Hearing footsteps approach, she turned her back to the door. “Olek, go away.”
“Sestra, come downstairs and get something to eat,” Andriy said walking in. He knew without asking that Olek must have been making trouble, but he also knew not to ask.
Valeriya turned around and was pleased to see him standing there with a plate full of food. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” she lied. Besides, telling him the truth wouldn’t fix anything. It would only confuse him.
Andriy knew that she was not telling the truth, but he had learned to ignore a lot of things since his siblings became his parents. “Well, don’t be long. They are starting to fix plates. Do you want me to get you one?”
“That would be nice, thank you.”
As Andriy turned to leave, she perked up. “Andriy, skip over the beer. You’re not old enough. Drink water.”
Andriy laughed. “We’re in the middle of a war. I think that legal limit no longer applies.”
Chapter Eight
Not As Bad As I Thought…
Deep inside of the Nadiya away from the view of street traffic and recon scouts, the interior back rooms of the hotel were lit up for the night – a thing that seldom happened because of fear of attacks. But tonight, they had something to celebrate.
Singing and dancing, cooking and laughing replaced the normal melancholy of an uncertain future. And it was all thanks to the Medlovs.
Lucky for them, their Russian contacts had packed a great deal of alcohol in the aided provisions. Top shelf vodka and wine poured freely as the women cooked a large meal worthy of royalty. For tonight only, instead of drinking out of disposable cups only, they were able to pull out the Nadiya’s fine crystal and serve on real plates and chargers. Women were able to store up personal hygiene products, babies had shower wash and diapers and the men had shaving cream and other toiletries. It was very much like Christmas coming early.
With all of the good fortune that Gabriel and Nadei had brought with them, they were treated in the highest regard. The young women flirted and the old women gave them constant kisses and kept their glasses full. The men patted them on the back and made constant toasts blessing their families and businesses. In all of his time in this business, he had never been treated so warmly by people with such little means.
But in all of the jovial banter, Gabriel was waiting on something more than a pat on the back or another toast. Valeriya had disappeared a few hours ago and had not reappeared for quite some time. The hour was late, but he needed to talk to her about continuing their working relationship and ensure that he laid the groundwork for Allan’s money before he left.
Time was of the essence.
Seeing the only other Black face in the building approaching to fix another plate at the buffet in the dining room, Gabriel caught the boy’s attention with a wave and flagged him over. Legs cocked open and elbows on the table, Gabriel leaned into the young man. “Hey, do you know Valeriya?” he asked, voice low.
“Da,” Andriy chuckled. He looked between Gabriel and Nadei like they should have already known. “She’s my sister.”
A grin emerged. “Of course she is,” Gabriel said, motioning toward the vacant chair before someone else took a seat to talk with him. “Have a seat with us. Please.”
Andriy was honored. A smile washed across his face, feeling very important to be sitting with the guests of honor. “Sure.” He sat down with his second plate of food and pushed up to the table. “Thank you for all the food. It’s nice.”
“Glad you like it,” Gabriel said, pouring the young man a glass of vodka.
“Oh, I can’t have any. Sister’s orders,” Andriy said, raising his hand in protest. However, his eyes urged the idea of breaking his sister’s rules. It wasn’t like there would be school in the morning.
“Just a little won’t kill you,” Gabriel said, insisting with a wink of his eye. “Besides, if she catches you, tell her I said that you had to have at least one drink with me.” He poured it half full and pushed it toward the teen. “What’s your name?”
“Andriy,” he answered, picking up the red plastic cup and savoring the taste of the smooth vodka. His eyes flashed closed for a moment. “That’s good stuff.”
“The best,” Gabriel said, faintly cynical. “So, what’s up with your sister? Is she in charge of all of this whole operation or what?”
Andriy noticed the Rolex on Gabriel’s hand and was mesmerized by it. “Da… yes.” He took another sip. “Since my brother died, she’s the new leader of our revolution.” Andriy looked across the room at the other captains huddled together talking and occasionally looking over at them. “Some people aren’t exactly happy about that as you can imagine.”
“Why?” Gabriel asked. He had an idea but didn’t want to put words into the boy’s mouth.
“She’s a woman. A Black woman.” Andriy huffed.
“What does that matter?” Gabriel asked, prying for as much information as possible.
“Some people around here think that’s a handicap. I mean, we have the Nazi’s here who would pay good money to have her head. She’s too much of a symbol. And some people here in our own camp feel like she’s not as strong of a leader as my brother. But if she weren’t… why would you be here?” Andriy shrugged and sighed. The long day had worn its course on him. “It’s a lot of politics. Everyone wants to lead the cause, but there are few of them who want to do what it takes to lead.”
“It’s the same across the world,” Gabriel said, as a busty blonde woman waved at him from across the room. He ignored her. “Do you know why she seems not to like me?”
Andriy shoved a cracker full of pate in his mouth and chuckled again. “She doesn’t dislike you.” He paused as he watched Gabriel’s eyes light up with hope. “She hates you.”
Nadei laughed before he could catch himself and even Gabriel had to smile. The boy definitely had not lost his humor in all of this.
