9.

Ava looked at herself in the big mirror and once more she cursed in Russian for letting her uncle talking her into this.

"You look beautiful" a cute girl looking at her said.

Ava looked at her through the mirror. She was a pretty little thing that reminded Ava of Diamond. The thought of that little minx around Opie made her blood boil. It's been more than two weeks than she last saw him and yet she couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Are you the one my uncle bangs?" Ava whipped her.

"Um…Yes"

"Take it easy on him. He is an old man after all"

"For an old man he has an insatiable appetite" the girl threw back.

"Ava is family. No need to lie" her uncle interrupted.

The girl walked up to him and kissed him on his closely shaved cheek before leaving them alone.

"She lies. To protect me. I have slept with her once or twice. I can't… After your aunt died" he said in Russian

"But the pakhan of Sacramento has to be a virile man. I see. Please, ask her to forgive me. I didn't mean to snap at her" Ava replied in the same language.

"Thank you for doing this, Aventina. I have missed you. It would be a solace in my solitude. Your father…"

"Sure thing, uncle. I'll be right down" Ava interrupted.

Her uncle left her alone and Ava held back her tears. Her phone chimed and she got a text from Izzy. She was letting her know that Passado was still in isolation and that she was pushing him to go all RICO on the Mayans. No mention of the Sons. Ava left her phone and took a deep breath.

She got out of the bathroom and went down the stairs. Her uncle's house was an extravagant villa in Mediterranean style on over an acre of grounds, with a pool, tennis court, waterfalls and the whole shebang. She could hear voices coming from the main dining room, talking in Russian and there was a sweet mixture of nostalgia and pain. The moment she stepped into the dining room she was welcomed with a wave of enthusiasm. She saw faces she hadn't seen in years and others that she had never seen. There were cousins and friends, their wives and their children. They all looked at her like a prodigal daughter coming back into the fold. And at the head of the enormous table, filled with a ridiculous amount of food, was her uncle, busting with happiness.

"Sit on my right" he invited her.

The time flew by as she was filled in of all she had lost of the family stories. She couldn't but smile on the fortitude of life. All these people on the table had lost family, bled, did time. And yet they were enjoying Sunday lunch with a bunch of kids running around like crazy, playing as if all was good in life. By the time the sun started going down, one by one left the house, paying their respect to her uncle and her. Soon all that were left in the house was her, her uncle and the girl that seemed to take care of him.

"You'll stay for dinner?" her uncle asked.

"Dinner? I am full. Are you trying to kill me with Stroganoff? But I'm staying. That was the deal, wasn't it?"

"I was hoping you would do it because you wanted to"

"I'll stay for dinner, uncle" she managed to muster a smile "Gladly"

He leaned in and left a kiss on her forehead.

"You must excuse me for a while, volchitsa. Oh, I almost forgot. There is something for you. In the library" he pointed at the room.

Ava frowned surprised and then smiled. Her uncle used to spoil her with expensive gifts since he never had kids of his own. For some reason he always knew exactly what she needed and nothing got in the way of getting it for her. She shook her head and made for the library at the other side of the house through the luxurious garden. The night was mild, and the garden's smells hit her nostrils as she strolled through the flowers. The simple long dress she was wearing was rustling and her soft leather ballerinas weren't heard on the stone-paved path. She reached the library and pushed the door open. And froze.

Her mouth stayed open but no words came out. She was still holding the knob on the door and was seriously thinking of closing it back and run away. There, in the cozy library, was Opie standing with his hands in his pockets. He was in a tight, black t-shirt and his cut thrown over it, his hair in a ponytail. She tried to snap out of her astonishment, made a mental note to kill her uncle and finally took a step in. Opie filled the room and looked so much more beautiful than she remembered that she had to tie her hands together to keep them in order.

"Hi" he coughed.

"Hi"

The air became thick between them, filled with desire, spiced with a hint of spite and a lot of fear.

"Radomir, your uncle, told me about tonight. If I am honest, I asked where I could find you. It was either here or at the family lunch, actually"

Ava just kept looking at him. She didn't know what to tell him.

"I wanted to see you" Opie put sincerely.

Her heart was crushed by the sheer fortitude of that sincerity. Of the two warriors in the room, one was the real fearless one and for sure it wasn't her. She felt bad, embarrassed and broken. Not by him. By her whole life that didn't let her fall in his arms and live what was to live with him for as long as she could.

"Opie…I just…" she slurred.

"I know, girl"

She felt the tear run down her cheek before she could stop it. She turned away and hid her face in her hands. He towered behind her, caressed her arm and kissed her shoulder softly.

