Chapter 19 - Tia
I've been staying at the safehouse for the past week. The debt collectors are out there looking for me; I know because they keep messaging threats and warnings.
I don't get it. Yefim apparently handed them more than enough money to cover the debt and they didn't take it.
I wish he had just stayed out of it like I asked him to. Honestly, I'm furious about that. He could have been killed. The thought rips at my heart and causes an ache in my chest. I don't want to lose him—not when I just learned to trust someone, not when I just learned how to open my heart.
I sigh in frustration. I've been pacing up and down this house for an hour now trying to figure out what to do.
I hear the front door opening. Leon, Oleg and Alexei are the only ones who have access, so I'm not worried.
Leon walks in with a bag of groceries.
"He said he was craving stir fry, so I figured I'd make it myself," he says, placing the bags on the counter.
"That's really nice of you." I smile tightly at him. They really are a close family. They have been going out of their way to take care of their brother.
Of all the brothers, Leon is the one I get on with the most. Oleg seems so stiff and serious. Alexei is great, but he tends to act like everything is a bit of a joke. I think he's the opposite of Oleg—he hardly takes anything seriously. At least he makes me laugh, though. He has a few scars on his face that make me think he was a fighter when he was young.
Leon is the calmest, the most down-to-earth of the brothers, and I feel like I can actually talk to him.
"Leon." I step towards the kitchen counter as he starts unloading the groceries.
"Yeah?" he says, leaning into the fridge to pack some of them onto the shelves there.
"I need your help. It's this debt collector. I don't even want to talk to Yefim about it right now, because he's not really in an okay state."
Leon turns to look at me, his eyes more serious. He is focused and ready to listen. "What's going on?"
"He keeps threatening me." I push my phone across the kitchen counter towards him to show him the string of messages I've received since Yefim was attacked.
He picks up my phone and flicks through it, reading some of it. "Fuck. He's really not playing a fair game here," Leon mumbles.
"I don't know what to do. I thought maybe I should try going to talk to him. I could take the money and try and pay him again—I mean, Yefim did try pay it, but maybe if I went? It was my debt, after all."
"Tia, I don't think this is only to do with you anymore."
I shake my head in confusion.
"No, this is all because of me. The entire reason Yefim is lying in bed so injured is because he was trying to keep me safe. He went there to sort out my debt, to protect me, and he got really hurt. I don't want it to happen again. But I don't know how to stop it."
"Do you really think talking to this asshole will change anything?" Leon asks, sighing deeply.
"I have to try. Yefim tried for me—I have to try, too."
"So, what do you want me to help you with?"
"I was hoping you'd come with me. You and your brothers seem to know the guy, I don't know, and the mafia world—it's kind of new to me, and I don't want them to think I'm naive or easy to manipulate. I think it's better if you come with me?"
He nods. "You definitely aren't going alone, Tia. My brother would kill me if I let that happen. Besides, even if he wasn't going to find out, I wouldn't be comfortable with you going alone. You are family. We take care of our family."
His words touch my heart.
"If you set up a meeting with that asshole, Oleg and I will go with you. The more the merrier, I reckon. Seeing as they've already showed us that they don't like to play fair."
"Thank you so much, Leon. I really appreciate this."
***
The next evening, Leon and Oleg come to fetch me. I've arranged to meet up with the debt collector. I'm nervous, but I won't let it show. I know with these people the moment you show weakness, they snatch at it, turn it against you.
I run my hands over my black jeans as we drive towards the destination. My palms feel sweaty. There is a duffel bag of cash on the seat next to me. I did tell the guy that I wanted to come and talk to him and settle what was due. He agreed. So that must mean he'll be willing to take the money.
Leon parks on the curbside near a bar in more neutral territory. He didn't want to go back into the same bar Yefim got attacked in.
I told him to come alone. He thinks I'm coming alone as well. Oleg and Leon will have to stay out of sight if I want this to go well.
Outside the bar, Leon turns in his seat to talk to me.
"Here, take this. Tuck it under your jacket." He hands me a small gun. It fits in my hand comfortably, but holding it doesn't make me feel comfortable.
"Do I really need this?" I say, staring down it and starting to feel ill.
"Hopefully not, Tia. But better to have it and not need it. Listen, Oleg and I are right outside. You are going to call me and leave it on speaker—keep your phone in your pocket. If you need us, scream. We'll be there in fifteen seconds. We're here, listening to everything. You'll be safe, I promise."
I nod. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I dial Leon's number. He answers the call, putting his phone on speaker as well. "There, now we can hear in. My side is on mute, so they won't hear anything coming from your pocket."
I tuck the small gun into my waistband, pulling my jacket over it to hide it away.
"What if they feel the gun on me?"
"Everyone carries a gun. I assure you that debt collector has his on him."
