Zaal was gritting his teeth so tightly I thought his jaw might break. Avto glanced around the room, and his hands started to shake. My eyes narrowed seeing his anxiousness, his sudden change. “Lideri,” Avto properly addressed Zaal, “I, along with my wife, we buried your family—your parents, your grandmama.” Avto shook his head. “The little ones—your youngest brother and sister.” Zaal’s breathing deepened and quickened in pace. His nostrils were flaring. The effect Avto’s storytelling had on Zaal was there for all to see.

Avto bowed his head. When he looked back up his eyes were red. “I couldn’t believe it, sir. All that life, gone; left to die like animals.” He wiped at his damp cheeks, then said, “We buried all of your family, Lideri, on the hill on your property, in case you ever go back.” I could hear the grinding of Zaal’s teeth, but everything went silent when Avto informed, “All except one.”

The room temperature seemed to drop, and Zaal growled, “Explain,” his deep rough voice betraying how painful all of this was to him.

Avto swallowed and continued, “When we were lifting the bodies, we thought they were all dead.” He took a deep breath and added, “But when we reached the bottom, we noticed that someone was breathing. Hurt, severely wounded, but there was still life.”

“Who?” Zaal demanded, the veins cording in his neck.

“Zoya, Lideri. Little Zoya was alive.”

A soft cry came from across the room. Talia had her hand over her mouth and her eyes staring at her man. “Baby. Your Zoya.”

Zaal’s body began shaking. Every part of him shook, until he managed to ask, “She was breathing? She was alive?”

Avto’s face fell, and he said quietly, “Yes, Lideri. She had been shot three times. She was bleeding badly, and I feared she would die before we could get her help.” Avto ran his hand across the back of his neck. His face had turned ghostly white. After several seconds, he continued, “We managed to get her to a family member of mine. My wife—” His voice broke, but he coughed and said, “My wife held her tiny body in her arms. There was blood everywhere, and the little one was so pale. My wife stroked through her hair, and rubbed at her arms to keep her warm until we got to my cousin’s house.”

A tear ran down Avto’s cheek; this time he didn’t even wipe it away. His old eyes were lost in the memory, his aged hands clasping together so hard that his knuckles were bone white.

“My cousin had to work hard, Lideri, but he managed to extract the bullets.” He shook his head as if ridding something from memory. “She lost so much blood that my wife and I were covered. But she fought so hard to stay alive. Her little five-year-old body would not give up. She was so strong, so brave.”

This time sniffing came from both Kisa and Talia and when I looked to my friend he was practically unchanged, but his cheeks were wet with tears, his green eyes haunted. I closed my eyes, feeling the hurt in my chest. Hurt that this new brother of mine had thought everyone was dead, only now to be told he had blood left alive.

“She was brave?” Zaal asked in a broken voice, pride filling every word. Avto nodded and Zaal’s lip twitched. “She always was. A true little warrior.”

Avto’s attention fell to the floor at Zaal’s words. “Day by day she grew stronger, until the day she finally woke up.” More tears fell down Avto’s cheeks. “She was so scared. So frightened. At first she did not remember; then, gradually, the memories returned in her dreams and she screamed.” Avto sighed sadly. “My wife tried to give Zoya comfort, but she wanted her mama and papa.” Avto’s sad gaze lifted to Zaal. “She wanted her sykhaara. She wanted you.”

A pained sound came from Zaal’s mouth and his head fell forward. “Where is she?” he asked roughly, “Where is my little Zoya?”

Although it seemed impossible, Avto paled even more. He said quickly and shakily, “We fled Tbilisi. We found a way to get into America and brought her here. But the guard that had been left alive at your home had told the Jakhuas that Zoya had survived. He joined their organization to save his own life.” Avto swallowed. “They knew we had fled to the United States, so Zoya’s hiding began. To protect her.”

Avto stepped forward to Zaal’s huge frame. “We kept her hidden, fearing that the Jakhuas would come for her if they knew where we lived. Then. Not long ago, we heard Jakhua had been killed.”

Avto stared off to the side and inhaled deep. “I went to her days ago to tell her the news.” Avto wiped his sleeve across his face. “And I told her … I told her even better news.”

“Which was?” I pushed when the old man didn’t continue.

Avto shook his head and looked at Zaal. “Lideri, our people, the clan that survived Jakhua, most moved here to New York. We are not the army we once were, but there are loyal men, many of whom have gone on to have sons. They have stayed close to Zoya, to honor the sole survivor of our family.”

Zaal shifted on his feet and tipped his chin for Avto to continue. Avto bowed his head and did as commanded. “Some of our men had heard rumors that Jakhua had you and Lideri Anri held captive.” Avto darted his eyes to me, then immediately looked back to Zaal. “They had heard that the Volkovs, the Tolstois, had captured you.”

“They saved me,” Zaal corrected sharply.

Avto froze. The old man quickly held up his hand. “Yes, Lideri. That became known when the men began tailing the Russians.” Avto looked over his shoulder to Talia. I could see the anger in his eyes. “And we saw that you were engaged to a Tolstoi.”

The air around us seemed to turn ice cold as I, Talia, my men, and, more important, Zaal took real fucking offense at his shitty looks. I had shifted to move when Zaal pushed me back and barked, “Talia will soon be my wife. And the Volkovs, the Tolstois, are my family. You do not look at any of them with disgust!”

Avto shuffled back in fear of Zaal. Mikhail caught him by the neck and threw him forward until he fell to his knees. Zaal cracked his knuckles, his expression livid. He bit out, “Where is my sister?”

Zaal walked over to tower above Avto and repeated, “Where is my sister?”

Avto shook his head. “I do not know.” Avto reached into his pocket and nervously held out something in his hand. I frowned, wondering what it was. When Zaal took it and lifted it, I saw it was a photograph. Zaal studied the picture and said, “It’s me and Talia.”

I peered over Zaal’s shoulder to see Zaal and Talia laughing in the shot. Zaal wiped at the picture, dried dirt coming off on his hands.

I frowned and, finally losing my patience, said to Avto, “You need to start speaking, because I’m starting to lose my shit with you.”

Avto’s lips trembled, and he confessed to Zaal, “I told your sister we had found you.” Zaal froze; then Avto continued, “She fell to the floor, the shock too much after all of these years alone.” Avto began to cry, his voice growing thick. “She asked about you, where you had been, what had happened to her brothers. I told her we had only found you.” Avto paused, then added, “I told her what Jakhua had done to you.”

“No,” Zaal hissed, and shook his head.

“She was so hurt,” Avto continued. “She asked where you were, what you looked like, if you were safe.” Avto pointed at the picture. “I gave her that picture. One of our men took it to verify you were alive.”

“What did she do?” Zaal asked roughly. I could hear him working hard to keep his emotions under control. He stared down at the picture. “When she saw this.” His thumb ran over Talia’s face. “When she saw me and my Talia?”

Avto blinked away his tears. “She cried.” Avto flicked a worried glance to me, then said to Zaal, “She asked who the woman was.”

Zaal maintained a stony silence as he waited for the man to continue.

Avto sighed. “I told her she was a Tolstoi.”

Zaal stiffened and I saw him wince. “What did she say?” he prompted cautiously.

Avto’s face filled with redness, and his head fell. “She did not understand how you could be with a Tolstoi.”