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My ears perk up. Is Dad home? Did he finally return? I've been worried sick.
I pull myself to my feet and hastily sprint down the hall to find my parents in the living room. Dad sits on the couch, hunched over with his head in his hands while Mother stands over him, a looming sentry. It’s almost six in the morning, but I can smell the alcohol wafting off my father from here.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“Your father told me everything. Well, everything about his more recent gambling exploits, since this fool refused to learn his lesson,” Inessa says, glaring a hole into my forehead. “He says you knew all about this. How could you have kept this from me? Do you have any idea the damage you could have done to our family? He’s already hurt us so badly, and now you, too?”
Dad looks up at me, his complexion blotchy and oily. There are dark circles beneath his eyes, his lips chapped like the cracked surface of the desert. I have never seen my father more pathetic. I have half a mind to cuss him out, to tell him how unbelievably selfish he’s been, but from the sound of it, Inessa might have beat me to it.
It’s then and only then that I see the thick yellow envelope sitting on his lap. The top has been ripped open haphazardly, exposing the wads of cash inside. It’s more money than I’ve ever seen.
“What is that?” I ask, concern lancing through me. “Did you steal it? Or were you gambling again?”
Dad shakes his head, shame dripping off him in waves. “Neither. One-Eye tracked me down and gave the money back.”
One-Eye. I’ve never heard the name used, but I automatically know who Dad is referring to. I think it’s a cruel, awful nickname.
“Wait he… he gave the money back? Why would he—”
A shiver races down my spine. Is this Leo’s way of making things right? It has to be. There’s no other explanation. I doubt Dad is resourceful enough to find this kind of money just lying around. After I left his apartment, did Leo go looking for my father to cancel out what was owed?
My mind is in shambles. I don’t know how to feel. Relief, at first, knowing my father no longer owes the Bratva is a massive weight off my chest. It means they won’t come knocking down our door demanding funds we no longer have. On the other hand, though, I’m torn up inside. This doesn’t excuse the fact that Leo is a criminal.
I still can’t believe it. All this time, I was so blinded by his brilliance that I didn’t see the red flags. I should have known better, maybe even from the start. Leo isn’t just mixed up with the wrong crowd, heisthe wrong crowd. There’s no telling what other horrible things he’s done in this past, what horrible things he will continue to do. The way he was talking about his family, the Bratva… I doubt there’s anything I could say that could convince him to leave. There’s no walking away from that sort of life, not when it’s so deeply entrenched in his being.
I didn’t want to leave him last night. If anything, I appreciated his honesty. I felt like I was finally getting to see the real man. No pomp, no circumstance, no lies. Sitting before me was none other than Leo Nicolaevich. A gangster, sure, but also the man who makes me feel special.
Loved.
Leo has been nothing but kind to me.
But that doesn’t excuse the fact that he does bad things for a living.
With a deep breath, I step forward and pick up the envelope, peering inside. There looks to be a note stuffed in there as well. I slip it out and read it. I’m only a little disappointed to see that it isn’t a message from Leo, but a brochure for Gamblers Anonymous. They apparently host meetings once a week at a local bookshop after close. It might be helpful for Dad to check it out.
In many ways, this feels like Leo extending an olive branch. The first attempt at making amends. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make my heart flutter, but it does nothing to remedy the cold pit in my stomach.
There’s a small bag on the couch beside Dad, too. I reach for it, opening it to reveal all the jewelry he tried to sell in order to pay back his debt. Every single piece is here and accounted for. Earrings, necklaces, broaches, bracelets… Did Leo go to the trouble of buying back every single one?
“You sniveling piece of shit,” mother hisses. “I knew I should have been the one in charge of our finances. The only reason I asked you to manage the books is because I’ve been so busy at the ballet. You’re useless, Erik. I asked one thing of you. How could you do this to us? How could you rope your daughter into it?”
“Mom, please calm down,” I say cautiously. “Yelling isn’t going to solve anything. Can’t you see he feels horrible enough as it is?”
Inessa jabs an accusatory finger in my direction. “Not a word out of you. I’ll chew you out later. Keeping secrets from me? This family is falling apart!”
I don’t condone what my father did, but even a blind man can see how sorrowful he is. He has been beaten down so many times I swear his body has shrunk. He wears his remorse on his skin, so sad and full of regret it almost breaks my heart. I pity him, but that doesn’t mean he needs to endure a tongue-lashing on top of it all. He’s probably spent the last little while beating himself up all on his own.
“Leave him alone, Mom. We have the money back. Everything can go back the way it was.”
She snatches the envelope of cash from me, leaving a wake of paper cuts on my palms. “I’m going to the bank right away to deposit this. In a separate account where this idiot can’t touch a kopek. When I get back, we’ll talk divorce.”
Divorce?
My blood runs cold. I feel helpless, like I’m drowning and there’s no lifeline in sight. Dad looks equally heartbroken.
“Inessa, let’s talk about this,” he says, voice weak and thin. “Let’s not do anything drastic.”
“Drastic?” Mother hisses, her lips curling up into a sneer. “I’ll tell you what’s drastic—not divorcing your sorry ass sooner. You’re nothing but dead weight. I only married you because I got pregnant. I didn’t evenwanther, but you convinced me otherwise!”
