Knox Brotherhood

by Knox, Elizabeth

  The whole room goes silent, and Ion points to the leader of Clan Adame. He is an older man and doesn't usually speak too much at these meetings unless something really strikes a chord. That's not one I'm close with, but he is a Clan leader none-the-less and therefore we must listen if he has something he needs to say. I lean back in my chair and put my chin to my fist I find out what is going on with the Clans.

  The old man's voice is shaky, and now that I look at him, I can see that he's definitely up in his years and maybe not even well. “Many of you may know this by now, but in case you don't, I am terminally ill. I have been sick for a long time fighting this disease, but I'm afraid I'm on my last leg here. I can't fight anymore. We are looking at months, possibly even weeks, before I pass away, and the problem is my sons and daughters are dead. Well, the truth, I do have one child. I have one child left; a daughter who has been running from me for many years. I know that I have probably deserved it, probably been or harsh man, but now that I am dying I see that I need her. We all need her. We can't keep losing the Clans and turning them over to somebody who doesn't understand the inner circle just because we are lacking in male descendants. On top of the fact that I'm going to ask you to help me find my daughter, I also ask you to support Mariana in a vote to see if women can rule.”

  A scandalous whisper travels around the room. This man from Clan Adame is the last man I would think would vote for something like this, something so new age as a woman ruling. But I guess I was wrong, I guess death tends to put things into perspective for you. Really, he is right about this because we can't afford to fuck up the Clans’ infrastructure every single time we lose a Clan leader when there is no direct descendant.

  Ion brings his hand down again on the table, but this time it's louder, causing some to jump in their seats. Everyone looks to him as he begins to speak. “In this instance I will have to agree that we need to keep the infrastructure between the Clans solid. We have already undergone so many changes because of the death of Clan leaders. My beautiful wife here who I remind you is actually a Vasile and technically the rightful leader to the Clans. If women were allowed to rule, things would change drastically. I did not see the reason until Clan Adame came to me in earnest. We are going to find Willow, we're going to find and bring her here, and hopefully, if we vote correctly she can rule, but if not, we will take her heir just fine. We will help her find a good marriage with a man worthy of the Romanian blood. I want you to prepare to send a group of your men out, a team that does nothing but search for this woman. You are to capture her, and you are to bring her to me. We need to get her here as soon as possible and explain to her that she is an important part of this Clan family.”

  I look around the room and see complete compliance. Everyone is nodding their heads, at least to the fact that they need to find Willow in order to maintain Clan Adame’s operations. I think we're going to be seeing this more often as many of the Clan leaders are aging. The only young ones that are here are myself and Ion. It's really going to make a difference in the way we run things.

  Ion motions to Mariana to stand up and speak to everyone. I can see the passion in her face and her movements as she begins to explain to everyone exactly how she feels about the fact that she was not allowed to be Clan leader on her own, about the fact that no woman could be Clan leader on their own. This is the moment we've all been waiting for, and I know I have a fiancé waiting back at home to know what happens, what comes of this.

  “As you all know, I have been saying for a long time that the way we do things is completely antiquated. I know that I have not always been involved in Clan business and that I was captured for many years. Does that mean that I don't deserve to know what's going on and to have a say? Women can vote, and women could hold offices. This is the 21st century, and I damn well think we better hop on board. You may disagree, and that is your right, but I am not going to sit here and do nothing about it. My husband, Ion, came to his senses and decided to allow me to announce this, this vote.

  This vote is going to determine the future of the Clans and who can run them. We have another Clan in trouble because guess what… there is no male heir! It is best if we let women rule. This will fix the trouble with Clan Constantin as well as Clan Adame. I beseech you, your business sense to choose wisely. The future of the Clans is in each of your hands. For the future of our children and for your daughters, consider this. Thank you.”

  I'm surprised at how eloquent she is even though she is obviously angry at this. She's angry at the way that this has been done, but she's not showing anger, only passion. If anyone can convince anyone of anything in this room, it would be her. I bet my Natasha could hold her own in here if she could come. I don't think she's ready for this yet anyway. I know she thinks she is, but she has no idea what she's getting into.

  I plan to teach her all of this especially if she's going to inherit her father's business as well. She needs to be a knowledgeable leader.

  Paper slips and pens are being passed to each Clan leader, and I ask for a second from Mariana on behalf Constantin. I tell her for now until this vote changes things I will be the one making the vote. She gives me a look but says nothing else as she hands me the materials that I need.

  I know what I'm supposed to write down on here. At least, I know what Natasha would want me to write on here. Well, I don't want to go home and tell her that I did not vote for women to rule.

  I needed something that would handle the situation of a husband, though. The man or the woman should not be kept from ruling because of the other. There needs to be a rule to reflect both situations.

  I write my vote and fold the little pieces of paper and pass them down to Ion and Mariana. They don't even have to take the vote into account. Ion can override and do whatever he wants with the Clans, but I think he has a great respect for all of us and wouldn’t do that unless he absolutely had to.

