AN: Hi there! I know I keep saying that the confrontation with Tasha is coming soon, but Abe is one of my favorite characters to write so I had to dedicate a little page time to him! I hope this long chapter makes up for it! Please read and review!

My heart jumped into my throat. I didn't know enough about this man to know if he could be trusted and we had a lot to lose here, but something told me that if I tried to lie my way out of this, he would see right through me.

Despite the fact that my guardian mask was improving from being around Dimitri so much, he must have seen my panic because he took another sip from his glass and chuckled.

"Your secrets are safe with me, little girl. I only want to help."

I eyed him closely. At first glance, he looked like a cartoon character with the way he dresses. He was wearing a pinstriped suit with a white silk button up left open over his chest to show off the gold necklace he was wearing. Once you got past his clothes though, he had a hard look about him. His eyes were alert and sharp and I felt like there was little he didn't see. Despite not being royal, he carried himself with an air of entitlement and power that other moroi rarely had. He gave the impression that he was the master of his universe… whatever that was. At the very least, I could tell he was not a man to be trifled with. I couldn't tell him the whole story without outing Dimitri and I so I settled for half the truth.

"Long story short, old man, Tasha has it out for me and thinks she can blackmail me to get what she wants." He looked me up and down with an intensity that made me feel like he was looking into my soul.

"And have you done something that can be used against you, Rose?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and I turned to face him. "That depends on who you ask," I said with an air that I hoped let him know that the conversation was over.

He smiled at me and shook his head. "You really are my kid aren't you?"

As I turned to go, he called out to me. "Rose, when I said your secrets are safe with me, I meant it… all of them." He nodded briefly over my shoulder to where Dimitri stood inside in front of the window talking to my mom. I stared at him with wide eyes and he just winked at me.

When I got back inside I grabbed Dimitri by the arm and pulled him to the corner of the room. "You were talking to Abe earlier. Did you tell him about us?"

Dimitri's mouth dropped open in shock before he recovered. "No, of course no," he whispered. "Why on earth would I do that?"

"I don't know," I hissed, "All I know is that you guys looked like you knew each other and that Abe knows about us… and that he will probably tell my mom. How do you know him?"

I listened in awe as Dimitri quietly told me more about the day he beat up his father; about how he had made his father leave, but Abe made sure he never came back. It was crazy to think that Dimitri knew my dad years before I knew him. Probably knew him better than I did too.

"They call him Zmey… the snake," he continued. "I owe him for protecting my family and I dread the day he calls in that favor."

He glanced across the room at Abe and swallowed. Abe really must be something to intimidate Dimitri, the most fearless person I know.

"You said he would tell your mom, why would he do that?" Dimitri turned back to me.

I sighed. "Because he's my…"

"Rose! You have to come open your presents!" Lissa appeared at my shoulder, cutting me off and dragged me towards the sofa. I looked apologetically at Dimitri, hoping he understood that our conversation wasn't over and he smiled softly at me.

When I awoke the next morning, I had one blissful moment of peace before remembering Tasha was arriving today. I was going to do my best to avoid her until I absolutely had to see her at the ceremony tomorrow, but that might be easier said than done. She had invited us all to eat with her in guest housing tonight and tomorrow night, so I had to figure out a good reason to get out of it, at least for tonight.

Little did I know the perfect opportunity was waiting for me outside my dorm. As I left for the dining hall, I ran into my parents almost immediately.

"What are you guys doing over here?" I asked.

"Just headed to breakfast," my mom answered, "did you want to join us?"

I couldn't think of anything more awkward than sitting down to eat breakfast with my estranged mom and my long lost dad in the cafeteria.

"Uh no thanks, I'll eat with Liss this morning." My mom looked disappointed but nodded. "Actually, would one of you be free for dinner tonight?" I asked.

"I told Alberta I would help her with the security preparations for tomorrow. Aren't you going to Lady Ozera's?" She asked.

"How do you know about that?" I gaped at my mom.

"She had invited me as well." I thanked my lucky stars that my mom was busy and not going to the dinner because I wouldn't put it past Tasha to cause a scene in front of her, just to ruin my life some more.

Abe smirked at me. "Rose, we can have dinner. I understand if you'd rather skip Tasha's invitation."

I sighed with relief. Dimitri was just going to have to suffer through her dinner without me. "Thanks!"

When I told Dimitri, he was just as annoyed as I expected. "You're leaving me to deal with her alone? I thought you loved me Rose." He looked at me out of the side of his eye.

"Don't be so dramatic, Comrade," I laughed. "I'm sure without me there she'll be much more pleasant."

"Probably, she'll just be flirting with me the whole time though." He sounded so appalled by it, I had to laugh.

"Well at least I know I have nothing to worry about." Dimitri rolled his eyes at me before continuing on this patrol and leaving me to check him out as he walked off.

When my dad picked me up for dinner, I couldn't help but feel a little awkward. This was the first time we'd been alone together for any length of time and I had no idea what to say. He was dressed in a similar way to how he was yesterday, like an over the top mobster with his fancy scarf and gold chain. Thank goodness I didn't inherit his fashion sense.

