45. Valentin

FORTY-FIVE

Valentin

T ali doesn't let go of Dani as I do the same with a raging Viktor. I cup the back of my kid's head as he keeps fighting me and twisting his body, so I let him go. I'm not going to do it, I'll keep holding him until he's seventy-five and I know that he's safe. I can't do the same to my Dani because there's blood all over her back. Both of them are bloody and I can only see one of my son's eyes. The first time I held him his eyes freaked me out and now it's worse with blood trickling from the tail of his brow.

Dima is pissed but he doesn't argue with Vlad's order for us all to get home. Even Katya and Ana are full of anger but manage to keep quiet as they share one seat at the front.A little hand pushes at my chin and Viktor keeps arguing in the silent car.

"We can't leave him, let me go. I'll help."

I force the fear out of my tone, and he looks up at his name before I continue, "Viktor. You know the rules, what the Vor says is what we do. "

It's a crock of fucking shit but Vlad will survive. He's too controlling not to.

Dani's cries are fucking gutting me. If I look at the blood soaking through her clothes I'll breakdown in front of these fucks. I can feel Viktor's soaking through my fucking shirt. Kissing the top of his head, I rub circles on his back feeling his heartbeat against my palm. He's too fucking young to be holding a knife, both of them are too innocent to be bloody and bruised. Too good and better than every fucker on this planet.My eyes close as I hug him tighter, and my chin drops to my chest. His voice is low as he apologizes for something that's not his fault.

"I tried to stop it, but I wasn't strong enough."

I kiss his head and swallow around the lump in my throat.

"You were," I softly agree. "You done good little man, you're strong and brave, okay?"

He doesn't nod.

I hate this life. I hate the words strong and weak. We've all been careful not to use the word weak in front of him after a childhood of our dickhead father spitting it out every chance he got, but strong has the same connotations.

Everyone moves as one as we pull up outside the house. Slow and sluggish at the same time. Holding Viktor with one hand, I stretch my arm out blindly reaching for Dani and cupping the back of her head. Tali doesn't act like a prick for once and stays in step with me, so I don't have to let either of them go.

The place is fucked, I don't remember doing it but there's not a single surface free from damage. My stomach drops seeing the smudged bloody footprints. Inessa. Fuck, she was alone. Ana notices at the same time as me and nods her head doing a full check. All the floors are alarmed, and nothing went off, but I don't trust anyone.

Sitting Viktor and Dani in the kitchen I turn without looking at them. I'm a selfish cunt, they were only with those fuckers for 6 hours but the violence they saw is more than I can stomach. Grabbing all of the first aid shit, I dump it on the table as the front door bursts open. Inessa runs through unharmed with a burner in her hand, stopping in the foyer she holds it to her ear and visibly relaxes.

My entire family has gone to shit in one night. One fucking night and it gets worse when she repeats Vlad's words .

"He said he'll be home in the morning."

The bastard has code words for everything, and I move forward demanding, "What were his exact words?" Holding her shoulder, I drop down, so we're eye to eye like I'll be able to find the answer on her face. "Inessa, tell me exactly word for fucking word what he said."

Proof of how fucked everything is in the fact she doesn't slap the shit out of me.She speaks slowly, her brows coming closer together with each word of his death.

"He said go to sleep, I'll be there when you wake up."

Turning to look at Tali, he pauses with his hand outstretched towards the gauze and Dima comes in, guiding the doctors through. Seeing our expressions, Dima's fill with confusion, and I repeat the bullshit, "Vlad said go to sleep."

His features harden and he nods once, leaving to do as he was instructed.

The selfish fucking prick can't just fucking die and leave this shit on my fucking shoulders when my woman and son need me. Leaving Tali to watch the doctors and make sure they're doing what the fuck they should, I delay the calls and pull Dima into the office.

"Wait, don't say shit yet," I say, panicked. "He's a cockroach, he'll manage to live."

If I tell myself that I'll be able to focus on the two people who need me rather than the rest of the family. He agrees and asks, "How long?"

