Chapter 44 Kozar
Kozar's P.O.V.
When the text comes over that Dad wants an urgent meeting with my brothers and me, I want to refuse. I don't like some of the businesses he's involved in. I only associate myself with the legal businesses. I went to college and graduated at the top of my class with a business degree. My brothers thought it was a waste of time, but I'm not like them. I don't even look like them. I take after my mother.
Instead of blonde hair and blue eyes, I have black hair and dark brown eyes. They are all tall and somewhat muscular, but I'm built like a football player. At least that's what Dad says. I'm six foot six and huge compared to the rest of them. Everyone thinks I'm an enforcer, but actually I'm a giant nerd. I'm quieter than the rest of them and prefer to keep to myself.
I'm also the only one who doesn't live in the family compound. I live in Manhattan. Everyone else is already gathered in Dad's office when I get to the family home. I stand next to the door, ready to leave as soon as he's done.
"I brought you all here because I found something out today and wanted to share it with you." Victor and Yegor look bored, while Yurkov and Zakhar look suspicious.
"What is it?" Yurkov asks. Dad smiles and glances at me.
"You have a sister," he announces proudly.
"You got someone pregnant? Are you sure the child is yours?" Zakhar asks angrily.
"She's twenty-five, and I'm positive she's mine. I just met her and her family. They are incredible." I have never seen my dad look so happy. I almost can't believe it's him.
"How much money does she want?" Yurkov asks. Dad shakes his head.
"She doesn't want anything. I offered her inheritance to her, and she refused. She and her fiancé are wealthy and want nothing from me." I like her already. I have a feeling she doesn't want anything to do with the family business.
"Well, good, then we don't need to worry about what's ours," Zakhar says, sitting back in his chair. I don't want to say anything in front of them, but I would like to meet her. I'll ask Dad later when the others aren't in the room.
"What's her name?" I ask. He smiles, and I swear his face is glowing.
"Anushka. Her mother, Gloria, named her after my mother. Her four-year-old daughter, Dakota, is incredible. She's the smartest child I have ever met. She even insists on calling me Grandpa Chrissy because she can't say my name." Victor, Yegor, and I burst out laughing. I used to know someone named Anushka when I was in college.
"You let a child show you such disrespect?" Zakhar asks in disbelief, which earns him a glare from Dad.
"She can call me whatever she wants. I didn't get a chance to be in her mother's life growing up, but I will be in hers. I have told her about all of you. Right now, she can't leave her house. She was shot a few days ago and almost died. The man she thought was her father hired a hitman to go after her. The Silencer took care of him, but the hitman is still out there. Her fiancé, Jordan Holt, also told me about a man who killed his mother and is now coming after him. He already has a lot of men securing the building where they live, inside and out, but I also left a couple of our guys there. I will not let anything happen to Anushka or her family." He looks around at each of us.
I know I won't hurt them, and neither will Victor or Yegor. However, I'm not as sure about Yurkov and Zakhar. They are selfish bastards who only think about themselves and how to line their pockets. I hang back when Dad tells us we can leave until the other four are gone.
"You want to meet her, don't you?" I sit in the chair across from his desk and smile. Dad isn't all bad. He loves his family, and that's the reason I'm still involved in any of the businesses.
"Yes. Do you think she would be okay with that? You know I won't do anything to her or anyone else." I'm honestly interested in meeting the little girl who can make Dad's eyes light up, too.
"Let me call her. I told her I thought you would want to meet her. Dakota already has a nickname for you, too, but I won't tell you what it is." He chuckles, and it makes me smile.
"She has won you over, hasn't she?" I ask.
"When she came out of her room and saw my guys with guns, she told us to leave because she doesn't like bad guys. Then she told me she didn't need friends with guns and that I could only come back if we didn't bring guns. I sat on the floor in their living room, reading to her for at least an hour. I felt like a grandpa, and it felt good. Let me call and see if we can bring them dinner." He picks up his phone, and I can't stop smiling while he's on the phone. Maybe Anushka and Dakota will be able to change even the mob boss. When he hangs up, his face is glowing.
"Anushka said we could come. Her nurse is cooking dinner, so we can join them. She said she only wants you and me inside the penthouse. She wants the armed men to stay outside because they have other kids there who she doesn't want to scare." We stand up and head for the door. I get in my car and follow Dad's car to the city. When we pull up to the building, I can't believe it. They live next door to my building. Dad and I ride up in the elevator with a man I assume is one of Jordan's guys. When we get to the penthouse, the door is already open, and a little girl is standing there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot.
"Do you have guns?" she asks, looking at me with raised eyebrows. I think I love her.
"No, ma'am." I open my jacket for her to see.
"What about you, Grandpa Chrissy?" I laugh when I hear that name again. He holds his jacket open.
"Nope. Can we come in?" She relaxes and smiles.
"Yes. Are you Uncle Kozy?" My mouth falls open. She wants to call me Uncle Kozy? I burst out laughing and look past her to her parents. I freeze when I see my sister in a wheelchair.
"Anushka? When Dad said I had a sister named Anushka, I didn't think it was you." I walk toward her in disbelief. Her eyes are wide as she stares at me in shock.
"When he said your name, I didn't think of you either." She smiles at me, and I feel like crying. I never thought I would see her again.