But Dmitry kept his cool for the moment. There was no way that he was going to let this little government shit get under his skin in his own house.
“
Other
relationships
are not relevant at this time. I assume that this agreement will not be documented,” Dmitry said, waiting with his hand on the phone.
“
No. Completely undocumented. Wouldn’t want this to be exposed on a Wiki-leaks document, now would we?” Langston asked rhetorically while raising his hands. “I think that after you make
that
call, we’re all done here. You and I go back to
not
knowing each other.”
“
Not so fucking fast. Once I make
this
call, you’re going to make all of your calls from
this
room. It will all be done now, or none of it is done period. You must have forgotten who you are dealing with. You don’t just walk into my house and throw down orders. Daughter or not, wife or not, I’ll have your fucking heads.
All three of you.
And I’ll take them myself,” Dmitry ordered, pointing at Langston. His voice was still calm and low. The unnatural serenity of it made his threat even more alarming. “I don’t trust you, and you don’t trust me. Let’s not pretend to be friends. It goes against the code to even work with the government, but since you hold the very key to the door between me and my blood, I’ll deal with those consequences later.”
Royal looked at Dmitry and realized that he would be putting his own life in danger with the call that he was about to make, but he did it anyway because he loved their daughter. Yet again he put his life on the line for them without so much as flinching.
“
Thank you,” she said aloud before she knew it to her husband.
Everyone in the room looked at her. It was obvious even during this very awkward moment how much the couple actually cared for each other and mutual respect that they held for one another.
Dmitry looked at her with a loving gaze in his eyes and then nodded. Dialing the number, he stood in front of them all, confirmed the dictator’s impending arrival and put out a hit on the entire Berkovich convoy once they were in the country, but just to make sure, he also sent a team to the man’s home country. When he ended the call, he walked over and bent down, handing the phone to Langston.
His breath brushed against Langston’s skin like a lion on his prey right before the feast.
They looked each other in the eyes-words passing in silence. It was evident at that very moment how much both of them loathed each other and under other circumstances how they might do each other serious bodily harm,
but
the present situation prohibited anything short of compliance on both of their parts.
“
Make the calls,” Dmitry said menacingly, “or none of you will leave here alive.” He didn’t blink. The lines in his face were evident in his dark scowl as he gripped the phone hard enough to crush it between his meaty fingers.
The men on either side of Langston looked first at Dmitry and then each other. The gall of the man simply baffled them, but it was his stare that sent a chill down their spines.
Dmitry was dead serious and capable of fulfilling the promise with only the snap of his fingers. After all, they were in his layer now, far from home and completely outmanned. No government could save them if things got out of control, and they were here unofficially. At most they would be a star on a wall, and they might not warrant that.
Langston took the phone reluctantly and smirked. “It must be lonely up there at the top,” he said, raising the phone to his ear. He paused. “Is this a clean patch?” He didn’t show an ounce of outward worry about the threat. He had after all been making deals with devils like Dmitry for many years.
“
You know it is,” Dmitry answered without flinching. He caught Langston’s eyes scan both of the guns in his holsters. With a devious smile, Dmitry titled his head.
“
The only thing that I
know
is that you are seriously invading my private space.” Langston dialed the first number and sat back. His voice became more authoritative on the call. “Yes, this is Agent Langston from the Central Intelligence Agency, get Agent Lee on the phone for me
now
,” he said, pursing his lips at Dmitry.
Chapter 17
Renee could barely breathe. Holding her chest for a minute, she gathered her wits about herself after what she had witnessed with her own eyes. The CIA knew about her baby. They knew about her. It was the most absurd thing that she had ever heard in her life. Most bad boys, if they were lucky, made the FBI’s most wanted list but her boyfriend had gone straight to the top. And while she should have known that she was under surveillance simply because of her relationship, she never imagined that every point in her mostly boring life was probably going down in some secret agent’s log book.
The thought made her dizzy.
She only had one parking ticket in her life, in essence making her an absolute nobody in the larger criminal element, but the company she kept… Good grief.
Quietly, she and Briggy cooked breakfast for everyone side-by-side without saying a word. Only the sound of food burning on the oven could be heard echoing throughout the airy kitchen. Vasily sat in the corner of the kitchen on a stoop watching them and reading a newspaper - never leaving their side as he had been assigned by Anatoly- but wishing that he could be anywhere but there. His presence didn’t even register with Renee, because she had become so used to him as permanent fixture in her life, but Briggy couldn’t help but look over at him, brooding in the corner like a regular wise guy.
Every once in a while, Briggy would look across at Renee and smile gently, but inwardly she was waiting on Renee to open up about her secret.
The idea of giving birth to Anatoly’s child consumed the both of them. Renee seemed to grapple with the fact that it was actually happening while Briggy thought about the fact that it could have easily happened to her. Though she was certain that the entire outcome would have been dramatically different. For one thing, Anatoly would have likely asked her to have an abortion.
As they whipped a large bowl of eggs to go with the large meal of bacon, pancakes, French toast and fruit that they had to prepare for everyone in the house, Royal came barging into the kitchen.
“
Renee,” Royal said, walking up to her. Taking the bowl out of her hand, she led her to the chair closest to them and made her sit down. “Why didn’t you tell anyone about the baby?”
Briggy stopped cooking and turned to watch, hoping for an answer as well. She looked over at the two women talking an then involuntarily at Vasily, who kept his eyes on the newspaper, even though she knew that he was listening to every word.
