Chapter 29

Audrey

" I hate to admit it, but Jason does have a point," Vitaly says.

"What is the meaning of this?" our father gasps. "Point that somewhere else, or I will shove it down your throat!"

Vitaly glances back at the men waiting by the open door. I follow his gaze and realize that they're not moving. They're simply standing back, hands in their pockets, watching my brother as he makes his decision. To my astonishment, they're not jumping in to protect my father. Something is different. Something that might very well change the way the Fedorov Bratva will operate from now on.

My brother has finally asserted himself as the leader. And the men have chosen to follow him. It's quite the blow to our father, I can see the shock in his eyes.

"I am the heir," Vitaly says. "You already had me sign all those papers, granting me legal ownership and the administrative authority over our businesses. You had me sitting down with our partners and associates, introducing me as the new head of the Bratva. They acknowledged me. And yet, I'm still taking orders from you. It doesn't make sense."

"Vitaly put the fucking gun down," our father says. "You will regret it."

"Oh, no, the only thing I regret is not doing this sooner. Maybe things would've worked out better for everyone. Maybe Anton and I wouldn't have gotten shot. We could've handled Arkady's attempt to force his way back into New York ourselves. We could've negotiated something to keep Audrey out of his reach, too. If only you'd listened to me in the first place. But you didn't listen. You never listen. Why put me in charge if you're still calling the shots?"

I can tell he's having a hard time holding up that gun, given his recent shoulder injury. Beads of sweat drip along his pale temples, but he refuses to yield. I've never been prouder of my brother. Never. I'm seeing a side of him that I haven't caught a glimpse of since we were children—since the first time that he stood up to our father and ended up in the basement. To this day, I remember the moment he came out of there, merely a boy and the spark was gone from his eyes, never to return.

I'm seeing that spark again, and it fills me with a whole new kind of energy.

"Papa, you've gone too far," I chime in. "Even Vitaly has had enough."

"You need to shut up and remember your place, Audrey," he says.

"Actually, Papa, you're the one who needs to shut up and know your place," Vitaly replies. "What is stopping me from killing you right now? Think about it. You taught Anton and me to shut ourselves down when it comes to pulling the trigger. No matter who it is on the receiving end of the bullet, if it must be done, then I must do it. What if I shut myself down because I have to do this? Because there will be no peace, no real progress, not even a glint of happiness for anyone in this fucking family unless you're six feet under. Killing you would solve all of our problems."

"Vitaly, you don't mean that."

"I do mean it. We'd patch things up with the Abramovic clan. I kill you, and I basically kill the man who ordered Arkady's assassination," my brother says. "I kill you, and there's no one left in New York to question me or my legitimacy. You're the only one still questioning it, frankly. I kill you, and both Anton and I are free to carry on with the family name and the family business. We've got better and fresher ideas for the future, projects you'd never let us do because…" he pauses to mock our father's condescending tone. "It's not our style."

I can't help but chuckle, drawing a sour look from our father. "Don't look at me. He's got a point," I snap. "You've become an inconvenience, Papa."

"And if I kill you, Audrey will be free to live her life as she chooses," Vitaly adds. "It's what our mother would've wanted, and it's what Anton and I want. You're so stuck on the Bratva traditions, on retaining control over the people you're supposed to love and protect, that you don't even care about Audrey's happiness. If she wants a normal life, who the fuck are you to tell her otherwise? You lived yours. Let her live hers. She's not hurting anybody."

"There will always be another Bratva looking to use her against us. Arkady did that with impunity, after all," Papa says.

"She's got Jason," Vitaly replies. "And you've seen what Jason can do. You've experienced it yourself."

Our father scoffs, but even that simple gesture is enough to cause him pain. He winces in his wheelchair and gives Vitaly a cold, harsh glare. "You've betrayed me."

"I think it's time for the two of us to have a chat," Jason politely interjects, his hands still up in a defensive stance. "You and I, Grigori. Man to man. I'm sure we can work something out so that your own son doesn't have to kill you."

My father thinks about it for a moment, biting the inside of his cheek. I can see his mind spinning with the possibilities ahead. He may be stubborn and quite the control freak, but even he has to concede that he no longer holds absolute power over any of us. All it took was for Vitaly to come to his senses and realize that he is, in fact, the true leader of our family. For so long, he was used to taking orders from our father. It's a hard thing to do, getting out from under Grigori Fedorov's heavy boot.

