Russkaya Mafiya

Chapter 5

EMILY

The next two weeks fly by. I'm kept busy with my schoolwork. Being at a new place, I slowly explore the city, taking in everything at my own pace. I don't love it yet, but I'm starting to enjoy it.

I've learned that Knoxville is surrounded by seven lakes: Cherokee, Douglas, Ft. Loudon, Melton Hill, Norris, Watts Bar, and Tellico Lake. I've always enjoyed going swimming. London and I spent many summer days at the lake near Austin. I can't wait until our next long weekend. I'm going to drag Avery out to one of the lakes so we can get a tan and relax.

For now, I'm going to buckle down for the test this week. I never took school as seriously as I do now. I want to know that if my family were alive they would be proud of me. I can't help but wonder what my life would be like if Momma were still here. That day my life took a huge change, likes to play in my head like a twisted joke, popping up to ruin happy memories.

***

Twelve-year-old Emily...

Principal Kegal pops his head in our classroom, peeking around the door opening and everyone is frozen at the sight of him.

He looks over at me with a sad expression, then turns to our teacher, "Hi, Miss Swanson. I need to speak to Emily Harper, please. She needs to grab her things to leave for the day also, thanks." He nods giving Miss Swanson another sad look, which is strange. He usually looks at her as if he's seeing the sun for the first time. I think he has a little crush on her.

Principal Kegal must want to see me about our student council project. It's going to be awesome planting all those new trees at the retirement center. Kind of weird I have to grab my things though, maybe Momma or Granddaddy is here or somethin'.

Glancing over at my best friend, London, I stick my tongue out at her. She's so great; after school we are going to hang out and paint our nails with some new polish she got for her birthday. I get to see her cute older brother, Elliot, and his friends too, so it's a bonus.

I quickly pack up the books in my bag and my new makeup compact my momma had just let me get when I told her London was allowed to have one.

"Hi, Mr. Kegal, how are you today?" I smile and ask as soon as we are in the hall.

Mr. Kegal is always wearing a polo style shirt with one of our town's sports team's logos and khaki pants. I think he even has hats to match, I‘ve seen a few. He looks more like he should be a coach than the principal of the middle school.

There are two stern looking police officers waiting out in the hallway for us. Oh no. I hope Mr. Kegal's not asking questions about someone smoking behind the school again. He's way stricter being principal at the middle school than he used to be in elementary. I think this place stresses him out more. I wish everyone would stop being so mean to him when they get into trouble.

He gives me a kind smile, "I'm good, sweetheart, thanks. Listen, this is Sergeant Rodderick and Detective Saint. They have some very sad news to share with you. I'll stay right here with you as long as you need me to, okay?"

I look over at the officers; Sergeant Rodderick looks a little older than Momma. He has really short, brown hair that's cut like a soldier. Kind of like the guys in the commercials I see on TV. He's tall and skinny, with a bushy, brown mustache.

Detective Saint looks a bit older, closer to my granddaddy's age. He has short black and white hair and warm, friendly brown eyes with lines like he laughs a lot. He's also kind of chubby like he enjoys his coffee and pie a little too much.

"Okay." I gaze curiously at Principal Kegal, "Where's my granddaddy?"

Mr. Kegal exchanges a strange look with the officers, and then turns back to me. What's going on?

"We haven't been able to reach him yet. I think he's out on old Mr. Mills' ranch somewhere. An officer went to see if he could find him, so he can come to get you after we talk."

Mr. Mills' ranch is huge so I understand. He and Granddaddy are always doing something on that old ranch.

I nod at the principal and turn toward the police officers.

"Hi, what can I help with?" I'm in the student council, so it's my job to help in any way I can with school problems.

The younger officer starts, "Well, Miss Harper, I'm afraid we have some terrible news. Your momma is Susan Harper, correct?"

I gasp, surprised, "Oh my God, Momma? Yes, that's her, is she in trouble or something?" I glance between both the officers, "My momma's a real good person, so whatever it is, I'm sure you have the wrong person!"

I'll have to go to the office at lunchtime and ask if I can give Momma a call. I know she'll wanna hear all about this.

