Still, I like Frankie. Not just because she’s made my brother a little more tolerable, but because she’s managed to make him think about someone other than himself for once. That alone speaks volumes about her good influence on him.
“That’s a pretty trinket you’ve got there,” I say coolly, as if I’d only just noticed it.
“Oh, thanks,” she says, quickly hiding it under her sleeve as if self-conscious about it.
“Did one of the nuns give it to you?”
“Stella, don’t be rude,” Anna scolds, noticing how Frankie hesitates to talk about her keepsake.
“When does asking a question count as being rude?” I roll my eyes.
“It’s okay,” Frankie says, pulling the bracelet back into the light. “I don’t mind talking about it.”
“See? She doesn’t mind,” I counter, smirking at a flustered Anna. “Can I see it?”
“Sure.”
Frankie extends her arm so I can take a better look. The bracelet is exactly like the photo Lucky showed Kirill—solid gold, with a saintly figure at its center and intricate words etched around it. Definitely Russian.
Kirill might’ve claimed he didn’t know if it had any meaning, but he sure as hell could’ve read what it said.
“Do you know what it says?”
Frankie nods. “I’m not sure if it’s accurate since I used Google Translate, but it says, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’ Not sure if it has any other significance, though. It was the only thing my birth parents left me with. I think they must’ve been really devout or something. I mean, they didabandon me at a church, after all.” She smiles, but sorrow dulls her eyes.
Abandon. She used that word herself, and it still must feel wrong on her tongue.
Devout or not, who the hell leaves their newborn on church steps and walks away? Just because someone acts holy doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of the most fucked-up choices. The Romanos never miss Sunday Mass, and we all know what my family gets up to during the rest of the week.
“It’s really pretty,” Anna says sweetly. “I’m sure they must’ve really loved you to leave you such a memento.”
Frankie’s eyes soften at my sister’s words.
“You really think so?”
“Of course I do. Don’t you?”
“Sometimes I do. But sometimes it’s hard to believe they could’ve loved me at all if it was so easy to give me up,” Frankie admits, vulnerability lacing her voice.
“I doubt it was easy for them,” Anna says, placing her hand over Frankie’s on the table. “And by leaving you that bracelet, maybe it was their way of telling you just how hard that decision really was for them.” Frankie’s expression softens again.
That’s Anna for you. She always knows exactly what to say to make people feel better.
Me, on the other hand? I’d rather know for sure who Frankie’s parents are. If they’re Russian—like that bracelet suggests—then maybe Kirill was lying through his perfect teeth when he pretended not to know.
And it’s not like Lucky and Enzo are heading back to Little Russia anytime soon. One meet and greet with theBratvaunderboss was enough for them.
But as luck would have it, I’m not so easily deterred. Maybe it’s time Kirill got another visit. One that doesn’t include the twins. Somehow, I think he’ll be far more accommodating if Icome alone. Maybe then I’ll get some real answers for once. If that includes the reason behind why he showed up at the ball last night, even better. And if that earns me a few points with my father, well… that’s just a bonus.
He did ask if I was up to the challenge, didn’t he?
Weren’t those his precise words? An open invitation to chaos?
Little does he know, I’m more than up for anything Kirill Petrov can throw my way.
Chapter 3
Kirill
