Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Alexei
“You win the Cup and it makes you soft.”
Jason did not like that, but then he was always easy to rile. A man very much ruled by his passions.
“And you haven’t won it in over five years, and it’s made you resigned to failure.” He shouldered me hard as he pushed by me. Not sixty seconds later, I caught up with him, and we fell into an easy rhythm for our run along the lakefront.
“How is your wife?” I asked, now that the chirping was out of the way.
He grinned. “Not my wife yet. But if you mean how is my woman, then she’s fine. I left her feeding Cammi, and then when I get home, she’ll be setting up her office how she likes it so she can be in the right frame of mind to write her book.”
“About snails?” It still amused me that Jason had landed with someone so esoteric.
“About snail sex and mating rituals. If anyone can make it sound fascinating, it’s Francesca.”
“You are happy at last.”
“At last? Have I given you the impression I’ve not been happy?”
“You always appeared to be a man seeking something. The Cup, perhaps, but I suspected more. A life you could be proud of, and for a man like you, this involves family. You are too like Theo to want any different.”
“Well, aren’t you Mr. Fucking Know-it-all.” But he sounded more smug than annoyed. And rightfully so. He had everything he desired and was in a good place. I was envious.
Yesterday, I had received divorce papers from Lauren’s lawyer.
Sign and within weeks we would be single again.
Fight and risk losing her altogether. I had enjoyed dinner, enjoyed the closeness I always felt around her.
If I pushed her too hard, my chance would vanish into the ether. This was a delicate situation.
We came to the end of the path and in unison, leaned with a foot each on the lakefront wall, stretching to cool down.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Jason said. “How’s your dad?”
“My father? He is in Chicago.”
My friend scrunched up his brows. “He is? Where’s he living?”
“With me for now.”
“That’s awesome. I love how close you guys are.” Jason and his father did not get along. “I hope he appreciates all you’ve done for him.”
“I did what any son would do for his father.”
“I dunno. Not every son would give up a lucrative NHL contract to go work in Russia and be close to his dad while he was in prison.”
“Not everyone is aware of those details.” As far as the world knew, after my rookie year in Miami, I was called by the siren of Mother Russia to play in my home country, a tricky negotiation that had involved the league and my team org.
I had confided in Jason some of the specifics, but he didn’t know the entire story.
Keeping quiet about my father’s arrest and poor treatment by the government was part of the deal to keep him safe. To keep everyone safe.
“But he’s happy here, right? I know he lived near you in Seattle for years once he got his green card.”
“Yes, and he is now a loyal citizen of the US of A. He has made a good life for himself.” His politics had made his pathway to citizenship relatively easy.
My mind rebelled at the notion of sharing anything more. For so long, I had suppressed my hopes and dreams, and it had created a barbed wire barrier around that part of me that might be more open about my personal life, even with people I considered friends.
Jason appeared to be mulling my situation over. “So he can’t know that many people here in Chicago. You’ll have to bring him over to dinner one night or a cookout at Theo’s. Help him make friends. Hey, set him up with Aurora!”
Aurora was Theo’s grandmother. “An older woman? He might go for that.”
The lie was easy to deliver. Once the season started, Jason would forget about his invitation as he tried to juggle fatherhood, his woman, and his professional career. In fact, he was already distracted by something else on the pathway.
Or rather, someone else.
Lauren was running toward us, sporting the same sweats she wore to dinner a week ago. She had on those wraparound sunglasses so I couldn’t see her eyes—not that I needed to. I recognized from her body language as she approached that I was the last person she wished to see.
“Hey, Lo!” Jason held up his hand and she high-fived it, before stepping back, fisting her hips.
So the sweats weren’t exactly the same as before. The tight sports top revealed a sliver of flat stomach and a bountiful view of cleavage. She had a strong, athletic body, but there were also plenty of curves on which my eyes could feast.
“Gentlemen.” She nodded. “Safety in numbers, I suppose.”
Jason barked a laugh. “Yeah. That’s it. Keep the hordes away.”
“Well, Hot Goss might say you’re off the market, Isner, but that doesn’t usually stop the fan girls or boys. Though I guess they could be after Nazarov.”
There was no mistaking the challenge in her voice. It was almost as if she wanted him to know.
“They would be wasting their time.”
Jason’s mouth gaped. “I didn’t even realize! You’re not single, Naz?”
“No. I am not.”
“You mean, you’ve gone the past ten miles without telling me you’re dating someone?”
