Tino was standing up in his crib, babbling like he had much to say. "Mama." He pronounced clearly, asking for Zadia.
"Nope, it's just me," Roman said, walking towards him. "You're uncle. You think you can say that?"
"Mama," Tino said again.
Roman picked him up and lifted him so that he was in the air. "No, it's uncle," Roman said, trying to get him to repeat it. "Un—cle." He broke down. Tino stared back at him cluelessly. "Never mind, you'll get it right eventually." Bringing him back down, he threw Tino up again, causing him to giggle. "Aren't you one happy baby today." After doing it one last time, Roman decided to take a seat at the edge of Zadia's bed. Tino gripped his uncle's shoulders as a way to stand and smacked his nose. "Chill you little troll. So damn aggressive." He mumbled and Tino giggled again, pinching his lips with his small fingers. "I'm serious, I'm gonna drop you."
Tino continued to assault his face, finding joy in it. Roman who had enough, blew lightly in his face, startling the baby. "Didn't like it, huh? Now you know how I feel." He teased.
"Leave the poor boy alone," Adam said lightly, standing outside the door. He walked into the bedroom with a smile on his face.
"You're back early, how'd it go?" Roman asked and then stood up, suddenly remembering the baby monitor was on. He shut it off and placed Tino on the ground so he could play with whatever was near.
"It took tons of convincing, but he eventually agreed to back the story," Adam explained. "We've just got to forward everything to him by the end of the week. He plans on doing his little investigation as well."
"That's good."
Adams's eyebrows raised. "You don't sound so happy about it."
"I am... it's just Zadia recommended looking into Eliśa medical records. And I couldn't even get through the first page because there was so much shit going on... but I know I've got to read it."
Adam looked at him concerned. "Maybe you shouldn't. If you know it's gonna... upset you, then maybe it's not the best thing to do at the moment." He said. "If you want, I'll look it over and find what we need."
Roman shook his head. "She's my sister, I'll handle it."
Adam bit the inside of his lips. "You know you shouldn't blame yourself... for any of this right?"
"You know that bowling alley we've got in the east?" Roman asked, changing the subject. Adam nodded. "I want to use the profit from there and wire it to an off-the-record account for Zadia and Abel. I was also hoping that you could find a place near the beach or something in Mexico of course, where they could stay just in case things go sideways."
"That sounds nice of you. Are you sure that's something you want to do, especially from the... bowling alley?" Adam asked, already knowing the trouble Roman had coming his way if he agreed.
Roman nodded. "I've been thinking about it since last night, and I'm sure it's what I want to do. You think you can do it?"
"It could take some time, but yeah. I'm sure I can pull it off. How are you going to explain this to you know who?" Out of all the places they used to wash money, the bowling alley was the easiest. It was also one of the few places owned by Roman's family.
With a big sigh, Roman bit lips. "I don't know, but I know he's not gonna be happy about it. He's gonna have my balls."
"Well, I'm sure he'll understand... especially if you told him about the situation with Eliśa and Santino."
Roman looked over at Tino, who was using the nightstand to stand. "He's my brother Adam, I know him better than he knows himself. He won't care... at all. That's just how our family is... cold-hearted and stubborn." Roman said, but deep down inside, he knew it was only a matter of time before he would get a phone call from his little brother and he would be ready to deal with the outcome.
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