26. Mama
Adrik sat beside Alexei”s bed, staring at his face. There was swelling over his eyes, and his lips were torn. Beneath the covers were more bruises. His father was careful not to break anything, as if that made a difference. Broken bones were harder to heal from and needed more care, while bruises could be ignored and forgotten. But all of it was an insult.
Yakov”s audacity was breaching Adrik”s patience. The only thing keeping him from attacking was the lingering anchor of love between a father and son.
When Adrik was young and not in line for the position of heir, Yakov had been a doting father to the point where it became apparent that all his love and attention was on Adrik, while none of it had gone to Alexei. Adrik hadn”t noticed it for a long time, not till he was ten years old and watched Alexei get beaten again. He finally faced the reality that he”d have to protect his brother from his father”s hatred. He”d throw himself in front of Alexei, and Yakov would stop his strike in mid-swing. He”d call a guard, and someone would grab him, kicking and screaming, pulling him out of the room.
Adrik hadn”t dealt with Yakov”s cruelty until he gained the ring to be next in line for the Morozov family. When Yakov forced him to marry a woman who didn”t want him and expected a child, while he struggled to touch her.
When Katia cheated on him, Adrik wanted nothing more to do with her and went to his father with the divorce papers. Yakov only laughed at him. ”You are not getting a divorce,” he chastised. ”No one can know the embarrassment you”ve caused this family.”
”What I”ve caused?” Adrik had been so incredulous he couldn”t breathe.
”Is she not yours? Then, control her. Chain her. Do what you have to so that it never happens again.”
Adrik rubbed his face to push away the memory. It wasn”t helping.
Gil sat on the other side, tapping his crutch against the chair. ”I want him to have soldiers with him at all times.”
Adrik vaguely nodded.
”Why wasn”t he with you? Why wasn”t he with me?” Gil rolled his eyes. ”I”ve always hated your fucking father. You know that? This is stupid. Why don”t you kick him out of your house, Adrik? This is your house your father”s invading. You built him that office as a courtesy. You allow him here as a courtesy. And he”s taken advantage of that.”
Adrik didn”t want to hear Gil right now. As much as he was a part of this family, he wasn”t blood. He couldn”t understand.
Alexei groaned as he woke. Adrik quickly got him a glass of water, knowing well how dry the mouth gets after a night of suffering. Alexei could barely reach for it without wincing. He laid his head heavily back on the pillow. Only one eye could open, and he peaked at Adrik. A smile was attempted on his swollen lips. ”I”m still better looking.”
Adrik choked on a laugh-sob and hid his face, hoping his brother couldn”t see the unhindered wave of emotion. This was different when Alexei was shot. Adrik had been so focused on his daughter that he couldn”t mentally handle his brothers being in danger. But now, it was all about Alexei and their father”s overreach.
”I”m fine, Adrik. I”ve been through worse.”
Adrik clenched his teeth and folded his arms, staring at his brother and seeing every time their father hurt him. It started when Alexei was five. He”d get beat for everything, even if it was Adrik”s fault. Alexei had been bigger since they were kids, making it seem like he could handle pain.
Gil leaned up, greeting him, ”I think I could still find someone to fuck you if you need it. Might have to pay her a bonus fee.”
Alexei smothered his laugh because it hurt too much.
”What happened?” Adrik broke in, fighting the monster in him that was begging for revenge.
Alexei tried to shrug, but he winced instead. ”He thinks I”m rubbing off on you.”
The answer wasn”t what Adrik wanted to hear. ”I”ve been compliant.”
”I know. But I guess while he was away, you changed some things.”
”Because they”re better.”
”I know, bro. I know.”
Adrik snapped to his feet. ”He”s so full of himself. The numbers are there! We doubled in nearly every way. And he”s had me reverse it. Do you know how stupid it made me look in front of our workers when I told them to go back to the old ways? They all said the same thing: it works. I reorganized our shipments. I”ve put in so many fucking hours to better our way of life, and it”s not enough. It won”t ever be enough.”
Alexei tried to sit up but surrendered with a sigh. ”Adrik, it”s fine.”
”It”s not fine!”
Alexei watched him as he paced. Was this the moment he’d been waiting for? Waiting for Adrik to snap, to tell him that it was time they killed their father? He desperately wanted to say something, but he feared a response. Once he said it, he couldn”t take it back. ”Adrik, come here.”
Adrik collapsed on the chair, resting his head in his hands.
Alexei glanced at Gil, and Gil shifted uneasily in his seat, slightly shaking his head. Alexei and Gil wanted Yakov dead. For Alexei, it was because of the abuse, but for Gil, it was because of vengeance. Gil had learned a few years ago that Yakov was responsible for his parents” deaths. It was guilt that brought the four-year-old boy into the Morozov home. And it was guilt that made them care for him. When Gil found out, he moved away from the family, but never too far from his brothers.
Yakov had given Gil an ultimatum: keep the Morozov name and receive an inheritance. Or try to kill an unkillable king.
Gil chose money because of Adrik and Alexei. But he never stopped thinking about Yakov”s death.
Alexei knew this, and if there was ever an attempt to kill Yakov, Gil would be right by his side.
But Adrik? He was the baby. He was the most loved and protected. All the siblings knew this and kept Adrik out of their problems because Adrik was the most loyal. There was always concern he”d rat them out to Yakov.
Alexei leaned over, grabbed Adrik”s arm, and pulled him closer. ”You know you can rely on me for anything, right?”
Adrik lifted his blue eyes, confused. He flicked his gaze over his brother”s malformed face. ”Of course.”
A knock on the door interrupted, and Alexei laid back, relieved and disappointed that he”d lost his chance. Perhaps Alexei needed to realize there would never be a good time to talk about murdering their father and just do it, like ripping off a Band-aid.
A surprising face stepped in the doorway. ”Mama.”
Their mother, Tatiana, was a beautiful blonde of sixty. Though she had six children, she was thin and petite, sporting fake boobs their father bought her ten years ago. She never wore anything unfit for heels or less than a thousand dollars.
Adrik got up and was instantly in her arms, like a little boy lost in the woods. She gripped his dark hair with her pink fake nails. ”My baby,” she whispered. But she detached quickly and came to Alexei”s side. Her hand on his forehead felt like heaven, and Alexei basked in her attention. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. ”Mama”s here.” She reached out to Gil, and he put his cheek in her palm, kissing her wrist. ”My boys.”
Tatiana had been gone for six months. She left one day to go shopping and never came back. She called from the plane, shocking them all. Whatever happened, they knew instinctively it was caused by Yakov. There was a long list of possibilities stemming from cheating, lying, or just because he was an ass.
”I thought you weren”t going to be here till tonight?”
Tatiana sat back, motioning Adrik to approach, and he sat on the chair, pulling it in to hold her other hand. ”I actually came back this morning.”
”You did?”
She shifted uncomfortably, her blue eyes darting from each child as she built up her courage. ”We”ll talk later, but right now, I want to take care of my sons.”
Adrik eyed her, concerned. Something was off. He talked to her two to three times a week. Even though she was gone for six months, he didn”t feel distant or as if he didn”t know her. That”s why the way she was acting was strange. Maybe it was because of Alexei. She avoided the topic of his assault. But that was normal. Whatever bruises the boys received, she would never ask or get upset. She would baby and help them heal, but she never defended them or stopped Yakov. Adrik quit expecting her to do something years ago.
Whatever she was hiding, it was big enough for all of the boys to feel it. They looked at each other, searching for answers.