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“I don’t plan on it. Katja, how did you know? About Ludmila and me, I mean.”
“I saw it on your face. When Dad wanted to hit Ludmila, and you went to stop him, you weren’t just being protective of a woman. You were defending your territory. And then you looked at her with such intensity, Enzo, I felt like I should’ve turned away and given you some privacy.”
What the fuck did she just say? I didn’t care about what she saw on my face, but about what came up before that.
“Hit her? What the hell are you talking about?” I felt my body temperature dropping.
“Oh…”
Oh? What the hell did ‘oh’ mean?
“That fucker hits Ludmila? Does he hit you?” My words were ground out through my teeth because my jaw locked like a Pitbull’s.
When Katja spoke, she kept her voice low, and I could hear shame in her voice.
“She didn’t tell you. No, dad never hurt me, but sometimes when he loses his temper…”
“What, Katja?! What happens when Popov loses his temper?”
“He beats her. I’ve had a hunch for a long time, because in the past five years Ludmila ended up in the hospital more than once. Once he broke her wrists, then there were a couple of rib fractures, and then last year she went to have her nose done, but I suspect it was because Dad broke it first.” In that moment I knew that I would kill him. “Every time I asked about it, she dismissed it as an accident, but ever since we moved to New York, and I started living in the same house as them, I was forced to witness every time his monster was unleashed. Every time I tried to help her it was still too late…I…”
“Motherfucker.” Words couldn’t paint the level of anger I was feeling.
“I really thought she told you.”
“Well, she fucking didn’t!”
“Don’t yell at me, Enzo.”
“I’m sorry.” My temper was getting the best of me. “I’m sorry, Katja, but I have an urge to smash something with my fists right now.”
“Look, Enzo, if Ludmila didn’t tell you it’s because she doesn’t want you to do something stupid.”
I grabbed my 9mm from the nightstand and checked to make sure there were bullets inside.
“I’m coming there right now. I’m taking you both away from that fucking shitty father of yours and I will…”
“Enzo, no,” she hissed. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I begged Ludmila to leave him. I told her I’d help her and that I’d give her money from my trust fund to help set her up, but she’s so scared of him, she has refused every time. I think there’s something more, and the last thing you want to do is rush into this and hurt her even more.”
“What the hell am I supposed to do, Katja? Go to sleep and not think about how you two live with a maniac that could put his hands on you?”
“He never hurts me.”
“Her!” Helplessness, that’s what I was feeling, and it was as foreign at it was painful. “Alexei hurts her. Katja, you just told me he would have done it tonight if I hadn’t been there.”
“Dad won’t do anything tonight. I fed him some Xanax, and now he’s out cold and tomorrow night he leaves for Russia.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Ludmila and him went to a dinner with some of his Russian contacts, and now he has to go there. I don’t know the details; I just know it’s something for your family.” The fucker was finally doing something, but it was too late for him. “He’s flying to Moscow tomorrow afternoon, and he’ll be gone until Monday. Take tonight to calm yourself down, and invite Ludmila to spend this weekend with you.”
I hated that I had to wait. Knowing that Ludmila was so close to danger and that I could get to her, but had to sit on the side and watch, was a fucking ordeal. I would rather take a walk-through Hell.
“Fine.” I spit. “I will wait until tomorrow night.”
“Good. I will cover for Ludmila.”
“Kat, thank you. You’re a great friend.”
