Page 21 of Heartfelt Pain (Ruling Love #3)

Roma

R usset’s lips are blue with icing and Lennie has a plateful of sugar in front of her. Elijah has an arm around her. In a sickeningly sweet display of affection, he absently plays with a strand of dark hair at her nape.

“Hey.” Russ lights up in welcome.

We’re in the kitchen, around the large island. This is the spot we Zimin men often take refuge during my mother’s events. It’s interesting seeing the spot overtaken by the new women in our family.

“I don’t want to alarm you but I think Sailor might be on her tenth cupcake of the day.” I slip onto a barstool.

“Figures,” Russ sighs, but I suspect she’s also eaten a large amount of baked goods.

Dad and Uncle Dima come in from the garage, both with a glass of whiskey in their hands. I’m not sure what Dad thinks about this random birthday party but he gives no indication that he’s aggrieved. He’s relaxed and smiling, used to his wife calling in the caterers.

“Mikail brought his new Impala,” Dad says of the vintage car. “You take a look at it yet? ”

“No, but I’m guessing it’s something to see.”

Dad laughs, a boyish grin on his lip. “It’s not bad. Not bad at all.”

“Mom said he needed work.”

His brow quirks. “What?”

“She told me about it the other day.” I know better than disclosing her idea to open up a garage.

“Oh,” Dad utters, sliding up to the island and peering at the various snacks. Russet silently offers him a plate of cookies. He spares a smile for his daughter-in-law and the mafia man picks up a cookie with sprinkles on it. “Lennie, I saw Nat arrive.”

She perks up. “Awe. Baby Milo is here.”

Elijah leans over and I dodge his attempt to pinch my cheek. “Roman’s namesake.”

I blush. Nat very thoughtfully used the name Roman for Milo’s middle name.

“You see him?” Dima asks, also snacking on a cookie. I swear no one would realize what the family business is.

“Who?” I ask, already knowing.

“The Ghost,” Dima says. “Tristan Trevino.”

“Where’s he at?” I ask. I arrived five minutes ago.

Russ answers, shaking hair out of her face. “They already left.”

I saw Ben and Abe heading out so I assumed Ren had done the same. All morning I pretended everything would be fine and in the end, it didn’t matter. I never came in contact with the woman.

The annoyingly, beautiful, but antagonizing Ren Callahan. Why’d she leave so early?

“That’s a short visit,” I note, heading to the fridge for a soda. I don’t need to turn around to know Dad’s eyes are on me. “What happened?”

Russ and Lennie’s quick little glance at one another gives them away. They both quickly shake their heads.

“Ren looked tired. It was kind she brought a gift for Sailor,” Russ says.

“What?” Elijah innocently asks, fingers still messing with Lennie’s hair. “You’re not jealous, brother, of Trevino whisking her away?”

“I’m sure being her bodyguard is great,” I say under my breath. “Especially when she comes into the lion’s den.”

Dad frowns. “Are you referring to my house as the lion’s den?”

“We were very welcoming,” Dima notes, picking up a frosted cookie.

“I’m glad they came,” Lennie says. I choose to assume ‘they’ is referring to Ren, Abe, and Ben and not Ren and Trevino. She ruins it, though, when she adds, “And I like Tris.”

Elijah frowns. “Tris?”

She nods, not put out by his unamused response.

Russ adds fuel to the fire when she tells Lennie, “He’s certainly handsome like you said.”

“And he gets along great with everyone at Fujimori’s,” Lennie adds.

“It’s what he’s paid to do,” Dad says. As far as I know, it’s the only quip so far he’s shown since the Ghost showed up at his house.

“Did he give it up?” Russ asks. “What he used to do?”

“You mean being a mercenary?” Dima clarifies. “Nah.”

The Ghost moved systematically through the city, taking down people. Most were associated with Marissa, the bitch who hurt Sailor’s birth mom. His swiftness rattled a few people, but he went relatively dormant.

At least I thought so until he showed up at Ren’s.

But Uncle Dima keeps an ear to the ground at all times.

“Between the British triggerman and the Ghost”—Dima shrugs—“it’s a bad time to be a pedophile in this city. ”

Elijah untangles his hand from Lennie’s hair and curls it around her shoulder. “How long until this Tris goes back to his normal business?”

“No, this is his new business.” Lennie angles toward him. “I think he’s doing a good job.”

Dad sighs and picks up his drink. “I’m not discussing this man anymore.”

Dima follows him out, the pair back to discussing vintage cars.

Elijah’s shit-stirring grin lights up his face. “Must be hard, brother. Watching Tris be so close to Ren.”

Lennie elbows him.

“Why did Ren leave early?” I ask the girls.

They shake their heads again.

“She took time to drive out of the city and stayed for what? Less than thirty minutes.” I lean against the island so they know they can’t run from my questions. “This place is loaded with soda, sugar, and most of her friends. What happened?”

