“Oh,” I murmured, placing a hand over hers since she was really upset. It would be like having a family member I loved going off to war and doing the most dangerous missions. I had gotten that much from Cole and Brent’s heroic story, even though they hadn’t said much. And really, their silence had said it all. “Well, maybe some time at my dad’s church will help today.” Dad smiled at me, but Eva gave me an odd look. I shrugged, adding, “It always helped me when I needed it. There’s solace in something so pure and loving. It’s…um…peaceful.”
Daniil’s dad nodded. “I’ve always found peace in the church.”
I tried not to look as shocked as I was. I imagined the only time he ever entered a church was to ask forgiveness for the most recent person he had killed. But, I guess it was never too late to repent. For anyone.
He added, “Especially, weddings. They’re so lovely and peaceful. Don’t you agree, Daniil?” Maybe he didn’t repent so much, just making more troubles that pushed people to seek solace in church. My dad should be grateful.
The morning was shot to hell. No one was in a good mood after Zane and Stash left the house, pretty much getting hugs from everyone. Including my parents. My mom, who supposedly hated violence, told them, “Kill the bastards and make sure you come home safe and sound.” Yeah, she was surprising me all around. Apparently, she had a patriot streak in her I had never noticed before.
Ember was mute. She wasn’t crying anymore, but her face was all puffy and splotched and her bloodshot eyes were cold. Very, very cold. I didn’t even look into her eyes once after seeing her expression, but I did talk her into going to the church early. Roman and Artur came along for the ride after I hurried to get ready. No fun times for Daniil and I, sadly. But he seemed to understand.
“Try to have some fun.” Daniil kissed my lips none-to-gently right in front of his kids, apparently done with hiding our affection for each other. “I’ll see you later tonight.”
I nodded, a little breathless, and wobbled out to our limo, Ember, Artur, Roman, and bodyguards tagging along. Ruslan sat in the limo with us along with my normal three guards, while the other three rode in a non-descriptive sedan behind us. Like normal.
On the way there, in the silence that fell on us, I called Katie and Mary to let them know we were going early. Katie agreed to meet us there, but Mary sounded a little distracted—painting, apparently—and said she would be there as soon as she could. This time, I watched for a reaction from Roman when I told them the news. There was the briefest flick of interest when I mentioned Mary.
Oh, boy. I had no idea how I had missed that one, but it all came back to me. I realized that even though I had missed it, Daniil hadn’t. He had paired them against each other in basketball. Always had them sitting close to one another during any meals, but never too close. Asking him to go on stage and play the instruments. The way he had been watching Mary. Huh. Damn, I had been clueless on that one.
The paparazzi were out in full force again. They were lined up outside the gates—like normal—and reporters and photographers pretty much gave chase right off the bat. I fumbled around for a bit, trying to stay in my seat from all the swerving. Now, Artur and Roman, on the other hand, looked like they just wanted to shoot out their tires. And Ember just stared out the window as if she just wanted to shoot the person driving.
Artur grunted when I started to fall for the third time, and moved to sit next to me, placing his arm around my waist.
It shocked me, and I stared at him wide-eyed. “What are you doing?”
He held me tighter against him. “Keeping you safe.”
“Oh,” I stated stupidly, and the limo jerked again…but this time, I didn’t fly around as Artur braced his legs, taking the impact and held me in place. Ah. Got it. He was my seatbelt. “Thank you.”
And the car jerked the other way…dislodging both of us. We landed sideways on the seat with him on top of me, and I grunted under him. “Maybe I should have said no thanks.” Christ, he was as heavy as his dad was.
Roman muttered something in Russian to Artur, who was helping me up, and then moved sitting on the other side of me. He didn’t say anything. He wasn’t a man of many words, but he placed his long leg in front of both of mine, reminding me of a safety bar in an amusement park ride…and I was safe, never falling at any of the jerks and swerves, both of them keeping me firmly in place.
“Where do you want the gold streamers to go?” Roman asked, standing on the top of a ladder, done taping it to the ceiling fan in the cafeteria.
I twirled my finger, stating, “Twist it lightly, and tape it periodically to the ceiling so it drapes every so often all the way to that corner.” I pointed to the opposite corner. God, I loved having tall people around to help. Even with the ladder, none of us girls would have been able to pull that off. And I seriously doubted any of the bodyguards, who were standing still and mute around the room, would have helped.
Roman looked like he was having as much fun as a tough guy could in a situation like this, but his gaze flicked behind me…and his eyes quickly hooded…but not before heat flared in their depths.
“I’m here!” Mary stated from behind me.
The door shut after her.
Trying to keep the smirk off my face, I turned and watched to see if my young cousin had any of the same attraction that Roman seemed to have for her. I hugged her in greeting…and wished I hadn’t since she had on a pair of old overalls that still had wet paint on them to go along with all of the old paint marks. She sure as hell wasn’t wearing her sexiest attire, although her tank under the overalls did reveal a bit of flesh from her small chest. None of us in the family was blessed with large breasts.
I rubbed at her cheek, under her pink glasses, where a streak of green paint was. But she gave me a look. I stopped and moved out of her way, letting her see the room. Or, more or less, who was in the room. She stretched her back, glancing around and nodding approvingly at the amount of work we had done.
And then, her gaze halted. Roman had gotten off the ladder and moved it to the next place he would have to tape the streamer to the ceiling, but he was squatting down and picking up another roll of tape. His dark shirt—the man never wore color like most of this group—had raised a little on his back, and between it and his low dark jeans, there was a sliver of his lean, tan hips showing. That and his ass was exactly where Mary’s gaze landed. Pretty much staying there until he stood back up and started climbing the ladder.
She cleared her throat and looked away, her gaze resuming its progress around the room.
I seriously had no idea how I had missed that. Like I was blind or something. Now I hadn’t missed Artur’s interaction with Katie. In fact, he seemed to have come out of his shell, and was flirting wholeheartedly with her today, seeming to take Katie by surprise—pleasantly by surprise based on the looks she was giving him as they chatted by the table they were setting up for gifts.
“I think I’ll go help Ember,” Mary murmured, rubbing at her cheek over the green mark, quickly going to the far corner where Ember was tying off gold and silver balloons. The exact opposite corner where Roman was headed. I squashed a laugh quickly, telling her I’d help Roman. Mary may be out there sometimes, but she was still young. And by the looks of it, a little shy. She wasn’t always the tough woman. Sometimes, she was just a girl learning her way.
An hour later, the streamers were up and Roman had brought in drinks for all of us from the kitchen. I sipped on my water, listening to Ember tell Mary that Zane and Stash left this morning on a ‘job’ and they would be back in a month or so. But, it appeared Mary already knew this, taking a soda from Roman quietly and then telling Ember that Zane had already called her this morning.
Artur and Katie were taking a break, and Artur changed the subject quickly when Ember’s face started to pucker up a little. Mary didn’t miss it, and quickly went along, seeing Ember’s obvious worry, telling Ember that even though Zane wasn’t around, they could still go out and do ‘mundane’ things. That got a smile out of Ember, and we all talked quietly, enjoying our break.