Renee shook her head emphatically. “I honestly didn’t think that now was the time to share something like that. Anya had just been kidnapped and I doubted that you felt like celebrating.”
“
Do you really think that I’m that selfish?” Royal asked offended. She frowned and put her hand to her chest. “This isn’t about
celebrating
. This is about recognizing the fact that you
are
pregnant. This is about helping take care of you during
your
time of need also.” Royal threw her hands up. “If I have learned anything else about this family, I’ve learned that all we have is each other.” Her heart beat fast against her chest as she finished and her hands shook, clammy from all the ruckus this morning.
Renee felt her lip quiver at just the acknowledgement that she was in this with more than just
herself
and that she was truly apart of this family, no matter how screwed up it was.
Anatoly had never offered more to her than the title of girlfriend, and before that had not bothered her, but now it just didn’t seem like enough. However, thinking about that could send her spiraling down a myriad of deep-seeded emotions, so she chose to quickly box it up and not think of it again.
Royal took her friend’s hand in her own and put it on her face. “Renee,” she said lovingly, her eyes full of conviction. “You’re carrying my grandchild.” A wide smile pulled at her full lips.
Briggy’s brow rose with amusement.
The three ladies couldn’t help but giggle together at the cleverness of Royal’s statement. It was funny how such an obvious thought said in just the right way could change a mood from solemn to happy.
Renee, for one, had never thought of things that way. She was carrying a Medlov, Anatoly’s first son, Dmitry’s first grandson. There was something suddenly awesome about that. She wiped the tear from her eye and laughed aloud.
“
Yeah, I guess I am,” she chuckled.
Royal corrected herself quickly. “Well,
technically
he or she will be my step-grandchild, but
we
don’t believe in those kinds of titles. In this house, you’re either a Medlov or you’re not.”
That statement hit Briggy right in the middle of her stomach. She felt her diaphragm leap. While she loved Gabriel, and he loved her, there was nothing tying them together. Royal had a marriage and Renee had a baby. All she had was his graciousness. But the moment he decided to stop being gracious, she might find herself booted out of this tight circle of intriguing people. Briggy hoped against hope at that moment quietly that Gabriel wouldn’t wait too long to ask the question that she longed to hear.
Marry me, Gabriel,
she thought to herself.
Make me a Medlov, too.
Tears ran down Renee’s face, but she couldn’t help but smile. Instinctively, she ran a hand over her flat stomach, giving small acknowledgement to the small being inside of her. “I really needed to hear that,” she admitted in a hoarse voice, pulling together her composure. “I had just found out Monday afternoon about the baby, and when I came home to tell Ana, he wasn’t there.
Then
when he got home and found out, it wasn’t what I expected. Now, I don’t even know if he wants it.
Imagine that
.”
Royal could relate. She knew her stepson well, but she also knew the good side of him that he fought hard to conceal. “Anatoly can be a real prick sometimes, but I’ve seen him with Anya, and I can tell you that he’s going to make a wonderful father.”
Royal’s vote of confidence warmed Renee’s heart.
“
I sure hope so,” Renee said, outwardly cheering up. Suddenly, things didn’t seem so dark and gloomy.
Hope had entered the equation. She felt like trying again – trying to reach Ana in her own way and trying to keep this relationship going between the two of them.
However, Briggy looked over at Royal with a knowing stare. Renee was too busy in her own thoughts to see. But Royal instantly picked up on it.
No one was sure if Anatoly had ever told Renee that he had dated Briggy for a short time, but inwardly Briggy could attest to the fact that Anatoly could most definitely be a
prick
. However, he also had never once given a woman as much of himself as he had given to Renee. He did it freely and openly without explanation or hesitation. Because of that Briggy was entranced with the woman.
What did she have that the rest of them didn’t?
For Briggy, she was happy for Renee and desperately in love with Gabriel, but still the question lingered. Why her? Why another black woman?
Royal looked over at Briggy and for the first time remembered her short relationship with Anatoly. Shaking her head no, she quietly told her never to tell her, if Anatoly did not.
“
With that being said, Briggy and I will fix breakfast, and you just sit here and relax,” Royal said, standing when she smelled the food beginning to burn. Running a hand down her skirt to smooth out the wrinkles she had put in it kneeling by Renee, she took a deep breath. Talk about a morning. She wondered if it would ever end.
Breaking up the session, Stepan walked inside of the kitchen with hands full with a service tray and went to pull the bread from the oven.
Briggy turned back to the eggs and scooped them up on to a large plate. Having been a maid for the Medlov’s for years, cooking came natural, and in this capacity, she felt oddly enough more comfortable.
“
I’m fine. Really,” Renee said, standing up also. “I need to make myself useful, Royal. Sitting around is just going to drive me crazy.”
“
Well, I don’t have to tell you what too much stress can do,” Royal said, watching a bodyguard walk past the window above the sink with an AK-47 hoisted on his back. She let out a frustrated sigh and said a quiet quick prayer for Anya. “We’ll just have to hold each other together until this is done.” She looked over at Briggy and raised her brow. “You have anything you need to divulge? Are you and Gabriel expecting too?”
Briggy giggled. “I wish. We talk about it, but no, no news yet.”
“
Well, don’t be surprised if he gets some weird ideas being around here with the men of this family. It seems like if they aren’t making war, they’re making babies,” Royal said, going to the stove beside Briggy.