Chapter 7 #3
"Esme," I continued, sighing softly, "I have laxatives under my mattress.
Make Marion take them. I don't want her to leave her room that day," I said, and she nodded.
"The youngest after Marion is Rania right ?
" I asked, referring to the eighteen-year-old girl, and Diane nodded.
"Can she handle spending a few hours with Edouard?
" "She's strong, even tough, I'd say," Diane said, thinking for a moment, and I nodded.
"Good. Give her a sleeping pill and have her make him swallow it.
Tell her to get out of the room as soon as he falls asleep," I said, and she nodded.
I took out my phone and quickly dialed the number.
"Chhori! Where are you?" Ganesh's cheerful voice asked me as several voices echoed behind him accompanied by laughter.
"Anjali is waiting for you to help with the wedding preparations," he continued.
Anjali was his niece who was getting married soon, and she was a very good friend of mine.
I had promised to help her with the preparations.
It was one of the many things I had to think about and take action on.
"Ganesh," I whispered, closing my eyes as his warm voice suddenly made me want to cry.
I missed my father. All the girls here deserved a father like Ganesh.
They all deserved to be protected and loved unconditionally.
Suddenly, the noises behind Ganesh disappeared as I heard him move.
"Suraj, close the door," he said, and I heard him sit down in his old, creaky chair.
I had told him so many times to replace it; he was going to end up breaking it and hurting himself.
"What's going on, Sienna?" he asked, his voice now dark.
"Are you okay? Is Kenji okay?" I sighed slowly, trying to regain control, stay calm, stay strong.
I couldn't show weakness, especially not in front of the girls and the Shadows.
They all trusted me, and I couldn't let them down.
"The pedophile we chased away a few months ago is back," I said, clearing my throat.
"He'll be here this weekend and has asked to see the youngest one," I explained, rubbing my forehead, my hands sweaty.
"Marion?" asked Ganesh, and I confirmed it.
He knew all the girls as if they were his own.
I heard Ashwin's voice behind Ganesh before he continued.
"Send the time and room number to Ashwin.
Make sure the back door stays open at night," he said as Ashwin and Suraj talked in the background.” Okay," I confirmed, biting my lip.
"It'll be okay, Chhori, I'll take care of this," Ganesh reassured me before hanging up, and I closed my eyes and sighed softly.
The girls weren't alone; they were protected.
No one would suffer like I had suffered, no one.
I glanced at Emma as she stood up, dusting off her pale blue sequined dress.
"Are you okay?" I asked after putting away my phone and checking her body for any injuries.
I knew very well how violent Vassili could be in bed.
Emma joined me, rolling her eyes. "Oh, Sienna," she sighed, standing on tiptoe to kiss me on the cheek.
"Stop worrying about those who are grown up".
She smiled at me before leaving the room, humming, followed by her Shadow, who nodded at me.
I watched them leave, my lungs tight with worry.
"You know, some of them have a much better life here than where they came from," Esme said behind me, and I closed my eyes.
"Not all of them," I sighed before heading back upstairs myself. Not me.
Sasha
The man sobbed as Roman pulled out another fingernail with his pliers, "I don't know!
I swear I don't know anything!" he screamed, his voice echoing in the empty hangar.
I put the file I was reading on the table and stared at the trembling man, one of Vassili's henchmen.
Our men had captured him discreetly as he left a bar last night, and we had been torturing him for three hours now to get information about Vassili's side business, but either he wasn't talking or he really didn't know anything.
I was inclined to believe the latter; no one could withstand Karatel's interrogation for long, no one who had something to hide.
Roman glanced at me over the man's head, shaking his head slightly and wiping his bloodstained hands, confirming my thoughts.
No, he knew nothing. I sighed as I stood up and pulled my gun from my back before firing several shots into the man's chest. "Get rid of him.
Vassili mustn't find out," I ordered, holstering my weapon.
We had to find another source of information, one with real information if possible.
We had to find someone closer to Vassili.
"We should go take a look around the Mission District," said Roman, joining me with a dark look on his face.
"We can't let girls be forced into prostitution against their will," he growled, rolling down his shirt sleeves before buttoning them.
"As soon as we set foot in Vassili's territory, he'll know and internal war will break out.
The Italians will take advantage of the chaos to attack us, not to mention the Chinese, who will attack our southern borders to take over the South American market," I explained in a monotone voice, telling him things he already knew very well.
"It doesn't matter, we'll take them all on," he growled as he put on his jacket.
He rarely wore one, but he had to accompany Elif to an appointment today.
I just shook my head at him and his hot-bloodedness.
We headed for the exit while David and Marcus were already taking care of the man's body.
"Has your recruit arrived?" I asked, referring to the young girl Sergei wanted to place with Vassili.
"Soon. Serbia isn't exactly next door, and we're staging everything so that Vassili doesn't suspect anything.
He'll never connect her to us," my brother informed me as he slid behind the wheel of his new sports car.
I settled into the passenger seat and grimaced when I saw all that white leather again.
"You really are an idiot," I sighed. "An idiot with taste," he sneered before accelerating, preparing to turn onto the road leading to the house, but I stopped him.
"We have to stop somewhere first," I said, signaling him to take the road to the city center, which he did, frowning.
"Did you forget a file at HQ?" But I shook my head.
"We're going to the clinic," I replied, taking out my phone to notify the doctor of my arrival.
My brother glanced at me out of the corner of his eye but said nothing, content to just drive.
—
An hour later, I walked into the living room and smiled when I saw the person I was looking for.
Perfect. I approached the sofa where Selina was reading a book, her legs up on the sofa, her hand rubbing her rounded belly.
"Sasha," she said in her soft voice when she saw me.
She closed her book and tried to sit up, but it was difficult in her condition.
I gently took her hand and slipped my arm around her back to help her.
"Thank you," she whispered once her feet were on the floor.
"How are you? Are the kicks still as strong?
" I asked, slipping a cushion behind her back.
I knew that pregnant women had back pain; Elif had suffered a lot during her pregnancies.
"I'm as well as a woman at full term can be," she sighed with relief as she leaned back against the cushion.
"And yes, I think you could introduce her to kickboxing once she's here," she laughed softly, her hands gently rubbing her belly.
Selina was a gentle woman, even when she was angry she got upset gently, with superhuman patience.
When I first saw Nikolai take an interest in her, it worried me.
A woman as fragile and gentle as her was not suited to our world.
I thought she would weaken my brother, our family.
But I quickly realized that this was a stupid thought.
Selina's gentleness and patience were not weaknesses; on the contrary, they were strengths, something we needed, something Nikolai and the children needed.
Like us, we had needed it before Elif arrived.
Her gentleness and patience had helped us regain confidence in ourselves and in our family.
But Elif had a dark side, a side she had used to protect us and support Grigori in his role.
She was the perfect fit for her role, a gift from heaven at the right time.
Just as Selina was for Nikolai and his sons, a thought that increased my guilt about what I was about to do.
But I had to do it, for the gift that heaven had given me, a gift that kept pushing me away.
I bent down and picked up the bag I had dropped on the floor.
"What is it?" Selina asked curiously as she leaned over, and I smiled at her excited tone.
She was probably expecting sweets, as she was used to Roman or me bringing them. A task I made a mental note of.