“Adam. Pleasure to meet you, Lana.” He is polite and respectful. I appreciate that.
“It’s a mutual feeling. Come on, let’s eat and talk.”
***
After breaking the ice with small talk about everyday life, I start inquiring about them.
“So, you three studied together at MIT?” I look at M, Oliver, and Josh.
“Guilty as charged. I met them in the most unusual circumstances,” M tells me as he is stroking my hair—a small gesture with a whole lot of love.
“M was walking to his dorm while Oliver and I were beating up a guy for spewing nasty stuff,” Oliver states, and Josh fills the rest of the story in.
“We beat the guy up when M approached us. He told us he saw hunger in our eyes, but that we needed finesse; otherwise, we would get caught one day. From that day on, he started training us.”
“That’s amazing. When did you come to Bosnia, though?”
“We came here once we graduated. We both didn’t have family there.” Even though he tries to mask it, there is an inevitable pain in his voice. It shows that he and Oliver are a lot closer than I thought they were. Oliver takes over, sensing Josh’s discomfort.
“All three of us grew close, and it was a logical choice, to be honest. And we have never regretted coming here.”
“That’s because you like your options here, Oli,” Hana jokes. Oliver raises his glass to her.
“On all of our trips.” M stops Oliver as we both feel like he could have gone on and on. I turn my attention to Sara and Adam as M has told me the most about his genius cousin Hana.
“How did you two get together and get tied up in M’s business?” This is going easier than I thought.
“Well.” Adam’s face contorts into happiness. “I shot her husband at the altar, and after that, I offered her to work for M.” I don’t say anything, because what can I say? I nod politely while trying to contain my laughter.
“You can laugh, Lana. I do. It’s a funny but heartwarming story,” Sara says as she kisses Adam’s cheek. I look at the table and see that everyone is finished with dinner.
“Time for dessert. M, can you help me?” Before I finished my sentence, he was on his feet and guiding me toward the kitchen inside the house. I take the chocolate cake I baked and start slicing it into eight even pieces. While I’m cutting and plating, I ask M a couple of questions.
“What is everybody’s specialty?”
“Adam is the best sniper ever. Sara is amazing in close combat and psychological torture. Oliver is good with guns and knives, and close combat. Josh is diplomatic, but also extremely dangerous. You won’t see or hear that motherfucker anywhere if he doesn’t want to. And of course, Hana. My master genius and hacker.”
“Got it! Let me ask you a question.”
“Anything, Lana.”
“Did I make a good first impression?” I ask him while setting down the knife and turning around to face M. He comes up to me and kisses me softly.
“They are smitten with you, but I’m in love with you.” It’s like he needs to say it all the time, otherwise those feelings will evaporate, or I will.
“Lana,” he says, placing his right hand on my heart. “You made my heart beat again, and I’ll be damned if anybody tries to take that away from me.”
“M.” Tears are welling up in my eyes.
“Don’t say anything right now, we have a party to host.”
1.Typical Bosnian food for a barbecue: meats, veggies and cheese.
48
Lana
The night is slowly starting to descend upon us, and it’s pretty nice, as is the company. When all of your life you have been surrounded by boarding schools, nannies, bodyguards, and a university that you can step into if you show a fucking badge, you crave a little bit of warmth.