  Mariana looks over Ion’s shoulder as he gets all of the ballots in. He looks thoughtful as he reads every single one of them, and we all wait with bated breath to see what the actual outcome will be. This could be a monumental day for the Clans. I don't think there's been a change at all to the structure, the rules, or the way we do things in maybe a century.

  I can read the triumphant look on Mariana's face. I've seen a few times in my own girl back at home. I bet those two would get along pretty damn well.

  “Well, it looks like we have what's a completely split vote here, but it looks like some of you have some interesting ideas a way to compromise here.” When he says it and smiles at me, and I know it has to do with what I said about the man and the woman ruling together. The way that Mariana and Ion already do, even if it's unofficial. “From this day forward, I declare as king of the Clans, women are allowed to rule their Clan. If a woman marries, the man will rule with her as a unified team. The duties will be split between the two of them as they see fit. The vote will also be between the two of them. So, when we find Willow, she will rule. Also, I think that may change things for Natasha, right Anton? I guess we will be seeing her from now on.” Ion smirks at me like he knows I have a handful to take care of now. We will hopefully be married before she even gets a chance to try and wreck all of this. She is my hot mess, but she would totally be a fucking hot mess when it came to the Clans right now. She is a Kolosov. It's in her blood to be crazy as shit.

  “Yes, it looks like it,” I say as I meet his eyes. Then, I turn to Mariana. “Congratulations on changing things. Sorry I was so harsh before, but I never saw it coming.” Mariana and nods at me, and not like she is angry, just happy. I can't wait to tell Natasha.

  EPILOGUE

  All of me, loves all of you.

  - John Legend

  Natasha

  Nina begins to stir in her bassinet, and I know what that means. Even though she is so small and helpless this child has a clock inside of her. She nails being right on the dot when it's time for Mama to feed her.

  As I get up to scoop her into my arms
and bring her to the sofa with me, I still can't believe even after 7 months since her birth that I am a mother. Other than my body, I think I should feel different, and yet, I don’t. It doesn’t feel real. I love it, don't get me wrong. It's nothing like I thought it would be.. It's just not exactly where I saw myself, and yet it works so well. It doesn't help that she is so beautiful. It is hard to think that Anton and I created this. Created this beautiful life form that is going to grow up to take on the world. I can feel it. She is a strong one. Hopefully stronger than I ever was in the beginning. Maybe stronger than I am now.

  She coos as I hold her against my body, and I am filled with this overwhelming fuzzy feeling, this love that I have for her. When I look down at her, I see me. A miniature version of myself even though she's only 7 months old. She has my delicate skin and a tuft of deep red hair on top of her head. My cheekbones, my everything, except for one thing. When she opens her eyes and looks at me I can’t help but smile into the depths of those eyes. They are Anton's eyes, dark and filled with mystery.

  Anton enters the room, he watches me begin to feed our daughter. He seems to think I'm the most beautiful thing on the planet, especially now that I've had his child. I almost feel like a goddess sometimes the way he looks at me, the way he worships me. He even still worships my body even though it feels a little different to me.

  “So, it seems that Clan Constantin is warmed up to you,” Anton brings up, and I make sure that Nina got settled and is doing well before I look up at him again to have this conversation. I didn’t think I would be a breastfeeding mother but after Anton showed me all these articles on how it is for bonding and for Nina’s health, I hopped on board. It feels entirely natural now, not weird at all.

  “I think it has something to do with my last name, or at least my former last name. They probably think my father is going to make an appearance at some point, not that I would be surprised considering he likes to show up at the most inconvenient times and places,” I say with an eye roll.

  “No, I don't think it's just that. I think you have this commanding presence that is close to the same as your father's without quite the amount of cruelty. It is mesmerizing.”

  I shake my head at this man with a smile on my face. He always jumps at the chance to give me a compliment these days. I don't know if he's making up for what this child has done to my body or for all the times that he fucked up before we finally got this right. It’s not perfect, but it's better.

  As Nina finishes feeding I pull my shirt back together and cradle her as I go over to the window. I look out and I'm so happy that I can see the Space Needle. We are in Seattle right now for the summer, because back in Miami it's the middle of tourist Season, and I was not wanting to be there at this time of year while getting used to being a mother.

  We split our time now between the two cities, Seattle and Miami, because we have to keep our faces scene for the Clans. We are running two of them right now, after all.

  My cell phone goes off and instinctively I know who it is. It is Bethany, probably wanting to tell me about the date she had last night. She's found yet another man, but in my opinion this one is a keeper. Not only is he good looking, but he is also responsible. He's a little mysterious because he is always quiet when I see him, I think that's okay for Beth. Beth is so loud, she is enough for both of them in that department. The thought of that makes me laugh, and I make sure not to say that to her when I look down at the text message.

  “Is that from Bethany?” Anton asks as he comes closer, his hands sliding across my shoulder and giving me a chill.

