Chapter Twenty-Nine

Anatoly did not lie to Renee when he told her a few months ago that he had a nice place in Jamaica. What he failed to tell her was that it was the size of a miniature resort. On a peninsula of Discovery Bay, the seven-bedroom, white mansion on a gentle hill sat above perfect white sand beaches with views of the Caribbean Sea. Anatoly called the place Jezebel, but Renee called it heaven.

They arrived at first dusk to a butler and staff, who waited on their every need. Food had already been prepared and the table was set for dinner, which would start as soon as all the parties had arrived.

From the breathtaking window views, beautiful hues of blue and gold skies danced across the horizon while the inside of the home was spectacularly designed for only the best living.

Renee was speechless, caught in the awe of pure beauty and decadence beyond her wildest dreams. But Gabriel and Briggy were used to the Medlov style after staying at their sprawling chateau outside of Prague.

Anatoly led everyone to their rooms, which matched the elegant, beach-style of the entire home and then took Renee to their room. He had forgone the suite, because he knew that his father was coming – hence his place as second in command.

Going into the restroom, he came back out and threw a box of Kleenex on the bed. As Renee unpacked her clothes, she looked up at him confused.

“What’s that for?” she asked, picking up the purple box.

“For the crying,” he said, lying on the bed. “I know how you women are. As soon as you see Royal and she sees you, you both will begin to cry. I just want you ready.”

Renee laughed. “You may be right.” Pulling out clothes, fresh off the racks from the boutique, she threw a black negligee over to Anatoly and raised her brow. “For after I’m done crying,” she said seductively.

Anatoly lifted it with his thumbs and bit his lip. “Let’s get this show on the road then, eh,” he said, pulling her into bed.

***

Royal and Dmitry finally arrived at the mansion an hour later. Sauntering in with a large entourage of bodyguards and the entire family, minus her mother, Royal held on her husband’s arm and tried to calm her nerves. She’d been crying the entire trip off and on and was only able to hide her hysterics with the large designer sunglasses that covered her bloodshot eyes.

Dmitry knew that Royal’s pregnancy had a lot to do with her current emotional state and tried to be as understanding as sible.

“It’s going to be alright,” he assured her softly.

She looked up at him and nodded silently, but inside she was falling apart. This would be the first time in her life that she had ever seen her mother. No one knew how things would turn out. It could be a disaster or the best thing to happen to Royal. Still, everyone gave their support.

As they gathered in the foyer, Anatoly and Renee, followed by Gabriel and Briggy joined them. They quickly made their way down the stairwell to their waiting family, who welcomed them with open arms.

Anya automatically ran to Anatoly. As usual, she jumped up in his arms and kissed him profusely then interrogated him about where her presents were. Only this time, after getting hugs from her brother, she found her way to Gabriel.

He bent down to give her a hug and pulled out a small box. Inside of it was a golden locket with a picture that they had taken together while he was in Prague. Gabriel didn’t know how long the good part of his history would last, but he wanted to leave his young cousin with something to remember him by.

The reunion was halted when Royal and Renee laid eyes on each other. Quietly, Royal took off her glasses and let go of her husband’s arm to make her way over to her old friend. But Renee was stuck. She stood trembling, watching the woman that she mourned laugh and smile in front of her.

“Hey,” Royal said with tears in her eyes.

“Hey, girl,” Renee said, looking down at Royal’s bulging stomach, then to her daughter. Tears marked her face in flowing streams. “You look...alive.”

They both laughed and then in one motion, they finally hugged. Holding each other tightly, they cried for everything that they knew about the lives that they had chosen and everything that they didn’t know about each other. Sisters. True sisters together again at last.

The men watched, moved by the sincerity of the act. Briggy wiped her face and held on to Anya. No one said a word for a while, taking the moment in and appreciating how treasured it actually was.

Royal finally pulled away as the baby kicked. “We have so much to catch up on,” she said, touching her tummy.

“You just don’t know how happy I am right now,” Renee said, wiping her face. She looked over at Dmitry, who nodded her way and smiled. “You better get over here and give me a hug,” she said, reaching for him.

Dmitry laughed and bent down to hug her. Picking her up off the ground, he whirled her around. “Look at you! Two seconds from being a Medlov yourself,” he laughed.

Anatoly instantly blushed. He knew it was true.

“I don’t know about you guys but I’m starving,” Royal said relaxing. “Have they already cooked?”h tears indiv height="0">

“Dinner is in the main dining hall,” the butler said, stepping from out of the corner.

“Well, let’s go that way,” Renee said, grabbing Anatoly’s hand. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear.

Anatoly looked at her, truly looked into her. It was then that he knew that his father was right. She would be his wife. He wasn’t sure when or how, but he had to keep her.

As they all walked into the dining hall, a single person sat at the long table, behind a brilliant candelabras and food fit for a king. Nervousness was clearly present in her face. She stood quickly, smoothing out her yellow sundress.

Royal was the last to see her in the corner waiting. She walked in talking until she laid eyes on her.

She was the woman in the picture. Her mother. “I figured that I’d have her wait in here for you,” Anatoly said quietly. He looked to his father for approval, who nodded kindly.

Suddenly, everyone else in the room disappeared for Royal as if it were just the two of them. Their eyes were planted upon each other, waiting for approval, waiting for words, for some movement. But they both stood still.

