Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.
-Anthony Brandt
Ryan's Pov:
I walk downstairs for breakfast in my sweatpants. I didn't bother to shave or comb my hair and I didn't care if I looked like a slob. Seating myself at the oak dining table, the room falls silent as all eyes fall on my unkempt appearance.
"What the hell-"
My father raises his hand to stop Alexander as he rises from the chair in anger. I look up to their faces with disinterest, my cousin doesn't bother to hide the displeasure on his face but my father's face does not change. Instead he beckons to Gerard who stands at the doorway for further orders.
"Ask Irina to make some sausage omelettes for Ryan."
I nod and reach out for the bread basket, barely hiding my shocked expression. What ever be the reason, my father couldn't and wouldn't stand for anyone looking messy or dirty. It was an etiquette to always be prim and proper
He clears his throat before taking a sip of his black tea, "Now what were you saying?"
Alexander pulls out an envelope from his pocket. "We've gotten another note. We've decided to appoint you a personal bodyguard. This situation has to be dealt with properly and whoever it was managed to paste it to the front door. We should take this threat seriously."
I look up from my piece of buttered toast as he continues, "It's not a matter of you being strong enough. It's just a precaution. Even though we've left that life, I still think you should have a few personal bodyguards."
He sighs and pinches his nose deep in thought. "Fine, I'll have one." He stresses.
"But-"
"No buts, this is the end of the conversation." He stands up and Alex gets up with him. Before he leaves the room, he turns to me and nods.
"Caring? He can barely smile," I mutter to myself as I nibble on my toast.
***
"So tell me-"
"Tell you what?" I ask innocently, lingering round the kitchen, unable to resist the smell of Irina's famous meat pies. She juggles between chores as stirs the pot of beef busily and kneads the dough with amazing dexterity. How women can multitask always amazes me. She offers me the ladle to taste the sauce and I put my thumbs up in approval.
"It's delicious! What do you put in this? What's your secret?"
She whacks my head with the spoon, "You naughty boy! Stop changing the subject. Don't keep things from me." Her fingers squeeze my arms and look at me with tears in her eyes. "She was a keeper, was she not?"
My face falls at the memory.
"She was my world."
Not a day goes by when she hasn't been on my mind. I don't know which I feel more guilty about. Leaving her when she needed me the most or being the cause of her misery for the past few years. She would probably not want to see me again, and I wouldn't blame her for it. Irina silently pulls me into a motherly embrace. "It is okay to miss her."
I used to run accounts of transactions being handled by my family, though I didn't approve of the whole thing, blood is thicker than water. Who else would look after them? It took it upon me to handle all the money, online transactions. Basically
One day as I was going through some files and comparing records, I found an inconsistency with the numbers. They didn't add up. Either there was a mistake, or someone had been stealing money, it started with a few roubles to large amounts.
Weird.
The person in charge of handling the money, no that isn't possible. Is it? He wouldn't dare. It was an unspoken rule that stealing was never tolerated. If someone was discovered stealing, they would be punished. If there was the slightest hint of betrayal, their bodies would never be found. The Lenkovs were big on honesty. "He must've known the repercussions. Maybe this is a mistake." I try convincing myself as I look at the accounts once more and lean back against my chair and sigh.
This will not end well, for anyone. What do I do? I do the most foolish thing possible- I confronted him myself.
Demitri Volkov was a mild mannered kind man, who was a man in his late forties. He was good at his accounts and father trusted him with the money. I figured that it would be best to approach him without anyone else knowing. He was hired only recently and he showed his sincerity through his work.
I check my watch to check the time- he must have left already, but it doesn't hurt to try. I catch a glimpse of him walking out to his car, in quick hurried footsteps. He steals a glance around to see if anyone notices him before slipping into his car.
I get on my bike and quietly follow him, even when he stops at a shop and returns to his car his a heavy suitcase in his hand. I slip out from the shadows, causing him to jump in surprise. "Ryan! W-what are you doing here?" he stutters as he stumbles back in shock.
I raise my eyebrows and motion to the questioningly heavy brown suitcase in his hands, "What's in there?"
His timid face turns into a snarl immediately. "That is none of your business boy!" I conceal my shock as the man who used to be nothing but kind to me, suddenly look like a stranger. It felt so surreal. My fears were becoming reality.
"Please tell me you didn't steal from the business."
His grey eyes widen in shock, "How? You were supposed to find out after I left-"
I shake my head, "Don't tell me you were planning on leaving the country? Father helped you, what do you need? We can help-"
He ruffles his greying hair, "No one can help! They need the money! My family needs it." He walks up and down and then suddenly looks at me with a crazy look in his eyes.
I take a step back, "You leave the money here and I won't tell a soul. No one has to know. You can live peacefully-"
"You can't save me, not when I am swimming in debt." He pulls a revolver out of his trench coat, "This is the only answer." He pulls the safety off and points the gun as me.
"Drop it Demitri," the familiar voice of my cousin, makes me sigh in relief but that it soon short lived when he swirls around and grabs me in a choke hold, with the cold metal pressing against my neck.
He drags me to the edge of the pavement as Alexander stands frozen with the gun steadily pointed at us. "How did you find me?" I gasp, wondering how he managed to locate us so quickly.
"I saw you disappear and I placed a tracker app on your phone a long time ago, so that you wouldn't do anything stupid, it's a good thing I did." he adds with a whisper. I should be offended that my cousin pulled off such a stunt but I'm thankful he did.
"Shut up! Let me go and I'll leave him unharmed." The man looks panicked and worried, knowing very well that he can't get out of the mess he fell into.
I decide to convince him as well, "Your wife and kid will be safe. Just hand me over." His grip on me loosens slightly.
"I- I have so much debt. And Debbie needs chemo. America is the best place for treatment. Please, I'm sorry," he starts to cry. "She needs the money."
I manage to free myself from his grasp and Alexander shoots him immediately in the leg.
"No!" I tell as the sharp ringing nearly bursts my ear drum and I watch in horror as the man starts limping away, with a hand on his left leg. He is so intent on getting away that he doesn't notice the car coming from the side.
Alexander dragged me away as he called for an ambulance for the accident. It's our fault, mostly mine. I should not have confronted him alone. I don't even know who were the innocent souls buried under that rubble, but from a glance I could see Demitri laying still in a growing pool of blood with his yellow polka dot tie drooping out from his coat.
A/N:
I'm working on trying to finish up all my books, thank you for your patience. Every bit of support from y'all means the world to me. Stay safe ♥️
What new movies have you seen? I'd recommend Oceans 8, it was amazing.