A Partisan's Fight - COMPLETED!

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Seriously, Mina? Why do you stay out so late? I was worried!" There was nothing quite like a tongue lashing from Aldrik. His overprotective nature really was just a small part of his charm. "What if something would have happened to you?"

"I am an adult, Aldrik. I can come and go as I please. Do not pretend to patronize me. Do not pretend like this is any different from you coming and going at all hours of the day and the night. Do not go all high and mighty on me. I am not on some kind of house arrest like him!" She glared at Aldrik, but pointed at Markus. He was casually trying to mind his own business in a farther corner of the room. She knew she was getting a little bit more aggressive with her agitation then she should, but it had been building up inside of her for a while now. It needed to be able to be freed. She needed to be freed.

There was no doubt that a sore spot had been hit. Aldrik spun on his heels and looked the other direction, pinching the bridge of his nose. He swore in his native tongue, shaking his head.

"I will be gone later at night. I have things to do and plan for. Please become accustomed to it. I do not wish to have a repeat performance of this argument every time I come back home." Mina toned down her voice, but kept the level of power she knew she needed to maintain.

Turning to face her, Aldrik looked frustrated. "I do not wish to argue with you, Mina. You are stubborn and hot-headed. I just hope you understand your limitations." With that he stalked out of the room.

Staring at where he once stood, Mina's thoughts were interrupted by Markus clearing his throat. She glanced over at him without turning her head. "Do you have something to say?"

"Nope." He sat back deeper in the chair, book in hand. As if a thought popped into his mind at that moment he leaned forward. "I get that you don't have a complete plan set up. It is what it is, but I need to be kept busy or I find things to do when I'm bored. You may or may not be a fan of those things no matter how innocent they may be."

"What is your point, Hirsch?" She finally turned to face him. Part of her was curious where he was going with all of this. The other part was just simply annoyed.

"My point is that you need to get me working. Get me on the inside. Put me in whatever camp you want to and let's start getting this plan figured out. I have my papers now..."

Mina cut him off faster than he had a chance to continue speaking. "You have your paperwork? Aldrik gave it to you?"

Giving her a funny look, he nodded. "Yes. Aldrik did give me my papers. Why do you look confused?"

Straightening with her jaw setting hard, Mina turned and stomped out of the room. She found Aldrik in the kitchen. "Where is mine?"

"What are you talking about, Mina?" The look of annoyance hadn't left his face, but slight confusion mingled in.

"My paperwork! Where is it, Aldrik? Where is the marriage certificate?" There was a fire in her eyes and she was ready to lay into him if she had to.

A heavy sigh left him as he looked up to the ceiling and back down to her. "Until you have that baby, Mina, I am not giving you anything. I will not help you hurt that child."

Without thinking she slapped him. Her nostrils were flared out, hot tears stung her eyes. "How dare you think that I would try to hurt this child. Stop trying to restrain me, Aldrik! Stop trying to slow me down from reaching my fullest potential. I do not want you to micromanage my life. Trust me to do what is right for me. For all of us. That is all that I am asking of you. Why can you not get that through your thick skull?"

"Because you are a child, Wilhelmina! I will always see you as my baby sister. I will never stop protecting you from..." He bit his teeth together hard and looked away. He was shaking with rage. No longer capable of holding back the anger and frustration that he had clearly been harboring.

"From what? Stop shutting me out!" She screamed at him, trembling just as much.

"From yourself! Mina, I have to protect you from yourself." He stared at her, fully believing every word spoken.

Taking a step back, she stared at him wide-eyed. "Myself? I do not need to be protected from myself, Aldrik."

He shook his head again before focusing on her. "Your own brother died trying to protect you, Mina. You did not know that did you? He risked his life for you and he died for you. You just about were contained or killed in that containment camp when you came with me. I had told you to stay in the truck. You are pregnant because you decided to go off on your own without me. You made the man responsible for the sin pay, but if you would have done it alone I doubt he would have left you live. You are a hazard to yourself, Mina. You need to be protected."

It was Mina's turn to shake her head. The tears became easier to contain, but her nostrils flared out deeper and with more infuriation than anyone could possibly understand. "Just say what you really mean, Aldrik. Just say it! You have not been this protective and held me back so much since it happened, so why do you not tell me how you really feel."

"I just did." He stepped closer to her. His body language showed his tenseness. He looked ready for a physical fight. His demeanor had changed.

"Do not insult me by lying to me." Mina didn't back down. She had no desire to. She was angry and she might as well get it out. Neither of them needed this crap between them. They had to stand strong, but that wasn't going to happen if they were always at each other's throats. "You blame me for what happened to Lotte. You do not believe that I will get her back for you. You will not let me do what I need to do because you are afraid. You are afraid that I will be captured. That I will be killed. Tell me that what I am saying is not true. Tell me, Aldrik!" She shoved him back forcefully, tired of hearing him lie. Tired of him refusing to face the truth. Tired of him holding her back. Just simply tired.

"Stop talking, Mina." His voice was dangerously low. The warning in his voice was more than just hinted. "Stop talking or I will make you stop talking."

"I am not afraid of you, Aldrik. I have known you my whole life. You have been afraid of stepping out. You have followed in your family's footsteps because it is all that you have. All that you have chosen to embrace. Lotte gave you something to fight for and now that she is gone you have taken that energy and placed it in a different place. You are abusing your power to protect me. Either get in line or I will leave." She wasn't messing around. She would do what she had to do. Even if it meant cutting Aldrik out of the plan. She wasn't scared of moving on without him. She couldn't afford that kind of fear.

"What the hell, Mina!" He backed up a bit, stress filling his gaze. "You are in my home. You are living under my roof. You have no respect." He grabbed her arm tightly, holding her close. "You do not threaten me. Not in my own home."

"Back off, Aldrik." Markus stepped into the room. His sleeves were rolled up, his gaze deadly. He'd move the man away from Mina if necessary.

Mina hadn't taken her gaze off of Aldrik. She felt his grip loosening off of her arm. She'd never seen him that angry, but it didn't scare her. If she intended on facing much scarier people then him she couldn't let it scare her. "Learn to respect me and maybe I will return the favor."