“Why does she hate me?” Gabriel asked, kicking Nadei under the table.
Nadei cleared his throat and went back to slowly eating his meal and watching the others as they moved around the room.
Andriy shrugged his thin shoulders and lowered his voice. He knew that Gabriel would not want to hear the truth, but he had asked for it. “She thinks that if you had just done the deal that my brother asked for in the first place, then he would not be dead right now.”
Gabriel’s smile was replaced with a cringe knowing that in some ways Valeriya was right. He wiped his mouth and raised a brow. It all made sense to him now. “Well, what do you think?” he asked Andriy. “Do you think I’m responsible?” It was a question that he could not avoid asking because eventually it would determine if this deal went sour or not.
Andriy looked at Nadei, who was obviously Gabriel’s bodyguard with a small measure of concern, then put down his food, determined to be a man who said what he meant and meant what he said as his late brother had taught him. “I think I want the men responsible for really killing my brother to be held accountable. I also think it’s easier to blame you because there is no real backlash from it. I’m not saying that my sister is a coward. She is not. But she is angry and right now wrapped in her emotions. It’s easier to hate you because you’re here. Who do you think is responsible?”
There was no way that he would take the blame, even indirectly. “I’ve gotten various reports. The Nazis, the Russians, some even say it was the Ukrainians. Who do you think it was that killed your brother?” Gabriel asked.
“I’m 15. I don’t know everything,” Andriy said, face sad now. “But if I did, I would tell you so that you could do the same thing that you did to the Nazis tonight. You put them in their place.” He raised his cup. “I wish I could have been there to see it and enjoy their demise.”
Gabriel wiped his face and nodded. “You’re a pretty smart 15-year-old,” he said smiling at him. “Much smarter than the kids back in the States where
I’m from. They are more wrapped up in their social media and girls at your age. One thing for sure, they are not fighting revolutions.”
Andriy could not deny the truth. “I’d love to go to America. It’s my whole dream one day. Though my sister wants to make this place better for me, I truly don’t want it anymore.” This place was just one big reminder to him of how much one person could lose in a very short period of time.
“What do you want in this life?” Gabriel asked, intrigued by the boy.
“I want to go to an American college, live in a studio apartment, have a good bike, maybe even an American truck, get a good job and live in one of your suburban areas with a beautiful wife and big dog.”
It all seemed so simple and feasible until Gabriel chuckled. “You have good dreams, Andriy, and you are a good young man. I hope it happens for you.”
“Thank you,” Andriy said, unsure if it ever would. After all, he had quit high school, so college would be almost impossible at this point in his young life.
Gabriel knew that something like wisdom at a young age only came from one of two places – good parenting or catastrophic events. “I’ve seen everyone else here with their families. Old ladies, young girls, teenage boys. It gets me to wondering. Where are your parents?”
“Dead,” Andriy said flatly, grabbing his cup and taking another swig. The reminder still brought him nightmares. His tone was morose as he spoke, staring into the distance. “Everyone is dead, everyone except Valeriya; so don’t let her get killed, okay?” His eyes pleaded with Gabriel. “She’s all I’ve got left in this world.”
Gabriel didn’t make promises to the young man he couldn’t keep, instead he sat back in his seat and picked up his glass to make a toast. “To long life,” he said, raising his glass.
“Bud-mo!” Andriy said, eyes full of good cheer.
“Bud-mo,” Nadei responded, looking back at one of the young women, who would not take her eyes off of him.
Gabriel finished the vodka in his glass and pushed away from the table. “Where is your sister now?” he asked Andriy. “I need to talk to her.”
“On the second floor. The middle room with the sign that says 203. You can take the back stairwell. The elevator doesn’t work.” Andriy squinted as his sight blurred. “I may have had too much to drink. I think I need to eat and go to bed.”
“Nadei, get him something to eat and help him to his room after you find out where we’re crashing for the night,” Gabriel ordered with a wink. “I’m going to find our illustrious leader and have a conversation with her.”
Nadei knew exactly what that meant. Unfortunately, Gabriel wasn’t good at hiding his interest in women, mostly because in the past, he had never had to hide it. “Sure thing, Boss,” he said, patting Andriy on the back.
***
The bottle of vodka that Olek left when he stormed out was nearly empty by the time that Valeriya realized she was drunk. It had snuck up on her and now left her comfortably numb and moderately dizzy. Sitting in the room alone under candlelight, she looked at pictures of her family and planned tomorrow’s humanitarian drops around the city. Even in a drunken stupor, she had to make herself useful. Every hour of every day counted. No time could be idle.
In her solitude, she listened to Chet Baker on the CD player in the corner of the room. Earlier that week, she worried that one small luxury would be taken away from her also, because she was down to her last batteries with very little electric power to the hotel and none that she planned to use for music. But since Gabriel had arrived with his packages, she had enough batteries to last her at least until the end of the year. Another reason to be grateful for the arrogant prick.
With the small boxes of bullets now counted and packed, she slid down into the one corner of the room that was not occupied with inventory and rested her long arms on her perched knees. Tears fell from her eyes down her cheeks to her chest as she thought of her family. They had so many hopes and dreams when she was a young girl, so many possible outcomes to their future that didn’t include death and destruction. How did they go from a prosperous business and future to such bleakness?
