Chapter 24 - Raisa

My life is feeling less and less controlled lately. Oleg has been generously letting me leave the property as long as I take one of the security guards with me. He let me go for a run the other night and today he has agreed to let Anya take me out shopping once I am finished with the few chapters I want to study this morning.

Things have been so perfect between Oleg and myself and I have finally given up trying to fight the way I feel for him. Of course, I haven’t exactly told him how I feel either—for now I am just enjoying it—maybe even starting to feel hopeful for our future together.

But I don’t want to talk to him about it yet because I don’t want to have to face the reality of him possibly telling me he doesn’t feel the same way. It would be heartbreaking—and I need to prepare for something like that.

I scribble a few notes down in my notebook about the muscles of the heart and then drop my pen down onto the paper. I need to go shower. Anya will be here soon.

On my study desk, my laptop chimes loudly.

An incoming video call from Ruslana. My little sister calls me a few times a week and keeps me up to date with what is happening at home. She isn’t involved in any of the business stuff, but she tells me who is bickering with who and any funny stories and basically just all the things I need to stay up to date with my brothers and their shenanigans.

I love talking to her and I’m excited because Oleg said I can buy her some gifts when I told him I was missing her. So, today when I go shopping, I’ll be choosing things for her too.

I flick the answer button on my keyboard and her face fills my screen.

“Ruslana,” I say happily.

“Raisa—wow—you look really pretty today.”

I reach up and touch my hair. “What do you mean?” I ask, knowing I haven’t even showered yet.

“I don’t know. You’re just glowing. Like you got a new tan or something. Have you been in the sun?”

“Not really.” I laugh.

Talking to her is easy. It’s always a free-flowing conversation, easily moving from one topic to the next.

We chat for about thirty minutes before she has to go. Renat just got back from the shops with some food and they are shouting for her to come and make lunch. She rolls her eyes in annoyance and leans backward to shout out of her bedroom door. “I’m coming now. Stop being so impatient.”

I laugh. “Gosh. They still aren’t cooking for themselves?”

“Well, they take pretty good care of me—so I guess it’s the least I can do to take care of them.” She grins. “But don’t tell them I don’t mind doing it. It’s more fun that they think they are annoying me.”

We say goodbye just as Anya messages me to say she’s on her way.

Shit. I have to shower and get ready. I hate feeling rushed because then I panic and forget things.

I rush around the bedroom after my shower. Tossing my clothes all over the place while I search for my jeans. Finally, finding them, I pull them on and through the bedroom door from down stairs I hear Anya saying a loud and friendly hello to Oleg.

I hope he can delay her for five minutes.

I pull a little white t-shirt on and brush my hair, pinning it in a high bun. I grab my sneakers and run down stairs carrying them and my socks.

“I won’t be long,” I call out, sitting on one of the middle steps. Anya peeks around the corner to look at me. “Hey girl, there is no rush,” she grins.

But I’m excited, and eager to get going. I can’t even remember the last time I had a day out with a friend—and shopping is relaxing and fun. I’ve been looking forward to this ever since she mentioned it.

The mall isn’t too busy because it’s the middle of the week. We roam around from shop to shop with the two bodyguards following us, looking bored out of their minds.

At one point, we try to convince them to go have a coffee and give us some space—but they glare at us, reminding us that Oleg will have their heads if they take their eyes off us for even a minute.

But we really want to go to the lingerie shop and two men tagging along doesn’t seem right. I am not that comfortable with them so I want to browse lace and suspenders while they watch.

Anya leans close to me and whispers, “the shop opposite us—the dressing room has two exits. If we have them waiting outside the one—we can slip out the other.”

I feel my heart race a little. I know Oleg gave us both a very serious lecture before we left the house, insisting that at no point do we go too far from the bodyguards—but the thrill of misbehaving a little has my blood pumping. All I’ve been doing lately is studying and being good. It’s definitely time for a little bit of innocent fun.

We walk into the shop and both of us grab some random items and walk towards the change rooms. The body guards take a seat on the sofa outside the left side entrance, prepared to wait for however long it takes.

Anya and I walk straight through the changing rooms, dropping off the clothes at the right-side exit. We peak across the store to where the body guards are sitting—oblivious to what we have done.

Anya grabs my hand and pulls me towards the shop doors in a hurry.

We make it out into the mall, both laughing, running away from the shop and the bodyguards.

“It gets a bit much,” Anya sighs, slowing down to a normal speed. “Having them around all the time.”

“It does. And I really don’t want them watching me choosing lacy undies.”

She giggles and we walk towards the lingerie shop, which is just the other side of the food court.

We are laughing and joking and so caught up in the moment that I get the fright of my life when I walk straight into Rad. My heart is pounding heavily when I look up at him in shock.

He chuckles, grabbing my shoulders as our eyes lock. My heart sinks when I see who is with him.

Rad and Rodion. What are the chances that two of my brothers would be here at the mall today?

“Raisa,” Rodion says in surprise. “I definitely didn’t expect to see you here.”

But he isn’t even looking at me. His eyes are locking onto Anya.

“Um. Anya, this is Rodion. And this is Rad. My brothers.”

Anya nods. “I know who they are,” she says with distaste, glaring back at Rodion as hard as he is glaring at her.

