Chapter 18

"Aren't you hungry?" Mom asks as we sit on the terraced balcony. The air is cool, and the city is laid out beneath us like a bundle of children's toys carelessly scattered. There I go with the book stuff again.

Last night clings to me. The kiss. The heat. The closeness. I don't know where the puking came from. He didn't disgust me. It was more intense than anything I had ever felt before. It made me want to do things I've never even thought about.

"I'm …" I almost say it, the B-word.

Mom frowns at me. "You don't eat much, do you, Anna?"

I softly shake my head.

"I won't push you," Mom goes on softly.

"Thank you."

"But if you tried a little something, I wouldn't be mad."

I pick up a grape and pop it into my mouth. Mom smiles, then looks over my shoulder at the doorway. "Ah, Henry!"

"My brother?" I say. Suddenly, the events of last night don't seem so bad.

A nice-looking woman carries the baby through, handing him to Molly. He's the cutest little bundle ever. Mom leans over. "Ania, this is your baby brother. Henry, this is your big sister. Do you want to hold him?"

"What if I drop him?"

Mom laughs, "You won't. Anyway, babies are tough. Kidding!"

She makes me laugh, and it feels so good, so easy. "Okay …"

When she hands him to me, I gently cradle him to my chest. His eyes are closed, but then he opens them, and I'm sure he smiles.

"He recognizes you already," Mom says sweetly.

"Do you think so?"

"Definitely."

"Can I give him a kiss?"

"I bet he'd love that."

I lean down and gently kiss him on the forehead. He makes the cutest cooing noise ever.

"See, you're a natural," Mom says.

I gently rock him, and then Aiden walks onto the balcony. He's back to being detached, not even looking at me as he says, "It's time to go. Your brothers are waiting, Ania."

"Can't she finish her breakfast?" Mom asks.

I gently hand Henry back to her without looking at her. "It's fine." I don't look at Aiden either as I walk back inside glumly.

We drive in the middle of many other cars, just like we often do back home when Mikhail or Dimitri have a job to do and need to beef up security. I made a point of sitting in the back as Aiden drives. Maybe it's petty, but I don't know how to act after last night.

"How are you feeling?" Aiden asks after a long silence. We're driving toward the outskirts of the city. It feels like the buildings are getting shorter and shorter.

"I just hope we can all get along."

"Hmm."

"What's hmm about that?"

"It's naive, Ania," he says bluntly. "I broke into your compound. I took you. They're not going to be happy."

"Don't worry. They won't hurt you."

He sighs tiredly. "That's not what I'm worried about."

I fold my arms, ignoring the implication in his words. The message is clear. They need to worry about him hurting them. The closer we get, the more I think about my mom, Henry, and the kiss. Somehow, in the space of a day and a night, I've got a bunch of reasons to want to stay with my kidnapper.

Finally, we arrive at a waterside bar. Three cars pull up, and several men walk out, all wearing dark suits.

"What are they doing?" I ask as Aiden parks across the street.

"We've agreed our men can search the premises. No weapons. That's the deal on both sides.

"My brothers aren't liars."

"Hmm."

"Hmm, to you, too."

He glances at me in the rearview, a smirk on his lips. I have to turn away because, suddenly, I'm smiling too. He makes me do that so easily.

A minute later, a big man in a suit walks out and waves at us.

"It's time," Aiden says, pushing the car door open.

I climb out, too, hoping I'm doing a good job hiding the nerves coiling around me. Aiden walks into the bar first, then holds the door open for me. I almost joke about him being a gentleman, but it feels out of place.

Down a corridor, we reach the bar. Dimitri quickly walks over to me, looming and serious. He pulls me into a hug. "Ania. Goddamn, it's good to see you."

Mikhail walks up beside us, his floppy hair in disarray, a wild look in his eyes. It's the same look he got after he tortured the man who was working for one of our rivals. He's a good and sensitive man, but he can be brutal when he needs to. "Ania," he whispers, leaning forward and kissing me on the head.

Dimitri looks at Aiden. It's rare to see my brothers standing eye-to-eye with anybody. It's a strange sight. "I take it you're Aiden."

"The kidnapper," Mikhail mutters.

Dimitri gives him a look. "Let's all sit down."

Mikhail runs a hand through his hair.

The four of us go to a table in the center of the room. Nobody else is in here, but we all know men surround the building, the Bratva's and Aiden's, all ready for a fight.

I realize too late that I've naturally sat on the same side of the table as Aiden. It puts me and Aiden against my brothers, which I didn't want.

"First," Dimitri says, "let's all be grateful that no lives were lost during all this. If you'd hurt one of our men, Aiden, this would've gone very differently."

"Hmm," Aiden says, just staring at him.

Dimitri narrows his eyes. He's never been a bully, but I think he's used to people being at least a bit intimidated by him.

"How much?" Mikhail snaps after a pause. "Let's get right down to it. You've taken an innocent girl from her home. You've dragged her across the damn country. You've almost caused a war between us and an East Coast Bratva. How much do you need, Aiden?"

