Lev
What was taking them so long?
I checked my clock. It read three thirty-six in the afternoon. Not surprisingly, only five minutes had passed since the last time I checked.
Pulling out my cell, I punched in Nastasia’s phone number and hit dial just as I saw her silver Mercedes-Benz E400 Cabriolet pull into the driveway. The car was a recent gift from me for her thirtieth birthday. From the way she drove it, you would’ve thought she hated it.
My hand was on the door handle before either of the girls had opened theirs. I hesitated, not wanting to come across as hovering. Nastasia opened her door first, and my brows rose at the sound of her laughter. My sister only had one female friend in Anika. Nastasia did not like women. To see her openly laughing with another female confused me.
Out stepped Mina, and my breath left me in a fast whoosh. She looked beautiful. Dressed in skintight blue jeans and a loose white blouse, unbuttoned one button too many, her tiny feet parading around in black pumps, caused my mind to act erratic.
Her long wavy hair had been freshly trimmed and straightened, the shiny locks cascading down her back. Mascara had been lightly applied to her lashes, framing her big green eyes. Her lips glittered in the sunshine and were heavily glossed.
She was still far too thin, but as I told her the night before, she couldn’t hide from me.
I stepped back as the door flew open. Nastasia grinned. “Hey, bro.” She moved aside, her arms out toward Mina. “Ta-da!” She waited. And waited. But all I could do was stare.
Finally, my sister gave in to irritation. “Well? You just gonna stand there?” She huffed out a breath. “How does she look, Lev?”
Mina looked up at me through lowered lashes, biting the inside of her lip. She wrung her fingers together, and I wondered how it would feel to have those fingers run through my hair.
How did she look?
“Like art,” I responded sincerely.
Mina blinked, releasing the inside of her lip. Her mouth gaped slightly. Those full lips calling me to taste them.
She blurted out, “Nas took me to a fancy beauty salon. They did my hair and makeup.” She threw out her hands to show me her polished nails. “I had a manicure and pedicure too. Then I got my brows shaped and they waxed my le—” Realizing she was rambling, her cheeks turned pink and she finished quietly with, “But you don’t want to know about that.”
And still, I stared.
Taking a handful of bags, she slid past me, her upper arm brushing my chest. “I’ll take these upstairs.” I watched her make her way up the stairs in her heels.
She walked like a newborn calf.
Nastasia whispered, “We’re working on that. Give her time. This is all so new to her.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
My sister laughed. “You didn’t need to, Lev. You never need to.” She waved a hand over my face. “It’s all written there, plain and simple, for the world to see.”
I followed her into the family room, where Lidiya played with her dolls. “I gather today went well.”
“Not at first, but,” she smiled, “I had fun. It was fun. We went shopping, did girlie things, stopped for something to eat, and then…” She paused. “Okay, so we finished what we were doing, and I asked Mina if she’d show me where she lived.” Her face darkened. “I don’t know how anyone could’ve lived like that for seven years.”
Seven years? She lived like that for seven fucking years?
I fumed in silence, wanting to beat to death the person who put her in this position, and I would find out who.
“We’re passing through the area, and suddenly she yells out ‘Stop!’ so, of course, I freak the fuck out and pull over. She jumps out the car with her lunch and chases down this little teenage thug. He was just a kid, Lev.” She shook her head. “So I’m watching in the rearview and, finally, the kid stops. Looks about ready to smash heads. But then, he recognizes her. They talk. She hands him her sandwich. He smiles at her. She waves, walks back to the car, gets in, and acts like the whole thing never happened.”
“I see.” I saw from the very beginning. This girl was no thief. I was right about her.
Nastasia looked me dead in the eye and uttered, “I like her, Lev. She’s good people, you know?”
“No. I don’t know. Not yet.”
But I intended to find out.