“I’m dealing with a situation with the books.”
He lifted a brow. “Working on getting it under control?”
“I am.”
“And if you need help, you’ll let me know?”
“I will.”
He rose to his feet. “And if the urge to drink hits, call me. Any time. Got it?”
I nodded. He gave me a curt nod in return and left.
The rest of the day, my focus was shot. Calls and messages to Pyotr went unanswered. We'd had our disputes before, usually settled in a few hours. But today wasn't one of those days.
By six, I was rolling up to the house, and my heart plummeted at the sight of familiar vehicles scattered across the yard.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
Part of me wanted to slam the car into reverse and get the hell out of there. But they'd show up again, or worse, think I was hiding something, which I was. I wasn’t ready to tell them about Sienna. I needed to get them the hell out of here.
I eased my car to a stop next to Marten’s truck.
The doors of the vehicles swung open, and my sisters, brothers and their wives, kids, and their security details—Rocco, Tomas, Calder and Ruslan—spilled out.
But what the hell could I tell them that they’d believe? They were probably just waiting for any excuse I threw their way. If they found this place after I bought it using a fucking alias…shit.
A knock on the driver’s window made me jump. I glanced over. It was Lev.
Fucking hell.
I slipped out of the car and closed the door, meeting Lev’s gaze. “Hey. What are you guys doing here?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
“Seeing that you can't be where we are, we came to you. Is that a problem?”
“Just picking up some files,” I said, glancing at my watch. “I wasn’t planning to stay. Got a shipment that needs checking in thirty minutes.”
“Marten,” Lev called. Marten strode over.
“We need someone to check a shipment tonight for Avit,” Lev said, looking at me. “What are the details so Marten can get it handled?”
Before I could come up with a lie, Sienna stepped out from the side of the house.
What the hell was she doing outside? Of all days! Fucking hell!
She froze, her eyes frantically darting around at everyone. Our eyes locked for a second, then she spun on her heel and practically ran into the house.
“I guess that explains a lot of things,” Lev said, amusement in his voice.
I sighed. “Do you guys want to stay for dinner?”
“Luckily for you, the women cooked. And yes, we have enough for one extra,” Lev said, patting my shoulder with a chuckle.
We headed into the house. I kissed the kids, and the women hugged me briefly before heading to the kitchen, Ruslan, Tomas, Rocco, and Calder in tow, carrying trays and bowls.
That just left my brothers. I turned to Pyotr before anyone could speak. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I didn’t mean it.”
Pyotr smirked. “Yeah, you did. Probably didn’t mean for it to come out the way it did, but…you’re right. I need to startpulling my weight, especially with Mariya, since you clearly now have a life outside business. So…who’s the girl?”
