“Understood.”
With one last glance at the school entrance, I drive off, heading home to tell Kostya not to bother unpacking his bags.
By nightfall, all of us are going home.
And by this time tomorrow, our family will be whole.
Chapter 12
Kirill
“Where the fuck are they?!” I snap, slamming my Zippo shut harder than necessary.
“Dude, take a Valium or something and chill. Otherwise, you’re going to scare the shit out of the poor girl,” Kostya says, kicking his feet up and getting way too comfortable for the long flight ahead.
He’s right, though. Idoneed to calm down. The last thing I want is to scare Kira away. I have to keep my shit together, especially since she’ll probably have a million questions the second she steps on the plane. That is… if she ever actually makes it here.
Another glance at my watch tells me it’s been over an hour since Lev texted to confirm he’d secured Kira for me, which is more than enough time for him to be here already. No matter how hard I fight to stay composed, my mind keeps spinning through every scenario that could’ve gone wrong since his last text, each one chewing through whatever calm I’m trying to muster.
“Then again,” Kostya adds, hands clasped behind his head, eyes shut as if ready for a nap, “I’d be freaking the fuck out too if I were in your shoes.”
“Oh, yeah? Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You and Misha went about this all wrong. Sending your goons to pick her up?” He tsks. “Way to go in making a good first impression.”
“If you don’t have anything productive to say, how about you keep your mouth shut?” I grumble, hating that my kid brother might not be in the wrong here.
With a mocking smirk, he pretends to zip his lips and throw the key away.
“I need a fucking smoke,” I mutter, praying the nicotine will take the edge off.
However, before I can even reach for my packet of cigarettes, a car tears into the hangar. One quick look out the window is all I need to confirm it’s Lev. With Kira. Finally.
“They’re here.”
That’s all Kostya needs to hear to spring to his feet, excited with anticipation.
“Not a fucking chance,” I reprimand, shoving him back to his seat.
“The fuck?!”
“Stay here. Like you said, we don’t want to scare her off.”
“You’re way scarier than me, asshole!” he protests with a scowl.
“But I’m the one running this show, remember?” Kostya flips me off and crosses his arms over his chest.
I shake off whatever scraps of anxiety are still clinging to me and get ready to finally welcome Kira into the family. Kostya was right on that account, too. We need to make a good first impression. Blood or not, there’s no guarantee she’ll want anything to do with us. And if she’s been spending time withLuciano, who knows what kind of warped, scathing picture she already has of us Petrovs.
Though something tells me the young Romano isn’t exactly sitting with Kira discussing the inner workings of criminal organizations. From the little I saw of them together, his mind was definitely elsewhere.
Before stepping out of the jet, I take a steadying breath and let my thoughts drift to my sister.
We found her, Katya.
And tonight, she’ll finally understand just how much her mother meant to this family.
How much she means to us.
