Chapter 13 - Vadik
Lifting my head, I looked around. Tasha was standing by the window staring out. She didn’t notice I was awake at first and jumped as I spoke. I had to admit, I might have also been frightened if I had heard someone talking to me in such a hoarse voice.
“Hi there.”
She spun around to face me. A small smile formed on her luscious lips, but it was only briefly before being replaced by a frown. I smiled back as I studied her. Her robe had come undone, exposing her nighties. She was wearing the sexiest nighties I had ever seen.
“How are you feeling?” she asked walking towards me. She stopped next to the bed.
Pushing up on my arm, I ground my teeth, biting back the scream as my body flooded with pain. Flopping back down, I groaned softly.
Tasha snickered at me, “You need rest to heal. Don’t try to move right now!”
My body protested every move I made. Glancing up at her, I noticed her frustrated gaze. “Why?” she huffed sounding outraged. I didn’t know where this anger suddenly came from.
“Why what?” I inquired confused.
Tasha glared at me as if I had offended her. It sounded like she was yelling and fighting with me as she responded. “The Chernykhs! Why do you let them use and abuse you? They make you do all their dirty work. They walk all over you and undermine you. And you simply allow it! I don’t understand.”
Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she. Taking a deep breath Tasha started turning away. Taking hold of her hand even though it hurt me, I stopped her. The ache in my heart was stronger than the pain in my arm. “Tasha,” I whispered. “Please sit with me. Let me explain.”
Closing my eyes I took a deep breath. I felt her bottom against my leg. Looking at her I smiled tenderly as I squeezed her hand before speaking. “Thank you for caring, but please don’t stress about things you don’t understand.”
Tasha shifted softly to face me. “Please tell me what they have on you. It’s all that makes sense,” she whispered.
Lowering my gaze, I swallowed hard. This wasn’t easy to talk about. But I owed her that much. My throat felt dry and scratchy as if a sandstorm had passed through it. Looking at her, I started to explain. “So, my father used to work for them, the Chernykhs. Everything was good, we were a happy family. Then one day it all changed.”
Sighing, I reached for the glass of water on the bedside table. But Tasha beat me to it. She rose and held the straw to my lips. After taking a couple of sips, my throat felt smoother, and I could continue. I waited for her to put the glass down and sit beside me.
“Right,” I said. “My father became greedy.”
Tasha tilted her head, raising her brows but waited for me to continue. “You see, he stole millions from the Chernykhs.” Lowering my gaze to my feet, I felt a heaviness entering my heart. “He ran off, leaving our mother and us behind to deal with the fallout.”
Her hand flew to her mouth as Tasha gasped. “Nooooo,” she huffed. Looking at her, I could see she was angry.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” I added quickly. “But you asked, so I’m telling you.”
Tasha didn’t reply. She only nodded her head, so I continued. “We weren’t going to let our mother take the fall or suffer for what he did. This is when we decided to take care of business ourselves. We didn’t have the money but offered our service. We did odd jobs at first. We agree to work off the debt.”
Her eyes narrowed and it looked like she was about to say something but didn’t.
“It’s okay, Tasha,” I said softly. “Let me finish before you say or ask anything. If I don’t, I might never tell you everything.”
She closed her mouth and nodded. With this, I shared the rest. “So, our family was too low in the Bratva hierarchy to stand up to them or even hide. We didn’t want harm to come to our mother and Nadia. Thus, we agreed to do whatever they asked. As time passed, the requests changed but we had agreed.”
“How long has it been? Have you not yet paid your dues?” Tasha inquired. Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Very long, but like I said our father stole millions, so we might end up working for our entire lives.”
She looked at me with sadness and remorse in her eyes. She appeared troubled as well. Tasha wasn’t good at hiding her emotions. Tears started to form in her eyes. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was something I said.
Maybe it was because I was vulnerable. My heart sank as I watched her. But I felt closer to her at that moment. Reaching out I took hold of her hand and squeezed it. “Everything will be fine, Tasha,” I whispered.
She smiled weakly at me as she rose. “I know,” she replied swallowing hard. “Things have a habit of working themselves out.”
Tasha leaned over and kissed my forehead. Her tender lips were like a soothing balm, and I felt my body relax. I watched as she left the room. “Good night, tiger,” I called out after her.
I heard her mumbling something in the hallway as she moved away. Closing my eyes, I gave in to the well-deserved rest my body demanded.