Chapter 11: Sierra

I held the phone to my ear, hearing it ring on the other line as I anxiously paced around my room, biting on my fingernails. "Come on, pick up, pick up," I whispered under my breath.

This was the second time I had called and received no response. As they say, the third time's the charm. I decided to try again, hoping she'd answer this time.

Mom wasn't one to pick up the phone when the call was from a strange number, so I wasn't entirely surprised that she was taking this long to answer. However, if she didn't take the call, I'd reach out to Gary, my stepdad. He was more open-minded than she was about virtually everything, which was one reason we got along effortlessly.

Finally, she answered, "Hello?"

At that moment, all my courage and the words I'd planned to say went out the window. Hearing her voice turned off the light bulb in my head, leaving me blank and speechless.

"Listen, I'm in no mood for games right now; if you're not gonna say anything, then I'm gonna…" she lashed out on the other line, her voice biting.

"Mom," I said softly, feeling the sting in my eyes as tears welled.

She paused for a moment, letting my voice sink in. Then, her voice softened, and on a sob, she said, "Sierra, baby, is that you?"

I could envision her right now; her brows and eyes must have widened in anticipation of my reply. My hand flew to my mouth as I struggled not to shed tears. She couldn't know what was really going on, not yet anyway. Knowing her, if she knew the truth, she'd freak out, and things would escalate.

Mom wasn't one to think before doing stuff, especially when she was upset. She'd only end up making this worse, and I didn't want that. Artem had made it pretty clear that my calls would be monitored.

Although I was alone in the room, I knew better than to try anything stupid. Other than the call being monitored, microphones and secret cameras could be hidden in places I'd never think to look. Artem wasn't a man I wanted to mess with. So, in order not to screw this all up, I had to lie to my mother.

"Sierra?" she called again.

I threw my head toward the ceiling as if to make the tears trickle back into their glands. "It's me, Mom. It's me." I wiped the droplets hanging on my eyelashes.

"Oh, my God, baby!" she shrieked on the other line, her tone a mix of relief and anger. "Are you okay? We've been trying to get through to you, but they kept telling us your line was unavailable."

Mom and her husband lived in Brooklyn; I was in Chicago, but we spoke often over the phone. When Artem had kidnapped me, he did away with my phone, and it had been weeks already since that happened. It was logical for Mom to be worried sick, considering we'd never gone this long without contact.

I rubbed my eyeballs, fighting the urge to come clean to her. "Yeah, I lost my phone; I just got a new one." I managed to find a suitable lie, although I hated keeping things from her.

Mom was quiet on the line; she must be analyzing why I took so long to get another phone, and I honestly didn't have an answer.

"Are you alright, though?" she asked. "You seem kinda…off."

No, I'm not alright. I was kidnapped, and now I'm married to my kidnapper. There's nothing alright about this whole situation! I blurted out in my mind.

Sadly, when I opened my mouth to speak, I said casually, "Yes, Mom. I'm fine. I just called to let you know."

"You know you can tell me anything, don't you?"

Please, Mom, stop making this worse than it already is.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Of course, I know that. But I'm fine, I promise."

She exhaled sharply. "Well, it's good to know that. I'll tell your Dad and brother."

"Yeah, you do that," I replied. "Take care, Mom."

"You, too, sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you, too, Mom." I hung up the phone and tossed myself onto the comfy mattress, fingers pressing against my temples.

I knew I'd done the right thing by not telling her the whole truth; well, I hadn't told her anything, really.

Getting off the bed, I headed out of the room to get a drink. I needed a glass of water right now.

During these past few weeks, I'd managed to get familiar with the house and could now freely navigate my way around without Irina's help. It was my home, so I might as well get used to it.

On my way to the kitchen downstairs, I stopped in my tracks at the sound of the doorbell ringing. That was weird. We never had visitors at the mansion—at least none that I was aware of. There was no one else around to answer the door; Irina wasn't home, and Artem's men were all outside, roaming the compound or whatever it was they did to keep watch.

I forfeited my drink for the time being and decided to answer the door. Once I opened it, a gorgeous, tall woman was standing outside with a little girl in her arms. She had a pretty smile, and I could swear that I recognized her. But from where? She glued her dark, serene eyes on me, and her black hair shimmered in the sunlight. The baby girl in her arms was around maybe three or four years old. She was so cute, with soft, dark hair styled at the top of her head. Both mother and child were smiling at me, and I couldn't resist doing the same.

