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"??????????????"

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"Via."

I furrowed my brows, mumbling something even I couldn't make out as I nuzzled deeper into the couch.

"Via."

I forced a hum, sinking even deeper into the stiffness under me.

"Via," the soft voice said yet again, which finally gave me the power to force my eyes open.

I blinked almost rapidly, adjusting to the dimmed lights around me.

And the living room curtains... which were shut?

I didn't shut them.

"Good morning," I heard the voice speak again in a kind whisper.

Which I automatically recognized as Yuri, who stood in front of me wearing a brown sweater and slacks.

His grey hair was brushed out of his face, which looked a little more paler than usual.

"I see you and Arina slept very well," Yuri said almost in a proud tone, glancing over to Arina who remained peacefully asleep despite our soft voices.

I nodded almost hesitantly, unable to form any words right now.

All I could do was rub my heavy eyes, letting out a sigh that later turned into a long yawn.

"I go upstairs," I mumbled almost incoherently, "Sleep," I added, standing from the couch.

Yuri nodded a few times, "You sleep," he assured me, walking over to Arina, "I wake her and we eat breakfast."

I forced a hum, walking past Yuri toward the hallway so I could head up to my room.

Where I planned to sleep at least another two hours.

That couch isn't fucking comfortable to sleep on.

My neck feels sore and my back hurts like never before.

I'm not sure how I slept there so many years ago, but it seems I'm not built the same as I used to be.

It honestly makes me wonder about my father, knowing that those nights on the couch weren't that comfortable for him either.

Then again, his comfort and everything else came last when it involved me.

I halted my steps, suddenly realizing I had forgotten something back in the living room.

Something I desperately want to check.

My phone.

So I quickly turned back around, walking back down the hallway with an annoyed sigh.

I can't wait to see what the excuse for her delayed reply could possibly be.

All I know is whatever she's doing better not involve some other woman.

Executioners on our ass or not—I'll kill anyone who touches her.

But I know she knows this.

She is not stupid to pull something like that.

At least I hope not.

For both of our sakes.

I immediately walked a little quicker, noticing my phone on the coffee table.

Arina and Yuri were already gone, probably heading down the other hallway so Arina could head to her room and get ready for school.

I let out a deep sigh, eyeing my lock screen filled with emails and texts from business clients.

But not a single one was from Sevan.

Blyat.

I briefly closed my eyes, tightly squeezing my phone in my hand for a moment.

Until I roughly rolled my shoulders back, heading back down the same hallway I had gone down prior.

And before I could stop myself, I was already typing up another text to her.

I will not be ignored.

Nor play these stupid fucking games with her.

I shook my head as I sent the text, clenching my jaw as I watched it deliver through.

Until I suddenly began typing again even if my thoughts were screaming at me not to.

I let out a long irritated sigh, locking my phone once the text delivered through to her.

And I wasn't bluffing whatsoever.

I will find her if it's the last fucking thing I do.

Sevan knows that.

But I'm sure she wants me to come find her.

She enjoys making me work for anything.

I shook my head to myself, determining I will focus on sleeping and then later on business.

Sevan will be at the back of my head today.

I promise that.

???????

Later that day I began handling business as usual.

Without a text from Sevan.

But I let it go without a second thought, determining I would handle it if it needed to be handled.

Or if she needed to be handled.

So I focused on my meetings.

Mostly with my business partners—and then other dealers.

I was back at the most obnoxiously loud club that night, ensuring everything was going well with shipment and my dealers.

"You sell better—quicker, da?" I said, eyeing the men and women seated on the different couches.

Meanwhile, I stood, refusing to sit with them like equals.

We are not equals.

I hummed tightly when they all nodded sporadically, "Next week you have product sold and gone, or I have you gone," I reminded them, slipping the heavy black gun from my waistband as I eyed them.

The room still remained stiffly silent—not one person having the courage to speak.

All they could do was nod repeatedly again, showing their agreement to my terms.

"Good," I mumbled, glancing over to one of my men standing off to the side, "Vodka," I told him as I backed away from them all, deciding to head out to the main part of the club.

I decided to take a seat in the very back of the club even if the music made my head pound in the worst way.

But being surrounded in silence somehow felt worse.

The club lights flashed annoyingly and the vodka was as strong as I typically preferred it.

