Her Russian

Chapter 8-Revelations

"What is your first question?" Ilia asked her.  She had some many going through her mind she didn't know where to start, so she started at the beginning.

"I wish I had those boxes from babushka's closet" Galina said softly.  She watched Ilia get up and open the door, summoning Maxim.  He leaned in and said something to the man and watched him disappear.

Savin stood there for a minute and then there was a short knock on the door.  Ilia opened it and Maxim and another man brought in all the boxes from Zoya's closet.  Galina just sat, wide-eyed as they sat the boxes near the coffee table and sofa.

Ilia nodded at Maxim as he left the study.  Galina found the box that started all of this and brought out a bundle of pictures.  She found the one of Allister holding her in the hospital.

Her hand was shaking as she held it out to Ilia.  "Is that really me?  And if it is, who is this Allister woman that is holding me?"  Savin raised an eyebrow at her question but he was not cruel enough to be an asshole to her right now.

"Allister Grimov is your birth mother and Dimitry Toykin is your birth father" he answered.  Savin watched her shake her head.  She was not going to be led down this path easily.  He was about to shatter everything she knew about her life.

"No, no, no...that's not possible" she kept muttering over and over.  "I told you that you would not like my answers.  It doesn't make them any less true" he told her.

"Toykin is, or was I should say, the head of one of the Russian crime syndicate families in Moscow.  He met Allister, she was a 'working' girl, at an event, they hooked up and she got herself pregnant."  He let that bit sink in as he watched her just stare at the photo in her hands.

"Toykin made a lot of enemies.  He was not a nice man or a good man.  He told Allister that she could not keep you, so this photo" he said pointing to the one in Galina's hands "Was the one and only one of you and your real mother.  Toykin had a foster family take you from the hospital within hours and after that no one ever saw Allister again" Savin told her.

"W-who was the foster family?" she asked quietly.  "The people that raised you as their daughter until Zoya Erin came into the picture.  There were people that kept tabs on you the minute you left Russia and settled in Boston.

When the word was received that you were being mistreated, Zoya went to America right away and started raising you on her own.  That other man and woman should have never been given the responsibility of a child.  It was shameful how they treated you" he said, not even trying to hide the disgust in his voice.

"I have no idea who I am.  The only two people that could have helped me with this are dead.  How is it that you even know all of this, Ilia?  What bond do you and I have?" Galina asked.

"Are you sure you want that question answered right now?" he asked.  Sighing, her shoulders slumped in defeat.  "I'm not ready to hear anything else right now.  I want a shower and to go to bed please" Galina said.

She stood up from the couch and by the time she reached the door, Ilia was standing there, his hand on top of hers, where it rested on the door handle.  

"Galina, I'm sorry" he said.  She closed her eyes for a moment and then looked up at him.  She studied him for a moment.  His eyes were beautiful, a beautiful gray color.  They could be transparent and then a moment later, closed off and you had no idea who was behind them.

His skin was a light olive in tone and smooth as silk.  He had the most amazing skin that she'd ever seen on a man.  His lips were slightly plump and inviting.  She really wanted a taste of them.  Even though she had never kissed a man before, she knew she wanted to kiss him.

"Spasibo" she said, blinking back the tears.  "What about Irina?  What is going to happen with her?  I still don't understand why someone would kill my cousin" she cried, her head falling against the door.

Ilia laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.  "She will get the Christian burial she deserves and you will be able to pay your respects and say good bye.  I can't tell you why, just yet, but I will, Galina.  I promise, okay?"

She looked into his eyes and she saw something there, that she'd not seen in him.  Brutal honesty.  He wasn't joking or trying to be witty and from that moment on, she would trust him.

"Okay Ilia.  May I go to bed now?" Galina asked sounding exhausted.  "Would you like for me to walk with you?" he asked.  She smiled as much as she could and said "Please?"  He opened the door for her, letting her walk out first.

Arriving at the room she woke up in, Ilia opened the door for her.  "I'll be back shortly" he told her.  "What?" she acted surprised.  "Dorogaya, this is my room" Ilia said smirking at her.

"What am I doing in your room, Ilia?" she asked, trying not to smile at him.  "It was the only place I could put you that I could keep an eye on you.  I need to know you are safe and taken care of" Ilia told her.

"We're sharing a bed?" her eyes widened.  Savin couldn't help but laugh at how adorable she was.  She stomped her foot.  "Ilia Savin!" she shouted.  "Don't you dare laugh at me!"  She tried very hard to be mad but she couldn't help but smile seconds later.

"You're a horrible man" she mumbled.  He laughed again as he pulled the comforter and sheet back.  "In you go, my little kot (cat)" he said smiling at her.

She pouted but crawled in.  "Sleep Galina.  You need to rest" now the serious Ilia was back.  She didn't mind 'serious Ilia' but she really likes the carefree Ilia.

Pulling the sheet up, Ilia pushed her hair behind her ear.  He leaned down, his lips hovering above hers.  He watched her stare at his lips, sending a silent message that she very much wanted him to kiss her.

"Sleep little mouse, sleep" he breathed, just touching her lips.  She gasped at the sensation, her eyes closing from his scent and proximity.  "That damn man" she muttered, throwing herself back into the bed.