The older guy cuts in, softly saying, "No, dear, your momma's not in any trouble. She was in an accident today when she was driving. I'm so sorry to tell you, but your momma didn't survive. She's with the angels now, honey. If we can do anything, we are here to help."

The officers look sorry to be telling me this and it just makes me angry. They have the wrong person, I'm sure of it. I would feel it in my heart, in my soul if something happened to my momma.

I glare, angry at all three men. "I'll tell you what you can do. You can quit lying about my momma! My momma's just fine. You go see, she's at work, at the diner." I place my hands on my hips, scowling, "You are not very good officers by getting it wrong. You should be ashamed of yourselves, talking about my momma that way! My granddaddy's gonna fix this and show you all that my momma's just fine." I wince because my yelling echoes down the hallway.

They have this all wrong. I need to get back to Miss Swanson's room so I can finish my work. I know I'm gonna have to ask for help on this math assignment now.

Mr. Kegal looks at me as tears shine in his eyes, "No sweetheart, I'm afraid it's true. It really is your momma, and she's gone. She died, and I am so completely sorry this is happening to you." He touches my arm tenderly as he says this.

I stare into his sad blue eyes and know he's telling me the truth. He and Momma went to school together when they were kids and I've known Mr. Kegal since he became principal when I started second grade. I know he wouldn't lie to me like this; he's always been a nice person.

I don't know what to do. It's like someone just kicked me in my stomach, it feels like someone has a pillow over my face and is sucking all the air from my lungs. I gasp loudly, as my chest tightens. Hot tears stream down my cheeks and the world goes insanely loud with silence. I see people's mouths moving, but I can't hear a word anyone is saying to me.

They are all looking at me worriedly and I drop to the floor. I have my hands sprawled out in front of me on the cold white tiles. I don't know how to survive without my momma. I let out a gut wrenching wail as I feel like my heart is exploding inside.

Mr. Kegal scoops me up in his arms, where I sob loudly. Mr. Kegal is openly crying now, and I hear Miss Swanson come into the hallway. I know the officer tells her what happened because she comes to me and hugs me to her chest.

Everyone, all of my classmates are in the hallway staring at me as Mr. Kegal carries me to the office. I look to London and see Brandon Meeks holding her in the middle of the hallway while she cries. She looks so grief stricken; it hurts my heart even more. Momma was her other momma, and I know it hurts her heart, too.

***

EMILY

A tear rolls down my cheek as I remember that awful day. God, I miss my Momma every single day. I have to remind myself I was lucky enough to get her for twelve years of my life. Even though I don't think it's fair she was taken from me, it could have been worse-I could have had her for even less time.

I wipe my cheek, as a text alert sounds from my phone. Fumbling, I dig through my bag until I find it, turning it on to see Tate's name pop up.

Tate: Kpacota, I miss you. Have lunch with me?

It's been two weeks since we've talked. We say hi to each other, sit next to each other in class. We even talk about the classwork we have together a little bit, but that's about it. Frankly, that night at the club has me a little scared. I wasn't expecting to have that kind of reaction to him.

I'm not ready for a relationship or to open myself up that much to someone this soon. At the same time though, when I'm around him, I never want to leave. I want him to touch me. When we talk about our school stuff, I find myself wanting to open up to him about everything. We have a lot in common and when he's not being bossy or territorial, my wall crumbles a little more.

Have lunch with him or not? I guess I could. Things have seemed to cool off for him around me. I'm still completely taken with him, but I can keep it to myself.

This is good; maybe we will become friends instead of whatever we've been. I don't even know how to categorize us. I am yet to make any friends with my classmates. I have Avery, Tate, and Cameron. I know I need to keep to myself, but it's lonely.

I wasn't super popular growing up, but I did have a few regular friends I talked to frequently. Well, up until I started dating him, then I was only allowed to talk to London and he hated that, too. I wasn't giving up London though; I had already given up everything else. I'm so not going to think of that awful stuff right now.

On to Luka ‘Tate' Masterson and hopefully my new real friend.

Me: Sounds good, where and when?

Tate: Are you free today in 30 min?

Me: I can make that work

Tate: Good. I'll come get you. See you in 30 ;)

Me: Okay.