We were silent as he led me to a small restaurant I had heard about, but never seen. It was tucked away in the most exclusive section of guest housing that was usually reserved for high level royals or the queen when she visited. Last time I checked, Mazur wasn't a royal last name so Abe must have some serious connections or money to get us in here. As I looked over the menu and saw the price of the food I looked at Abe with my eyebrows raised.

"How did you get a table in here?"

"Like I told you before, Rose. There aren't a lot of people who can say no to me in this world."

I snorted. "What does that even mean? You aren't a royal."

Abe sipped his scotch slowly before answering. "Being royal isn't the only way to acquire power. You do what I do for long enough, in addition to money, you end up with a lot of people owing you favors."

"People like Dimitri?" I asked. Before I got any further with Abe, I needed to know he wasn't holding anything over Dimitri's head. I wouldn't take kindly to people trying to push my boyfriend around.

"He told you about that?" Abe asked and I nodded. "The Belikovs are a rare family. I can count on one hand the amount of times I have done something for someone for free, and helping them is one of them. At first I thought I could call in a favor from the Belikovs later. I'm always in need of good and loyal guardians. I thought I might need Dimitri one day. He was already an incredible fighter when I met him at 13. But the Belikovs have become friends during my trips to Baia for work, so no favor owed any more."

"You're friends with the Belikovs?" I found it pretty unfair that my estranged dad has spent time with my boyfriends family before me.

"I am," he smiled slowly, "so you can imagine my surprise when they told me how excited they were for Dimka to bring his American girlfriend to come and visit this summer. A beautiful young lady named Roza."

I groaned. Of all the ways I thought that Abe might have found out about us, I never expected it to be from Dimitri's family.

"So that's how you found out? I thought you might have spied on me or something." The thought seemed outlandish, but with all this power and influence Abe apparently had and the fact that I still didn't really understand what he did for a living, I wouldn't have put it past him.

"Spy on you? Never, my girl. Look out for you? Always." He had a fiercely protective look on his face that I recognized. It was the same look I got when anyone tried to harm Lissa.

"Oh really? How can you look out for someone you just met?" I'd been doing a great job looking out for myself for the last 18 years and this man thought he could just sweep in now and try to coddle me? Not a chance.

Abe leaned forward, making the atmosphere a lot more serious. "Rose, if you think for a second I have not known where you were and how you were doing over the last 18 years, you are mistaken. How do you think you never encountered any strigoi while you and Lissa were on the run?"

I gaped at him. "You knew where we were the whole time? And had people looking out for us?"

"Of course I did. The guardians I hired were never far from you. You and the princess we're doing a fine job on your own, but I would never have let harm come to you."

I guess it wasn't luck that had kept Lissa and I safe. "How come you didn't tell the school where we were? I know mom would have turned us in in a heartbeat."

"It's not for me to judge your choices, only to keep you safe." He shrugged and pulled two envelopes out of his pocket. "Which brings me to my graduation presents for you that I know your mother would not approve of."

Abe slid two small envelopes across the table at me. I looked at him warily before grabbing the top one. There was a small navy colored book inside and when I slid it out onto the table, I saw the gold lettering on the front: United States of America, Passport.

"Open it up," Abe prompted and I gaped at him.

The first page had all of my information on it and a picture of me looking back. Flipping to the next page, I saw a second sticker with my name and picture on it… a tourist visa for Russia.

"How did you get this?" I had been trying to figure out how to apply for my passport every day since I asked Lissa for time off to meet Dimitr's family the other day and couldn't believe Abe had taken care of it for me.

"I have connections in the human government too. And I got the picture from your mom." Abe grinned at the astounded look on my face. "You have one more to open," he reminded me.

When I shook the second envelope onto the table, a small, shiny, black card fell out. It was an American Express card in the name of Rosemarie Hathaway. When I picked it up, it was heavy in my hand, made of something of a higher quality than plastic.

"I can't take this." I immediately tried to hand the card back to Abe. I had a hard enough time accepting gifts from Lissa and she was more like family than this guy was.

"Yes you can." Abe pushed the card back towards me. "This is what you should have had your entire life if it had been safe enough. You are my daughter and what's mine is yours."

"I don't need your money." I crossed my arms over my chest and leveled him with a hard stare, but Abe just smirked.

"That look doesn't work on me, Little Girl. I don't care if you need it or not, but this is what parents do, they pay for you. Use it every day, or leave it in the drawer for emergencies. I don't care, but I want you to know you have it." He paused and sipped his scotch. "I thought you might want your first purchase to be a plane ticket to Russia."

He had me and he knew it. The only thing I would hate more than Abe paying for my ticket would be Dimitri paying for it. Slowly, I slid the card back towards me. "Thank you," I whispered as I lifted the card, feeling its weight in my hand. I may not use this card unless I needed to, but it still felt good to have a safety net.

"You're really not upset about me and Dimitri?" I figured offering to pay for plane tickets was as close to a blessing as I could get.

"Belikov is a good man… and now I can see what Tasha Ozera hates you so much."

AN: Okay, question for you all: Should I leave the confrontation with Tasha to the gang or should I bring Abe along too? He's just so much fun and I would love to see him smack down Tasha in that special scary way he has. Please review and let me know!