Free Redemption (The Volkov Mafia Series Book 4) by Samantha Harrington Page B

tears streaming down his face. The only reaction he seemed to show was when Emma was brought in. His head lifted up and he stopped to take note of the girl.
    Still nothing … I became more pissed as time passed by.
    “Answer me, God damn it!” I screamed at him. I knew he was hurting. He’d just found out his mother was killed by the same men we had destroyed, but that wasn’t the point. I wasn’t there to clean up his mess.
    He looked up at me. I caught the hollow shell that was once my brother. He wasn’t listening, he was just going through the motions.
    His guilt was written all over his face, but that wasn’t good enough. I wanted him to tell me why. I wanted him to explain to me how he could let this happen.
    “I’m sorry, Damien.” His voice was just a whisper, uttered between sobs that wracked his whole body.
    “I can’t help you if you don’t explain. I thought you had it under control, that you were going to meetings for help. What happened?” I tried my hardest not to growl at him, but it was not that easy, my temper was at an all-time high.
    “What do you want me to say, Damien? That I completely fucked up? I couldn’t help myself, ok. The temptation was just too much; the ease of winning, the high that you get when all the beautiful women are hanging on your every word, that they want you to take them home and fuck ’em silly because you’re winning. Then you come down with a crash when you start losing and the debt gets bigger, so you borrow more thinking you can have the same success again, that you’ll win and everything will be fine. But it’s not like that, I know. I live with it every damn day. I feel it every time I look at that little girl in there. She’s the only one who looks at me like I matter. There is never any judgement in her eyes. She smiles when I walk into the room. Do you know how that tears me up inside, knowing that I’m the cause of all this, that she could have got hurt because of me?”
    In all the time that Alekzander had been there, I think that was the first time we’d sat down and spoke. I know it wasn’t the best of situations, but to hear his pain, hurt me. He needed help with his problem, free from judgement. All he had to do was ask me and I would do everything I could to get him the help he needed.
    “All I know is that you nearly broke this family, the one that took you in when you had nowhere to go, the one that gave you a job when you needed one. But most of all the one who gave you a family, unconditional love, and trust. And you broke it, Alek. I can’t lose my family. They are everything to me. I only breathe for them.”
    I had to stop; my throat was getting tighter the more I spoke. Looking down at my brother, the injury had taken its toll on his body. He needed time to recover, to heal. That’s what I’d give him, time. But mark my words he was either going to get help or he’d be finished.
    “Damien, I need help. I can’t ever feel like this again. I know it’s all my own fault, but I never want to be this weak ever again.”
    I smiled at him, knowing that was the first step. Acceptance.
    I needed to do everything I could to make sure he got the best help possible. He just needed to accept it, to change for the better, not the worst.
    “Then go get some rest and let me make some calls, Alek,” I told him.
    He made an effort to stand up, holding onto his side. His injury was still quite fresh and sore from the look of it. His mobility was improving daily. His strength would come back in time.
    I loaded up the computer and looked at what help was available. I only wanted the best for him.
    After what felt like hours of searching, my eyes began to hurt from looking at the screen, and I had made numerous calls to centres for help. I think I’d finally got a plan that would work.
    I down the whiskey, thinking I can’t go through all of this again. It’s been months. There is something in the way he is acting right now that doesn’t sit