Atonement (The Protectors #6)(48)

I'd been horrified by the whole thing, but Magnus had reminded me that just because we'd gotten Aleks out of the ugly world he'd been forced to live in for more than half of his life, it didn't mean he would miraculously let go of the routines that had been instilled in him … the routines that had ensured his safety. Magnus, for his part, had been careful in how he'd responded to Aleks. He'd given Aleks just enough direction to satisfy his need for approval, but enough choice to allow him to begin to understand what it was like to make his own decisions.

After a few days of being cooped up in the house, Magnus and I had tried taking Aleks to see some of the highlights Seattle had to offer, specifically the marketplace where there were numerous vendors selling beautiful bouquets of flowers, even during the heart of the Pacific Northwest winter. But Aleks had quickly become overwhelmed by the crowds which, by marketplace standards were pretty low, and we'd had to scrap those outings. The only place Aleks had seemed to marginally relax was around Ace after we'd gone to visit the horse at his new stable just north of the city. Magnus had taught Aleks how to brush and tack up the horse and had even managed to coax him into riding the giant animal, though all he'd done was walk him around a large indoor arena.

Another area we'd quickly learned was foreign to Aleks was the world of technology. He had no idea how to use the smartphone I bought for him and he'd looked at my laptop and tablet like they were from another world. I'd tried explaining the internet to him, but he'd become flustered and said he'd never need to know something like that. And while he could read, write and speak English well enough, other rudimentary skills like math were foreign to him. The one thing he clung to besides his daily visits with Ace were his flowers. I'd easily spent a couple of thousand dollars to buy all kinds of fresh flowers, vases and potted plants because they brought such pleasure to Aleks's face. And they were the only things he would talk to me about without any kind of reservation … or approval.

Magnus's house had ended up looking and smelling like a flower shop, which made sense since I'd cleaned out several of the florists in the neighborhood. When we'd run out of surfaces for all the stunning arrangements Aleks had created, Magnus had started delivering them to various friends and family. I myself hadn't seen anyone besides Ronan and Memphis, since I hadn't wanted to leave Aleks and we'd known guests would stress my brother out, but Magnus had gone to visit with Matty on several occasions after we'd arrived home.

"How's he doing?" Magnus asked as he came up behind me and put his arms around my waist. I'd been standing at the front window for nearly an hour waiting for the cab that would bring my parents to Magnus's house for their reunion   with Aleks.

"He wanted to be alone," I said as I settled my hand on Magnus's where they were resting on my stomach. I'd expected our relationship to cool off with everything that had happened in the past week, but our need for one another had only strengthened and every waking moment we weren't spending with Aleks or Magnus was with his family, we were in each other's arms. I was still haunted by how close I'd come to losing Magnus that day in Parks's study. The guilt of my actions had consumed me, but whenever I voiced my apology to the man who'd almost lost his life because of me, he'd show a rare display of anger and remind me that it had been his decision to follow me into that house that day.



       
         
       
        

"Makes sense," he said softly and then his lips skimmed my neck. "How are you doing?"

I just shook my head because he knew the answer to that. As hard as things had been with Aleks, I didn't want to lose him.

"Don't let them force you out of his life, Dante," he whispered against my ear.

"They won't have to when he finds out why he got kidnapped."

I wasn't surprised when Magnus turned me around, his hands gently gripping my upper arms. His right hand came up to clasp the side of my face. "I wish I knew what to say to you to make you see what I see," he murmured softly and then his eyes skimmed my face. "I thought I'd lost you," he suddenly whispered.

I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my face against his chest, loving how strong he felt against me. How many times had I needed his strength in the last week? How many times would I need it in the days, weeks, months … years to come?

"I'll get there, Magnus," I murmured. "Someday I'll see what you see." It wasn't an easy promise to make, but I meant it. Yeah, I'd done a lot of shit wrong in my life, but I'd done some good to. Maybe I hadn't always gone about it the right way, but I'd done the best I could. Magnus was a smart man and smart men didn't love unworthy fuck-ups. I was definitely going to keep fucking up, but I wasn't a fuck-up. The man in my arms was the reason I could finally distinguish between those two things.

