Which is why it comes as a surprise when instead of judging me, he says, “Billie, I am not your brother. I am not just using you. I love you. I love you more than anything. You understand this, da?”
I know….
I know it’s better to make decisions based on data, not emotion. I know it’s better to keep a level head, especially when it comes to starting a family with an athlete you only met a few weeks ago.
But my heart rises like the sun at his words. And tears spring to my eyes.
These have nothing to do with sadness, only the words I’m going to say next.
“Thanks for loving me,” I whisper. Then I take a deep breath and confess, “I love you too.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
We seal our declaration with a whole lot of lovemaking that night. And I fall asleep feeling oh so secure in my loving Russian’s arms.
Which is why I’m confused when I wake up to the sound of a voice yelling, “Billie! Billie! You up there! Billie! Answer me! It’s Clem!”
Clem?
I scramble out of bed and pull on a robe before throwing open the bedroom window. And sure enough, there’s my brother standing below. The ocean is still and calm tonight, or I probably wouldn’t have been able to hear him.
Almost as soon as I catch sight of him, Vlad appears, wearing both a robe and a mask. His arms are pointed straight out, and his hands clasped around something. I can’t see what it is, but a gun is a good guess, given the situation.
“No, don’t hurt him!” I yell down to Vlad.
Vlad freezes and looks up at me. The planes of his face appear especially craggy and severe in the mix of moon and security system lights.
“I’ll be right down,” I yell, really hoping this doesn’t escalate before I make it out to them.
But when I turn to go, I crash into Cheslav’s chest.
Strange, for such a big guy, I didn’t even realize he was behind me.
“Clem is here,” I explain. “He’s not used to me not answering immediately when he calls. I’ll go explain things to him and send him away.”
With that explanation, I start to go, but Cheslav catches my arm. “Let Vlad take care of him…please.”
“You mean the guy with the gun who’s only a few steps away from old school Russian mafia? I don’t think so,” I answer, my voice harsh.
Cheslav sneers. “I am also, as you say, only few steps from old Russian mafia. And I am trying to protect you, the woman I love.”
His words soften my stance, but not my resolve. “Look, I know Clem just showing up here like this looks crazy, but he’s harmless. I promise. Come with me if you want.”
Cheslav hesitates. But then he lets go of my arm.
He looks so sad for some reason, and I want to reassure him. But I’ve already spent a lot of precious time on this conversation, and I don’t want the situation between Clem and Vlad to get out of hand. I’m pissed at my brother, but in no way do I want him to end up another Black male statistic of needless gun violence.
Fortunately, Clem and Vlad are still in their standoff and at least six feet apart from each other, when I get downstairs.
“You can’t keep me from seeing her,” Clem is yelling at the older Russian man. “You know what he’s doing ain’t right!”
“Clem!” I shout, careful to stand more than six feet away. I can’t be sure what kind of social distancing Clem has been practicing. And pregnant as I am, I can’t risk getting any closer.
“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” I demand from the veranda.
Clem turns on me, his face furious as if this whole situation is somehow my fault. “It took me this long to figure out where he was keeping you.”
“He’s not keeping me,” I answer. “I’m living here with him. We’re engaged and planning to get married.”
“Yeah, I heard! It’s all over Instagram. I got all kinds of folks calling me, but I didn’t know how to answer them because I was the last to know!”
I let out a breath, both annoyed and not shocked at all that Clem’s making this all about himself. “Well, now you know. So can you please leave now?”
Clem flinches. Probably because I’ve never used a dismissive tone with him before, but then he glares and says, “Naw, naw. That wasn’t part of the deal. It was just supposed to be for a few days. That’s what he said.”
I open my mouth to tell him to go again, only to stop when the potential meaning of his words drops down like an IRS levy. “What do you mean that wasn’t part of the deal?”
“I don’t know. What do I mean?” Clem’s angry gaze switches from me to something over my left shoulder.
Or someone.
Someone who says to Clem, “Think very carefully about what you say next.”
“Or what?” Clem asks Cheslav, drawing himself to his full football height. “She’s not going to let your boy shoot me.”
No, I wasn’t, but… “What did you mean by ‘the deal.’”
Again Clem looks to Cheslav.
And suddenly he doesn’t have to tell me what he meant. Suddenly, it’s very, very clear. Oh my God….
The ocean is no longer still and placid behind my brother. It’s now inside my head, crashing with the realization. “You didn’t owe him money. You two planned this.”
I know I’m right when Cheslav, who’s never failed to look me straight in the eye before averts his gaze.
“Krasotka…” he starts.
At the same time, Clem calls out, “It was all his idea, sis! He knew I was desperate for some dollars, and he’s the one who took advantage.”
“How much?” I ask, looking at Clem over my shoulder. “How much did it cost for you to agree to whore your sister out?”
I guess my brother must have a tiny kernel of shame inside his body. He shakes his head, refusing to answer.
But Cheslav says, “Fifty thousand dollars.”
The number hits me like a punch to the chest.
“But you were smart enough to lie about that,” I guess, turning back to Cheslav. “You made it a number I couldn’t possibly hope to pay back in under a month.”
Cheslav jerks like I’ve slapped him. But he nods, confirming my guess.
And then there’s only one question left. “Why?”
“I…” Cheslav looks at the roof of the veranda. Then the sand. Then finally back at me. “I saw you, and I fell for you. I told you truth about that. But the thing is, you didn’t see me. I was in the box seats for last Carolina Bobcats game of the decade when they brought all ten of 2010s Princess South Carolinas out. There were ten women on stage, but the only princess I saw was you.
“At halftime, I went to find you, and you were with your brother. He was telling you about all the guys on his team who wanted to hook up with you now that you were no longer cheerleader, and it wasn’t against the rules. You reminded him about how you don’t date athletes…”
Cheslav grimaces like the memory still pains him somehow. “I knew then it would be impossible to get you to give me a chance without some finessing. But Rustanovs do not give up, and we are very good at coming up with schemes to get what we want. So I made deal with your brother. I thought few days would be enough. It wasn’t. The small ember inside me from the first moment I saw you… it became fire. And I had to find you again. Convince you to be with me.”