I felt my heart shattering into a million pieces as I watched Akim walk out the door. Confusion set in, accompanied by the dizziness I still felt. I coughed as I tried to take a deep breath. This couldn’t be happening.
The smoke inhalation was messing up my thought process and my ability to focus. “Akim,” I called out between coughs.
“Lay back and relax,” I heard Timofey say.
I wanted to get up and run after Akim, but I had to explain to him. But before I could protest, the door swung open. I watched in shock as my brothers and sisters piled in.
Iosif was in the lead, coming to my side. “Are you okay?” he asked, glancing angrily at Timofey. I could hear the concern in his tone, but knew that look all too well. He was hiding his anger behind his care.
“Yes,” I mumbled, still feeling weak.
Iosif took the moist cloth from Timofey as he crouched next to the couch. “What happened?” he enquired as he wiped my forehead.
“Nothing, it was, it…,” I stumbled on my words through a couple of quick breaths.
“You know what,” Iosif spat, glancing angrily at Timofey again. “We’ll get to the bottom of this tomorrow.”
Timofey rose and made space for Misha to sit. She carefully took the cloth from Iosif. “We’ll take care of her tonight. She’ll be safe with Elisse and me,” she spoke softly to Iosif.
“Okay,” Iosif breathed out. “But first thing tomorrow, we’ll talk,” he added, squeezing my hand. I watched as he got up and turned to my brothers. “Find out who did this! I need to know by morning.” He glanced back at me before continuing. “They will pay!”
Avgust, Lukyan, and Timofey nodded. Timofey and Lukyan stepped closer and assisted me up. We moved out to the cars. I was placed in the back of Misha’s car. I could see their love and care, and was grateful to my family. But my heart was bleeding.
I wanted to see Akim. The look in his eyes would haunt me until I could explain everything to him. I had to tell him why I did what I did. I never intended to hurt him. But I knew, for his sake, I had to keep quiet. I needed to hide my heartbreak and pain.
If Iosif or any of my family found out what was happening between us. Clenching my eyes, I bit back the sobs threatening to expose us. There was no telling what my brothers would do if they knew.
We arrived at Misha and Elisse’s place with all the family in tow. Lukyan and Timofey assisted me inside. I still felt weak, but most of the dizziness subsided. “Thank you, guys,” Misha said. “We’ve got her from here.”
Elisse drew me a bath while Misha made some tea. I felt better but tired once I was clean and had a soothing cup. “I think I’ll just lie down for a bit,” I said as we walked to the spare room.
“I’ll check in on you in a bit,” Misha replied as she tucked me in. “Sleep tight,” she added, kissing my forehead. We were a tight-knit family, and I loved it. But my mind kept returning to the look in Akim’s eyes. I felt the tears silently rolling down my cheeks as I finally fell asleep.
The smell of onions and garlic infiltrated my nostrils. Fluttering my eyes, I opened them and breathed in deeply. Breakfast smelled divine. Rolling to my back, I closed my eyes again and took another breath.
Images of our mother came swirling in. Seeing her in the kitchen cooking beef in onions and garlic with eggs and beans. I smiled as I remembered running to her. She would turn, pick me up, and place me on the counter as she cooked.
For a moment, all my fears and worries streamed out the door. Then I heard Misha speaking next to me. “Hey, are you awake?”
Slowly, I swallowed the lump forming as reality came flooding back. “Yes,” I replied, sitting up. Misha held out the tray with my breakfast. “Thank you,” I added softly. I loved my sisters. They took care of me after our mother passed. They had always been kind and understanding.
I had always suspected it was because I was the youngest. Misha sat down on the couch by the door, waiting for me to eat. She had a curious look but didn’t say a word. Her eyes were slightly larger than usual, and her brows raised.
With her hair pinned back, she reminded me of our mother. “Thank you, Misha,” I said once I had eaten enough to satisfy her.
She took the tray and headed to the door. “Iosif will be here shortly. Get dressed and come to the lounge, okay?” she added before leaving.
I quickly dressed in the clothes she had left on the dresser for me and headed to the lounge. Elisse brought out a fresh pot of tea and cups. She had barely placed them down when the doorbell chimed.
Iosif and Avgust came storming in. Iosif looked like he was foaming at the mouth as he came to stand before me. I had never seen him so angry. “What’s going on, Zhenya? What happened at that office fire? And what the hell were you doing there?” he huffed. His tone was so pitched that I felt it vibrating in my soul.
Pulling my legs onto the couch, I hugged them against my chest. “What do you mean?” I enquired softly, looking at the floor.
Iosif lowered himself so he could look me in the face. “What were you doing at the real estate offices? That’s where the fire was, right? That’s where you were?” he spat at me.
It looked like Iosif was foaming at the mouth. If this were a cartoon, the steam would be blowing out of his ears. I have never in my life seen him this angry. He was a calm, levelheaded guy. But this, this was a monster.
“Iosif,” I whispered, swallowing back the tears. “I wanted to prove to you that I could also do things. That I was good at business.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he spat. His forehead bulged as the veins looked like they were about to burst. “Are you telling me you’re working for a Dubow?”
I watched as he paced up and down like a pendulum about to drop. “How did you even get in without us knowing?” he added, stopping before me.
Swallowing hard, I cleared my throat before speaking. “I tricked the employees into believing it was what you ordered so I could pose as a worker. “I’m really good at it, though. Please, Iosif, you have to see what I’ve done. I can also contribute to this family.”
