Blood Tainted Diamonds Read online

  Talli looked at him and could see he was telling the truth. Her shoulders slumped a bit and she relaxed. “I guess I didn’t know what to expect.”

  Felix shifted in his chair. “My dear, we didn’t come here to cause you pain. This situation affects us all, not only you.”

  “We spoke to Leon last night,” Sergi interjected. Shaking his head he said, “That man is totally out of his mind. He thought to restore Russia by invoking an act of war. He was going to challenge the present government by rights of his relationship to Nikolas. He was going to raise an army and lead them to war.”

  “He actually thought he would have the people behind him.” Felix swore under his breath. “His mind was stuffed so far in the past, he doesn’t have a clue.”

  “It’s been so many years since Leon even visited Russia that he has no clue as to what’s going on there anymore.” Rizvan shook his head. “The people are struggling to live day to day but they have no desire to be under anyone’s rule. Like you said last night, those days are long gone. The people no longer will tolerate anyone telling them how to act or what to believe anymore.”

  “What’s going to happen to him?” she asked.

  “Even the Bratva has a Counsel. We don’t just kill anyone who pisses us off anymore,” Felix told her gently. “We are not animals. We are a sophisticated organization and we have rules we live by.” He took a breath and continued, “We will take him back and let the Cousin deal with him. They will judge him fairly.”

  “What about the other matter?” She licked her dry lips.

  Felix studied her for a moment. “We read your grandmother’s journals.”

  “And?”

  Sergi exchanged a look with Felix. “And what? What do you want us to say?”

  “Was my grandfather Nikolas’s son?”

  “Yes child, he was,” Rizvan told her gently. “Your great grandmother told us what happened all that time ago. She spoke of how Nikolas knew he and his family were going to die and that he wanted at least a little piece of him to live on. She knew he loved his Tzarina, so there was never any feelings of love between them. What they shared was but a moment of lust and when it was over and she found herself with child he made sure she was able to escape. He gave her the ring to give to his son in remembrance of his father and what could have been. Nothing more.”

  Talli nodded. “I remember grandpa vaguely. He died when I was young but what I remember was there was something he was sad about. He’d get a look in his eyes at times when he felt the whole world was on his shoulders.”

  “There was something else in that crate,” Sergi told her. “Two of the books in there belonged to your grandfather and your father. They wanted a written account of how they felt about the news. Both men were stunned to learn their history but they understood what your great grandmother did. They were proud of their history even if they couldn’t tell anyone about it. Inside one of the books was your grandfather’s birth certificate. It listed Nicolas Romanov as his true father.”

  “Your father did write something in his book after he first met with Leon,” Rizvan told her. “He was concerned about what Leon was going to do and he prayed that someone would stop him before he cost any lives. He wrote that he wanted nothing to do with Leon’s insane plan and that he told him that. He said Leon was enraged and Christophe was worried about that. He said he was going to engage extra security for you and your mother but I think before he could do that, Leon returned and murdered him.”

  “So now what is going to happen?” she asked them. “What do I do with this information?”

  “What do you want to do with it?” Felix asked.

  “Seriously? Nothing. There is nothing to do about it.” Shrugging she went on, “This is the past, and should remain the past. I know more about my family now but that’s all.”

  “What are you going to do with the ring?” Rizvan wanted to know.

  Letting out a deep breath she said, “I suppose I’ll have to fix up the damage Leon did to my parents’ house and leave it in the safe. It’s the only place I feel it would be safe.”

  “I have an idea,” Barshan spoke. “Let’s move the safe to another location. We can build our own home and move it there. That way you aren’t surrounded by memories from your past. Knowing that your parents were murdered isn’t something you should live with every day. Make a complete new beginning.”

  “You would do that for me?” Tears welled in her eyes.

  Barshan slipped from his chair and knelt beside her chair. “I would do that and more for you.”

  “I do hope you will reopen your shop,” Felix told her. “Your talent is something the world needs. It is beauty and grace unsurpassed.” Chuckling he admitted, “My wife loves your jewelry, and she would kill me if I didn’t urge you to rebuild.”

  Talli gave him a slight bow of her head in acknowledgement. “I hope to reopen but I have a lot of work to do to get it up and going again.”

  “But now you’ll have a rather large family to help you rebuild,” Yuri put out there. “With no strings.”

  “Your shop could be neutral territory,” Felix assured her.

  “I can live with that.” Talli smiled.

  “So be it.” Felix reached out his hand to Sergi and as they shook, they made the pact.

  Just then, Raven appeared in the doorway. One hand held her belly and she had fear in her eyes. “Yuri, I think it’s time. My water just broke.”

  Yuri, Sergi and the rest of the men got to their feet. It only took moments for the suite to empty. Yuri swept his small wife up into his arms and rushed her out the door.

  Barshan and Talli just stood there for a moment.

  Barshan smiled at her. “Shall we go and watch as the next generation arrives?” He held out his elbow and she wrapped her hand around his arm. Together, they left the suite and closed the door quietly behind them.

  Early the next morning, even before the dawn broke, the world welcomed Dominic Yuri Anatoly and to everyone’s surprise, Caitlyn Emily Anatoly. All three, mother and babies did just fine.

  The story continues in:

  Forged In Blood

  K.J. Dahlen

  I live in a small town (population495) in

  Wisconsin. From my deck, I can see the Mississippi River on one side and the bluffs, where eagles live and nest on the other side. I live with my husband Dave and dog Buddy. My two children are grown and I have two grandchildren. I love to watch people and that has helped me with my writing. I often use people I watch as characters in my books and I always try to give my characters some of my own values and habits.

  I love to create characters and put them in a troubling situation then sit back and let them do all the work. My characters surprise even me at times. At some point in the book, they take on a life of their own and the twists and turns they create becomes the story. Of all the stories, I could write I found I like mystery/thrillers the best. I like to keep my readers guessing until the very end of the book.

  MY PREVIOUS BOOKS ARE:

  HELL’S FIRE RIDERS MC SERIES;

  BRATVA BLOOD BROTHERS SERIES

  Bones, The Darkness Within, Meghan’s

  Legacy, Shadow Chaser, Witness, Secrets and Lies,

  Legacy of Murder, The Unknown Son, The Prophet,

  No One to Hear You

  Scream, Bradbury Inn, Murderous Intent,

  Wrong Number, Fall from Grace, The

  House on Berkley Street, Cards Of Sin, Blood Memories, From Beyond Death and Words To Die For.

  UPCOMING:

  Satan’s Spawn MC Series By Butterfly Publishing House

  Forged In Blood, Phoenix Rising, A Murder in her Past, Words To Die For and From Beyond Death.

  AUTHOR INFORMATION

  AMAZON PAGE

  Email: [email protected]

  Website: http://smarturl.it/KJDahlen

  I am on Facebook and twitter as kjdahlen

  My blog is on Facebook at K.J.’s blog. My publishers are: />
  www.roguephoenixpress.com