark.
“No, you need to listen to us,” Bogdan growls, pushing me hard against the wall.
I slap his arm away from me. “Don’t you dare think that you have the right to touch me. You watched our father push me around for years, and you did nothing. Don’t you dare, for a fucking second, think it gives you the right to push me around too.”
Bogdan sneers, a dark smile on his lips, his eyes darkening.
“You’ve dishonored our family. You’ve betrayed your own blood. And you stand there thinking you can tell me how to treat you. You are nothing but scum as long as you stay with that Volkov.”
“Scum? Then why does Father want an alliance with him? Why is Alek so willing to drop his current allies to work with the Volkovs?” I snap.
Vasya laughs. “You really think he wants that? He doesn’t want that. He doesn’t give a shit about their alliance or their power. We have more power than they can imagine. All he wants is you back home.”
My heart stops for a full second. My body is frozen in place. My mind is racing.
“So, this was all a game to him. This dinner, the last meeting. He doesn’t want peace between the families?” I say, realizing the depth of the trouble we’re in.
“No, and you’re coming home with us tonight.”
“The fuck I am!” I snarl at Bogdan.
He takes a step towards me, and I shove him hard. But he’s massive in comparison to me, and if it comes down to strength, I don’t stand the flicker of a chance against him or Vasya.
Bogdan grabs my arm and slams me hard against the wall again, making the point.
“You are coming with us. Now, while your boyfriend is distracted and busy.”
“Take your fucking hands off her, or I will put a billet in your skull,” Simon snarls at Bogdan, storming towards us down the hallway. My heart somersaults with relief.
“You’d shoot me on neutral territory?” Bogdan laughs.
“You’d kidnap someone on neutral territory so it would be a fair reaction,” Simon counters.
Vasya narrows his eyes. “We don’t see it as a kidnapping, Volkov. This is a rescue. She is our sister after all.”
“A rescue would involve a willing ‘victim’, and she doesn’t look willing at all.
So, if you want to play semantics with me, let’s ask Selene what she wants.
” He doesn’t take his eyes off Bogdan, the bigger and more aggressive of my brothers.
He’s already sussed him out over dinner and calculated the threat.
Bogdan releases my arm and turns to face Simon with a smile of triumph on his face. The nagging feeling inside me triples. Why does Bogdan look as if this is exactly what he wanted? Like this is exactly where he wanted us to end up?
Bogdan steps towards Simon and shoves his chest.
Simon does not back down. He pushes his broad shoulders out and takes a step forward.
In the blink of an eye, he swings. When his fist connects with Bogdan’s jaw, there is a loud crack, and Bogdan’s head snaps backward.
He stumbles, falling against the wall, but not to the ground. Then he starts laughing.
That’s when the idea slams into me. The idea that this wasn’t about kidnapping me. It wasn’t about getting me to come home either… this was all about keeping Simon busy.
“Simon!” I shout, stepping between him and Bogdan.
“Selene, get out of the way, he’ll hurt you,” Simon snarls, making a grab for me.
I grab his face in my hands and force him to look at me. “Simon, this is a distraction. Check your phone. Check your phone now. Call Raya!”
“Raya?” he stammers, confused.
“Call her!” I plead, tears of panic pressing against my eyes. “Please call her!”
He pulls this phone from his pocket and dials. It rings. And rings. And rings.
The longer I stare at him waiting, the worse I feel.
I spin to confront my brother.
Bogdan is wiping blood from his lip, grinning at us as though he’s already won.
“What have you done!” I scream at him.
He shrugs.
I glare at Vasya. “What is going on, Vasya?”
But he can’t even look at me.
“Selene. Raya isn’t answering. And neither is the security team.” Simon’s voice is so tight that his words are barely audible.
“We have to go!” I shout, panic thickening. “We have to get to the twins!”
Behind me Bogdan laughs. “Have a nice night, sister,” he taunts me, turning and running for the exit with Vasya right behind him.
As we bolt past the dining room, we notice my father and the twins are already gone. They fled the moment their plan came into play.
This was always the plan.
Going after the twins was always the plan.