"What are you suggesting?" he asks Jason.

"A sit-down. Just you and me," Jason replies.

I give him a worried look, but he offers a subtle nod in return. His way of reassuring me that it's going to be okay, one way or another. I'm inclined to believe that. Vitaly has crossed one hell of a line just now. Unless Jason convinces our father to back down and let my brother do his thing, Vitaly will have no choice but to end him—because the old man will never forgive this transgression.

Wolves kill their own pups sometimes. And our old man is the worst kind of wolf.

I sit on the back porch with Vitaly while Jason and our father discuss terms and conditions inside. The townhouse is surrounded by Fedorov men, but I am no longer afraid nor wary of them. They answer to my brother now. Therefore, their prime directive is to protect me, as well. They seem to understand that our father has become problematic.

It's beautiful and sunny out here. The sun dances across the surface of the lake, and the crystalline water gently laps at the mossy shore. I could stay here forever, away from the crowds and the chaos of being a Fedorov in a world that is already so difficult and dismaying. But there is peace in this sliver of tranquility, a peace that my body and my soul desperately need.

"You really stepped in it this time, didn't you?" I giggle, staring at the swaying willow branches that dangle just above the water.

"It's not like I had any other choice," Vitaly says and shrugs. The gun rests in his lap, ready to be used if our father doesn't reach an amicable agreement with Jason. "What else could I have done?"

"Sit back and let the old man push us around some more."

He shakes his head. "I'm tired, Audrey. The men will never take me seriously if I don't stand up to him. Anton said it more than once. You said it, too. Even though it stung to hear the words, it's the truth. I couldn't let him pull the strings anymore."

"Besides, it's detrimental to the family," I reply. "I'm of no use to anyone."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Vitaly sighs deeply. "I'm just sorry I didn't do this sooner."

"You did the best you could, big brother. You've been a loyal son, first and foremost. That was always your duty, and I swear I have nothing but respect for you in that sense. You just needed to come out of your shell I guess. You needed to push yourself out of your comfort zone."

"Yeah, well, killing Papa wasn't on my list until he dragged my ass out of the hospital today to come looking for you," he says. "Anton is lucky that he's still in and out of his drug-induced sleep. Otherwise, we would've had to carry him around with us, too. The man has lost his fucking marbles, Audrey."

A bitter smile tests my lips. "He is losing control, and he's not used to it. He doesn't know how to handle it. All he's ever known is now being taken away from him, year after year. I left. Anton is all grown up. You are now expected to lead the charge. What does that leave him with?"

"Retirement. Few Bratva men actually live to see it. I thought he'd look forward to it."

"Look forward to what exactly? Sitting on a porch like this and looking back at his life? Seeing the faces of all the people he killed? The people whose lives he destroyed?" I look at my brother and notice the consternation on his face. "It's what you and Anton signed up for as well. You may not see it now, but you will as time goes by. Everything you do as a Fedorov will ultimately come back to haunt you. Every life you take, every life you shatter, you'll have to live with all of it. And our father has quite the portfolio. Then there is everything he allowed to happen. Everything he could have prevented but knowingly didn't. Everything he did to you, to Anton, to me. All the hours in that basement. Our mother, let's not forget about her."

"He was good to her," Vitaly insists.

"But she's not here anymore. She hasn't been here for a long time, and that has left our father unmoored and lacking consolation. Why do you think he was so mean and so hard on us? Had Mom lived, he never would've treated us the way he did."

It's a hard pill to swallow, but Vitaly has to accept it. The facts don't lie. "There are moments when I can barely remember her face, you know?"

"Yet you resemble her the most. Your eyes have that tint of grey that hers had. Your hair's a tad darker, like hers, and your face, oh, Vitaly, it reminds me so much of her. If you find yourself forgetting, just look in the mirror. You'll see her right there, smiling back at you."

"Audrey, we never deserved you. You know that, right?"

There is pain in my brother's eyes. The pain of a brother who had no choice but to sit back and let our father hurt me, push and pull me in every which way that he saw fit. He couldn't protect me because had he stepped in sooner, the retaliation would've been downright bloody. "I could have been a better sister," I concede with a slight shrug. "I could've told you about my plans. Maybe then you would've known how to react when I left."