I nodded in approval as soon as one of my men slid over the bottle of prescribed Xanax.

And I didn't hesitate to twist the lid off, pouring one of the pills into the palm of my hand to wash down with a sip of vodka.

"The Executor," I suddenly murmured, earning the attention of the three men around me, "I want her whereabouts by the end of the night," I said, determining I needed to plan for the possibility of Sevan still having the fucking audacity not to text me back.

Which it seems as of right now she does.

"We are on it Koslov," one of my men assured me, backing away as he slid his phone from his pocket.

Which left me sitting calmly in the curved booth, zoning out the loud music and flashing lights.

The decision not to let Sevan crowd up my thoughts was officially off of the table.

Especially as I anticipated where the fuck she could be.

Mireya is going to be a very dead woman if she is with her.

Sevan just might be too.

"Koslov."

I immediately glanced over, laying eyes on none other than—

Fucking Nerissa.

Who surprisingly wasn't lingering with bruises after being missing at the hands of Mireya for days.

Although, she looked visibly skinnier—with a scabbed scar on the right of her forehead.

At least Mireya did a decent enough number on her.

I would've done better.

But I like this scar very much.

Mostly because I know Nerissa hates it.

"What do you want?" I mumbled, eyeing her face under the flashing lights as I sipped my vodka.

Nerissa took a step forward, her light eyes hesitating to meet mine.

Good.

Very good.

"I uh... apologize," Nerissa hesitantly called out over the loud music.

I felt my brows naturally raise, "Apologize," I said the pathetic word, my tone entirely distasteful, "Anything that comes out of your mouth means nothing to me, Nerissa," I added, knowing the last thing I wanted from her was an apology.

If anything the idea of her apology makes me want to scrunch my nose up in disgust.

She is already very pathetic.

No need to add to that.

"We make peace," Nerissa suggested over the loud music, taking another step forward, "I am tired of competing with you."

I immediately scoffed—almost out of surprise, setting my glass of vodka down with a clatter.

"Compete?" I repeated back to her in emphasis, feeling entirely offended by her assumption, "Compete would insinuate that you serve me as competition."

I watched Nerissa draw in a deep breath, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Koslov, why do we not just put this aside? We can work together," Nerissa said, clearly set on gaining an alliance or even peace with me.

I, however, am not set on anything involving Nerissa.

She is snake.

I will never involve myself with her.

"I do not work with people who attempt to take my territory," I specified, eyeing Nerissa's face in disapproval, "Or who kill their husbands," I subtly added, tilting my head ever so slightly.

Nerissa remained irritatingly silent, fueling my impatience as I sipped more of my vodka.

"You stay in your territory and handle your own business—we call it peace," I determined, deciding I would leave her alone so long as she stays far away from me, "Da?"

Nerissa nodded once, "Da," she called out almost reluctantly over the music, uncrossing her arms from her chest as she turned on her heel to walk away.

I shook my head to myself, taking another long sip of my vodka to finish it off.

And once every drop was drained from the glass, I was officially ready to leave this packed humid club—preferring the calmness of my room over this.

My men escorted me out as soon as I made it clear it was time to leave.

And one thing they still couldn't provide me with is Sevan's location.

Which irritated me to say the least.

It made me wonder if she was purposely trying to hide.

Even as I arrived back at my compound, showering, and later getting ready for bed.

All I could fucking think about was what games Sevan could be playing with me.

I couldn't even go to sleep.

Nyet.

I sat calmly downstairs in the kitchen, sipping on yet another glass of vodka as I waited patiently for any sort of word on Sevan.

"You enjoy late snacking very much, I see," I said as soon as I noticed Arina's presence in the dim kitchen.

"This time alone," Arina said, her tone leaving no room for disagreement.

I raised a brow, "Oh we are being mean again, I see," I said, entirely unaffected by her words aimed at me.

"This is me being nice," Arina mumbled, opening the fridge that I watched her eyes scan for a moment.

"Then what was last night?" I purposely asked her, wondering what had changed during the last few hours.

Or is she always so back and forth?

"Something that never happened," Arina determined, grabbing the carton of chocolate milk, "I do not want to be your friend."

I tilted my head, watching as she opened one of the cabinets to grab a glass.

And before she had the nerve to climb on the counters, I stood from my chair at the breakfast bar and walked over to her.

"I do not want your help," Arina sighed.

