Chapter 13 - Anton

“Anton, hey, Anton,” I heard Alexandr saying. Turning slowly in his direction, I tried to make sense of it all. Smarting over Joyce was screwing up my balance.

“Sorry, my mind was somewhere else,” I replied, working hard to force the thoughts out of my mind. “You were saying?”

Akim chuckled from beside me as Alexandr shook his head. “What’s going on? You’ve been zoning out more than I can count the last couple of days. Please pay attention.” Alexandr turned his stern gaze on Akim, who instantly fell silent.

“I received a call from Ivan this morning,” Alexandr continued.

Before he could finish, Abram interrupted. “Yes, I heard they were very pleased with us. When do we all get to meet the team, they sent here?”

“They were,” I added. “Ivan said the intel contained more details than they expected. Plus, the handoff was exceptionally executed.” I felt thrilled with myself.

“Yes, their first shipment has come through with no hassles,” Akim chimed in.

“Yes, yes,” Alexandr huffed. “Can I please have the floor?”

Like good little children, we zipped our mouths and focused on him. I was still struggling to keep my focus in the meeting as I wanted to return to Joyce. But as his next words hit me, I was fully absorbed by what he was saying.

“There is just one problem with all the attention this alliance has brought us.” Glancing at my siblings, they had an eerie blank look on their faces.

“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling my heart sinking as my mind made its own conclusions.

Alexandr leaned back in his chair and inhaled sharply. He folded his hands over his chest and then spoke flatly. This was something he only did in dire situations. “It appears that word has reached the streets of this alliance. Ivan called to warn me. He said their inside men let them know their enemies assume we are the weak link.”

“What does that mean for us?” Abram asked hastily.

Taking another deep breath, Alexandr continued. “Let me finish. He said we might be watched, and their enemies could attack us. We need to keep an eye out. We must let each other know if anything seems out of place or happens. Please don’t try and Rambo this,” he finished looking at me.

After a second of staring, he turned his attention to Abram. “Do you two understand?” he asked firmly.

I felt a laugh pushing up and subdued it. Alexandr knew us too well. “Anything else we need to know?” I asked, standing up. As his words finally sank in, I felt panic creeping in. I knew I had to wait for Alexandr to dismiss us, so I tried taking control of the runaway train screeching through my mind.

Keeping my shit together before my family was vital. “No,” Alexandr said, waving his hand. I heard him calling me back as I was about to step out. Turning reluctantly, I tried to smile at him. My face felt stiff and uncooperative.

“Thank you for handling the Morozov delivery and sealing the alliance,” Alexandr said. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yes, yes,” I said, nodding, feeling like my pants were on fire. I couldn’t tell him, but I needed to get out quickly. I had to ensure Joyce was safe. We didn’t know if they had started watching us and if they had what they knew.

As I entered my small condo, concern was coursing through every inch of me. I paced up and down, trying to determine the best way to move forward. I couldn’t go see her in person, and who knew if our phones were being traced.

I was furious that someone had gotten so close without us knowing. As I paced, surely walking a line into the carpet, the urge to check on her grew to the point of exploding. I had to make sure she was good. Overwhelmed with anxiety, I opened my laptop and sat down.

Deciding to FaceTime her, I stared at the screen briefly before pressing the dial button. I listened intently as it rang and rang. After a bit, the line went dead. No, I thought, why wasn’t she answering?

She must be busy, I assured myself. Yes, that was all it was. Dailing again, I waited patiently. This time, she answered; I noticed she was in her office sitting at her desk. She looked slightly annoyed at me. Her lips pulled a tad sideways as she spoke. I felt sure she was masking her anger. “What do you want, Anton? I am busy.”

I was delighted to see her. But I also knew I had to make things right. The way I had left them wasn’t my usual method. “Joyce, I’m glad to see you. I wanted to let you know how sorry I am about what happened. I know you said you didn’t want to see me. But I had to check in to make sure you were okay.”

The corner of her lips twitched before she spoke again. “You hurt a coworker. He didn’t deserve what he got. Bell is a nice guy. What you did was wrong, do you know that?” Her tone was filled with reprimand.

I nodded and gave her a side smile as I replied. “I am sorry, Joyce. I know I could have handled it better. It’s just when I saw him flirting with you, and you looking uncomfortable, my jealousy took over.” Swallowing hard, I continued. “I am sorry, I didn’t intend to harm him.”

Joyce looked over the screen. I assumed she was looking at her office door. She let out a deep sigh before speaking. “As long as you ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

“Joyce,” I said softly, waiting for her to look at me. Locking eyes with her, I continued. “I can’t promise or guarantee you such a thing. I am a man of my word, but when it gets to you. Well, I seem to have lost all self-control. I am unable to control myself when I’m around you.”

