Page 125 of Nine Months to Love
“On and off.”
“Why?”
He shrugs. “She pays well. And she hates you as much as I do.”
“Do you hate me, Iakov?”
“What do you think?”
I study his face. The hard set of his jaw. The coldness in his eyes. “I think it’s complicated.”
“Everything with your family is fucking complicated.”
“Fair point.” I rotate the coffee cup in its saucer. “I remember when we first met. You were such a serious child. Somber as the fucking grave.”
“I had to be. My father didn’t tolerate weakness.”
“Mikhail was a hard man.”
“He was a good man,” Iakov says sharply. “He taught me everything I know.”
“I liked him,” I say. “He had honor. Discipline.”
“Then why did you kill him?”
Taras shifts by the door. I set down my coffee cup. “I didn’t kill your father, Iakov. He killed himself. After I destroyed his reputation and his standing in the organization, yes, but ultimately, the choice to die was his. He knew what he’d done. He tried to have me killed after my father died. And he knew what I had to do in response.”
Iakov’s jaw clenches. “That’s not what happened.”
“That is exactly what happened. You know it. I know it. Everyone who was there knows it.”
“My father was loyal to Vasily!” he snarls. “He followed orders.”
“He helped orchestrate a coup,” I correct. “Those aren’t the actions of an innocent man, Iakov. You don’t need me to explain that to you.”
His face is purple with rage. “Your father was weak. Even then, the organization needed stronger leadership. And when he died, were we simply supposed to let you take over? You were a child. An arrogant, snot-nosed shit.”
“I was old enough to understand what was happening. Old enough to want justice.”
“Justice.” Iakov laughs bitterly, right in my face. “You don’t know the meaning of the fucking word. You destroyed my father. Humiliated him. Drove him to death. And you have the balls to barge into my home now and lecture me aboutjustice.”
“I gave him a choice. Confess or die. He chose death.”
“That’s no choice at all.”
We stare at each other across the table. The cordial part of the visit is definitely over. It’s a good thing Iakov told Arielle to go away. It’s best that she doesn’t see just how ugly this can get.
“Your father made his bed,” I say quietly. “He knew the risks when he conspired against mine. He knew what would happen if he got caught.”
“And my mother? My sisters? Did they know the risks, too? Did they deserve to lose everything?”
“I made sure they were taken care of. Your mother got a pension. Your sisters got their education paid for.”
“How generous of you.”
“It was more than they deserved.”
Iakov’s hands curl into fists on the table. “You took everything from me, you smug motherfucker. My father. My future. My place in the organization.”
