“What happened, Indigo?” I asked, angry that something had upset her. She had finally started relaxing and having a good time whensomething suddenly changed. “What upset you? Whatever it is, we’ll handle it.” Her green eyes, the Petrov eyes, darted to mine, checking to see if I was sincere. I didn’t try to hide a thing, letting her see that I cared for her and wanted to listen.
“The man… from the other room…”
“Gregor?” my mother prompted.
Indigo swallowed and nodded. “I, uhm—I recognized him. His voice, I mean.”
“From where, Indi?” I asked. Her hand trembled slightly as she reached for her glass of water. She took a sip, a breath, and another glance at my mother before she opened her mouth and said the last words I’d expected.
“The Consortium.”
My jaw clenched, and I had to work to resist the urge to punch a hole in the nearest wall.
“What is that?” my mother asked aloud. She and Lennon looked confused, but Cricket, Bear, and I all wore matching grim expressions. “What is The Consortium?” my mother said again.
“What did you just say?” my father’s voice cracked like a whip from the doorway, causing Indigo to jump slightly in her seat. Our evening had taken quite a turn, indeed.
Chapter 12
Indigo
Bob, I felt like my stomach was filled with TV static and razor blades. My mouth tasted like pennies, all traces of the delicate sweetness from our dessert washed away by my ghosts. I needed to get myself together before my new relatives figured out how fucked up I was and decided they didn’t want to invite me over for the next family potluck. I’d been researching toilet wine fermentation ever since my time in lockup and was desperate for a gathering so I could taste test it.
“She said she recognized Gregor’s voice. From The Consortium,” my mother answered. “What is that?” Cara’s eyes darted from her husband to her son, a scowl darkening her face at being kept in the dark. Lennon looked equally confused, but Bear and Cricket wore the same grumpy expression as Riordan. Mikhail must have had a big ole set of brassy balls, though, because he held his finger up at his wife and pulled a phone from his pocket.
Cara’s eyes narrowed into slits, frustration simmering in their hazel depths.
My uncle scanned the room, taking in everyone’s expressions, and weighing his options now that our casual “get to know you” dinner had taken a dramatic turn. Less than three seconds later, a man answered the call, and Mikhail had devised a game plan. “Andrey, I need you to discreetly detain Gregor. Yes. Yes. Good.” Mikhail ended the call, holding up his entire hand at Cara, which resulted in a snarl from his wife.Brassy. Balls.
“Moya lyubov, I will explain.” Mikhail took his seat, which was much closer to his wife than I’d want to be right now if I were him. But maybe Mikhail liked to live on the edge? He looked me over and nudged his untouched dessert my way. Usually, I’d have loved a second cup of yummy custard, but I shook my head and tried not to wish that it was a schnappy mug of hot chocolate instead. I felt like I could use a cup of Priest’s nightmare hangover cure right about now.
“I want to leave,” I said quietly, though my words carried across the table loud enough for thepakhanto hear them. “Riordan still hasn’t explained how he knew the LC compound was under attack that night. Now that I know what kind of men you allow into your bratva, I’m not so sure we should be friends.” My eyes cut over to Riordan. “You keep saying ‘we’re family’like it explains things and justifies stuff. I hate to break it to you, but it really doesn’t. I don’t understand what itmeansto you. I don’t know what it’s like to have a family.”
“Ahem.” My bestie coughed from her end of the table. I winced.
“Except for the Crows, they’re showing me what it means to be part of their family.” I blew Lennon a kiss in apology, and she caught it with a wink, letting me know we were cool. Looking back at Riordan and his parents, I shrugged. “I don’t know what it means to be part of yours.”
“Indi—” Riordan began, but he was cut off by his mother.
“I was a lot like you, you know, when I was torn from my life back in Boston and thrust into this family.” I quirked my head at her, and she elaborated. “Not exactly like you. I wasn’t literally imprisoned… but Iwasa captive. My elder brother, Seamus, controlled me physically and financially, and my younger brother, Roark, did his best to terrorize me when my father wasn’t looking. Once Da died, he had free rein fromSeamus to keep me in line however he liked as long as he didn’t do any permanent damage and made sure not to mark me where it would show.”
Cara chuckled bitterly. “When I was sold like a sow at market and became Mikhail’s less-than-willing bride”—she sent a sly smile to Mikhail, who smirked right back at her— “well, let’s just say I learned what it meant to join arealfamily. To be valued, loved, respected, protected… powerful. That’s what it means to be a Petrov. My brothers know how to work together to run their ‘family,’ but it’s a hollow shell. At the heart of them, they don’t understand the power of love and the fierce protectiveness it engenders.”
“How did you know?” I asked in a tight voice. “That you loved. Were loved. The moment you became part of a real family?”
“It crept up on me,” Cara murmured. “Mikhail showed me every time he listened to my advice, every time he demanded that I be treated with respect, every time he supported me and didn’t belittle my feelings. He told me he loved me the first time he laid eyes on me, but for me… I needed him toshowme he loved me, not just say the words. And he did. That’s how I knew. When his words and his actions made it impossible not to feel like I was exactly where I always should have been.”
Cara and Mikhail shared a look, and itburned. Riordan averted his eyes, like he felt awkward witnessing such a deep devotion, and maybe he did. Maybe witnessing how much your parents loved each other felt squicky when you were their loin fruit. I, however, thought it was absolute couples goals. I could only pray to Bob that one day someone would look at me the way Mikhail looked at Cara, like she was the star around which his solar system orbited. Even Pluto, that straggler.
Mikhail dragged his eyes away from his wife and dipped his head in my direction. “I knew the moment I saw you that you were truly my sister’s daughter. The fact that we share blood can mean as much or as little to you as you’d like. I won’t try to force anything on you, but if you wish to pursue a relationship with any or all of us, we’ll be here. We’ll always be here.”
He sat back in his chair. “The instant I saw my wife, I knew she was meant to be mine. She made me work hard to prove it to her, but in the end, she came to understand what I always knew. I’ll do the same for you, prove to you that you’re home now.” Now it was my turn to avertmy gaze, overwhelmed by the earnestness on my uncle’s face. “As for my bratva, well… while you are under no obligation to join the family business, you will have its support and protection for as long as you live. As Tatiana’s only child, you are entitled to substantial financial holdings in your own right, as well.”
My eyes widened as they shot back to Mikhail’s. “I have holdings?”
Riordan chuckled. “I’ll have Astrid draw up the paperwork, and I can explain everything.”
I narrowed my eyes at my cousin. “Speaking of ’splaining. You got some to do. How did you know Bones and I had been taken? Were you spying on me because that’s not cool.” I crossed my arms and sat back in my chair, pinning my cousin with a disapproving glare. I didn’t leave Creepy Steve behind back in my first favorite alleyway in Reno just to be spied on by a Creepy Cousin. Boundaries, man, we all gotta have ’em.