I felt Magnus tense up in my hold a moment later and I didn't need to hear the words to know what he was going to say.

"They're here, baby."





Chapter Twenty-Four




Magnus



I didn't know who to pity more, Dante or Aleks.

Because for all the overwhelming attention Pedro and Juliana Silva showered on one son, they completely ignored the other. From the moment they'd walked through the door, their youngest son in tow, Aleks's and Dante's parents began the process of tearing the two brothers apart. Dante didn't even receive so much as an acknowledgement when he opened the door for them, while they wouldn't stop touching Aleks despite his obvious discomfort. And while I couldn't fault the older couple for their sheer happiness at being reunited with Aleks, I struggled not to toss their asses out of my house, especially after their response to Dante when he greeted his youngest brother, Breno. His father had physically drawn the young boy away while his mother had leaned down and murmured the detestable slur, "bicha" to the child. I'd been about to say something when Dante had cast me a look and shaken his head. 

I focused my attention on Aleks as his parents spoke rapid-fire Portuguese to him. I could tell he was having trouble keeping up and whatever they were saying to him was making him shift back and forth on his feet. His fingers went to his collar which his stepfather immediately noticed and then started to reach for, presumably to try to take it off his son.

"No," Dante said as he stepped between Aleks and his stepfather as Aleks let out a little whimper.

An argument ensued that I didn't need to know Portuguese to follow. Aleks stepped back several paces as Dante and his parents went at it and when I went to Aleks's side, he pressed against me and buried his face against my shoulder. The move was unusual for him because, despite his recent behavior with seeking my approval for everything and anything, he rarely touched me. I could feel his slight frame shaking violently, worsening as his parents and Dante fought. The physical reaction was the first time I'd seen much emotion from Aleks since the night we'd escaped the Parks house. There'd been no tears, no anger, no excitement, no joy. He only seemed to operate in a state of anxiety or without any kind of emotion at all. The rare exceptions were the pleasure he took in interacting with Ace as well as the flowers he clearly loved so much.

"Dante," I said softly, not wanting to upset Aleks any further.

Despite the raised voices, Dante heard me immediately and turned to look at me. His eyes fell to Aleks and luckily his parents seemed to finally realize what was happening and they quickly went silent.

His mother approached us, her wary eyes on me before she carefully reached out to touch her son on the shoulder. She spoke softly and slowly to him and he finally lifted his head.

In English she said, "Go get your things, meu filho. Your father and I are taking you home."

Aleks's eyes flitted to Dante who remained silent, the pain in his eyes clear as day.

"Do as your mother says, Aleksander," Pedro said, his voice soft, but firm. I felt Aleks stiffen against me, automatically reacting to the order in the only way he knew how  –  he dropped his eyes and did what he was told.

Once Aleks had gone to his room, Dante said, "He should stay here until you can secure his passport. Familiar surroundings-"

Pedro responded in rapid and angry Portuguese and then he was pulling his youngest son towards the door. Dante started arguing again, but when Pedro waved a hand dismissively at him, he fell silent. Dante's mother looked him up and down and then shifted her gaze to me. The disgust was clear, which only managed to piss me off even more. I went to Dante's side and put my arm around him, sending the bitch a clear message. I was more than tempted to follow through on my need to throw her out of my house, but I managed to keep it civil for Aleks's sake. I couldn't be one of the reasons Dante's parents kept him from his brother, though I suspected it wouldn't have made much of a difference, considering the way they'd treated him.

Aleks returned to the living room, his small duffle bag that Dante had bought for him in hand. I moved away from Dante to give the brothers some space.

"You'll come visit soon, right?" Aleks said nervously, his voice low. I couldn't help but think he was doing it to not piss off his father, which didn't bode well for the young man's recovery. From everything I'd seen, Pedro was a domineering man and that was the last thing Aleks needed in his life.