"Money," Aiden says. "You can't seriously believe this is about that."

"Do you expect us seriously to believe you did this out of the goodness of your heart? All so Ania could meet her mother? If that is her mother?"

"What do you mean?" I say, which are the first words I've spoken.

Dimitri and Aiden look at me like they're shocked I've said anything, which is annoying. Only Aiden looks at me as though he's ready to hear what I have to say.

"I can't find anything that connects that woman to you, Ania."

"My father wiped all of Molly's records," Aiden snaps. "She was terrified of your father coming after her—the man who beat a woman bloody and left her for dead. The man who stole a baby from her mother."

"And we're supposed to believe you?" Mikhail snaps. "Maybe you're just some fucked-up folks who want to pick a fight. Maybe you're twisting my sister's head."

"She's my mom, Mikhail," I tell him. "That's not what we're here to talk about."

I try to keep my voice steady, but it feels almost sick that he'd say this about my mom.

"You've known this woman one day," Mikhail replies. "I'm sorry, Ania, but there's no way to know if they're telling the truth."

"You think I risked ruining my father's business by associating with Bratva criminals so I could …" Aiden pauses. "… hire an actress to pretend to be Ania's mother? Does that make any goddamn sense to either of you?"

"We're just trying to get the facts," Dimitri growls. "Watch your tone."

"Hmm," Aiden replies, staring coldly at Dimitri.

"Please don't fight," I plead.

"Nobody's fighting," Aiden tells me, giving me a supportive look that means more to me than he will ever know.

"Molly is my mother. If you saw her, you'd be able to see that. If you saw Henry, my little brother, you'd see it, too."

Dimitri waves a hand. I try to tell myself they just want the best for me. They always have, but it's feeling like they don't even care what I have to say or my opinion.

"Well, she can visit you in Vegas," Dimitri says. "Whatever's happening here, let's just be thankful it doesn't have to come to war. The three idiots who burned down the lodge have been reprimanded. The Bratva has agreed to let it slide. No harm done."

"He's right," Mikhail says. "Ania, you have no reason to stay with these … people. It's not like they gave you a choice."

"Now you're not giving me a choice either," I whisper, but nobody hears me.

Dimitri says, "If Molly wants to see Ania, she can fly west. Otherwise, there's nothing else to discuss."

"Hmm," Aiden mutters.

"What sort of answer is that?" Mikhail growls.

"It seems we should ask Ania what she wants," Aiden says calmly, almost like he's trying to rile up Mikhail.

"Is this how you're playing her, then?" Mikhail snaps. "You're pretending to be her best friend? Ania, remember, he kidnapped you. Anything he does, even if it seems nice, even if he pretends it's for your benefit, is automatically crap."

"But …" I pause, then say, "What if I want to stay a little longer?"

Mikhail glares at Aiden. "What the fuck have you said to her? What have you done?"

"I'm not a kid!" I hiss. I'm so tired of everybody treating me like one. "I've been with them for one day. I haven't got Stockholm syndrome. I've spent my whole life dreaming of having a mom and—" Suddenly, I'm on my feet. I want to be reasonable and measured, like the precise movements of a ballerina, but I yell. "You can't just show up and take me away. Nobody's hurt. Nobody's in danger."

"You're in danger," Mikhail says, softening his tone like he's talking to a crazy lady, making it worse. "We can't trust these strangers."

"They're not strangers. They're family."

Mikhail glares at Aiden. "You've really done a number on her, haven't you?"

"Mikhail," I snap. "Mila's life was a lot like mine, right? But you two fell in …" Love. What am I even saying? "Did you do a number on her, then?"

"Is that what this is?" Dimitri snaps, staring at Aiden with murder in his eyes. "You bastard. Are you making her think you care, too?"

"I'm waiting to hear Ania's decision," Aiden says. "We'll go from there."

He turns to me, looking at me with no judgment. Mikhail and Dimitri obviously love me, but the difference between how they look at me and how Aiden does is massive. They still see me as their baby sister. Can I blame them? I don't know. It annoys me.

"I want to …" I take a breath. I'm going to sound nuts. "… stay for a while. With my mom. With Henry." With Aiden.

"You've got to be kidding me," Mikhail snaps.

Dimitri glances at him. "Easy."

"He took her from our home," Mikhail grunts.

Aiden stands so that he's at my side. "She's decided. Unless you've hidden weapons someplace, or you're willing to get into a fistfight over this, we're leaving."

"Nobody's fighting," I snap.

"Ania." Dimitri stands, looking at me seriously. "Everybody misses you back home. If you want to reconnect with Molly, that's fine. We can make that work, but not like this."

"But …" This takes a lot for me. I'm so used to listening to Dimitri about everything. "Isn't that my choice to make?"

"Yes, but?—"

The windows shatter, and bottles explode behind the bar. A loud boom blares, and my ears buzz like something is stuck in them. I drop to the floor, screaming, my hands over my face. What the hell just happened? Are we under attack?