Chapter 23 Elena
CHAPTER 23
ELENA
Might makes right? Did he really just say that to her face? Elena had always considered herself a pacifist. She believed in live and let live, and all that jazz.
Viking’s statement on the state of their marriage…irked her. It always came back to the same thing, him having power over her and giving her none. The same black cloud that had been hovering over her, over them, from the day he’d kidnapped her. No matter what, she couldn’t seem to get rid of it.
Her morning startedoff badly, then got worse. The smell of frying bacon made her heave. She turned off the stove and barely made it to the bathroom in time. Sweat poured over her face as she tried to keep her measly breakfast down.
You just have a hangover. Nothing to worry about.
Now you’re just lying to yourself.
When she puked over the toilet two more times in an hour, she knew she was in trouble. She took a cracker, made some coffee, and settled onto the couch. After talking to Vicky on the phone she felt much better. She could do this, step by step. First, she needed to get to a pharmacy and…
Then the doorbell rang. When she opened it to find her brother on the other side, she decided her day just got even worse.
“Ricky.” He looked haggard in a wrinkled suit, with his belly bulging over his tan leather belt.
“Hello, sis.” When she didn’t move, he said, “Aren’t you going to let me in?”
She stepped aside reluctantly. “How did you get in the building?” she threw over her shoulder. It was Viking’s apartment after all, and Ricky was still a Morelli soldier. He wouldn’t exactly be considered a friend of the Romanov Bratva, no matter their family tie.
His eyes went to the bar and she nodded reluctantly. He was going to get himself a drink, whether she wanted him to or not.
“I’ve come to an understanding with your new husband,” he said while grabbing a bottle off the cabinet.
When he silently asked if she wanted to join him, she shook her head. No more drinks for her, thank you very much. Not after last night, and certainly not after her…morning sickness. Crap, she didn’t want to think about that. Keeping a tight lock on that trail of thought, she shoved those worries away for later.
“You sure you don’t want a drink?” her brother asked, for the first time ever. “You can now, you know. Lorenzo’s not here anymore.”
Her lips thinned as he admitted what she’d suspected all along. “So, you did know.”
“Know what?” He poured himself another shot, eyes all innocent.
“About the way he was treating me. The way he kept me on a tight leash. You’ve known all along and still encouraged me to stay with him.”
He sighed. “What else was I supposed to do? We were living in a dump and Morelli was like a guardian angel. He came and took you off the streets and placed you in a big mansion. You’ve driven in the best cars, wore the best clothes, and had everything you could buy at the tip of your fingers. You had everything.”
Everything but the man she loved. She opened her mouth, but reconsidered. It was useless. Telling Ricky how she’d felt for years wouldn’t change a thing. Her brother never understood, and never would. He had been the one to gain everything from her marriage to Morelli. He had been the one to become a soldier in his family, making it all the way to capo. And he hadrisen from being a junkie to someone who had gained respect in a crime syndicate. As for her? Well, she had been the one to instigate it by betraying Viking. In a way, she had enabled Ricky, and unlike her, he had made the best of a bad situation.
Perhaps it was time to stop blaming him. He’d played no part in her marrying Morelli, other than Lorenzo being at their house and seeing her.
She sat on the barstool next to him. “You said you had an understanding with Viking. What kind of understanding?”
He leaned closer as if sharing a secret with her. “I’m helping him find Pedro.”
Elena gasped. “You’re betraying the Morellis? If they ever—”
“It will get me killed, I know.”
It looked like Ricky was finally coming through. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Can’t have him get his hands on my niece.” Ricky sounded firm. “Where is she anyway?”
“Viking sent her away.” All the way to Europe, but no one needed to know that.
Ricky frowned. “I’m guessing somewhere out of state.”
“And beyond,” she admitted.
He nodded. “Good, she’ll be safe there.”
“She will be.” One of Viking’s most trusted men was with her. He had kept her security detail small on purpose, so there could be no leaks. As far as she could tell, Vicky was enjoying her incognito Euro trip. Though she did complain a bit about the man accompanying her not being much of a talker.
“I could have protected Vicky, you know.” Ricky sounded insulted. “I still can, if you want me to. Just let me know if you ever need my help.”
In a surprise move, one he hadn’t made since they had been kids, he gave her a hug. It was heartwarming in a way, and it would have been a great step toward mending their fences if it hadn’t been for his alcohol breath making her feel squirmy.
She pulled away and clasped a hand over her mouth to keep the bile in.
Not now. Please, not now.
“You okay, sis? You look pale as a sheet.”
“I’m fine. My stomach’s just a bit upset. Must be something I ate last night.”
“Must be.” Looking much more elated, he got up. “You know he’s never gonna forgive you, right?”
The words were like a punch to the gut, though he didn’t voice anything she hadn’t thought herself.
Ricky gave her a once-over. Pity lurked in his eyes. “I’m not surprised he married you. I mean, you’re the mother of his child. And I’m guessing he wants another one. Perhaps a boy he can raise himself this time.”
She felt sick. When his gaze turned to her stomach she didn’t flinch, didn’t even move, but she feared he knew. Reading people’s weaknesses had always been his strong suit.
“I’m not talking about this with you.”
“You don’t have to. Just remember, I’m your brother, your only family. I’ll always protect you. Viking? He’s out on a vendetta. He will never let you raise another kid of his.”
With those doom and gloom words, he left.
She was stumped for half an hour after that, mulling over his words in her head. Ricky was just looking out for her. Perhaps he really was getting his act together and being her big brother again.
Maybe there was a chance for them. Maybe she could still have some sort of relationship with the only other member of her family. Her mother would have loved that. In an unexpected twist, the afternoon hadn’t turned out as gloomy as she expected after all.
