Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
It’s the only support I have to offer. When we try to talk to her, she has gone to another place in her mind. Our questions remain unanswered, and she stares off into nothingness.
“Get Alexei,” Nikolai instructs me.
I don’t want to leave her, but I do as I’m told.
Alexei’s wife is despondent and obviously traumatized, but there is little I can do for her. I remain quiet at her side, a steady presence until Nakya returns with Alexei. Rather than seeing the situation for what it is, he flies off the handle as soon as he comes down the hall.
I rise to meet him, but he isn’t in a state to hear what I have to say. He reacts with his fist first. I dodge the blow, but I’m not a man to back down. I’m prepared to set him in his place when Nakya inserts herself between us, palms raised and face stern.
In Russian, she calmly informs us that this is not the time or place, redirecting our focus to Talia. It takes a full minute to register that she’s speaking my mother tongue. My little liar is quite at ease with the language, but articulates as most novices do, slowly and succinctly. She chose an inopportune time to pull her trick out of the hat, so for now, I leave it alone.
She was right to redirect our attention back to Talia, and I hope that Alexei will see it that way too. Like me, his temper often gets the best of him, and he finds it difficult to admit when he’s wrong. Not wanting to further upset Talia, we opt to continue our conversation in a mishmash of Russian and English.
“I should kill you for even daring to look at my wife,” Alexei says.
“Do what you must.” I sigh. “I was comforting her as you should have been, instead of playing this game you continue to play.”
Alexei looks at his wife, and still, his default reaction is to doubt her loyalty.
“If you wish to punish someone, Lyoshka, then it needs to be me. Not her. She has done nothing wrong, yet you treat her as if—”
“Do not tell me how to conduct myself. This is my marriage. My business.”
“I am not telling you as a Vor,” I say. “I am telling you as your brother. This is not the man I know.”
Silence settles over us. Alexei appears bewildered by my open admission of our shared DNA. He believes it to be Sergei’s greatest shame, but he should know it’s not mine.
“It’s time we put an end to this, bratan.”
He thrusts out his chest, and his mouth twists into a scornful smile. “Yes, I believe it is.”
There is no mistaking the words as a threat. He outranks me, and he has Viktor’s favor. It would take very little from Alexei’s mouth to turn Viktor’s opinion of me. If he ever chose to disclose my indiscretion with Katya, the pakhan would order my death without a second thought.
“I am sorry for the way that I went about things with Katya,” I say. “But I don’t regret doing it, Lyoshka. She had you fooled.”
“We are not discussing this,” he answers.
“You have to know that if you married her, she would have ruined your reputation within the Vory.”
“It’s your reputation that should be ruined,” Alexei sneers. “You may have Sergei’s approval, but you are not a man of honor. You are undeserving of the stars you bear.”
If the insult had come from any other man, I would have cut his throat. But this is my brother, and I am tired of this battle between us. I am tired of our wasted words.
“You have always been jealous of me, bratan.”
Alexei is prepared to deliver another equally vicious blow with his tongue when I raise my hand. “And I have always been jealous of you.”
He does not answer, and I doubt he believes me. The worst part of the cruel words Sergei gifted his first son is that Alexei believes them. If his father says he’s defective, it must be true. If his father says he’s worthless, how can he argue that? To compound the problem, Sergei’s affection for me has only added to his troubles.
“I am deeply sorry for any pain I have caused you, Lyoshka. Whatever you choose to do, I will respect your decision as a man and a Vor. If you must send me to my death so that you can have peace, then I implore you to do it. But I am done with this war between us.”
My appeal is genuine, and I hope that Alexei can recognize that. But he does not give me an answer, and we are left without a resolution entirely when Katya makes an appearance. As always, her timing is not ideal. But I refuse to give her one minute of my time or attention as I join Nakya at her side.