AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Who would have?
He’s the guys’ foot soldier. Right hand man. Fixer. There was nothing he couldn’t do. Or wouldn’t do.
And underneath his supposed happy subservience, he’s been steaming for years? How does someone fake satisfaction for that long? Why did he never say anything? Was he just biding his time for an opportunity like the one he got with my father?
I get sick again.
Bogdan depended on him so much. If he’d only known Karol was unhappy, I’m sure he would have done anything to persuade him he was valued. Instead, the man let his resentment fester and fester, until he couldn’t take it anymore and cracked. What a terrible mistake. One he will pay dearly for, most likely with his life, if I know these guys at all.
I overheard him say, on numerous occasions, how grateful he was to Bogdan’s family. How they’d gotten him out of Poland, where he was in no end of trouble, gave him a job and fair wage, and got him on the straight and narrow.
Or at least as straight and narrow as you can get working for guys like Bogdan, Fedor, and Ilya.
Bogdan is crushed. Maybe even devastated. Shattered.
I am too.
“Oh, honey,” my mother says, joining me in the bathroom and rubbing my back. Just like a real mom. “Bogdan just came and woke me up.”
I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t. It was like my tears were all dried up.
“How… how could you leave me?” I ask quietly. “I was only five years old.”
She pauses, then takes a deep breath. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But I did it because you were the most important thing to me in the world. I chose you. Over myself, over everything else. It was the only way to keep you safe. Your father is vindictive. I was afraid of what he might do to you, to punish me.”
“Did you know of his… business dealings? The shady ones?” I ask.
She helps me up off my knees and to the edge of the tub, which is cool against my bare legs. I pull a large bath towel around my shoulders for a little warmth, and shiver.
My mother hangs her head. “Yes. Of course. That’s why he used you against me, to keep me quiet. He paid me off and sent me away. But he never imagined I’d save that money for you, so you could escape someday too.”
“How did he find out?Whendid he find out?”
She rubs her temples and shakes her head slowly. “He found out some time in the last couple years. He wasn’t supposed to know, but as your twenty-first birthday drew near, the trustee sent something to the house. Your father intercepted it.”
She gices me a sad smile, her eyes crinkling in the corners. It might have been fifteen years since I’d last seen her, but she was still stunning.
“He sent me on this trip to kill me.” I shiver and another wave of nausea washes over me.
My mother puts an arm around me and pulls me to her. “I wouldn’t put it past him, honey.”
I hang my head. I have no idea how I will ever recover from this. “I… I feel like my life is over.”
“I know. I felt that way once. But I don’t anymore,” she says, smoothing her fingers through my hair. “We’re back together, Abby. Regardless of the circumstances, this is a good thing. I’ve been dreaming of this day for fifteen years.”
There’s a knock on the bathroom door.
“Come in,” I call.
“Just wanted to check on you two,” Bogdan says, peering around the door.
All eyes are on me as I get to my feet. “I’d like to talk to Bogdan. Alone… if you don’t mind,” I say to my mother.
I wasn’t ready to call hermomyet.
“Of course. I’ll be in the kitchen. I don’t think I can sleep now. If you need anything, just holler.” She kisses the top of my head. “But you try to get some sleep, okay? I know it won’t be easy, but you need it with all you’ve been through.”
“Thank you…Mom.”