"Nah, Anton must've told you already that we kind of knew. It was a matter of when with you, not if. I could tell that you were emotionally exhausted. You'd literally checked out of the family long before you ran off. As angry as I was back then, I couldn't blame you, Audrey. Not even a little."

"How bad was it?"

"Oh, it was awful," he chuckles. "The old man fumed for weeks. He shot two of our house guards simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had to pay them both off just to keep things in the family. There were already plenty of rumors spreading about Papa flipping out and losing control. The last thing we needed were two bodyguards with bullets in their legs to further cement that theory."

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. Like I said, I probably would've done the same if I were you," Vitaly says. "And that prick, Piotr. Wait till I get back to New York. He's all giddy again, thinking we're bringing you back so he can marry you. I cannot wait to sit him down and lay the law of the land on his ancient, wrinkly ass."

I can't help but smile. "How do you know his ass is wrinkly?"

"Do you have any idea what it's like to do a Russian sauna with these old fuckers? My God, Audrey, there are things I can never unsee, and there isn't enough vodka in the world to make me forget."

We laugh heartily. It's been a while since we've been able to just sit down and reminisce like this. The minutes fly by with memories that Vitaly and I pluck from the recesses of our tired minds—of us as children, of our mother, of the few good moments that we shared in the company of our father.

"What do you think Jason is proposing in there?" I ask my brother after a long silence. I can hear their voices from inside but I can't make out the words.

"Probably a deal that our father will have no choice but to accept." He glances down at the gun in his lap. "Lord knows he's fully aware of his only other option. I don't want to have to do it."

"I don't want you to have to do it."

He shakes his head. "Jason should've just …" he trails off.

"Jason should've just killed him, yeah. I understand the sentiment, and I get it. As awful as it sounds, I honestly think we're allowed to feel whatever we want to feel where Papa's concerned," I say to my brother. "He's the one who backed us into this corner, Vitaly. We're simply protecting ourselves, our peace, and our future. If he cannot be reasoned with, what else can we do?"

"Except put a sick dog out of its misery, huh?"

"You knew this might happen," I remind him with a stern tone. "The minute you signed the papers, the minute you sat down with the other Bratva families, you knew this was a possible outcome. Papa doesn't relinquish control. He says he'll do it, but he doesn't know how because he lived his whole life trying to control every single circumstance, every single person within his reach. Letting go of that control means the very end of who he believes he is. That's why we're having these issues now. That's why he can't let go of me."

"I considered the possibility, but I just didn't think it would actually get this far, Audrey. Anton and I swear we tried to talk to him; we tried to reason with him."

"I did that for years before I left."

Vitaly lets a bitter smile sit on his lips. "And now I feel precisely the way you felt."

"Except you have the gun and the spine needed to pull that trigger. All I could do was run and hide."

"Yet you're just as brave," he says, giving me a long, affectionate look. "Mom would be so proud of you. You know that, right?"

I wonder what she might feel about all this as I subtly cradle my belly with both hands, an aching pang tugging at my heart. "I don't know, Vitaly. Everything seems so uncertain right now. There are things I could've handled better myself."

"She would want you to be happy," he says. "I want you to be happy. Anton wants you to be happy. And Jason is in there right now, doing everything in his power to make sure you get that freedom to pursue your happiness. That makes him a good man in my book, and Mom would agree. It's a shame she wasn't able to meet her grandchild."

"Yeah."

Tears prick my eyes. I would've loved to turn to our mother for comfort and advice during these trying times. "She would have been helpful today; I'll tell you that."

"I think, in a way, she is helping. Her life here on this earth was not without consequence. We are living proof of that, Audrey. We just need to make sure we live accordingly."

I don't know when my brother became so wise. Two years ago, he was still arguing with Anton over which fashion magazine cover model would be willing to screw them both on the same night. I guess life got real, really fast, after I left because the man sitting next to me now is not the man I left behind in New York.

Our mother would definitely be proud of Vitaly, though. I'm sure of it. To stand up to our father the way he just did … hell, I think deep down, and despite the threat of death looming over his head, even old Grigori Fedorov is fucking proud of Vitaly.

My only hope is that Jason manages to talk some sense into him before it's too late.

Because Vitaly will pull that trigger.