I'm not announcing my brother's death, he'll walk through the door in a few hours covered in blood.

"However long it takes."

I go back to the others and Inessa comforts Viktor while she holds Dani's hand as she gets stitched up. There are slashes on her back, different depths like the cunt was experimenting. Crossing my arms over my chest to stop my hands shaking, I just watch. There's nothing I can do to fix this shit and Tali is a mirror image on the other side of the table. The blood has been wiped off Viktor's face bringing the cut into view, but his eye looks weird. It's not fully swollen shut but the little amount in view is fully bloodshot and painfully red.

I remember inspecting his eyes every time he'd open them as a baby, watching and fucking waiting to see what color they'd be. Now it's red. It was never supposed to be fucking red .

Every little wince or twitch on either of their faces is felt deep within my bones. I don't speak a word as I get rid of the doctors and Viktor hardens, refusing to be picked up. I lift a limp Dani in my arms, so I don't feel so useless and I hold the top of his head as I guide them into the elevator.

"Want to sleep in my room, little man?"

I'm begging him, I don't give a fuck. I'll move him in once he's asleep if I have to. He looks up at me and nods his head as the elevator goes up. He doesn't say anything when we reach our floor and keeps walking past his bedroom door.

Dani is knocked out with whatever pain meds she was given, and I gently lay her down. Viktor follows me like a shadow, pulling the sheets over her. He's careful and makes sure that the stitches on her back are left uncovered, but my shadow follows me as I go to get his pajamas. I kneel down so we're the same height once we're in his room and open my arms as he throws himself forward, keeping the uninjured side of his face away from my body. His voice is muffled in my neck, but I can hear the pain in it as he says, "Dani wouldn't let me fight them, she kept getting hurt and holding me so I couldn't do anything."

My sweet artist.

I just breathe and stroke his hair back. There's dried blood on the strands, on my kid. There's nothing I can say to him, I fucked up and my apology is weak as fuck.

"I'm sorry, little man."

He doesn't move back, and he's clinging to me. He grabs my t-shirt in his fists, but he doesn't cry. He's pissed and he hisses, "I stabbed him in the privates because he kept talking about her and saying things ."

I kiss the top of his head and ask softly, "Are you still angry?"

It's the one thing Vlad asked me the first time I killed someone, I don't know what else to do and try to emulate the same conversation I was once on the receiving end of. He nods and hugs me tighter with accusation filling his voice.

"Dani wouldn't let me move. Vlad said she's family and you all look after family."

I fall on my ass and wait for some spiritual guide to tell me what to do. This is Vlad's job, he decided to act like he's my fucking parent and now he's fucked off when I don't know how to protect my wife and kid .

Viktor's voice lowers and turns haunted as he calls out, "Dad?" That fist that's been around my lungs since the day I became a father tightens as he looks up. One eye is barely open but the other is filled with pained confusion. "They kept talking about how much money they could get for me. I can't be sold, right? You wouldn't sell me?"

My voice is rough, and my arms instinctually tighten around him.

"I would never sell you. I'm going to kill them, and no one is going to get anywhere fucking near you again."

He nods, hanging on to every word without letting go of my t-shirt. He's exhausted and falls asleep as I rub circles on his back. I become a magician, managing to contort matter so he's still in my arms as I get him changed. Once he's dressed, I go back to Dani and gently ease myself on the bed next to her with Viktor laying on my chest. She's laid on her front, the dressings covering between her shoulder blades, and I pull her closer so I can hold them both.

They're both asleep, both of them injured and exhausted. Alternating between kissing Dani's head and Viktor's, I keep my palm flat on their backs. They're safe and at home, where they belong.

Footsteps move through the hallway, one foot dragging slightly, and I relax knowing it will be Tali. He doesn't say anything as he looks into the room and gestures with his head for me to come out. I can't leave them; my arms don't move, and he slowly lays beside me. Keeping his voice low he turns his head, looking like a kid and his eyes are glassy as he ghosts his hand over Viktor's head.

"What do we do?" he asks with a lump in his throat.

