Lev (Shot Callers 1)

Viktor looked at me then, and seemed surprised, as if he’d just noticed another person in the room. “What’s up? I’m Viktor.” He looked me up and down appreciatively before turning to Lev and smiling slyly. “Where’d you find this one?”

His eyes on me, Lev responded without emotion, “Stealing Sasha’s wallet.”

My heart stuttered before it started to race. Everyone had gone silent apart from Viktor, who blinked at me a solid ten seconds before erupting in laughter.

My cheeks heated, but my body turned cold. I felt the stares of everyone in the room and the tension became too much.

I got it. I stole his brother’s wallet. It was a shitty move. If I weren’t desperate, I wouldn’t have done it. Was I going to be punished for it forever?

Under my breath, I muttered, “Asshole,” before slipping on my heels and clomping out the kitchen door. I almost fell ass-over-tit in those damn heels, but Nas told me I needed to get used to walking in them.

Ten minutes passed, and down the path, I spied a mature woman with dark curly hair and kind eyes coming up toward the house. She slowed when she saw me, so I smiled. “You must be Mirella.”

“I am,” she stated carefully.

I took a step forward. “I’m Mina.” I pointed back to the house with my thumb. “I’m living here temporarily. Lev told me that I’d be seeing a lot of you.”

Her eyes widened and her jaw nearly dropped. “You’re staying…here? In the house…with Mister Lev?”

My nod was slow. She seemed beyond surprised. More like astonished. What was with that reaction?

Catching herself, she attempted a smile, but it was uncomfortable. “Nice to meet you, Mina,” she said, moving toward the kitchen door.

“You too,” I returned just as she closed the door behind her.

I waited out in the cool breeze for another few minutes before the door opened and everyone, sans Mirella and Lidiya, came outside. I felt Lev’s eyes on me, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of looking up.

Nas smiled sympathetically as she watched me avoid everyone else’s scrutinizing eyes. “Ready to get that blood pumping?”

“Sure,” I sighed.

I mean, really. How bad could it be?

***

Lev

“How’s she doing?”

Nastasia smiled too widely, and it came across more like a grimace. “She’s only broken four glasses so far, so—” The sound of glass smashing followed by Mina’s “Ah, crap. Sorry!” sounded. My sister shook her head. “Five glasses in two hours. Is she trying to set some kind of record or some shit?”

“She’ll get the hang of it.” I didn’t sound as confident as I hoped.

I watched Mina closely as she listened to Anika. She was concentrating hard, nodding on occasion. I couldn’t understand why this was so hard for her. Her shoulders looked tight with tension.

“Listen,” Nas broke into my thoughts. “I gotta tell you, Lev, telling Vik and Ani that you met Mina when she was stealing Sasha’s wallet…” She winced. “Ouch.”

I was suddenly confused. “What?”

My sister had always been patient with me, but tonight, she sighed. “It’s not cool, bro. You only get one chance to make a good impression, and before Mina had the chance to do that, you tore it out from under her feet.”

“I don’t understand.” I really didn’t.

Nastasia leveled me with a hard stare. “You introduced her to our closest friends as a thief.”

Oh.

I was beginning to comprehend what I’d done. “I see.”

“No, you don’t.” Nastasia took my hand in her own and squeezed. “You’re a wonderful person, Lev. But you don’t see.”

Panic welled up inside of me. I lowered my gaze, training my eyes on my feet. What was I to do now? I didn’t know how to react. I felt wrong.

Releasing my hand, Nas assisted me in my unspoken query. “When you get the chance, apologize to Mina.”

My stomach ached. I hated this, unintentionally hurting people. I nodded.

My sister kissed my cheek and assured, “You’re a good man, Lev. You just need a little help sometimes. No biggie.”

But it was a big deal, to me more than most.

***

Mina

“Mina.”

It was childish, but I ignored him. “Mina, please look at me.”

I took a moment from reading my handy little guide to mixers and turned my face toward him, but my eyes strayed, focusing on his chin. He spoke softly. “Nastasia informed me that what I said in front of Anika and Viktor was inappropriate and I likely embarrassed you.” My brow furrowed in confusion. He spoke about it as if he didn’t know why I would be embarrassed about it. He went on, “It wasn’t my intention to cause you distress, and I now understand why you called me an asshole. I apologize.”

Saying sorry was one of the hardest things to say to a person, and Lev had done it in such a sincere manner that my anger ebbed away. Mostly. “I suppose you’re going to go around telling everyone that I’m a homeless thief?”