"Hey, Sierra, how are you?" the woman asked with a friendly tone, as though we were already acquainted.

Oh, she knows my name. Perfect.

"Uhm…" I drawled lazily.

"You don't remember me, do you?" she asked.

I'm afraid I don't.

I couldn't tell her that, though. I didn't want to sound rude or anything.

"We met at the wedding," she said, searching my eyes, waiting for the realization to kick in, but sadly, it never did.

She was a complete stranger to me. Even if we had met at my wedding, there was no way that I would have remembered her, considering how disoriented I was that day. Although, peering closely at her, she did look a lot like….

"I'm Artem's sister," she declared. "Kara Tarasov."

Holy shit!

This was not a good first impression—well, second impression, if we count the first encounter at the wedding, which was still vague in my head, by the way.

"Oh, my God, I am so sorry," I said, meaning every single word.

My sister-in-law wasn't someone I should've forgotten all so easily. But wait, why didn't I remember meeting her at the wedding? Guess I was way more fucked up than I had thought.

"Please, come on in," I said, stepping away from the entrance.

"Thank you," she replied, walking into the house.

The kid was staring at me, giggling and waving. Her smile was so cute that it melted my heart.

"Hey, baby girl," I said, leaning close to play with her, but she left her mother and slipped into my arms. "Ohh." I laughed at the sudden move.

"She likes you," Kara said, taking a seat in the living room. "Which is weird because she's usually reserved around strangers—not that you're a stranger, I mean, you're my brother's wife— you get the point, don't you?"

"I get it." I chuckled at the way Kara expressed herself, trying not to hurt my feelings. It felt good, and although she looked a lot like Artem, she was the exact opposite of him. She was friendly, funny, and easygoing. I'd just officially met her, but I already liked her.

"You're very pretty," the girl said, playing with my hair.

I smiled, looking at her cheerful face. "Well, thank you. You're very pretty, too."

Her cheeks turned red, and her eyes sparkled like diamonds.

"What's your name, honey?" I asked her.

"Zoya," she replied.

"Zoya, I'm Sierra."

"I know, you're Uncle Artem's wife!" she declared, her tone laced with joy.

"It's like the Mary Celeste in here," Kara said. "Where's everyone? Where's my brother?"

I sat on the couch next to her and set Zoya on my lap while she braided my hair. "Artem isn't home. He's barely around—sometimes for days." I exhaled softly. "Irina says it's the nature of his work, and I get it."

Kara looked at me for a second. "You miss him, don't you?"

Her question caught me off guard, and as much as I tried to deny it, deep down, I knew that there was a part of me that did miss him.

"You don't have to answer that," she said with a cocky grin on her face.

I saw a glimpse of Artem's face in hers; she was basically the female version of him.

"He's not that bad, you know," Kara said. "My brother has his flaws, but I can assure you that he's a good person."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, gradually becoming overwhelmed under the weight of this sad reality of mine.

"Because you're his wife now," she answered. "How you see him matters a lot if this marriage is gonna work." She leaned forward. "I know what you're thinking: You both started off on the wrong foot. The events that led to this moment aren't exactly filled with joy and bliss, but there's hope for a better future for you two; trust me."

"You sound so sure about it," I said, a little curious to know her reasons.

"That's because I am." Kara relaxed on the couch. "I know my brother more than anyone else. He's changing around you."

My brows knitted in confusion. "I'm not sure I understand what you're saying."

"Okay." Kara sat upright, the plush leather couch crunching under her weight. "I'm positive no one has told you this, but Artem wasn't always like this, you know—evil, cold, and ruthless," she began. "Just like every villain in a movie, my brother has a story that made him the monster he is today."

She had my attention now, and my curiosity was piqued.

"Artem had it rough growing up, especially because he was the heir to the Tarasov Bratva. Believe me, that's not an easy task; the crown is fucking heavy, and he had to prepare for that. To do so, my brother was starved of love; all he knew was violence, death, and destruction. It was a part of the job." She paused, allowing her words to sink in before continuing, "It went on for years; then, everything changed when he met this girl, Jade."

I watched as a smile played on Kara's lips as she mentioned the girl's name.

