26. Tino
Chapter 26
Tino
I’m pacing the den, unsure what the hell to do with myself. Mackenzie has been taken to her mother, Dom is with his dad, and Kirill is still lost in whatever fucked up world he’s ended up in since the cabin. They’ve all been gone a long time, and I’m getting worried.
I’ve taken a couple of Oxy. My leg was throbbing again, especially after landing on it badly in the cabin, and I needed to take the edge off my anxiety about Nataniele catching us like that. It was fucking humiliating to have him order us about like we were stupid little kids. I hate he saw Kenzie all exposed, especially after what Kirill’s fucked-up father did to her.
I’m filled with guilt about taking the pills, but I promise myself I’ll stop again, just as soon as all this shit settles down. I can do it. I did it before, right? And I’m not addicted this time. It’s purely for the pain and the recent situation. Not a need. Not the way it was before.
Footsteps come from outside, and Mackenzie and Kirill burst back into the room. They’re holding hands, and Mackenzie glows as if she’s taken an afternoon at the spa. I might have been jealous before, but now I take it as a good sign. We need Kirill back on board and for Kenzie to be happy. For that to happen, I truly believe she needs all three of us.
“Hey, have you two seen Dom?” I ask them.
Kenzie shakes her head. “Not yet. He was still with his dad, last I knew. I bet he’s getting so much shit. I did. My mom was horrible to me, but she doesn’t understand. None of them do, so we have to show them.”
There’s a determination in the set of her chin and a new sense of calmness to her, as if she’s seen how bad the world can be, and a little bit of parental disapproval can’t hurt now.
“We need to create a united front.” She nods as if agreeing with herself. “It’s the only way Nataniele and my mom are going to understand what we are— who we are. That we’re serious about each other, and a bunch of threats isn’t going to change anything. We’re adults now. We get to choose who we’re with, not them.”
“What are you saying?” I ask. “That we need to go to Nataniele’s quarters?”
“Yes, all of us, together. Let him know we’re not to be messed with.”
She straightens her shoulders, and I realize I’m so fucking proud of her. The three of us were nothing before she came along—just a bunch of kids screwing around. She’s made men of us all.
“I agree,” Kirill says. “We stand beside each other. Always.”
There seems to be some of the old light back in his eyes. I’m glad. I miss my old friend—the one who loves to dance and who’ll start a fight in an empty room. I’ve missed his fire.
I take a step forward. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Kenzie and Kirill spin on their heels, and together we leave.
But, to my surprise, we meet Dom in the corridor, heading toward us.
“What’s up, D?” I ask. “Everything all right?”
“We were just coming to find you,” Mackenzie says.
“Dad was distracted, so I got out of there. I went for a walk outside to clear my head.” He seems shaken, and he’s paler than usual. His hair is all messed up as if he’s been raking his hand through it repeatedly.
He thrusts a piece of paper in our direction.
“Look what I found.”
I frown. “What is it?”
“A letter my mom wrote to my dad the night she died, saying that she was leaving him. It says she overheard him telling another woman on the phone he loved her, and she couldn’t live like this anymore.”
“Fuck,” I curse. “Does it say who the other woman was?”
Dom cocks an eyebrow. “No, but I can take a damned good guess.”
“My mom,” Mackenzie says.
He smiles wryly. “Unless he’s got a third woman on the go, yeah, I’d say so.” Dom closes his eyes briefly. “The letter also says she’d planned to send for me later, if I wanted to leave, too. She didn’t want me to grow up like him.”
“Have you spoken to your father about the letter?” Mackenzie asks.
He shakes his head. “Not yet. I’m still not sure what it means. It doesn’t prove anything, does it?”
“Doesn’t it?” She gives him a sympathetic smile. “It sounds to me like she left voluntarily, that she was upset, and it was the middle of the night. Maybe she was crying, and she misjudged the road.”
Dom lowers the letter and knots one hand in his hair. “Fuck, I don’t know what to think.”
“It’s definitely your mom’s handwriting?” Kirill asks.
“Yeah, it is.”
“So you know she did want to leave,” Mackenzie points out.
Dom sucks air over his teeth. “But what if he didn’t let her? What if instead of letting her leave, he drove her off that bridge? Maybe he thought if he couldn’t have her, then no one would?”
“You’re going to have to talk to him, dude,” Kirill says. “If you want to know the truth, you need to ask him. Your dad isn’t exactly a saint, but compared to some men, he’s not all bad.”
Dom twists his lips as though he doesn’t quite believe that, but Kirill’s got a point.
“My papi is the same,” I add. “He’s a hard man, but he’s not evil, not in the way Grigoriy was.” I grimace. “Sorry, Kill.”
Kirill shrugs. “No, you are right.”
Dom lets out a breath. “I wish she’d come to me that night and told me what her plans were. Maybe I’d have gone with her, and she’d still be alive today.”
“Would you really have gone?” I ask. “Would you have given up your life here to go with her?”
Dom scrubs his hand over his eyes. “Fuck. Honestly, no, probably not. I’d have been partying, or pissed that she’d woken me, if I’d been sleeping. I’d most likely have told her she was mistaken, that she overheard Dad wrong, and she was overreacting.”
I offer him a smile of sympathy. “I know it’s not what you want to hear, D, but you wouldn’t have been able to change what happened. It was an accident, and if you’d gone, you might be dead now, too.” I know that’s harsh, but it’s the truth.
Mackenzie puts her hand on his bicep. “You need to talk to your dad, let him explain it to you. At least give him the chance to try.”
He bites the inside of his lip. “Can I trust him to tell me the truth?”
“Your mom has already told you the truth in that letter,” she says. “Let him tell his point of view, and then maybe it’s time to make peace with what happened to her. You can’t grieve unless you find peace.”
I stare at her, proud of how strong she’s become. God, we all owe her such a debt of gratitude for giving us chance after chance. When I think of all the times we nearly blew it, I want to punch myself in the face.
Dom holds Mackenzie’s gaze and blows out a long breath. “You’re right. Fuck. I’m going to go talk to my father.”