“Alright man, fair enough,” I say blowing out a frustrated breath.
“How long will you guys be in town?”
“We’re not quite sure yet. That will depend on how things go today.”
Now I’m really fucking curious. I’m also fucking tired of these cryptic answers.
“My family has an estate just a few miles from here, so we will be staying there,” Nikolai tells me.
I’m about to reply to him when I feel a hand on my arm. Turning, I see Bella.
“Hey, babe.” I smile, pulling her to stand between my legs. She snuggles into my chest, while I kiss the top of her head.
“What you are doing, Angel?”
“We just finished cooking lunch. I wanted to come say hi for a minute.”
“You can come say hi anytime you want, babe,” I say, forgetting for a minute about the man sitting next to me, I turn back to Nikolai. “Nikolai, this is my girl, Bella.”
“It’s nice to me you, Nikolai,” she says, offering him her small hand.
“You too, Myshka, little mouse,” he says.
I’m just about to ask what the fuck myshka means when Quinn comes up to me.
“Prez wants to see you, man.”
“Alright. Thanks, brother.”
“Well, that’s my cue to get back to the kitchen,” Bella sighs.
“I’ll see you later, babe.”
“Okay,” she says, giving me a quick kiss before walking off.
When I walk into Jake’s office, I notice his whole body is tense.
“Hey, Prez. Quinn said you wanted to see me?”
“Yeah, son. Why don’t you come sit down?”
I stride over, taking the empty seat next to our guest. Nobody is saying a word, and it’s raking on my fucking nerves.
Clearing his throat, then standing, Volkov turns his chair to face me directly. His odd behavior has my full attention.
“I suppose there is no easy way to say what I’m about to tell you, so I will start by properly introducing myself. I’m Demetri Alexander Volkov.”
I tilt my head at him. He looks like he’s waiting for some sort of a reaction, but I have none
. I look over at Jake for some clue, and his eyes are boring holes into me like he’s waiting for a reaction as well.
Suddenly, I realize he said his name is Demetri. Now my wheels are turning, because my middle name is Demetri. My mother never really talked about who my father was, but she did say she gave me my middle name, Demetri, after him. I take a good look at the man in front of me. He has brown hair with a bit of gray. He’s also about the same height as me, but that’s not what has all the air leaving my body. The man in front of me has one blue eye and one green eye, just like me. I feel like this is some sort of fucked up dream, but no, it’s my fucked-up life. I’m positive the man in front of me, Demetri Alexander Volkov is my father.
“You’re my father.”
“Yes, Logan. You are my son.”
I have a death grip on the arms of my chair, needing to keep myself in check. It’s crazy how many emotions one can feel all at the same time. Confusion, elation, anger. Here I have been wondering my whole life about my father. Always wondering why he left. Did he know about me? Was he dead?