Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“We’re nearly there,” she said, suddenly sitting forward.
I slowed down as she started to point to where she wanted to go. When we arrived at an animal shelter, I couldn’t have been more shocked. When she lived with her parents, she’d volunteered at a shelter, but I figured that was to look good to the press.
She clapped her hands, looking excited. I had no choice but to follow her as she’d climbed out of the car and rushed toward the main reception. I wasn’t dressed to be at a shelter.
I watched as my wife talked to an elderly woman behind the counter. The two shook hands, and then Adelaide saw I’d arrived.
“Er, this is my husband, Andrei. Would you mind if I showed him around?” Adelaide asked.
“No, of course not, dear. You go right ahead.”
Adelaide turned toward me, her hands clasped together. “Would you like a tour?”
I noticed she didn’t introduce me to the woman on the counter, whom she clearly knew.
“Yes,” I said, surprising her.
“Right, let’s go then.” Adelaide took a step toward a set of double doors, leading toward the back of the shelter.
I grabbed her hand, locking our fingers together. I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight. This was a surprise. I guess Adelaide hadn’t been using the experience to look good to the press, and I was now even more intrigued.
Chapter Six
Adelaide
I love all animals—dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, cows, horses, the list goes on and on. I adore them. I had always wanted one, but growing up, Bethany couldn’t stand them. None of the animals liked her and I used to think it was because they were known for sensing evil. Lame, I know, but I had to get my kicks out of it somehow.
So, no pets. Even my parents hated them.
After the basement episode where I tried to build my own shelter, my mother decided it was best for me to invest my time elsewhere. That’s when she got me to volunteer at the local animal shelter. She thought it was a phase I was going through. Much like my veganism. When she realized I wasn’t going to change my mind, she didn’t bother to try and change it for me. She let me run with it.
I wasn’t allowed pets, but at the shelter, I took care of and loved them all. There were no limits. It was the first time my mother had done anything selfless. At the time I didn’t realize it also made her look good to the press. I should have known she wasn’t doing it to help her daughter, it was all for herself.
As I walked with Andrei by my side and saw the animals that had been rescued or given to the shelter, I felt like I finally had a purpose.
During my tour, I’m surprised to see Andrei from time to time going toward the cages and putting his hand inside, stroking the dogs. I thought they would attack him. Some of the shelter dogs have only known abuse, as well as the cats, but none of them attacked. They sniff his hand and he greets them, petting them gently. I’m shocked. There’s no other word for it. I’d never expected him to be so … kind.
He’d admitted to me he killed his own father, and I wasn’t a fool. I knew that meant he took lives on a daily basis. That was who he was—the Bratva man. But right now, as I watched him pet a German shepherd, I had to wonder about him, about the boy he’d told me about.
Andrei wasn’t a bad man. He’d been made into who he was by the people around him. He couldn’t trust anyone. Was that why Ivan had warned me that Andrei didn’t trust easily? The people who should have loved him, taken care of him, nurtured him, had abused him. It didn’t take a genius to understand the kind of pain he experienced as a boy left a mark.
There was so much about Andrei I didn’t know.
Until this moment, I’d not been too interested in finding out, but looking at him now and seeing the dogs react, I had to wonder. They were good at sensing evil, after all, and they didn’t react to Andrei the same way they did to my parents or to Bethany.
The tour came to an end when he got a phone call. From the look on his face, I wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but his face was a mask—a dark one.
He made his excuses and didn’t allow me to say goodbye to the lady at the desk. I’d not gotten her name. I’d known of this shelter because I’d taken the time before marrying Andrei, to learn about my location. My father had told me I’d be living with Andrei, and I hated going to new places without learning every single detail, so I’d spent hours studying this place.