Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Zahkar
Tracing a finger along Alyona’s nose, I smile. I’ve never felt such contentment. Rodion’s hair moves across my stomach as he shifts, pulling Alyona’s thigh closer to him.
“You smell of us, love. I think it’s my new favorite smell,” he rumbles and she giggles.
Fucking giggles.
“Did everything go okay with you-know-who?” she asks softly, her voice laced with concern as she gently swirls her fingers through the strands of his hair.
Her head is nestled comfortably in the crook of my neck, and I can feel her warm breath against my skin with every word she speaks, sending a shiver down my spine.
“It’s done,” Rodion replies, his fingers dancing up her thigh. “He gave us the details about Alexey—the man who was sent to our apartment the night you left.”
She stiffens against me. “He was going to kill you.”
“We know,” I reply softly, trying to soothe her as I rub a reassuring hand down her trembling back. “You saved us.”
Placing her hand over my rib, right above my heart, she whispers, “That’s what we do, we save each other.” My heart leaps in my chest at her words, wanting to jump right into her palm.
Rodion tips his face to look up at us. “Yuri is next. We need to make a real plan involving our father. Yuri’s more complicated than these assassins otherwise he would have been taken off the board years ago. We need to be smart.”
Alyona moves away from us, and my heart pounds.
“Where are you going?” My tone comes out firmer than I intend.
Smiling back at me over her shoulder, she bites the soft cushion of her bottom lip and says, “To shower before Roza wakes up from her nap.” Her ass sways, and both Rodion and I track the movement like hunters homing in on prey.
“Want to join me?” she adds, and Rodion beats me out of the bed, snatching her up, making her squeal.
We’ve enjoyed five full days of bliss, tucked away in our secluded bubble, far from the chaos of the outside world.
However, that bubble was bound to burst, and it has in the way of our private investigator, Abram.
He sits across the table from us, his expression etched with frustration as he shakes his head slowly.
“Believe me,” he says, his voice taut. “I’ve examined every possible enemy and friend in Yuri Vasiliev’s circle.
The truth is, no one dares to make a move against him.
He is untouchable. And now, you’ve taken out all three of the Maiburovs, who were the only individuals who could have confirmed your story that Yuri ordered a hit on you…
” He trails off. His eyes shift from me to something behind me or someone.
My arm reaches out and snakes around Alyona’s waist as soon as she’s within reaching distance, and I pull her onto my lap, kissing her neck.
“You found her,” Abram says, rolling a coin across his fingers.
“Imagine our surprise when we discovered she’d been right here all along,” I say, narrowing my eyes at Abram.
He’s remarkable at his job, which is why he’s been a loyal employee for us all these years.
Having been on the Vetrov’s payroll for over a decade, he earned a reputation for his expertise.
Our father trusts him implicitly, and Ven shared that confidence as well.
So, it irked me deeply when we found her here and Abram had not.
I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to this story, and I need to understand why he kept it from us.
“There’s not many people I can’t find.” He nods his head to Alyona in greeting.
“Exactly,” Rodion says as he straightens in his seat beside me, leaning forward and steepling his hands on the table. “So why is it that you struggled to locate Alyona here with not one, but two, Vasiliev offspring?”
The pulse flickers in Abram’s jaw. “When I looked into her disappearance, I found Diana’s signature all over it.
” He snatches the coin when it slips from his knuckle and rolls across the table.
“I brought my findings to Ven, and he instructed that it was best for both Alyona and the Vetrov name if she wasn’t found. ”
Rising, Rodion slams his fist onto the table’s wooden surface, the sound reverberating through the room. “So, you actually knew where she was all along and chose to take Ven’s authority over ours?”
Abram remains composed, his expression unreadable. “Your father agreed with Ven,” he replies coolly, as if the matter were merely a business negotiation rather than a betrayal of our trust.
“I should break your fucking neck,” I seethe, slipping Alyona from my lap. I step in front of her making sure she’s safe behind me.
If the fucker is afraid, he doesn’t let on. Just keeps toying with his stupid coin. I’m about to make him swallow the damn thing.
“My main job is to do whatever I need to do for the best interests of the Vetrov name,” he defends. “I didn’t like it, going to your cousin and father, but with Diana involved, I had to.”
“And Diana…” I say, darting my eyes to Alyona who gives me a sheepish look.
Pushing her hands into the pockets of her jeans, she swallows and says, “I had two bodies in the bed of a truck and no money or ideas on what the hell to do. I needed Diana.”
“Two bodies?” Rodion and I say in unison.
