Page 32 of Born into Darkness

I pull her closer and kiss the top of her head. “Yeah,zolotse, that’s very good.” I raise my eyes to the men in front of me, daring them to contradict me and ruin the façade I’m giving my wife. None of them do, and I swear I see a nod of approval from Lev before my brothers get tired of waiting in the background and step closer.

“Volodya,” my brother says, holding his hand out to Roman before nodding at the others. His voice is as gruff as it usually is, but they don’t seem to mind.

“And I’m Valeri,” our youngest brother says, holding a hand up in a wave. Pointing to our boys, he goes down the line, introducing them one by one.

They see Dima signing for Bran, and we get a few confused, hesitant looks from the Melnikovs. My family’s used to it, but it still irritates me every time I see it, and I swear I can feel every member of my family raise their hackles, preparing for a fight.

“How the hell does that work?” I hear Vitaly ask.

“Do you have a problem with my son?” I ask, my tone causing Nina to stiffen beside me. I squeeze her shoulder while Vitaly looks over, another smirk playing at his lips.

“No, I didn’t say I have a problem. I just asked how the hell he makes it work?”

“He’s a sniper. He works from a distance and can shoot any goddamn thing you need him to,” I say, letting the pride show in my voice.

Vitaly’s brows raise as he lets out a soft laugh. “No shit?” When it’s obvious we aren’t joking, he says, “Fucking nice. I’m looking forward to seeing that.”

We all turn at the sound of the second plane approaching. With Nina’s arm around my waist, I bring my hand to cup the side of her head, pulling her closer against me so both her ears are protected from the noise. I know the Melnikovs notice, but I don’t give a fuck. I don’t know how they treat their wives, but this is how I treat mine, and I’m not hiding it.

Once the plane has stopped, Roman says, “Okay, let’s get the hell out of here.” He checks the black, military-style watch on his wrist before lifting a hand at the line of SUVs. Immediately all the drivers get out and start walking over. “We have a house your men can stay at until we’re ready to go. The rest of you can come to my place so we can go over the plans. The others are already there waiting for us.”

“We’ll take the first SUV,” Lev says. “Your family can take the second and third. The rest are for your men and supplies.”

“Works for me,” Volodya says, walking with Misha and Yuri to the third vehicle. Valeri and Aleks join them, while Nina and our boys take the second.

We’re quiet on the drive, and the man escorting us doesn’t try to fill the silence. Leaning closer, I whisper to Nina, “You doing okay?”

“I’m fine. Stop worrying,” and before I can argue, she signs to me and the boys,What did you think of them?

They seem okay,Dima signs.They seem organized at least and, it’s good that Danil’s son is with Talia. They have just as much riding on this as we do.

Agreed,I sign and then look at Bran and ask,What do you think?

We all look at him, waiting for his input. I’m not at all surprised when all we get is a simple,Too early to tell.

He goes back to looking out the window, studying the unfamiliar skyline as we edge closer to the city. Traffic is the nightmare I imagined it would be, but eventually we’re pulling into an underground garage and parking beside the Melnikov’s SUV. Once we’re all out, we take turns riding the private elevator until we’re all standing inside an impressively large, three-level penthouse. I meet Valeri’s eyes as he gives a subtle nod toward the wall behind me. I turn to see that it’s filled with family photographs, and not the boring kind that are obviously staged and everyone looks like they’d rather be anywhere than right there in front of the camera.

No, these are filled with laughing, smiling faces. I recognize all five brothers in the photos, and it’s abundantly clear that family is everything to them—a core value that our families seem to share. I stop when I see the last photo. It’s a photo of Roman and a younger version of himself. The man who’s clearly his son is holding a little boy with the same green eyes, and they’re all three smiling at the camera. A longing shoots through me so deeply that I forget to breathe for a second. We don’t have grandkids yet, but it’s something that Nina and I can’t wait to experience. The thought of Talia as a mom is too painful to think about, so I push it aside and put my focus on getting her back instead. Daydreaming about the future can wait until she’s back home and safe.

“You must be Nina,” a woman says, coming over to us with a friendly smile on her face. I recognize her from the photos as Roman’s wife, but even if I hadn’t seen her, the look on his face as he watches her would make it clear. It’s the same way I watch my wife—a mix of love, protectiveness, and a healthy dose ofI will burn the world down if anyone tries to touch her.

Damn, I’m really starting to like this family.

“I’m Emily,” she says, and instead of holding a hand out, she pulls Nina in for a hug. “I’m so sorry for what you’re going through. You must be scared to death.”

When they part, my wife is fighting tears and I’m relieved that I won’t be leaving her here with a bunch of heartless women. Emily doesn’t look like she has a mean bone in her body, and to prove it, she turns and gives the rest of us a smile. “You all must be starving after that long flight. We have a ton of food in the kitchen. Please, come get something to eat and drink.”

As the others walk past, she reaches out to shake my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Vasily. I just want you to know that Nina will be safe here. My sisters-in-law and our daughters will be here along with one of my nephews.” She smiles over at Nina. “You’ll also get to meet my grandson, Lev’s granddaughter, and Vitaly’s granddaughter.”

Nina smiles, and I know she’s grateful for the distraction and company, but it’s when another woman walks over and introduces herself as Simona, Danil’s wife, that her composure starts to falter. If anyone in this room can relate to what my wife is feeling, it’s the woman whose son is being held with our daughter.

Simona pulls Nina in for a hug, and says, “My son will protect your daughter. I know he will.”

It’s said with such conviction that it even manages to bring me some comfort. Breaking the hug, she squeezes Nina’s hand and motions for us all to follow her down the hall. We step into a large kitchen that opens into an even larger living room. The amount of faces staring at us is overwhelming, and I try to commit all the names to memory as their wives and kids are introduced to us. Roman steps up next to me and gives a soft laugh.

“Got them all memorized?”

I look over at him and nod. “I think so, yeah.”

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