The same couldn’t be said about her evening. Viking didn’t come home that night. She didn’t call him, not that she would have expected him to pick up, nor did she wait up for him. And she most certainly refused to think about what he was doing right now and with whom. Then again, that was a lie. She was thinking about it. After all, he was her husband. No one had forced him to marry her. She hadn’t asked for it, nor was she asked if she had wanted to. Though her vows had been coerced from her for the second time in her life, she did intend to keep them. And also make sure Viking kept them. She’d made her point. Now the ball was in his court. If she ever caught him with another woman, she would kill him. It was her right as a woman, the mother of his child, and his wife.
She took a shower and went to bed. Sadly, sleep eluded her, and she kept turning and tossing until she gave up and opened her eyes. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand: it was almost midnight.
The call came a few minutes later. She glanced at the screen and saw it was Katya calling her. She could use any distraction from pondering about her personal issues. And what better way than have a chat with the bubbly girl? It was an odd time to call, but then she remembered the girl had had a date tonight. Maybe a call this late meant she’d had a bad date and wanted to vent.
“Hey, Katya.”
The line was silent for a moment. Elena checked if the call was still ongoing when Katya cleared her throat.
“Can you please come to pick me up?”
Unease prickled her back. Elena sat straight up and turned on the bedside lamp. “Of course. I’ll be right there, just send me the address.”
She didn’t ask why Katya needed a car. Something must have gone wrong.
Another silence fell before Katya regrouped. “Please don’t tell Viking you’re coming. Or any of the other guys.”
Now she really had her worried. “Viking’s not home so he won’t notice me leaving.” That still left her Baran to deal with. She knew he was watching her every move.
“Thank you, Lena.”
It was the tone of voice in which Katya said her name that froze Elena in place. She sounded so vulnerable, and did she hear a sniffle in her voice?
“Katya, please tell me you’re all right.” She was freaking out a little, but couldn’t let that worry slip into her voice. What the girl needed right now was mom Elena, not just her friend Elena.
“I…he…it was a bad date.”
She’d already figured that out. Not wasting any more time she jumped out of bed and grabbed a pair of jeans. “How bad is bad?”
Katya sighed. “He drank too much. When I pointed that out, he took my keys and won’t give them back.”
The slushy drunk. “Sit tight. I’m on my way.” She grabbed a black tank top off the floor.
Her phone dinged. Katya had sent her location.
She searched the apartment for car keys, then she went looking for the other thing she needed. Bingo. Viking might say he was changed, but he still kept a bat in the pantry closet. She put on the first pair of shoes she could find: a pair of pointy heels.
Pocketing the car keys and her phone, she slowly opened the door. She knew it would take less than a minute for Baran to figure out she’d left. She punched in the elevator button to take her to the parking garage. Adrenaline was coursing through her body, spiking her heart rate. Pressing the car’s fob, she hurried through the parking garage until the lights of a black BMW lit up. Based on her calculations it would take less than a minute before Baran would show up.
The car smelled of new leather. She put it in gear and just raced passed Baran. He looked at her as if she was a crazy person. It gave her great joy to see him yelling at her in the rear view window.
When the song “16 Shots” blasted through the speakers, she turned up the volume. It was perfectly portraying her mood.
She found Katya sitting at the curb underneath a lamp post. Her white dress and pink strands of hair were like a beacon.
After killing the engine, she hurried over to the girl.
Katya was holding one shoe in her hands. “I threw the other at his head when he refused to give back my car keys,” she explained, her gaze staring down.
“Which house is his?”
“It’s the one with the petunias.”
“Katya, look at me.” When she didn’t, Elena gently tilted her head up. Then she saw the swelling on Katya’s left cheek.
“It’s not as bad as it looks. I kicked him in the nuts.”
“He hit you.”
Another shrug. “I gave as good as I got.”
The words slammed into Elena, making her raw and vulnerable. How many times had she been in the exact same spot? How often had one of her brother’s junkie friends tried to lay their hands on her? The dark memories slammed into her like a punch to the stomach. She felt Katya’s pain as her own, almost tasting her fear.
“Um, Elena, your eyes look really…weird.”
A calmness settled over her. It centered her, pointing her in one direction, and giving her a mission. One she would gladly accept.
“Get in the car and lock the doors,” she commanded.
The second Katya got into the car Elena took the bat out of the trunk.
Katya gasped and sprung up. “Oh my God, wait! You can’t!”
Yes, she could. She was fury and retribution.
She ignored Katya calling after her, she ignored the screeching tires of Baran’s car coming around the corner. All rational thought left her mind as she stepped up to the damn house with the damn petunias.
She kept her finger on the doorbell until the door opened. A smooth-looking guy in his twenties opened the door. His khakis were pristine, as was his boyish haircut and cute boy-next-door look.
“What the hell is with the ringing?”
Afterward, she wasn’t sure what had set her off: his belligerent tone or his alcohol breath. She told herself that she hadn’t intended tosmash his knee with the bat. Neither had she meant to kick him in the nuts with her pointy shoes, but that was exactly what happened.
He went down, hard. His screams filled the silent night.
“How do you like that?” she yelled. “Like how it feels? Do you like how it feels?”
He scooted backward into the hallway. “You crazy bitch!”
Neither the fear in his voice nor the pain in his eyes was enough. She followed him inside.
“This is for Katya.” Thump. Thump. “And this is for all the other women you’ve hit before her, you jackass.”
There had been no one to help her, but she’d be damned if she would just stand by and let this one go. This evening, this time and place, it felt like it was meant to happen. Lady Justice might be tardy at times, but eventually, she caught up with you.