Page 38 of Unholy Matrimony

8. baby

9. Flower

10. love

11. my love

12. husband

13. husband

14. Such a good girl for me

15. baby

16. Flower

Chapter seventeen

Leonid

It’s 4:30 in the morning and I need to get up and get ready. The twins will be here at 5:00. We are doing this together as always. It’s going to be a very bloody day. This job for the Pakhan has me worried, considering our usual approach involves careful planning. Pulling off a stunt like this is sloppy and leaves us open to retaliation.

“They have to disappear, Leonid. That is your job to make them disappear. You can still do your job, can’t you?”

Sitting in front of him, I shake my head yes. Of course, I can still do it. The simple part is taking the life, the hard part comes afterward. Pieces of your soul that die with them. “The hit will be at an apartment in Tver. Yuri has a small group of guys that have been fucking with one of our regular gambling spots. No witnesses, so they all have to go.”

“What about Yuri? Won’t this come down hard on us from him? He has strength in numbers.”

“We will deal with Yuri later!” Igor slams his fist down on the table.

“You do your job and you let me worry about mine. Now go home, crawl into bed with your pious little wife. Hopefully, she will give you a son. That way, at least you will have an heir to leave all this, to.”

Lina is curled into a ball, sound asleep. I slide towards her and pull her into me. She stirs and in her groggy voice, “Le… Lenya? 1V chem delo?” Kissing her shoulder, I tell her, “Nichego strashnogo, moy prekrasnyy Tsvetok.2 I just have to leave soon, and I didn’t want to leave without telling you how much I love you.”

The thought that I might not come home to her is a hard pill to swallow. I try my best to act as if this is just a simple “Goodbye darling, I’ll see you when I get home from work” but it’s not. Lina is not dumb, she sees right through it.

“You are worried something is going to go wrong, aren’t you?”

“Net, Moya Lyubov. Net3. I just needed to tell you.” I lean down and kiss her lips.

“Don’t go.” She whispers into my lips.

“That’s a choice I do not have. I promise I will be home” My mother told me to never make promises I cannot keep. I hope she will forgive me for making this one for Lina. The look on Lina’s face, as I break our kiss, stirs something in my heart. I wish I could just say fuck it all, stay here with her in bed. The repercussions of that decision would not only get me killed but more than likely her as well. This is a kill-or-be-killed way of life and I sure as fuck would rather be the one doing the killing.

I lean down to kiss her on top of her head and walk towards my office doors. Once inside, with the doors closed, I lean against them for support. Never in my life have I felt conflicted about what I do. This woman is making me think and feel things that I never thought possible. It doesn’t help that I can hear her crying just on the other side of the door.

Suck it the hell up, Lenya. Go do what needs to be done. Get it done, do it right, and then come home to her.

I grab my duffel bag and as I am heading out the door to the hallway, my phone chimes.

Oleg: You up?

Ilya: Stop fucking your wife and let's get this done.

“Assholes” I muttered.

Almost at the door, I finally look up from my phone. Lina is standing there. Her breathing is staggered and her eyes are swollen and red. I put down my bag, and she handed me my coat. I slip into it as she stares at my boots. “Try your best not to worry, malyshka4,” as I tilt her chin up, “Worrying does nobody any good.”

---