What the hell is wrong with him? He’s being so weird.

I’ve never seen Rodion look at someone that way.

I feel an urgent need to distract him.

“Rodion—how are you?” I say, feeling worry creeping into my bones because he doesn’t stop watching her.

My biggest concern is that my brothers want revenge against Oleg and his family for taking me and that Rodion might be planning to take Anya now that the opportunity has presented itself.

I wouldn’t put it past him. I know what he is capable of and I know he’s still pissed off with Oleg for forcing me into a marriage—even though I have been very insistent that I chose it.

Rodion doesn’t even seem to realize that I asked him a question. So I punch him in the shoulder. “Hey. I asked how you are.”

“Fine.” He growls, his eyes piercing into Anya.

Fuck. This is bad.

Ok.

I need to do something to defuse this situation—and I need to do it fast.

Otherwise, before I know it my brothers will have Anya and I in the back of their car and I’ll be headed back home with them instead of to Oleg—where I actually want to be. Strange how that has changed. Not too long ago I would have been over the moon for this opportunity to escape.

I turn towards Anya.

“Dammit, Anya, I think I left my wallet on the counter at the other shop,” I say to her, trying to give her the signal with my eyes.

“Oh. I mean—it should still be there. We can go grab it if we are quick. I’m sure the shop assistant noticed and is keeping it safe.”

I turn towards my brothers again to say goodbye.

“It was good to see you—“ I say to Rodion and Rad. But Rodion shakes his head. “We’ll walk with you. We were headed that way anyway.” Not that I have even told them which way we were going. I sigh heavily.

But if my plan works then they will follow us right back to where the security guards are waiting and then Anya will be safe. That’s all I am worried about right now.

A heavy feeling churns in my stomach as we walk back the way we came from. I am trying to act calm and casual, but anxiety is building.

Anya walks close to my side, not out of fear, but because she seems to be trying to move away from Rodion, who is walking so close to her, he is practically on top of her. What the hell, Rodion? I glare at him, but he isn’t paying any attention to me at all.

Even if he wants to kidnap her for revenge—he doesn’t need to make it so creepy and obvious. I roll my eyes. Brothers are so annoying .

We are getting closer to the store where we lost the security guards when we see both of them marching towards us, looking pretty angry about us getting the upper hand.

I grin, knocking Anya with my elbow. Playing along with our original goal of losing them—but I think she wanted to find them again just as much as I did.

She giggles and Rodion’s eyes flare towards her.

“Dammit, I thought we lost them for good,” she laughs.

“Me too. We did such a good maneuver.” Both of us are trying to make light of the situation. Even though we both know we just dodged something.

The security guards step up to us, standing close when they see my brothers following.

“Ladies, are you enjoying yourselves—is everything alright here?” One of the guards asks, eyeing my brothers.

“Everything’s great. We just bumped into my family.” I smile, friendly and relaxed.

Rodion’s fists are clenching at his side. His jaw is clamped so tight I can see the muscles feathering along it. Rad has been quiet this whole time. He also seems pretty focused on Rodion. Perhaps waiting for a signal. Perhaps wondering why he is acting so weird.

Anya turns towards my brother, glaring at him, looking right up at him as though he wasn’t almost twice her size. She looks fierce.

“Nice to see you. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day,” she says, not too friendly—definitely more of a warning for him to step back.

“It was nice to see you too Anya,” Rodion says her name, letting it roll from his lips as though he was tasting it. I sigh with annoyance. He can stop being weird now. His plan is ruined. The security guards are with us.

I pull him into a quick hug. Then Rad, too.

“Bye, guys,” I say, grabbing Anya’s arm and dragging her away because now she’s glaring at Rodion and things feel like they are heating up instead of calming down.

The bodyguards stand firm, their eyes on my brothers while we build distance between us. Then they turn to follow, neither of them keen to let their guard down.

Once we are safely inside the car, I breathe a sigh of relief. That was so fucking intense. I don’t know if I read too much into it—because that was the first time I’ve really seen my brothers in ages—but it was too tense.

I was genuinely scared of what they wanted to do to Anya.

“Jeez. Your oldest brother is a little crazy,” Anya sighs loudly, leaning back against the car seat.

“Sorry about that. I think he’s still a bit upset about everything.”

“He’s got one hell of a stare.”

“I know. He can be really intimidating. I’m glad nothing happened, though.”

“Me too. Sheesh.”

We drive back home to Oleg’s house, and Anya strides inside, announcing that we need to make cocktails because our shopping trip was cut short.

Oleg is out at the warehouse, so Anya and I take over the kitchen and start putting together some pretty watermelon cocktails splashed with lemon.

She seems to have completely forgotten about the awkward incident with my brothers by the time Oleg gets home—and for that I am very grateful because I am not sure how to explain everything to him. Especially seeing as it all happened when we snuck away from the guards.

Anya stays for dinner. She is a little tipsy and we are having fun, but the entire time I am waiting for her to mention that my brothers were at the mall—and I want to avoid that. So, for the entire dinner I struggle to really relax properly.

When Anya leaves, Oleg pulls me close.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, holding me against him.

“I’m just tired. It was a long day.” I smile up at him.

“Well, let’s go to bed then. I can help you relax and fall asleep easily.”

He scoops me into his arms and carries me upstairs.