13. No worry
2100 Words
Wendy POV
Yesterday was disastrous, and even though we did not lose any of our men, it was still intense. I made it out with two gunshot wounds and a black eye, but hey, could have been a lot worse. The Winston brothers and Adrien stayed away, thank God, but I know they now suspect my involvement in the mafia.
They can't know the truth, not yet. I have to come up with a probable plan to keep them unaware; if the truth comes out before I'm married, then we're all screwed. My marriage is part of a business deal and maintains peace in the city; it is impossible if the war has already begun.
I have my priorities straight and already know who they are; keep my family safe, and it also includes the Winston Family. Adrien has been a part of my family for as long as I can remember, and given that he's with Jaxon, he's also a part of their family. He will always be safe.
Brody and Jaxon can take care of themselves; this has been proven by them repeatedly. Adrien won't get involved no matter what happens, Damien, on the other hand... He can become a problem because he is the weak link in this situation. Not that I don't think he can protect himself and others, no.
But because his feelings for me can put him in trouble, that is not his responsibility to solve. What he's going to focus on is our children's safety and future; I'm doing just fine on my own. But I'm sure you can understand for yourselves how significant the problems can be...
Anyone who has ever loved someone the way I love Damien, you also understand how great the need is to protect that person. If he puts himself in danger of protecting me, it will be a massive danger because I will have to defend him, and then I lose focus.
Which, in turn, can cause my death, and I prefer to avoid it if I can. I have neither the desire nor the time to die; there are many more things I want to do before it's time for me to leave mortality. Besides, my kids need me for a few more years, or well, you never stop needing your mom, really.
I want to help my daughter pick out a wedding dress, hold the triplets' children in my arms, invite the family home for Thanksgiving, buy Christmas presents and watch as my grandchildren tear down the Christmas tree. None of these things I can attend if I'm dead, which is what drives me forward.
It's a bit comical anyway that just a few days ago, the Winston brothers and my best friend thought I was an innocent angel in a world full of demons. They should only know how much trouble I've caused in the last six months, ha! What's not funny is that I've been shot three times in less than a week.
However, I have no right to complain, given that I myself have squeezed into a life that I a few years ago did everything to avoid. This is my destiny and has been since before I was born; the underground I was born into neither I want it nor not.
You can never escape such a world when you have such a father as I have. He's a Novak, and Novak's are famous in our world. Ivan Novak, the fearless and deadly mob boss that you either fear or wish you were. That's my daddy y'all! It feels strange to call him "daddy" though...
My phone rings again, I don't know how many times it's happened just this hour; it's the brothers and Adrien harassing me with calls. They want to know what was going on yesterday and what involvement I have in their world, none of the questions I can answer without telling everything.
Therefore, I continue to ignore the calls and focus on my work. The kids are homeschooled for now, which allows me to work longer today in the office to catch up. Paula, my assistant, has notified me of their call she received as well. I've asked her to tell them that I'm busy, working.
Thankfully, they have stopped calling Paula and let her work in peace; if only I had the same luck to do son... Despite the drama of the last few days, I get a lot done. Documents are signed, applications are sent away, calls are answered. Everything's going well, until Paula talks to me on our intercom.
"Miss Ivanovich, there are four business associates here asking for you."
"Who is it?"
"The Winston company, miss."
I groan and rub my face. Of course, they cannot take the hint, but absolutely must come to my workplace to get answers to questions that I will not answer anyway. Why won't they leave it? I sigh, press the intercom button and say;
"You can lead them in here, also, I need a refill of my coffee."
"Yes, miss."
I busy myself reviewing the document I'm half done with while I wait for them to come in. My assistant is not on the same floor as me, because I prefer peace and quiet with zero people around; it's just me up here. Sometimes she is placed here if a lot is going on. A knock on the door and then they enter.
"Haven't your parents taught you to knock, wait for answers before opening the door and stepping inside?" I ask without looking up from my papers.
"Wow, your work face isn't nearly as friendly as your regular one. You're straight down scary right now," Adrien says with wide eyes.
"Well, I guess that's what happens when some -," I say, adding extra weight to the last word. "do not understand that when I do not answer, then I'm busy."
"Bullshit, you're avoiding us because you know we demand answers," Brody says grinning, sitting in the armchair opposite me.