  “Yes, it actually is Bethany. She's telling me all about her date last night.” Anton nods, and I think it's a little sweet. They've developed a good friendship between the two of them. I think he's almost as protective of her as he is of me. It's a great thing considering Bethany is really my family. She's much more my family than my father Sergei is. I am pretty sure Anton knows that. “She says he was a total gentleman always opening doors and pulling out chairs for her, and she was getting a little bit suspicious of him doing that for that. I told her that that's ridiculous that she must have just finally found her good man. She deserves a good man. Maybe she'll get married and have a baby too and our babies can be best friends, wouldn't that be nice?” Oh, my fucking god, being a mama has turned me to mush. I want all these silly things. I have different dreams now, dreams that I have never wanted before. I still love my shop, but now I want things having to do with babies and marriage and all of that yuck stuff. But you know what, Anton told me something once, that many people believe that love makes you weak, but it actually makes you stronger. I think I believe that more than ever now. And maybe that's how Nina, the beautiful baby in my arms will grow up to be strong, because both of us love her more than anyone has ever loved either of us before.

  Anton just laughs at me, so I change the subject. It’s like he knows what I am thinking, but it’s not so scary anymore and is actually warming to me. I go back to talking about Clan business particularly a piece of business that I myself am worrying about. “Can you tell me if there has been any luck and tracking down Willow?” The Clan leader has been hanging on by a thread for a long time now. In fact, we have almost lost him in the hospital a few times now. The Clan is very stressed, and they need a leader. Now that women can rule a Clan, Willow has the potential to inherit a great deal of things. She'll have a lot on her shoulders. I can see how someone might run from that especially if she's gotten word of any of this. But apparently, she's been running for a long time. I have quite the harsh father myself, so I can understand. But she needs to be found in order to maintain the structure of the Clans.

  “Unfortunately, there have not been any developments at all. I still have my men out there like everyone else. I guess this one is just good at hiding. I promise that you will be the first one to know when I find out anything, okay?”

  I nod and sigh feeling pretty bad for the girl. She is traumatized because her father's been searching this long for her, she wouldn't dare trust any of us. I wish I could find her and take her under my wing. But I have my own things to deal with here in like two Clans and a 7-month-old baby.

  Anton keeps looking at me, and I can feel his eyes on me. It's starting to get kind of creepy even though I love the way he looks at me sometimes. So, I go back to the couch humming a little song to Nina, and I catch his eyes with mine. I want to know what in the world he's thinking right now. “What the hell are you looking at? Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

  “Would you believe me if I said it was because you were so beautiful?” I laugh at that knowing he is up to something, though I'm not quite sure what. I shake my head at him and look back down at Nina. He looks at us again, looking down at Nina and then back up at me and he gets this goofy grin on his face, one that I don't get to see very often considering he's always so composed. “I want another one,” Anton says simply. It's kind of ironic considering the news that I have for him than I've been holding back on because I didn't know quite how he would feel about it. I guess I know the answer to that now though.

  I start laughing, and he looks at me sideways. “Well that's good because I'm pregnant again by the way.” In an instant he is coming to sit with us and giving a kiss to both of our foreheads.

  “Are you serious?” he asks with a sparkle in his eyes. Anton loves the idea of children and a big family. I could tell the moment he reacted the way he did about me being pregnant with Nina. I am glad that I got through all my hang ups and married this man.

  “I don’t think it’s something I would joke about,” I tell him, feeling slightly amused. He kisses me all over my face and leans down to kiss my abdomen like he did the very first time.

  “I don’t think I could be any happier than I am right now. You are amazing and beautiful, and I love you. I fucking love you, Natasha,” he says. I don’t think I will ever tire of hearing it.

  “Well, I fucking love you too.”

  The End


  COMING SOON—CHERISHED

  (THE CLANS #3)

  Prologue

  What you allow is what will continue. - Anonymous

  6 months ago…

  Duncan

  My eyes overlook the wet cobblestone streets below me. Each and every day I do this. I stand at the top of the third floor and look out onto the streets, to those below us. Each person is a new face, ultimately posing a new threat. Not all of them do, but some…yes, some live to instill fear and attempt to take what isn’t theirs.

  I have been here, in this magnificent London townhome for the past six years. I do not own it. I simply live here, working for the man whom holds all the power.

  Kristof Adame is many things, the most pertinent being the leader of Clan Adame. He is the Romanian mob leader who oversees operations in the U.K. As of late, his health has been deteriorating more and more. He refuses to discuss his ailment with any of us, but we aren’t blind. We can all see that whatever this is, it is slowly killing him. And if I was a betting man, I’d say that he doesn’t have too much longer.

  “Domn wants to see you,” I hear one of my close friends, James, call out from behind me. He’s informed me that Kristof is requesting my presence. I continue to stand overlooking the streets, watching as the passersby continue to go about their daily lives. Sometimes I stand up here and wonder what exactly it is that they’re doing, where they are headed, the possibilities are endless.

  “His need is an urgent one,” James tells me, sounding oh so serious.

  There are times to take our jobs seriously, in fact, most days we do. However, I do not believe being summoned by Kristof is a life or death matter. It would be different if certain circumstances had arisen, but I know they did not. I would be the first to know. In a way, I am like Kristof’s right hand man. When he needs someone to do his bidding, he doesn’t send an inexperienced chump. He sends the man he know will complete the task at hand, regardless of what he asks.