There was a glittering in her eyes. She blinked and looked away. Turning back to me, I could see she was struggling with her emotions. “Can you at least try?” she asked kindly. Her eyes were pleading.

Nodding, I spoke calmly, wanting to satisfy her. “I will try my best, and I can promise you that.”

Her face lit up as she smiled. “So,” she said, leaning closer to the screen. “Does that mean I’ll be seeing you around more often?”

Shaking my head as I replied, I felt my heart aching. I wished I could, but I knew it would only endanger her. “Something has come up, and I won’t be able to see you for a while. But as soon as my family has taken care of it, I will be around more than you like.”

Joyce laughed; it was a soothing sound that sparked my emotions. I found myself wishing things had been different. If we had met under normal circumstances, I wondered if we could have made a connection.

“So, how has your day been so far?” I asked casually.

I could hear her keenness for what she did as she explained how she uncomplicated a client's account. Then she stared at me in silence for a second. “Anton,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Tell me more about your family. What are they like? Did you grow up here?”

Turning my head sideways, I flashed her a grin. “Well,” I started, then thought carefully about what to say without letting anything slip. “My family is great, like most, I guess. I have three brothers and a sister. As for how I grew up…”

Lowering my head, I bit my bottom lip. Taking a slow breath, I looked at her again. “That is a story for another day.” I finally added.

She smiled at me, licking her lips, and I felt my body lighting up. “Let’s see,” I huffed. “My father was a strict businessman. He spent most of his time and attention grooming my big brother to take his place. To keep his legacy going.” I laughed, thinking back.

We had good times growing up. Especially family gatherings or functions. But telling her everything would take a month or longer. “My mother was a loving, kind woman. She always tried her best to keep us all happy. However, I am sure it couldn’t have been easy.”

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the sudden wave of pain from my mind before continuing. “After she passed, I kept the peace and raised my other siblings the way she had taught me. They needed one-on-one contact, which our father never gave. I tried my best to gain his recognition. But sadly, I don’t think I ever lived up to what he wanted.”

Giving her a slight grin, she spoke before I could. “Does this mean you and your eldest brother fight a lot or don’t get along?”

Shaking my head, I knew I had to change the subject. “Enough about me. Tell me about your family?”

Joyce smiled, but I could see it was a pasted-on smile. She spoke in seemingly a distant tone as if she didn’t want to discuss her family. “Sure, I grew up in an overly strict family, as I am sure you know.”

“Reading about something is not the same as living it, Joyce,” I said tenderly.

“Well, I guess that’s true. I grew up mostly independent as my parents spent a lot of time with Jax after his parents died. My father took him in as I was an only child, and he wanted a boy. He raised Jax like his own son.”

I could see Joyce was in pain as she spoke. Tears formed in her eyes, and she turned her head away as she continued. “At first, all was fine. Jax was a kind and caring boy. He did exceptionally well in school, and we were best friends. But then…”

Her voice broke, and she swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Joyce,” I responded, not sure why, except that I wanted to ease her pain.

She shook her head and cleared her throat. “Jax started causing trouble at school. Small things at first. Stealing things, breaking into lockers, stuff like that. He was about fifteen. At seventeen, he almost caused a suicide. He acted like nothing was wrong. As if life was no big deal. But we knew something was wrong with him.”

I waited patiently as she took a deep breath before continuing. “For a while, my parents held onto hope. They punished him by taking his phone and computer while grounding him. They hoped he would come to his senses and the old Jax would come back to us.”

“But he never did, did he?” I asked softly.

Joyce shook her head in agreement as she spoke. “We soon realized he would never be who he was again. The sweet, innocent child was gone. Then he got arrested. This was the last straw, the breaking of the camel’s back for my parents. My dad shunned him from the family, and we had to cut all ties with him. I don’t know why he was arrested, but it had to be bad.”

I could feel the pain coming through in her tone and wished I could hold her. “I’m sorry for all you’ve suffered. I promise I will never cause you such pain, Joyce.”

She smiled faintly. “It’s life, I guess,” she commented.

“No one and not one thing will ever cause you any more pain if you stick with me, doll face,” I said lightly, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Okay, if you say so,” she retorted. “I have to go; can we talk later?”

“Sure thing, I’ll call you tonight. Have fun,” I replied before hanging up. Standing from the desk, I stretched my legs. Moving to the kitchen, I poured a cup of coffee and stood staring out the window.

I knew I couldn’t visit her, but I was sure, I could keep an eye on her. Picking up my keys, I placed the cup down. I would be very careful and not get too close; I thought as I left the house. I would just watch her from a distance, ensuring she was safe.