"Oh my God! You've cracked the code!" I exclaim in faked surprise and put my hand dramatically over my chest. "I've never been so proud of you! I always knew you were destined to understand those dark powers that reside within me."
Brody and Adrien start laughing while Jaxon says, " Hey!" as if I've just smashed his entire existence to pieces. He is not angry, however, but understands very well that we are joking with him. I indicate that they can sit down, and Paula comes in with a new coffee cup for me.
"Thank you, Paula. Can you rearrange the four o'clock meeting for me till tomorrow?"
"Of course, miss Ivanovich. Do you need me more on this floor today?"
"Thank you, and no, in fact why don't you go home early today. I can handle these annoying gentlemen on my own," I say and smile to her while Adrien snorts.
She leaves the room and closes the door behind her. I sip my coffee and look at the men I have in front of me. To be extremely curious and wanting answers, they are uncommunicative. One of my eyebrows moves upwards, and Damien clears his throat to start talking. Here we go!
"What happened to the Ravellie's? There is no way that you don't have connections to people like us to cope with such a thing," says Damien and studies me carefully.
"What do you want me to say? I'm not a poor woman, and I have access to a telephone directory just like everyone else. The only thing I needed to know was who I was going to call, and poof the problem was solved," I respond dramatically, rolling my eyes in the hope that he buys it.
"Okay, if this is true. Who did you call?"
I make a tsk tsk tsk sound at him and laugh straight out. Does he really think I'm going to tell that easy? I may be a beginner in this world, but I also know the rules. As in the business world, it is about services and favors.
"Come on, Damien. You if anyone should know that it is classified information that no one but me and the person I called knows about. If I tell you or someone else, I get a bullet in my forehead, and I have plans to live a long life, " I answer confidently, but I feel the sweat running down my back.
"You can trust me, hell, you can trust us."
"It's not about trust and you know that as well as I do. The rules of your world are tough when it comes to business, which is why I'm not going to open my mouth either. If the information comes out is not only me in danger, but also our children, why should I expose them to that?"
"To teach me a lesson," he responds bitterly through clenched teeth.
"Do you think seriously that I would put our children at risk, just for petty revenge?"I ask in a outrageous tone. "Why would I lie to you or to any of you for that matter? Just because you lied to me doesn't mean I automatically have to do the same in return."
I'm so f*****g lying right now, but they can't know the truth. Because even though I got my revenge, that doesn't mean I've put my kids in danger when I did. Instead of calling others who did the work for me, I took care of it myself and thus kept the children outside.
At least Damien has the sense to look ashamed. I neither like nor want to lie to them, but the losses can be too significant if they know the truth and interfere in my plan. We can lose our children, our family, and everything we hold dear unless I get to do this as I planned to the smallest detail.
"Please, Damien. Have I ever lied to you, or to any of you about important things?" I ask and look around at them all.
Damien looks at his brothers and Adrien, who all shake their heads slowly. He knows it's a dead-end and that he has no more arguments to come up with that can make me answer who I "called." Damien sighs and even shakes his head at the end.
"I guess not, I'm just nog comfortable with you having secrets from us. We want to protect you, but we can't do that if we don't know what's happening."
"Honestly, think about it; how has the job of protecting me gone so far?" I say and Adrien gasps.
I know it's a low blow, but I don't know what else to say that can make them dissent. They can't interfere! If I have to hurt them and make them hate me for them to stay away, then so be it. At least they can hate me in safety.
"That's a low blow," Damien says with pain written all over his face.
"Yes, it is, but it's also the truth. Isn't it?" I ask and give him a pointed look. "Now, if you gentleman are quite finished. I have work to do."
They get up and walk towards the door. Just before Damien walks out, he gives me a disappointed look that makes me swallow hard. The door closes, and it's not until I hear the elevator go down that I let the tears fall. Hate me, please, do it! Everything will be more accessible if you do...
A/N:
Hello everyone!
This chapter was a little tough for both Wendy and the others. I don't think they understand how hard this is for her to do, and that's the point.
* What did you think about the choices she made?
* Do you like the banter she usually have with the brothers?
* Was she too hard on them?
* Did she make the right choice?
Please, let me know your thoughts! Lots of love!<3
Follow me for updates;
FB: Dreame author Linnea Heikka
Insta: author_linneaheikka
- Writer