I pull on some cute little jean shorts from Rue 21, my hot pink, Cartel Ink shirt that has a picture of Alice in Wonderland. I love it because she's tattooed and pierced in it. It's one of my favorite shirts that I own. I might not have any tattoos, but I still love them.

I think this outfit will work, it's only lunch. I seriously doubt Tate would bring me anywhere fancy like the club to grab a bite to eat. I pair it with my low, black Converse shoes and make my way downstairs to wait for Tate.

I step onto the sidewalk in front of my apartment building and get a weird tingly sensation in my stomach, like someone is watching me. I need to give London a call and make sure he's still in jail.

Before I have a chance to have a good look around, a grey sports car pulls up in front of me. The car is a gunmetal grey, the grill is dark like the paint, it has 21-inch rims and the suspension is low enough the tires take up the entire wheel well. The car is full of clean, smooth lines; it's insanely beautiful.

Tate quickly exits and hurries around the car to open my door. "Damn, little pet, you look smokin' today!" I smile at him and then look at the ground. I always feel shy around him.

"Hi. Thanks for picking me up."

He smirks as he looks me up and down with his gorgeous hazel eyes. Tate's in all his glory, hotness incarnate. Relaxed, dark, straight, distressed jeans, a plain black T-shirt that hugs his muscles perfectly, and black leather Polo boots. He has a little product in his coffee-colored hair and his eyes sparkle like he's excited.

He's wearing a grin and has his dimples on full display as he notices me checking him out. He shuts the car door for me.

Watching him run around the front of the car to his side, I can see his Russian features. High cheekbones and straight, strong nose; he always walks around with his head up, as if he is in charge of everything.

Tate climbs in and it looks as if this car was made specifically for him, the way the black and red leather seat molds against his shoulders. He fills up the space nicely with his size. If the seats weren't so low, he'd probably be too big.

I run my hand against the smooth leather, "Gosh, Tate, what kind of car is this? I've never seen anything like it! The seats are soft as butter."

I sit down toward the ground. It feels as if you could put your feet down and touch it. The inside is all black leather with blood red accents. There is a big screen on the dash and it all looks super high tech.

When he hears my question, he looks at me and it's like looking at a little kid, he's so excited. Oh, Tate definitely likes his cars, and I just gave him an in to talk about them.

"This, Krasaaveetsa, is a Bentley Continental GT Speed. I figure I need something beautiful to drive because you deserve to be surrounded by as much beauty as I am right now."

I smile brightly because that is seriously sweet. I know my cheeks are red, I can feel them burning. I buckle my seat belt and look out the window. I have no idea what to say back, I'm a little twitter-pated right now.

Tate turns up the radio. ‘Out of the Black' by Royal Blood is playing. I have this on my playlist for when I run at the gym. He smirks, laying down on the gas and I'm pulled back into my seat. This stunning car also has tons of power. I could get addicted to driving this thing.

After a short drive, we arrive at a place on the river called Calhoun's. It looks like a giant metal building with a big glowing orange sign that says ‘Calhoun's'.

It's close to the UT Campus, and on the way, we drove by Neyland Stadium. It feels as if we flew here, I know there is no way he was doing the speed limit. His sexy factor just went up two more notches after that ride.

The sweet hostess greets us and we decide to sit on the deck. It's early enough that it's not too humid. They have an outside deck as well as an enclosed deck with a panoramic view of the Tennessee River. The weather's lovely today. It's pretty cool because Calhoun's is accessible by boat and has its own dock.

It smells wonderfully of BBQ. I'm a true Texas gal, I love my BBQ.

The deck has its special menu. I order the BBQ chicken sandwich with a Dr. Pepper and Tate has the Calhoun's Trio with a glass of water. He also orders us the Ale steak skewers as an appetizer. Everything sounds so delicious, I didn't realize how hungry I was until the BBQ smell hit me.

This is the kind of place I know London will love when she visits. I can see her in a bikini top and short-shorts doing shots on the deck. I'm sure she'll have, five different guys offering her boat rides, too. She's always been fun and a party girl. I bet she and Avery would be double trouble together.

Tate cuts in as I'm checking out the awesome deck set up. "Thanks for coming to lunch. I wasn't sure if you'd agree." He gives me his best sexy smirk.