I sneaked a look at Lauren. “It is at a delicate stage. I don’t wish to spook her.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, you’ll have to bring her over to dinner with your dad.” He leveled his gaze at Lauren. “It seems everyone’s pairing off and keeping quiet about it.”
Her cheeks flushed prettily. Now, that was interesting. He knew something but not everything.
I looked forward to interrogating her later.
“I would prefer you did not interfere,” I said. “At least until I have locked her down.”
Jason stared at me, his eyes glinting with suspicion. “She’s giving you trouble? What’s wrong with her?”
“Sounds like a smart woman,” Lauren said. “She’s seen how you jocks behave and wants nothing to do with it.”
Jason opened his mouth, but I got there first. “Or perhaps she has spent too much time around them and thinks she knows everything except what exists deep down. In here.” I touched my chest, right over my heart.
Her eyes might have been hidden behind her shades, but I had no doubt she was rolling them.
“Mansplaining the lady’s feelings, Nazarov?” She tutted. “How enlightened.”
I turned to Jason, making a point of ignoring my wife. “Lauren is still so opinionated.”
That made her chuckle softly, and my heart rejoiced at the sound.
Jason divided a look between us, confused by our dynamic. I had promised to keep our secret, so I wouldn’t be the one to reveal it.
“Okay then,” he finally said. “We’re heading for coffee, Lo. Want to join us?”
“No, thanks. I have a few more miles to put in. Later, boys.”
Off she went, and I had to practically strain not to look after her and fill my eyeballs with that heart-shaped ass.
“That was weird,” Jason said.
“What was?”
“All that shade about jocks. Lauren loves the jock species. She’s one of us.” He tilted his head. “You do something to piss her off?”
“Why would you think that?”
“She was kind of testy, but not with me.”
“It might have been with you,” I countered. “You probably annoyed her, but she doesn’t want to get into it in front of me.”
“Maybe. More likely she’s just in a mood because she misses Thad.”
Of course, both could be true: that she missed her boyfriend and was annoyed with her husband.
“So tell me about this Thad person.”
“Not much to tell. Lo kept him under the radar for a while, worried I might give him a hard time. By the time she introduced him, the playoffs were practically starting, Francesca was driving me batshit, and baby Cammi was about to make her debut.” He blew out a breath.
“I haven’t been there for her as much as I’d have liked in the last few months.
I don’t see the appeal myself, but she seems happy enough. Guy’s about to propose.”
My heart dropped to the lake path. “He is?”
“Yeah. She’s expecting the question any day now.”
She had not said. Perhaps she worried I would use this information to my advantage.
Perhaps she was right.
Since my father had come to live with me, I was responsible for waking him up and serving his breakfast each day. By the time Maya came by, he was usually fed and watered. Some days, he took a shower alone while I waited outside. Other days, he needed to be bathed and dried like a child.
As I headed to his room, I tried to imagine what Lauren would think of my domestic situation.
I had no doubt she would be sympathetic, but it was quite a burden to place on someone you were dating.
Even more of a weight to land on someone you had accidentally married.
For now, I would work on swaying her to my side before overwhelming her with the negatives.
I knocked on the door to my father’s room. No answer.
A wave of panic gushed through my veins. What if he had fallen and hurt himself? His room and en suite were as senior-proof as possible and each night, I gave him a prescribed sedative. The goal was to have him sleep through the night, but …
I opened the door. “Papa?”
The blow exploded from the side. If I hadn’t seen a ghost of movement and reacted instinctively, it would have caused eye damage. Instead, I was struck high on my cheekbone.
My father yelled in Russian. “Stay back, swine!” He raised his fist again, and I ducked, which created an opening for me to wrap my arms around his waist.
“Papa! It is me, Aloysha!”
He rained blows on my back, but the initial attack had taken most of the fight out of him, and his strength was waning. I pushed-carried him to the bed and gave him a gentle shove, so he landed softly on the mattress.
“Papa, it’s Alexei.”
He continued to yell words of vitriol while I held his arms and used my body weight to pin him down. A few more terrifying seconds passed before he tensed, ready to fight again.
But then as abruptly as the attack had started, the clouds in his eyes cleared.
“Aloysha?”
“Yes, Papa. It’s me.”
“Did you see them?”
I sat on the bed, catching my breath. “I am the only one here.”
Sitting up slowly, he blinked and stared at his fist. Then at me.
“I-I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
Another fissure opened in my heart. Soon it would be shattered, barely recognizable.
“I know, Papa. You’re not well, but you’re safe. No one can hurt you here.” Except yourself. “I will take care of you, just as you once took care of me.”