Page 33 of Ruthless Rustanovs
“I love you, kotenok.”
Her traitorous heart all but sang the memory back to her as she climbed out of bed, even as another wave of dread flooded her stomach. She loved him, too, would like more than anything to tell him how she felt. But there were two things holding her back.
One, his criminal past. His business seemed on the up and up now, but most articles she’d read about him after his quick rise to fame mentioned his crime family roots, strongly implying, if not outright stating, that his past had a lot to do with his current success.
She didn’t want Aaron raised by criminals or being taught how to kill in the “Rustanov style.” Her stomach turned just thinking of Aaron doing anything like that.
But so far, she’d seen nothing to indicate Alexei was still involved in any of the unsavory things the Rustanovs were known for.
She’d just have to ask him about it in the morning, she decided, and hope to heaven he had left that life behind.
Eva wanted to believe in Alexei again, to no longer live in fear of him but love him as fully as he claimed to love her. He may have never intended to be a father, but she hoped he would become a good one with her guidance.
It helped that he had kept all his promises to her so far, even the one about not seeking out Aaron.
Maybe they really could make a go of it this time, she thought as she dropped into a seat in the soundproof conference room down the hall.
She’d been regularly waking up in the middle of the night to call their son from within its insulated confines.
It was three A.M. in Texas but ten A.M. in Milan.
“Hi, Mama!” he said. “Guess what?”
“Chicken butt?”
“Mama, you’re silly,” he informed her before saying, “Uncle Steve said we could do whatever I want since it’s my last weekend in Rome.”
“Wow. What are you going do first?”
“Eat gelato!”
“It’s ten in the morning!”
“It’s my weekend, Mama,” he said with the grave censure of a righteous seven-year-old.
“Okay, okay, who am I to argue? Go on, have your gelato—you know you’re back to old-fashioned American ice cream when you get back to Texas.”
“That’s okay. I miss regular ice cream. Can we order a pizza when I get back, too? It’s not the same over here.”
“Sounds good. I’ll have some Ben & Jerry’s waiting for you in the freezer, and we’ll order a pizza for everyone when you get back. We’ll show Maria and the girls how Texas does pizza.”
When Aaron returned, he’d be traveling with Steve and his entire family who planned to stay with them in Texas for two weeks.
“Can my dad come, too?” he asked.
“Um…” Eva was so taken aback by the question that she didn’t know how to answer it. “What…?”
“I heard Uncle Steve talking to Grandpa. He said you weren’t with Auntie Layla, but with my dad. Is that true?”
“Why are you just now telling me this?” she asked. She had never lied to Aaron about Alexei. When he’d asked about his father, she’d said it was a long story and she’d tell him everything when he was older.
“Uncle Steve told me not to tell you what I heard because you’d be mad. But you told me not to keep secrets from you ever.”
He sounded as confused as any kid would be after receiving conflicting instructions from two adults who he loved.
“Honey,” she said. “You were right to bring it up. I don’t ever want you to keep secrets from me. Uncle Steve was wrong to say that to you. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t tell me something. We’ve talked about this.”
Like many social workers who had seen child abuse up close, Eva had a deep fear of her son not feeling safe enough to tell her anything.
“I know. But Uncle Steve is family.”
“Even if it’s family. Don’t ever let someone tell you to keep a secret from me. In fact, if they say that to you, come straight to me.”
“Okay, Mama.” Then after a few seconds: “Is my dad big like me?”
“You mean tall?” she asked.
“Yeah?”
“Yes, he is. And he’s Russian.”
“What?” he said. “No way!”
“Trust me, I would’ve chosen another country if I was making it up.”
“But I don’t know how to speak Russian.” Aaron sounded despondent. “What if he hates me?”
“He won’t. No one could hate you. And I can teach you “hi: and “bye,” but you won’t need them because he speaks perfect English.”
“Is he smart?”
“Yeah, really smart.”
“Is he coming with you to pick us up?”
She thought about that and dismissed it. “No, I think it’s better if I pick you up. I’ll answer any questions you have and then we’ll see about you meeting him later on. Okay?”
“Okay, I can’t wait!” He sounded even more excited than he had about gelato, and she was happy she’d soon be able to give him the gift of knowing his father.
She just hoped Alexei would come through after she spoke with him, because Aaron really was a kind and amazing little boy.
He’d obviously been yearning for a father for quite some time now, but he’d never made her feel she wasn’t enough for him.
“Have a good last weekend, sweetness. I love you so much.”
“Love you, too, Mama.”
She hung up, her decision made. Aaron already knew about Alexei. Now it was time for her to bring Alexei up to speed. She’d do it first thing in the morning, she decided. And then, hopefully, they could figure out how to handle his uncle before he found out they were back together.
The sound of the fax machine in the corner made her jump in her seat. Curiosity led her to it as it began spitting out pages. She wasn’t snooping, she told herself. It was probably something boring and business-related that she wouldn’t understand anyway.
But as she got closer, she could see it wasn’t a business contract, but a copy of a story that had been printed off the Dallas Times internet site. That gave her pause because what would Alexei want with a Dallas Times story?
The top page of the story revealed the headline, “RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE, ALEXEI RUSTANOV, WELCOMES YOU TO SOUTH PADRE ISLAND.”
Eva saw the picture that accompanied the story.
She snatched up the pages. No, make that a whole gallery of pictures featuring her and Alexei enjoying romantic times all over the island.
There was even a photo of him kissing her shoulder on the beach.
Her eyes landed on the words, “the normally media-shy billionaire” and “in a relationship with Eva St. James, a small-town Texas social worker.”
And that’s when the document’s cover page came through.
To: Emilio Alvarez
From: Gina Greer, PR Partners
Hi Emilio,
Just thought I’d send a hard copy of the story for Mr. Rustanov’s files. It ran a week earlier than it was supposed to because another story fell through. But I think he’ll be happy. It turned out exactly as he specified.
Best,
Gina
It only took Eva a few confused moments to put two and two together. The man who had just promised to always be honest with her had purposefully broadcasted their time together on the island so everyone in Drummond, including the man he thought she was in love with, would know they were together.
He had lied to her. He hadn’t changed at all. Alexei Rustanov was just as ruthless as she thought he was two weeks ago. And now it was just a matter of time before his psychopathic uncle found out about their relationship.