"Oh yeah, no problem, thanks for the invite. I didn't realize how hungry I was until we walked in. I've never even heard of this place, thanks for bringing me."

"The food's good. My brother and I have been here a few times before."

Tate has sunglasses on. It's a bummer they hide his eyes. I think his eyes are my favorite feature on him, or his plump lips, or his n****e rings, or, well, never mind.

"Oh, you have a brother?"

"Yes, my brother is Viktor."

"Is he in school, too?"

"No, he does some business for my father. He was at the club when we went. Viktor was the one outside at the door, dressed like he was going to a meeting instead of a nightclub."

"You mean the thinner guy who called you Luka when we were going inside?"

"Yep, that's Viktor."

"Cool, wait, does he manage OO7? Is that your father's place?" The pieces start to click together about why we were able to just walk in, the free drinks, all of it.

"Eh, you could say he kind of watches the place, but no, OO7 is mine, not my father's." He shrugs, nonchalant. He says it like it's no big deal, as if everyone owns a posh nightclub. "Viktor likes to be sort of an accountant and see things get taken care of. He doesn't want to be the one to run the businesses."

I gape as I take in what this means, "Holy s**t, Tate! You own a freaking nightclub?" My eyes probably look like they're going to pop out of my head at this point.

He offers me his grin and the server brings our food. We dig in right away. The aroma makes my stomach growl loudly and Tate chuckles when he hears it.

Our lunch was delicious, and I feel like I need to be rolled out of here. ‘Sweet Home Alabama' by Lynyrd Skynyrd starts playing as we sit on the patio and it brings a big, happy smile to my face.

"What is it, beautiful?" Tate happily inquires.

"This song makes me happy." He tilts his head briefly to listen to it, then nods slightly. "My granddaddy taught me how to drive when I was growing up. I'd make him play this song over and over. I was around thirteen years old." His eyebrows raise, and I giggle a little as I remember the pleasant memory. "We have a lot of land so we took his old tan Chevy out to a dirt patch and he let me drive donuts over and over until I learned how to drive a stick shift. I had so much fun that day and Granddaddy called me Donut ever since."

"?????? (donut), yes, you are very sweet, not so fluffy though, huh?" He murmurs deeply in Russian, making me swoon a little.

His laugh that follows is rich and it vibrates through me. I did it; I made him smile and laugh that laugh. It's light in a dark room. God, I could fall asleep to his voice at night.

"I'm glad I was with you when you had a happy memory; that look on your face was gorgeous."

His phone begins to ring and he looks down at the caller ID, peeved, "Just a second, donut." He chuckles slightly when he calls me donut again and it brings another wide smile to my face.

"Sure, no problem."

He huffs angrily as he answers his phone, "What? No. I am out. What! Call the Balshoy Shef (big boss), now!" He looks pissed and hangs up without saying anything else.

Whatever the other person said sure did make him mad. I wonder what he said in Russian. It's so sexy when he speaks Russian, like mini ear orgasms.

Tate looks at me and gives me a little smile that seems kind of forced. "Ready, Emily? I have some things I have to take care of."

He gets up from his seat and reaches his hand out for me.

"Yes, of course. I hope everything's okay."

I take his hand without hesitation. I know I need to guard my heart, but he has shown me a kind side to him and it makes me want to open up a little more to him. I can't help but feel closer to him each time I'm around him. He's turned out to be pretty sweet and thoughtful these past few weeks. He listens to me blabber and just a moment ago when I saw that smile; it brought the other feelings to the very top.

Tate swiftly drives me back to my apartment. When we arrive, he gets out also and offers to walk me to my door again but I decline. He seems a little distracted, so I want to let him take care of whatever needs to be done.

He leans over and gives me a soft, sweet kiss on my cheek while we stand on the sidewalk. I scan the parking lot, paranoid, per my usual routine. Everything appears clear, thankfully.

"Have a good day, Krasaaveetsa (beauty). I can't wait until we can do this again." He stares straight into my eyes as he says this. I wish he would just lean in and kiss me again.

"You too, Tate, and thank you again. I'll see you later." He nods and climbs back into his amazing car. I watch him leave the parking lot, before heading into my building.

I skip up to my apartment because I just had a great lunch. I'm so distracted with thoughts of Tate Masterson, I don't notice the long stemmed white rose lying in the hallway.