“Nothing,” Russ quickly says.

“Ben and Abe already left too,” I note.

Lennie swallows. “It’s just a kids party.”

“Why do you care so much, brother?”

I ignore Elijah’s question. “Did something happen?”

Lennie shakes her head.

“She invited Yelena to lunch,” Russ blurts.

Even Elijah frowns.

“What?” I ask, pulling out my phone.

Lennie lifts in her seat. “What are you doing?”

There’s not a single fucking message from Ren.

Roma: Where did you go?

Roma: Did something happen?

Roma: Why are you going to lunch with my mother?

“That’s a lot of texts,” Lennie whispers.

I push my phone back into my pocket. “That can’t be the only thing that happened.”

The girls are saved when a little blue fairy runs into the kitchen.

“Uncle Roma!” Sailor launches herself. Picking her up, she throws her arms around me. Any awkwardness in the room bleeds away. “Did you get me a gift?”

“Sailor, that’s rude to ask,” Russ chides.

“A drum set,” I tell her. Russ’s face falls. “You remember all the heavy metal music I played for you?”

She nods, sticking her tongue out in excitement.

Russ shoves another mini cupcake in her mouth. And then tries to swallow it fast when her husband appears.

“They want to do the cake soon.” He leans in behind Russ and presses a kiss to the top of her head. “Not that either of you need any more sugar.”

“The sparkly candles!” Sailor exclaims. She wiggles out of my arms and throws herself on her mother’s lap, climbing up the barstool.

“Have you had any actual food in the past few hours?” Russ asks.

“I ate some grapes,” Sailor replies. She reaches for a cookie but her mom grabs her hand.

“Not if we’re about to sing ‘Happy Birthday’,” she says.

“Grandma Lana got blue sparkly candles.” Sailor picks up a tiny plastic ring. There are all kinds of toys, treats, and balloons everywhere. Everything is in various shades of blue. I’ve never seen it so. . . childlike.

Yes, Mom still hired caterers and staff. But the atmosphere is a lot more down to earth than any party I’ve ever attended here.

Sailor turns in her mother’s lap still messing with the little trinket. “And she got fairy cake. So I’m going to be the blue fairy and it will sparkle when we turn off the lights and everyone sings.”

“Fairy cake?” Russ stares down at her daughter.

Sailor nods. “I’m the blue sparkly fairy.”

“It’s the show she watches,” Max mutters.

Russ remains still in her chair and thoughtful as she considers her daughter. “Sailor did you watch the fairy show when you came over here last?”

She nods her head. “Grandma Lana can sing the song in Russian. She taught me how.”

The kid starts humming a few words. We already speak to her in Russian, ensuring she picks up the language. But Max and Russ continue to stare at their daughter.

Max and Russ limit their time over here. I know it’s directly related to Mom. After he found out Mom slapped Russet, he took a step back from his parents. Russ is perfectly happy not to be around her mother-in-law and I can’t blame her. How can I defend my own mother from slapping someone around?

Maybe it’s the child-like innocence but I’m struck with how Sailor speaks about Grandma Lana. One because I didn’t realize that’s what she called her. And two because since when did Mom start watching cartoons?

I heard some of Russet’s rants. She didn’t like the idea of Mom hosting a party. I remained quiet because Mom's overstepping isn’t unusual. Max, ever the strategist, decided to go along with it. To placate Mom.

As Sailor chats, though, I’m wondering if we’re all suddenly realizing the birthday girl is having the time of her life .

Russ pushes Sailor’s hair off her face. “Did you ask Grandma for a fairy party?”

Sailor nods, blinking up directly into her mother’s face. “I wanted a blue party just like the blue fairy has. Look at my wings.”

Russ is almost whacked in the face by the material.

Max lifts her and Sailor attaches herself to his hip. He’ll be covered in glitter for the rest of the day. He and his wife share a look but remain silent.

Especially when there’s noise on the stairs.

Sailor scrambles down. “Grandma!”

Mom pauses, blinking at the crowd. She’s, unsurprisingly, wearing blue. “The caterers set up the cake. I can tell them to wait if now is not a good time.”

Sailor grabs her grandmother’s hand and tries to drag her up the stairs. She remains, waiting for a response from Max and Russet.

“Now is fine,” Max says.

Lennie stands up. At Elijah’s frown, she shrugs. “What? Did you not see it earlier? It’s three tiered and smelled so fucking good.”

Russ and Max are already up the stairs but I grab Lennie’s shoulder. Elijah shoots me a pointed look in warning.

“What happened with Ren?” I ask.

She hesitates. “Nothing.”

I know she thinks she’s being a good friend, protecting her secrets. There’s pounding in my chest. I’m at a kid's birthday party so I tamper down the beast. The one increasingly frustrated by Ren’s lack of texting back.

Elijah follows his girlfriend upstairs, but when I’m halfway up I find Russ.

“I forgot my phone.”