"We can't" she protested and stepped away.

"Ava"

"Aventina" she turned to him with wet eyes "Aventina Vasilieva. That's my real name. Daughter of Dimitri Vasiliev, tsar of the Russian mob, niece of the pakhan of Sacramento"

Opie looked down at her as if she were telling him the latest news on the agricultural changes.

"I am an outlaw, too. Ava"

"How many have you lost? How many have you killed?" Ava raised her chin.

Opie bit his lower lip.

"I had two brothers. Both dead. The last one by my hand" Ava hit him even harder.

Opie's look darkened.

"My father wanted me to lead the family after my eldest brother was killed brutally. A woman leading the mob! Unheard of!" Ava legs couldn't hold her anymore and she sat on a chair "I haven't done time, I was young but my father was grooming me to lead his empire. He said I had it in me to be the Queen of the underworld while my little brother was an imbecile"

She stopped for her breath was caught when the thought of her brother came once more in her mind. She swallowed but her throat was dry.

"Pyotr. Pyotr was troubled. Our father revered his eldest and loved me, his little princess. No room for Pyotr. What does it do to a boy to grow up without his father's love? To live in spite for his siblings? To be considered a failure? When my mother was left outside our house shot in the head, he lost it. Drugs, alcohol, prostitutes" Ava sniffled.

Opie came near and lunged before her.

"When our father named me the heir, it was the last straw. He shot our father right in front of me and ran. And I went after him. Killed him for revenge. Punched him to death with my bare hands. My own, little brother" Ava started to cry openly.

Opie kneeled on the floor and took her in his arms. She was sobbing and was shaking beyond control. He shushed her as he stroked her hair constantly till her crying was subdued.

"We can't, Opie. We bring havoc to the lives of others. I managed all those years to keep everyone out. Keep my distance from everybody. No one comes in, because he might not come out. I was afraid to get a goddamn dog, for fuck's sake!" she got up away from his arms "Why did I ever come to Charming? Why did I ever stop you from blowing Passado up?"

Opie got up and persisted. He drove his fingers through her dark hair and with his thumb wiped her tears away and forced her to look at him. She could see he understood. He had been through the same pain in his life, all owning up to the life. And then he cracked a smile.

"So, you're telling me I fucked some underworld royalty?"

Ava couldn't help but break a smile. She shook her head and bit her lower lip.

"That's what you heard from all this?"

"For a small time crook in Charming, California I didn't do badly" Opie teased her.

Ava's smile widened and then all her joy fell apart. Her momentary bliss turned sour in her mouth and she wanted to scream. She clenched her teeth and looked away ready to tell him to go. Opie spoke first.

"For as long as it lasts, Ava. If I were to die for a few more days with you so be it" he shrugged.

Ava's eyes narrowed with malice. She hated him for saying the sweetest thing anyone has ever told her. She hated him for being who he was.

"And what if I die because of you?" she spat the words, laden with poison and he was shaken

Ava didn't back down. If anything, she knew she had to hit harder, drive him away, make him angry.

"And what do you expect from this?" she screamed on top of her lungs "That I'd be your old lady? Sit back silently, smile politely, cook your meals and wash your dishes, tuck in your kids and wait patiently to see if you are coming home to fuck me?"

Opie's hands fell on his side. Ava mustered all the courage not to back down seeing him so tense.

"Honestly, Opie. You can't be that stupid. You are not that good a fuck"

He was frowning and his eyes were glaring but he just came closer to her, with a pout that made him irresistible. Ava raised her arms to push him away but he just kept coming. She hit him on the chest and shoved him but it was impossible to move him away.

"Get the fuck away from me! Go away" she tried but the words came out weak.

"No" he closed her in his arms.

"Go away!" she threw her fists on his strong chest.

"No" he pushed her against him.

She had no will left, no strength to resist him. All it took was look up to him, bathe in his look to melt all her resistance.

"We are broken, baby. Broken and toxic and borderline sociopaths" she made one last effort.

"Why poison anyone else then, darling?"

Ava smirked at him.

"You got a point there, big man"

"Hey. I am not just tall, dark and handsome, your Highness"

"I should have never told you about that"

"Well, you did and I find that hot" his hands travelled all over her body "You, my lady, are getting the royal treatment"

They both leaned in for a wet, hot, long kiss.

This is the end of this story of Ava and Opie. Thank you all for taking the time and reading it and thank you for your warm comments.

My thoughts were to let this one go, but it is harder to do so as you write on. So maybe this power couple will come back in a story that brews in my mind and I like to call "The Clash of the Queens"