***

Five days later...

I'm walking out of the Science building with Avery when I notice the back of someone in the distance. It can't be, no way. My heart starts beating fast, my stomach fluttering with nerves.

This person does have long black hair, tattoos all over, and is fairly tall. They turn around and I freak out. I start jumping up and down like a lunatic then take off running.

"Whoa! Emily! Calm down, girl!" I hear Avery call out and start trekking after me. She sounds a little panicked and I probably freaked her out, but she doesn't see who I see.

"Holy fuckballs! That's one hot ass chick!" London hollers loudly across the courtyard when she sees me, then runs toward me, too.

I start laughing loudly, excited. I can't believe she's freaking here, in Tennessee! She surprised me. I have the best friend in the whole world!

"Not as hot as you!" I bellow back and leap at her.

London is five-foot-eight and about 160 pounds so she catches me easily. She's built like a muscular pinup model. Her black hair reaches mid-back. She has striking cool blue eyes that are almond shaped and legs that seem to go on for miles. Her legs are insane because she always does lunges and leg presses. She has huge boobs and a small waist, she reminds me of a tattooed Coke bottle.

London always dresses kind of slutty and is a big partier, but she's one of the smartest people I know. She had to do a lot of her college courses online to save money, but she's studying to be an engineer. London could probably even be a doctor if she wanted to.

We finally quit hugging, pulling away, but I keep hold of her hand. If anything so I know she's real.

"I can't believe it's you, you're really here!" I shake her hand excitedly, "God, I didn't realize how much I missed you until I saw your face right now." I whisper and a tear leaks down my cheek.

I feel so emotional all of a sudden. It's like I've been running a race and my relief just grabbed my baton to make it to the finish line for me. I take a deep breath, loving it that I can breathe now, with her next to me.

London leans in, grinning happily and gives me another small hug. She's always been great at reading me, so she probably knows I'm a mess inside right now.

"I was missing you and we haven't gotten to talk much, and yeah, I just needed to make sure you were safe and okay." She looks a little uneasy when she says this and I'm instantly on alert.

Elliot didn't say anything in the last text message, though it's been a few weeks now. I think she's not telling me something and it makes me freak out a little inside. Now that I take a closer look, even her clothes are appearing a little frazzled, which is not her style. She's always dressed to impress.

"Of course I'm okay!" I send her a tense smile that she sees right through, "Why, do I have a reason to be worried?" Right as I'm saying this, Avery, Tate, and Cameron walk up to us.

I glance to Avery and give her a sheepish grin, "I'm sorry if I scared you, chick, but I caught sight of London and couldn't control my excitement!" I nod toward London. "London, these are my friends: Avery, Cameron and this is Tate. Guys, this is my best friend, London Layla Traverson." I beam at London as I say her full name.

"Oh, b***h! You had to bust out the middle name?" She glares at me briefly, then turns a charming smile on everyone else. "Hi everyone and don't listen to this loser, my name's just London."

I start giggling loudly because this reminds me of third grade when I got all the boys to sing ‘Layla' to her. She was so furious she didn't talk to me for two whole days. After those two days, I gave in and apologized. She admitted that she couldn't hold out any longer either.

Now after all these years I still enjoy teasing her any chance I get. London is loud and has a bad mouth, but I wouldn't change her for the world. She's been there for me when I needed her my entire life and has never left my side.

That is until I had to leave hers; but I had to run away from that psycho.

Avery turns to me and smiles mischievously back at me. "Actually this is perfect. Tate and Cameron here, were just asking me if we all wanted to do something tonight. I was saying food, but now that Miss London is here, maybe she'd like to go out tonight?"

Avery turns her playful smile at London and London returns a playful smile of her own... Oh great, tonight is going to be crazy, I already know.

"Of course, we would love to go out! Do you boys have a hot friend that can come too, so I have a dance partner? If not, I'll have to steal these two ladies to dance with me all night."

Of course, she just agrees without asking me. London has dragged me to so much stuff over the years. Miraculously, we didn't end up in jail half the time.

Tate gazes at me while he answers London, "Of course we have someone, tell me your type and we will pick you girls up tonight at 9:30."