Dmitry watched curiously. Feeling the need to say something, to help his wife, he touched her shoulder and cleared his throat.

“Thank you coming all of this way, Ms. Smith.” His voice boomed in the quiet room, jolting everyone back to reality.

“Thank you for having me, Mr. Medlov,” she answered.

“Please call me Dmitry. I am, after all, your son-in-law.” He rubbed through Royal’s coal black locks. “This is...well, this is your daughter.” He put his large hands on her shoulders.

Feeling more self-conscious, Ms. Smith moved away from the table and slowly inched towards the beautiful woman. As she got closer, the tears flowed down her cheeks harder. Royal...her oldest daughter. Her sunshine.

“When I lost you, I thought for sure that they’d changed your name. I never imagined in a million years that you’d be able to keep it,” her mother said, reaching out to touch her arm.

Royal wiped the tears that blanketed her face. “That was all they allowed me to keep,” she said, wanting to run away.

Her mother sobbed. “I’ve been looking for you since you were put up for adoption. And I even hired a private detective, who finally came back three years ago and said that you were dead. But there wasn’t a single night that I didn’t pray for my girls, worry about you and miss you.” Her voice faded as she cried.

Dmitry motioned towards the door and quietly excused the rest of the family so that Ms. Smith and Royal could speak in private. Turnig quickly as he ducked out of the room, Royal looked to him, begging him through her eyes to stay.

“Baby, you can do this. I’ll be right in the next room. Why don’t you two get familiar, and we’ll join you in a little while,” Dmitry said, holding Anya in his arms.

“Okay,” Royal said, wiping tears.

***

While Royal got to know her mother, the men excused themselves and left Briggy, Anya and Renee to get familiar with the upstairs entertainment rooms. There were things to discuss that dealt with immediate life or death. And they knew that the senior Boss Medlov would want to weigh in on the matter.

Convening out on the deck in a secluded area by the cove and with drinks in hand, the three of them laid out the plan.

“Yuri has always been a slick sonofabitch,” Dmitry said, sipping his scotch. “I should have known that he might do something like this as soon as I was out of the way.”

“So what do you think that we should do?” Anatoly asked, enjoying in the warm breeze coming from the waterway.

“After this little reunion, you and I are going back to Memphis together,” Dmitry said with a clever grin.

“Papa, you haven’t been to the states since the thing,” Anatoly said worried.

“I’m not a fugitive. I can come back whenever I like, and I’d like to go now. I can’t wait to see their faces.”

“You better not let Agosto find out,” Anatoly said laughing.

Dmitry laughed with him. “I should probably give him a call...just to fuck with him.” He turned to his son and sighed. “Did Adolfo happen to send any cigars with him?”

Anatoly stopped smiling and nodded. “Da, papa. He sent some.”

“If you don’t mind,” Dmitry said, motioning towards the door of the patio. “Go and get one for me.”

Anatoly turned and looked at Gabriel with a frown and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”

Gabriel watched quietly wondering what he had missed. Taking a deep, quiet breath, he took a sip of his scotch and sat back in the chair.

When Anatoly had gone, Dmitry turned to Gabriel and stared him down. He waited a minute, thinking thoughts in his head, calculating. Then, he gave a clever, summed-up smirk.

“Since we’re all having our own little mini-reunions, I thought you and I might have one ourselvesd, motioy said, reaching into his pocket.

Gabriel waited for a gun to emerge from his uncle’s pocket, but instead, he pulled out an envelope. Sliding it over to him as a gust of wind blew through, he looked his nephew in the eye. “This is for you.”

“What is it?” Gabriel asked, taking the envelope.

“You mother was cut out of her family’s estate, because she didn’t see eye to eye with your grandmother about me. That is the money that was supposed to go to her upon your grandmother’s death. Now, I tried to give it to her shortly after you were born, but she wouldn’t take a dime of it.”

Gabriel opened the envelope to find a check for $35 million dollars. Shaking his head, he tried to give it back.

“I don’t deserve this,” Gabriel said, voice trembling.

“You do deserve it. It’s yours. And I won’t take it back or be refused,” Dmitry said, sitting back in his chair. He bit his bottom lip and tapped the table with his large hand.

“Why now?” Gabriel asked, looking at the check.

“Because I have the distinct feeling that after this reunion of ours and after we return to Memphis, we won’t be seeing each other anymore; that is after we both get what we came for. So, this is yours. And it won’t bounce after the meeting. It’ll never bounce. It’s yours. You cash it when you’re ready, when you can. You and Briggy can start over somewhere fresh where there are no extradition treaties.” He smirked.

Gabriel sat quietly, fighting the tears and trying to catch his breath. He looked up at the night sky and nodded. His bottom lip quivered.

“Hey.” Dmitry looked him in his eyes. “I want you to know that what happened to you was my fault. And I don’t blame you. I don’t fault you for what you have become as a result. And I made a promise to Royal after she found out our little story and after you reconnected her to her mother that I’d see after you. This...this should do just that.”

Gabriel wiped his eyes. “Do you...do you know who I am?”

Dmitry smiled and raised his drink. “You’re a Medlov.”

The sound of the ocean waves beating against the rocks calmed the moment. They both stared at each other, both men from different sides of the same coin.

Anatoly came through the doors with three cigars in his hand and walked back over to the table. Sitting down, he noticed the mood change. Looking at his father, he shrugged. “What did I miss?” he asked, passing his father his cigar.