I don't know. The person who does, decided to give up for the first time in his life.

Ignoring the emotion and dread weighing down my stomach, I focus on logic. "We wait to see if there's a body."

It's a whisper but the sound travels like a gunshot through the silence. Neither of us have ever had to make decisions, we just do what we're told and know it will work because Vlad doesn't do shit if it doesn't work out, he's calculating and always ten steps ahead. As long as there isn't a body, he's not dead.As long as there's not a body, we're safe and he'll come home.

Tali doesn't move and I kick the edge of the sheets at him so he's comfortable. It doesn't take long for everything to revert back to us being afraid children again and Katya hovers by the threshold of the door. I nod my head for her to come in and Tali opens one arm for her to crawl in beside him. Exactly like we're children, she hugs his side and whispers, "Dima will fix it, remember they said that they'll never leave us."

This feels different than the shit that would happen when we were younger, it might be similar due to Vlad disappearing in a rage, but there's a voice in the back of my head telling me that he won't come back this time.

The sun has been up for hours when Dani's lashes flutter and she lets out a groan of pain. Kissing her temple, I keep my voice low not wanting to wake Viktor on my other side.

"It's okay rodnaya, I've got you."

She lifts her head and can't meet my eyes. Her face falls as she looks across my chest and tears fill her eyes at the angry red mark on his face.I want her to look at me, for those pretty brown eyes to suck me in and see them come alive. But she stares into space and croaks out, "I need a shower."

Sliding out from under Viktor's head, I pick her up and ignore the crinkling sound of the dressings on her back. She doesn't wrap her legs around my waist or hold on to my neck, she simply places her hands on my shoulders.

I set her on her feet in front of the sink, she's still avoiding my eyes as she fidgets looking at her feet. The weird guilty expression on her face is pissing me off and I stand back, leaving the door open enough so that I can hear if Viktor wakes up.

"I need to pee."

Her dismissal doesn't work as I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the wall.

My Dani only gets nervous when she's scared, this bullshit isn't due to fear. She knows she's safe with me. When she doesn't move I try to get her attitude back.

"Need me to wipe your ass or something?"

I would without a second thought, but she doesn't need to know the depths of how much control she has over me.

A little flicker of fire comes back, and she points to the door being my stubborn artist. "How about privacy?"

My phone buzzes as I shake my head. I'll give her privacy by looking down but I'm not leaving. Rian's message sits above my father's, the one I'll continue to ignore.

Dani runs the water and grabs a towel to hide behind like peeing is embarrassing.

Rian Court:

Heard a rumour that hell has its master back

I was thinking about buying a bike, found a shop if you or Vitali want to tag along for a test drive

No one should know about Vlad, other than the people in this house and my father's message follows the same topic as I translate it.

Fucking prick. Vlad raised his kids for him and the first reaction to his first child's death is to call him weak. Before I can formulate an excuse another message comes through from Rian.

Every violent fuck is going to be pledging their help for destruction, but I get the details knowing it will make life bearable if I focus on other people's pain rather than my own. Seeing it in Dani's eyes is killing me, if I have to sit around it I'll go crazy.

She keeps wincing when she moves her shoulders and I move automatically as she stands at the sink. Making sure my chest doesn't touch her back, I kiss her shoulder and her tears fall with more bullshit coming out.

"I'm sorry, I tried to keep him safe."

I turn her to face me and kiss her cheek trying to calm myself down, but it doesn't work when she keeps apologizing for other people's actions.

"Dani, shut the fuck up." My voice is too harsh, and I temper it adding, "Respectfully."

I swipe her tears away with my thumbs as I cup her cheeks with both hands and some of the nerves leave her. I rest our foreheads together and say with conviction, "Don't blame yourself for anything that happened, Viktor's safe and so are you. That's all I care about."

My perfect woman wraps her arms around my middle and breathes out in relief as though there's any chance I'd hold her responsible for this shit. It's all Carly and Leno, the fuckers were obsessed with money and if Viktor doesn't choose to kill the bitch I'll do it myself.