“Your housekeeper.” Her brow furrows.
I shoot my eyes at Rodion, who jabs a finger at me and growls, “I fucking told you Betty wouldn’t have ghosted us.”
“Alexey killed her.” Alyona winces. “I’m sorry.”
Betty was good at her job, and her demise is unfortunate, but we won’t mourn her for fuck’s sake.
“No need to be sorry, Alyona. Come here,” I order, taking a seat and pulling her back down onto my lap.
“I have the other items you requested,” Abram announces as he slides two brown envelopes across the table. One envelope toward Rodion, while the other rests before me.
“Well?” I prompt, watching Abram’s gaze shift hesitantly to Alyona, who sits quietly, observing the interaction. I raise my hand lightly in a dismissive gesture. “You can speak freely in front of her. There’s no need for secrecy.”
Abram takes a breath, his expression serious. “Inside, you’ll find the family tree and medical history documents. However, your father has overruled me on this matter too. He insisted that he will discuss the details with you personally.”
I don’t like this one bit. I asked Abram to find out if I had any living or dead blood relatives and all medical history available.
We bounced around a lot when I was young, so I didn’t know any extended family members.
I also asked him to find out what happened to my parents to get them murdered.
Why would our father want to discuss this face-to-face?
It can’t be good news, that’s for damn sure.
“Do you go to our father with everything we ask you to do?” I demand, seething in anger.
“Yes, if it affects him.” No hesitation.
Motherfucker.
“What family tree are you talking about? What did you ask him to investigate?” Rodion demands, shooting me a puzzled look.
I feel the heat of his gaze on the side of my face before he snatches the envelope from in front of me. Tearing it open, he scans the documents inside, his eyes widening in disbelief.
“The Chester family?” he asks, his voice growing sharper as he processes the information. “Why would you do that?” He fails to mask the anger radiating off him, which makes my skin itch. I don’t like upsetting him.
“Because of Roza,” I say, seizing the documents back from his hands and placing them on the table once more. “It’s important to have family history, for health reasons and in case she has questions.”
“What kind of questions? Do you even have questions?” he asks, folding his arms over his chest.
Exhaling, I rub at the throb building in my temples. “I haven’t thought about it until recently. But, yes, I do have questions. Wouldn’t you?” I shake my head, my jaw clenching in irritation.
“We’re your family. What good can come from knowing about them?” He stabs a finger down on the documents.
I affix him with an intense stare. “Why are you so opposed to it? Nothing will change how I feel about any of you. The Vetrovs are my family, Ro. You are my family.”
This is madness. I don’t understand why he’s so upset. It doesn’t mean anything.
“I don't like it,” he finally says, running a hand down his face and flicking his gaze to Abram like they hold a secret between them.
And I don’t like that.
Alyona’s hand glides up my spine. The soothing motion makes my muscles unfurl and gradually slows my racing heart to a calmer rhythm.
“I get it, Z,” she tells me. “I’d want to know, too.”
I pull her into me, curling my arms around her and kissing her bare shoulder.
Clearing his throat, Abram gestures to the other envelope. “I got everything there is to know about Adam Cunningham and his family.”
Releasing Alyona, I stand and glare down at Abram. “Oh, did Daddy give permission for that? Did he?” I snap, leaning my hands on the back of the chair, squeezing the wood until my palms burn and knuckles turn white.
“Get out,” Rodion demands to Abram, pointing in the direction of the door.
Abram stands and leaves without another word.
“That was intense.” Alyona exhales, tucking her long hair behind her ears. “Why are you looking into the Cunninghams?”
“We don’t want to be blindsided by anything,” I tell her, while staring down at the paperwork. Seeing their names and my old name printed in black sends a buzzing through my skull.
Father - Bruce Chester – Status - Deceased
Mother - Barbara Chester – Status - Deceased
Oldest son - Daniel Chester – Status - Unknown
Youngest son- Zane Chester – Status - Living
My eyes trace back up to my brother’s name. Unknown?
“A policewoman said Daniel’s body was found,” I say out loud, confused as fuck over this finding.
Rodion pushes the chair under the table and leaves the room like a storm of fury.
“Who is Daniel?” Alyona asks, hands on her hips and eyebrows scrunched.
“Not a good man,” I say, screwing the paper up in my hand. “There’s nothing of use in these.”
Rodion’s not the only furious storm around here. With an explosion of anger and frustration, I toss the crumpled papers in the trash, and stalk out the door.
“Z?” Alyona calls after me.
I don’t stop to answer her. I need air. A fight. Bloodshed.
One Mississippi…