Well, there is no point in dragging this out anymore. I push the door open and climb out of the back seat of the car, pulling the duffel bag across the seat and slinging it over my shoulder. It's a lot of money—to feel the weight of what I owe in one bag, it's a lot.
I glance back at the car just before I step inside. The windows are so tinted I can't even see their outlines. But at least I know they're there.
Pushing the bar door open, I walk inside, spotting the asshole at the counter drinking a beer. I tilt my head up, push my shoulders back and walk confidently towards him.
"Where's your boyfriend?" he sneers down at me with a smirk on his face.
"I came to talk to you, never mind about anyone else," I say sternly.
"Alright girl, talk."
I place the duffel bag on the bar chair in front of him. He looks down at it but doesn't take it.
"This is everything I owe you plus interest. I want to settle this debt once and for all and be done with it. We can go our separate ways and never have to deal with each other again."
He chuckles. A laugh full of malice.
I glance from him to the duffel bag. "Take it. Then we're even," I say.
"Listen, girl, the truth is that it's too late. My boss belongs to a strong family. That family was just looking for a reason to go after the Dubrovs, and you, sweet little thing—you've given us an opening. A reason. They aren't going to back off. It's hardly even about the money anymore."
I bite my lip in frustration. "So you won't accept the payment? I don't understand."
"Go home. Tell them it's not over. Tell Yefim his little wife better watch her back." He laughs at me, threatening me via a message to my husband. It's so sinister.
He turns his back on me and the duffel bag. I don't want to give up that easily, but I can't force the man to deal with me.
I pick up the bag, slinging it over my shoulder again, and walk out the bar.
Climbing back into the car, Leon and Oleg are silent. They heard everything.
"It's not your fault, Tia," Oleg says after a long while.
"It is my fault. He said it. I gave them an opening—a reason to come after your family."
"They would have found one with or without you."
I stare out the window as we head back to the safe house.
Now I'm in danger, and Yefim and his family are in danger, too. I hate this. I don't know what to do to fix it.
***
Over the next few days, I try to focus all of my energy on helping Yefim. He's started to move around a little, and we are in the kitchen while I cook some dinner.
He's sitting on the bar chair at the kitchen counter, chopping vegetables for a stew I'm making.
"What's wrong, Tia?"
"Mm?" I look up from the pot I've been stirring absentmindedly for ages.
"Where are your thoughts?"
I giggle, trying to pretend I'm okay. "Gosh, I think I was daydreaming just now."
Yefim's not having any of it. "It's not just today, baby girl, it's the last few days. You've been distant. Very sweet, very caring, taking excellent care of me—I couldn't ask for any more than what you do for me—but I can see something is bothering you. We promised no more secrets. No more keeping things from each other."
I sigh, biting my lip. I need to tell him. I've been wanting to tell him since it happened, I just didn't want to burden him when he was starting to feel better.
I look up at him, guilt and sadness in my eyes. I can feel it.
"I went to see the debt collector again," I confess.
"When?" he stiffens in his seat, putting the knife down and staring straight at me.
"I didn't go alone, okay. I took Leon and Oleg with me. But I spoke to him alone to try and resolve it all."
He takes a heavy breath, trying to control his anger.
"What happened? Did he hurt you?"
"No, but he wouldn't take the money, and he said it's not over. He said that they were just looking for a reason to come after the Dubrovs and I gave it to them. He—he also said—"
My throat closes with nerves and tension.
"What else did he say, Tia?" Yefim's voice is gentler now as he watches me struggle.
"He said that I should watch my back."
Yefim nods slowly, his eyes dropping as he mulls over what I've told him.
"Tia, none of this is your fault. The family that asshole works for has been a rival of mine since we came to Boston. They are powerful—but so are we. I promise you, this would have happened with or without you being involved. They really were just looking for any excuse." He stands up, walking around the kitchen counter, and steps behind me, wrapping his arms around me as I lean my back against his chest.
He rests his chin on my shoulder, whispering into my ear, "You are my wife. You belong to me. I promise you that my family and I will not let anything happen to you. Or any of us. We stick together. If my brothers were willing to go with you to meet the guy, it means they want you safe as well. Trust me. Everything is going to be okay."
I nod, leaning into him, feeling his warmth and letting it reassure me. He takes the wooden spoon from my hand and starts stirring the pot in front of me. "This smells amazing. Lucky me that I got the hottest girl on the planet and she can cook." He chuckles, and I can't help but laugh as well.
He places the spoon on the counter and turns me around to face him.
Tilting my chin up with his hand beneath my jaw, he stares into my eyes.
"It's going to be okay, baby girl. You aren't alone in this."
I smile because I believe him.
He leans down and presses his lips against mine. I melt into him, fitting perfectly in his curves, snuggly in his embrace.
He is perfect. And I am falling in love with him more and more each day.