I grabbed the glass anyway.

I also grabbed the carton of chocolate milk she had set on the counter, deciding to pour her a glass myself.

"I also do not want your kindness," Arina added, her tone nothing but irritated.

But I could hear her reluctance.

She does not want to be mean to me.

Something else is going on.

"Why do you not want my kindness?" I decided to ask, sliding the glass of cold chocolate milk toward her.

Arina only narrowed her eyes at me, picking up the glass to take a sip of her drink.

But even as she swallowed her sip and set the glass back down, she didn't contribute anything else.

So I straightened my posture, letting out a deep sigh as I contemplated my next words.

They are very straightforward, but a part of me knew Arina could handle it.

So I finally forced out a sigh and said—

"I do not put my hands on you as they might've done."

Arina immediately paused her actions, her brows naturally knitting together as she corrected her posture—clearly about to argue my words.

But I beat her to it.

"I... care very much about you," I said, leaning against the counter as I eyed Arina's face, watching as her defensiveness slowly faded.

But I could see it still lingering.

"And I make sure no one puts their hands on you again," I added, my voice unconsciously growing softer with her.

Especially as I watched her defenses fade away even more.

"I do not know what you are on about," Arina whispered.

I hummed, "Neither do I," I said, deciding to go along with her act.

Mostly because I could tell this made her feel ashamed and embarrassed.

I do not like that on her.

"I just want to clarify where I stand as a decent person, Arina," I said, my tone as serious as ever.

And I didn't once glance away from her light eyes, which held so much behind them.

She has been through too much for her age.

"A decent person does not leave people in the morning," Arina mumbled, finally cluing me in on why she was previously angry with me.

It is about this morning when I left her with Yuri.

"They do not," I said, agreeing with her words entirely, "A decent person does however leave someone with their grandfather to get ready for school and eat breakfast."

Arina raised a skeptical brow, "You did not join us for breakfast," she pointed out.

I tilted my head, "Did you want me to?" I asked her, even if I knew the answer.

Arina shrugged, not contributing any more words to our conversation.

So I nodded once, "I make sure I join you for breakfast when I can then," I determined, hoping that would be enough for her.

It was not.

Arina instead, waved off my offer, "I do not need any more false promises," she said, taking another sip of her chocolate milk, "Everything anybody says is false promise—just like my mother."

I drew in a deep breath, having trouble envisioning another woman—another mother doing what I assumed Arina was referring to.

She either excused another man's actions.

Or she hurt Arina herself.

"No false promises," I said, suddenly taking another step toward Arina.

And lowering down slightly to her height.

"I..." I trailed off, staring into her green eyes with nothing but hesitation.

I am unsure of why I try so hard with her.

But she just—

"You remind me of myself," I whispered, eyeing her face for a moment.

Arina remained silent for a moment.

A few long moments.

Until she finally blinked a few times, snapping herself out of it.

"You insult me?" she purposely said.

Which naturally made my lips twitch up slightly, "Arina," I said, my tone still as serious as ever, "As long as I am here, you have nothing to worry about," I whispered, tilting my head as I processed the protectiveness of my own words.

Arina drew in a deep, and I could suddenly see the glossiness in her eyes.

At least until she immediately glanced down.

"I do not want to be disappointed," she whispered, taking a step back from me.

I pursed my lips, hating how hard it was for her to trust.

Which was only due to someone breaking her trust so many times.

"I will not disappoint you," I assured her, taking another step toward her, "No more disappointments for you—I make sure of it."

And before Arina could say anything else, I wrapped my arms around her small body to pull her into a hesitant hug.

Which left us both stiff.

Especially with Arina keeping her arms strictly by her sides.

It was probably the longest moment of my life, determining that Arina would need time to trust me.

Especially if she couldn't even hug me.

But then she proved me wrong.

Then she hugged me back.

And it wasn't just any hug.

It felt as if she were clinging onto me.

As if she were leaving all of her hopes and expectations with me.

"No more disappoints, Via?" she whispered so quietly.

I immediately nodded, "No more disappoints," I assured her.

Which earned the deepest sigh from Arina who relaxed in my arms, sniffling a few times as she leaned further into my neck.

There were no words exchanged.

None were needed anyway.

The hug between us spoke enough volume.

It seems I handled something much differently tonight than I previously assumed.