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Avgust and Lukyan came storming in. “We managed to get it!” Avgust pronounced proudly, holding up a small drive. “We salvaged the CCTV camera footage from the real estate offices.”
“You have?” I asked, feeling the blood draining from my face.
“Yes,” Lukyan said. “We’ve seen where the fire started. We could finally identify the men. Most of them are part of the Aslanov crew. They are responsible for all of this!”
I breathed out heavily. If they knew who, they didn’t need to look any further. But just as I felt my nerves calming, Avgust spoke again. “We’ve got a lot of footage. There’s about a month’s worth.”
“Let’s see it, maybe we can figure out if they were surveying the place. If so, they knew she was in there and it was a hit on us!” Iosif said, glancing at me.
My heart skipped a beat as I listened to them. No, this can’t be happening. If they had so much footage, they would see our stolen moments. The intimate ones between Akim and me. This was going to cause so many issues.
“But, if you know who it was, you don’t need more, do you?” I asked, hoping to get them to let it go.
Avgust opened the laptop and popped the drive in. “We need to see if they were following you. If you were the target or the alliance,” he huffed back. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back as they played the footage.
I wish I could simply jump up and get them to stop. But I knew doing that would just cause a bigger fight than the one coming. I sat in silence. I pulled my legs up to my chest and hugged them, preparing for the reprimand.
Iosif looked at me so sharply that he almost ripped his neck. “What is this?” he shouted. I could see the fire in him burning deeper. This wasn’t his normal way. I couldn’t understand what was happening to my brother.
“I will not stand for this kind of behavior,” he huffed as Timofey entered.
Timofey glanced at the screen and then at me. I knew he knew, but he would never stand up to Iosif. There was an order, and I wasn’t part of it.
“He will pay for what he has done!” Iosif screamed. He slammed his fist into the laptop, shattering it. I let out a small scream as I bounced on the chair. Before I could even try saying something, he stormed out. Avgust, Lukyan, and Timofey stormed after him.
I heard the door slam shut and the cars start up. This wasn’t good, no, it was worse than any bad I could even think of. They were going for Akim. Iosif has lost his shit and this was a war.
For a moment, I sat frozen in fear, paralyzed. Shaking my head, I tried to clear the images. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Akim’s life was in danger. My brothers were out for revenge, and they would go through anyone who tried to stop them.
Opening my mouth, I screamed at the top of my lungs. I had to get it out so I could think. Misha and Elisse came running in. “What’s wrong, what happened?” Misha asked.
“Are you okay?” Elisse added, kneeling next to the chair.
I was breathing in and out rapidly. My lungs felt crushed, and my chest ached like never before.
“Do you need a bag, water, or some juice?” Misha questioned as she started rubbing my back.
“No, no, no,” I screamed. “He’s in danger.”
“Who, dear? Who’s in danger?” Misha asked softly.
“Please, sit down. I have something to tell you,” I managed to get out between breaths.
Misha sat down on the edge of the table before me. Elisse was on the floor next to me, holding my hand. I spilled it all, emptied the bag, and explained to them how I got in and how the relationship between Akim and me had started. I gave them all the details, the whole truth.
“I just wanted to prove that I could bring my part into this family,” I added, taking a deep breath. “I wanted you all to be proud of me, and see what I was worth. I never intended to fall in love.”
“Honey,” Misha said, taking my hand and squeezing it. “You’re young and confused. You don’t know what love is. Plus, these men are not like us. They are a violent family. You don’t want part of that.”
“They’re not,” I protested lightly. “We’ve been dating for some time now, and I think I love him.”
“You’re just confused. They’re ruthless. The stories I’ve heard will give you nightmares,” Misha added.
“I’ve also heard many stories,” Elisse chipped in.
“I don’t care,” I breathed out. “You don’t know him like I do. Believe me, he has a brilliant heart. He is a soft teddy bear. He’s one amazing man.”
Misha shook her head softly. She looked down into her lap and replied, “I don’t know. Really? It’s just that it doesn’t make sense.”
“Please, please, believe me,” I begged, holding her hand tightly. “I love him. I want to be with him.”
Elisse patted the hand she was holding as she spoke. “Ok, so, say we believe you. What do you want us to do? You know we can’t stand up to Iosif.”
Glancing at her, I thought for a second before replying. “Our brothers are out for revenge. They are looking for Akim. I’m afraid for his life. If we can find him first, we can warn him. Please, please help me find him.”
I could see Misha was still in doubt. But Elisse seemed halfway convinced. “Well, let’s see what we can do. Where will we be able to find out where he went?”
“The office,” I said, jumping up and pulling them into a hug.
Misha brought her car around, and we headed to the office. The building was in ruins. But the stairs survived. Carefully, we went up to what was left of the office.
Walking down the hall, stepping over rubble, I had to convey my gratitude. “Thank you both,” I said. “Thank you for trusting and believing in me. And for helping me against Iosif’s wishes.”
Elisse squeezed my hand softly as we entered the office. We were looking for anything that could indicate his whereabouts. Heading into Akim’s office, I saw his schedule book on the desk. It hadn’t been destroyed. I ran over and flipped through it to today.
“He had a meeting at his brother’s place,” I said, looking at my sisters. I tore out the page with the address on and headed back down. We got back into Misha’s car and headed there.