Wiping her face of the tears, she held on to a 4x6 picture of her family and rested her head back on the wall. Even drunk, she could not abide self-pity, not even her own.
An abrupt knock on the door caught her attention and pulled her out of her blankness. Sitting up, she wiped her face of any evidence that she had been crying. “Yeah,” she answered as boot-clad footsteps rounded the door.
She covered up her sniffles with a cough.
Looking up at the towering shadowy figure as it emerged, she was surprised to see Gabriel. Her heart fluttered knowing that he had found her. Now the question was what he wanted.
“Are you alone or do you have your bodyguard with you?” she asked sarcastically.
He knew that she had been crying. He could tell by the nasally sound of her words. After all, if it was one thing he had heard a lot lately, it was a woman crying, specifically Briggy. “Alone,” Gabriel answered, easing the door closed to make sure no one heard their conversation.
Casually, he walked across the room and set a plate on the table by the bullets. “I thought you might be hungry.”
Great, now she felt like even more of an asshole. “Thank you,” she said, getting up off the floor. Moving her long strands of curly hair from her face, she slipped the picture of her family in the back pocket of her jeans and hoped her voice would sound less shaky this time. “What brings you up here besides the food?” she asked, walking over the table. Just standing beside him made her anxious.
Strangely, he had prepared everything that she liked. Cabbage and beef, carrots, rolls, a few other small things that she had wanted but didn’t want to take from everyone else who was starving.
Gabriel didn’t answer.
Her stomach growled loudly as she hiccupped. Putting her hand over her mouth, she tried to smile. “Looks really nice. I guess I should say thank you.”
“Or not,” Gabriel said, looking down at her. “I know acts of appreciation aren’t really your thing.” He felt sorry for Valeriya now that he knew a part of her story and why she hated him so much.
Valeriya smelled his cologne, easing up to her nose and intoxicating the room. Why did he have to smell so good? She glanced up into his gypsy eyes and shook her head. And why did he have to look so good? She tried to cover her attraction with a snarky remark. “So you’ve been here five seconds and you suddenly know my thing?”
Gabriel wondered if that was mutual attraction in her eyes flirting with her midnight colored irises, but he didn’t say anything about it. “I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just walk into that one, because there are so many different jokes that I could make about your thing.”
And just like that the mood was lightened.
He continued, “Look, time is of the essence for me. I’m only here three days, and I want more than anything to prove to you that we did not intentionally put your brother or your other comrades’ lives in danger. It was a business decision… a very bad business decision. And we came here, I came here, to show you that we still want to do business with you, and we want to make this right.”
She swallowed hard. “It was just business, da?” Her face was unreadable.
Gabriel frowned. “It was, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t feel horrible for what happened.” He knew better than to dance around the issue.
Maybe the vodka had softened her for the moment, but when she looked up into his face, she felt his sincerity. Stepping back to give herself space from him, she looked away. “It’s not your fault, not really.”
Gabriel’s wide shoulders relaxed. “I’m still very sorry, Valeriya.”
The music played in the background, the candles danced about creating a fading light and the vodka didn’t help. Valeriya hoped that in the darkness, her vulnerability didn’t show. “I want to hate you, Gabriel Medlov.” Her voice ached for reasons he couldn’t possibly u
nderstand. “But I don’t, not really.” Running a hand through her hair, she turned from him and looked toward the wall. There was no way she could say what she needed to say looking at him. “I’m just angry. I lost my brother, but without you, I would have lost my cause as well. This shipment must have cost you millions and you didn’t have to do it. So I do… appreciate you.” Her face nearly cracked as she admitted all of that, but it was the right thing to do.
Gabriel knew that it was very big of her to say that, to admit what she was thinking and admit her faults. It was truly refreshing to be around a woman who seemed to be so transparent. Normally, it was the last thing he could expect.
Putting his hand on her shoulder, he tried to reassure her. “I’d feel the same way if I were you.”
His contact with her body sent zingers up her spine and goosebumps over her skin. Pulling away, she turned and smirked. “What do you know about loss? A man like you?” Her eyes swept over him, accessing his wide, virile frame. God, he must have everything in the world that he ever wanted. “You have the world at your feet, while I have it on my shoulders.”
“Do I?” Gabriel shook his head. He didn’t want her to see only what everyone else saw. For some reason, that was important for him. He blew a frustrated breath out of his mouth that swelled his jaws. “What… what in the world would make you think that?”
“Everything,” Valeriya said, voice low. “You waltz in here with everything that we need and drop it at our feet, saving our lives literally and you know that even if I wanted to turn my approval from you, I couldn’t, because the entire cause is now behind you. Listen to them down there. They are celebrating you, not me.”
And there it was. The truth. She felt jealous of the joy that he had brought in one night, when she had been trying to do that same thing this entire war.
“It’s hard to see other people being approved of when you’re not approved of yourself,” he said, thinking more of his own situation than hers. “It hurts.”
Gabriel's Regret: Book 1 (The Medlov Men Series 2) Page 12
