“I thought you were helping with her father. Doesn’t she need you?”
“She needs me not to wreck her damned bar, that’s what she needs,” Alexei said, wishing he could kick himself instead of the stupid pebble.
“Do you want to stay?” Gregori asked. “Because it kind of sounds to me like you do.”
Alexei mumbled something that might have been an assent.
“Then maybe you should offer to fix the things you broke,” his brother suggested. “You screwed up, then stay and fix it. You always were good with your hands. Apologize to the woman, make it better, and don’t do it again. Maybe do something symbolic to show how sorry you are.”
Huh. Gregori always managed to make things sound so simple and reasonable. That used to aggravate the crap out of Alexei, but this time he was kind of grateful. Assuming, of course, that he could find some tools, and that Bethany would listen to him long enough to let him make the offer. He thought it was more likely that she’d throw things at him until he was bleeding and lying on the ground. Well, he was tough. He could take it.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll give that a try, I guess. Thanks.”
“What are older brothers for?” Gregori said lightly. “And keep me posted on the talking dog thing, will you? It doesn’t sound as perilous as what Mikhail and I went through, but you want to be careful nonetheless.”
“Huh.” Alexei glanced down at Lulu, lying at his feet and panting, her swollen belly making her look ungainly and uncomfortable. “Somehow I don’t think I’m in any danger from a pregnant Great Dane, but I’ll try and stay alert.”
Gregori chuckled. “You do that. And Alexei?”
“Yes?”
“It was nice to talk to you. Try not to make it so long the next time, please.”
“Maybe,” Alexei said. “And Gregori, I, um, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” his brother asked, sounding genuinely baffled. “For not calling? We’ve all had to deal with this change in our own way.”
“No, not for that. For not protecting you and Mikhail from Brenna, when we were all trapped in the cave. I let you both down, and I’m sorry.” Alexei rubbed one hand over his eyes, which prickled strangely. Must be some strange side effect from the sea air.
“You did not let us down,” Gregori said. “Why would you think that?”
“I’m the strongest,” Alexei said simply. “I should have been able to break us out. I should have been able to beat one small, aged witch. But I didn’t. I wasn’t strong enough. And so you and Mikhail had to endure unending torture. It was my fault.”
“Oh, Alexei. Is this why you have been avoiding us all?” Gregori’s voice sounded immeasurably sad. “You were tortured just as much. I still remember when you held on to those magically reinforced bars to distract Brenna, even though your fingers burned and your skin melted. If strength alone could have gotten us out, you would certainly have done it, my large brother. Don’t you think that Mikhail blamed himself for being tricked by Brenna and get us all caught in the first place? Or that I felt as though I should have been able to outsmart her?”
Alexei had never considered that his brothers might feel as guilty, as responsible as he did. “But, it wasn’t your fault. Not either of you. The witch was just too powerful. And too evil.”
“Exactly,” Gregori said. “Too much for even your immense strength to overcome. Please do not blame yourself. We all survived - and now we are both less and yet somehow more than what we once were. It is what it is. The only thing left is to figure out what you want to be now that you cannot be who you were.”
“What if I have no idea what that is?” Alexei asked.
“Perhaps it might be good to start with the woman who drives you nuts. At the very least, it sounds like it should be entertaining.”
Alexei was fairly certain that was laughter he heard in his brother’s voice.
“I’ll think about it,” he said.
“Perhaps you might also think about contacting Mikhail and the Baba Yagas,” Gregori said. “They all miss you too.”
Alexei sighed. “Not yet, Gregori. I’m just not ready.”
“Very well,” his brother said. “Then I hope you will call me again. If nothing else, I am curious to hear whether or not you can talk to animals now.”
“He can,” Lulu barked.
“Not helping,” Alexei muttered. “We’ll see,” he said to Gregori. “But thanks for the advice.” He ended the call and sat there for a minute, then heaved himself up and went into the house to ask Calum if he happened to have any woodworking tools lying around. You know, just in case Bethany didn’t kick him out the minute she came home.
Plus, he needed a pair of scissors. He was going to do something symbolic. It remained to be seen if Bethany would understand just how deeply symbolic it was.
Chapter 7
In the end, she let him stay. The apology helped, but in truth, Bethany didn’t have much choice. The agency said the earliest they could sent someone new would be the beginning of the following week - if they could find anyone willing to work with Calum at all. She tried convincing the manager that Calum was being a lot better, but in her heart, she knew that was mostly because of Alexei’s combination of sneakiness and sheer brute force, and not an indication that Calum was likely to be more cooperative with anyone else.
Besides - when she’d gotten home, he’d gone and cut his beard. He didn’t say a word, just left the braided end sitting on the table, like a note from Samson to Delilah, and shown up at breakfast the next day with it shorter and more neatly trimmed. A little less wild man, a little more civilized. Not subtle, but then neither was Alexei.
So she gritted her teeth and told him he could stay for another week. But he was banned from the bar, and at the first sign of trouble, he was out. Alexei didn’t argue. Didn’t even balk at her cool tone and the distance she kept. Just took her father’s woodworking tools, left over from the days he did repairs on his boat, and set to work fixing the worst of the wrecked furniture that she had hauled home in her truck.