"Jade was a lot like you, Sierra: beautiful, so full of life…the exact opposite of my brother." She sighed. "And when he fell for her, Artem grew sloppy. He let his affection for Jade affect his training. I don't blame him." Kara shrugged her shoulders. "The young man didn't know what love was, so when he found it, he held on to it and almost forgot his training. It didn't last long, though; an enemy of the Bratva, Martinez Gonzalez, found out my brother's weakness, and he had her killed."

My heart skipped a beat, lurching at the thought of everything that poor girl had gone through. But a bigger part of me was afraid for my life now that I knew the last woman he'd loved was a target for his enemies; my stomach turned, leaving a sick tinge in the back of my throat.

"She died in Artem's arms, and he blamed himself for her death," Kara said. "My brother wasn't the same again ever since that incident. He vowed to be ruthless, to never feel love again, and when he found Martinez Gonzalez, he struck him countless times with a sword and didn't stop until the man's head was completely dismembered from his body."

The bastard got what he deserved for killing an innocent girl , I thought to myself.

The story didn't paint Artem as a monster, even though his method was certainly monstrous. For the first time, I saw a window into his past, and I had a little understanding of why he was who he was. Not that I could ignore all he'd done to me.

"Ever since that day, my brother became the devil reincarnate. His name sent shivers down the spine of his enemies—and not the fun kind of shivers. They became petrified, and everyone in the criminal underworld knew not to mess with him," Kara continued. "My brother became cold and ruthless, brutal to his enemies and merciless to anyone unfortunate enough to witness any of his dealings. No witnesses. He'd never left a single one until he met you."

"Why me, though?" I asked, not that I was ungrateful or anything; I was just curious.

"I'm not sure," she said, shaking her head. "But the fact that he spared your life is proof that he's not all that bad. He's not the monster you think he is." She looked me dead in the eye. "That soft side of him is still in there somewhere, Sierra. As his wife, if you can find it, I can guarantee you you'll be the happiest woman on Earth. Trust me, I know what I'm saying."

I felt so light, like a heavy burden had been lifted off of me, and I was glad that Kara was kind enough to share this with me. But the question remained, lingering on the fringes of my mind: Does he care about me?

Just then, the front door opened, and Artem walked in. Zoya, who'd been playing with my hair, hopped off my lap and ran up to him. "Uncle Artem!"

"Zoya, hey!" He spread out his arms, his face radiating with a smile I'd never seen him wear before. It was so genuine that it almost seemed out of place.

My brows rose reflexively at this shocking sight.

Wow, you don't see that every day.

"How's my baby girl doing?" He whisked her into the air as she laughed.

"I'm great!" she said with a giggle. "Your wife is so pretty!"

Artem turned in my direction, and my God , he was so handsome with that smile spreading across his face. "She is, isn't she?"

I was staring at him, unable to recognize the brutal man that I'd married.

I wished he'd be in this mood all the time. I wished I could bring out this part of him, just as Zoya had so effortlessly done.

My eyes were glued to him, and I couldn't look away.

"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer," he teased me, noticing the shock in my gaze.

He knows some jokes, too. Wow.

" Now you show up." Kara rose to her feet. "I've been waiting for you."

"What is it? Is there a problem?" He walked into the room with Zoya in his arms.

"Well, that depends on your definition of problem ."

"I don't like where this is going."

"Relax, big guy, I just need a favor."

"Still don't like where this is going."

I didn't think this part of him existed, and it was amazing watching him act like a normal person for the first time.

"Can you take care of Zoya for me?" Kara asked. "My husband and I are going on a trip to Paris."

"A romantic getaway. Nice," I chipped in, mirroring her smile as she high-fived me.

"Oh, shit," Artem exclaimed softly. "Irina is on sick leave, and I don't—"

Before I could think things through, I was cutting in. "I'll take care of Zoya while she's away."

He paused, surprise flickering in his gaze as he glanced at me.

"We'll have a good time together, won't we, Zoya?" I stretched out my hand, and she left Artem's arms, sliding into mine.

"You'd do that?" Kara asked, pleased to hear my proposal.

"Yes," I said, playing with the girl in my hold. "I used to babysit my younger brother all the time. I've got this."

Artem peered at his sister, and she shrugged her shoulders. Dropping her voice to a whisper, she muttered, "I trust her enough," though I heard her anyway.

"So?" I asked Artem, who was still a little skeptical.

"Fine," he finally agreed.

"Okay, it's settled, then," Kara announced with a single clap. "Thank you, Sierra. I owe you one."

I couldn't help matching her warm grin.

At least now I had someone to keep me company in Artem's absence.