love with it.
She ran the pad of her finger over the entry in a little caress, blinking back tears. She missed his booming laugh. She missed everything about him. The way he’d loved his wife and daughter. He’d been so close to her father, treating him as a son, and he’d been so proud of Ania. He hadn’t cared that she wasn’t a boy. They’d raised her to take over the business, as if she’d be fully accepted by their clients. Now she knew better. Most wouldn’t have accepted her, but it was what she wanted—and needed—from Mitya. It shouldn’t matter that she was a woman.
She traced the little sketches her grandfather had made around the entry with her finger. Naturally, it was the bed frame. He’d done a much more complex drawing than he usually did, and although he wasn’t the best of artists, he was good. She recognized every twist and turn in the intricate artwork adorning the carved frame. Vines and leaves ran around the spindles in the headboard, continued along the thick, wooden sides and around to the footboard. The lianas and plants continued to spread across the wood and into the small drawers that couldn’t be seen because the carvings hid them so well. That had been the biggest selling point to Ania at the time.
She sat up straight, tapping the drawing. Looking at the entry. Was her grandfather trying to tell her something? Could the package be so small that it could be hidden in one of the little drawers in her bed frame?
The kitchen door opened and Vikenti carefully carried a mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream swirled artfully on the top. “Here you go, sweetheart. Josue has a small plate of cookies for you.”
Josue placed them in front of her. “Enjoy.”
“Who made them?” she asked. “They look delicious.”
“I think it was Evangeline,” Vikenti said. “If Mitya tells you he did, don’t believe him. He’d burn down the house if he tried to cook.” Vikenti stepped back and then frowned down at her. “Are you all right?”
“She’s fine,” Mitya answered from the doorway. “Thanks for bringing her the hot chocolate.” His voice was barely restrained.
Ania flicked him a glance. His face was an expressionless mask, but those eyes of his were telling her there was a lot going on beneath the surface.
Vikenti shrugged. “No problem, Mitya. We’re heading back out on patrol.” He led the way back into the house.
Mitya stepped out of their way and closed the door after them. “It’s a little chilly out here, Ania.”
“I like the cool air. It helps clear my head when I feel like I’m going a little crazy.”
He came to her slowly, his gaze fixed on hers. She didn’t look away, needing to see him. Needing to trust herself and her decisions.
“I hurt you in there, didn’t I?” Mitya asked.
That startled her. Had Sevastyan talked to him? She doubted it. Sevastyan was too busy prowling around, scaring off anyone stupid enough to try to attack Mitya. She didn’t answer him. What was she going to say, when he already knew the answer?
“I’m sorry, Ania. I don’t know Joshua. He isn’t a part of our family. I don’t know who I can trust and who is risky for you to be around. I’d hoped the meeting would be finished and he’d be gone before you got up. You needed sleep.”
Her stomach knotted, and she pressed her hand there. “I suppose had I stayed asleep I wouldn’t have even known they were here.”
“I would have told you. I asked my cousins who they thought we could trust. What you’re not aware of, Ania, is, yes, we have taken over a crime lord’s territories. Since we’ve formed our coalition, we’ve reduced hard drugs in our territories by a third. Guns by a little more, but human trafficking is cut by almost fifty percent. It isn’t easy, and we’re constantly having to do a balancing act. We have the cops breathing down our throats. I have my father coming here to kill me. He would torture and kill you in front of me if he could get his hands on you. If the other bosses find out we’re undercutting them in hopes of taking them down or at least keeping them from getting too far out of hand, they would hunt us to the ends of the earth. Now we’ve got a new enemy and we don’t know why.”
He just said it all. Quietly. His voice so low