Russian Bastard | A Mafia Novel ✧

Chapter 18

It's update day! First off I'd just like to say thank you SO much for 1171 votes! AHHHH ITS UNREAL! Just a week ago we were only at 900+ so that's insane! This week's vote goal is 1300 votes (I know you guys can reach this lmao, I've seen the impossible)

Emotional chapter ahead, enjoy!

Lots of love <3

Chapter 18

Tatiana

"Want me to kick his ass out?" Carmen asked after a few moments, her arms crossed while she gave him a dirty look, making Zeke raise an eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes. "No, Carmen, calm down," she said while getting up, leaning her weight on her uninjured leg and wrapping her robe more securely around her to cover her indecent attire.

"Can I come in?" Zeke asked slowly as he stood at the entrance to the apartment, cautiously looking at Carmen.

"Yes, of course," Tatiana said, eyes furrowed in confusion before glancing at Carmen. "Could you give us some privacy, Cam?"

"All right..." Carmen said, narrowing her eyes at him slowly before beckoning him inside and shutting the door behind him. "I'm watching you," she said with narrowed eyes, poking him in the shoulder before walking away, presumably to where June was hanging around.

She sighed in exasperation at what her best friend was getting up to, shaking her head slightly before looking back at Zeke who, upon closer look, was actually carrying flowers and a take-out bag of sorts.

As he approached, he held out the flowers to her. "For you," Zeke said as he stood in front of her, giving her a small smile.

"Peonies?" she asked, wonderfully surprised as she took the flowers, holding them up to her face and smelling their fresh fragrance. "How did you know they were my favorite?" she wondered, looking up at him.

"I asked Louis," he said, looking embarrassed as he ran his hand through his hair. "He's a common... friend of ours."

"Oh," she replied feebly, still holding onto the bouquet. "Thank you," she said sincerely. He only smiled at her before turning and holding out his take-out bag.

"I also brought you some food from D'Angeles," he said as they both sat down on the couch. "I noticed how you loved the pasta from Hazel's so I thought I'd bring you the best pasta in the whole city, with mushrooms and without onions."

"Really?" she asked, amazed that he even noticed how she took out the onions from her pasta and ordered extra mushrooms to go with her meal. "You remembered all of that?" she asked as she took out the pasta and a fork from the bag, opening the package and getting a whiff of the scent.

"Oh my God," she groaned in pleasure after having a bite. "That's so good," she said in amazement, taking another bite. She hadn't noticed how hungry she was until she had a bite of food. It was already late into the night and she hadn't had a proper meal since that morning.

He chuckled quietly, amused. "I'm glad you like it," she said as she continued eating, practically devouring the meal.

They chatted a bit while she ate, talking about the latest updates with the attacks on their properties and in the other families in general.

"How are you feeling?" Zeke finally asked after a few minutes of her having finished her meal, a worried look on his face as he touched her cast from where it was within reach.

They had settled down on the loveseat, her legs on his lap as they continued talking. Truthfully, she had no idea how they ended up in that position as she fidgeted with her robe slightly when it rode up on her thighs. And, despite her request to Carmen to give them some privacy, several times she saw her peek at them from the kitchen, as if checking if they were doing anything... inappropriate before she shot her a sharp look and she retreated back. She hadn't made an appearance in the last few hours so she could only assume she fell asleep in one of the bedrooms since it was nearing midnight.