by S. C. Daiko
I live my life on auto-pilot now… getting her up, giving her breakfast, taking her to the same school I attended when I was a kid. She’s settled in fine, thankfully; she has Josh’s easy-going nature and not even being parted from Ben shortly after being kidnapped has affected her equilibrium. Maybe being surrounded by close-knit family has helped, and the fact that Josh’s parents spoil her rotten.
They finally told me they’ve decided to move on, though, and are upping stakes to relocate to their dream home in Florida. The cost of flights has come down, they said, and they’ll help us pay the fare to visit as often as we can. Becca can’t wait; she’s attracted by the prospect of visits to Orlando, of course…
In the meantime, I need to find somewhere to rent. Staying at Mum and Dad’s is only an interim measure. I’ve been looking for a small house in Wyemouth but haven’t found anywhere suitable yet.
Sighing, I bend down to rub Toby’s ears. He gives my hand a lick.
Suddenly, his body goes rigid.
He jumps up and unleashes a volley of loud barking fit to wake the dead.
“Catrin?” I hear the deep voice before I see the man.
The hair stands up on the back of my neck.
Can it be…?
My fingers touch my parted lips and I leap to my feet.
A tall, broad-shouldered figure advances across the lawn.
I screw up my eyes to get a better look.
Shock wheels through me and I grab hold of Toby’s collar.
What the hell is Gleb doing here?
“Nice to see you, Catrin.” His voice purrs.
“Well, this is a surprise.”
My knees are in danger of giving way, so I sit back down. “How did you find me?”
“I went to Aldridge first. They wouldn’t tell me where you’d gone.” He lifts a brow. “But I remembered my brother saying you were from here.” He laughs and plops down in the chair next to mine. “I stopped off at a pub in the town and asked if anyone knew you. It was as easy as that…”
I can imagine a bar girl falling for his cocky charm.
Not this girl, though…
“Why are you here?” I come straight out with it.
His electrifying blue eyes suddenly assume an anxious look. “I came to ask for your help. It’s to do with Alexei…”
“Oh, my God. What’s happened?” I gasp.
“He’s not coping. And Ben is going off the rails.”
Gleb’s voice is filled with so much raw emotion it fills me with dread.
“Where is he? Are he and Ben safe?” My lips tremble around the words.
Gleb leans back in his chair. He tells me they’re in Colorado, assures me the place is off the beaten track, and that those perusing him have no connections with the area. Then he goes on to describe what Daniel’s life is like now. How he’s drinking. How his parenting skills have gone down the tube.
I’m so shocked I can’t even begin to formulate a response.
“He loves you, Catrin,” Gleb adds. “And so does his son. I’m telling you this for a reason. I’d like you to come back with me. Bring Becca. Ben told me about her, how she’s his best friend.” Gleb fixes his extraordinary eyes on my face. “I’m worried how they’re gonna end up.”
“What… what do you mean?” I splutter.
“Alexei might drink himself into oblivion and Ben might be expelled from school.”
I can’t think straight. All I can say is, “How can I afford the air fares?”
“That’s all taken care of.” He spreads his hands apart. “You’re both booked to travel with me on tomorrow’s British Airways flight. All I need is your passport details.”
I’m being railroaded into this.
I clench and unclench my fists. “You presume too much.” My heart is still fragile... it could easily be broken again. “I won’t put myself and Becca in a position where we could get hurt like before.”
His eyes squint. “What about Alexei? Don’t you care about him?”
I huff out a breath. “I don’t know the man you’re referring to. Alexei is a stranger to me.”
Gleb sucks his cheeks in. “But you know Daniel. I guess I should stop referring to him as Alexei. He told me how close you were. How you helped heal his brokenness.”
Gleb’s words pierce me, but I need to resist.
For Becca’s sake.
“I don’t think it would be fair on our kids to show up and then leave again. Which I’ll need to do as my life is here.”
“You’ve heard of long-distance relationships?” Gleb leans forward. “If you two reconnect, and Ben and Becca do likewise, you can be in touch on a daily basis via the internet.” He smirks. “You could also visit as often as you liked.”
I’m still not convinced.
“Daniel broke my trust,” I say to Gleb. “He deceived me.”
His eyes lock with mine. “Let me explain what really happened.”
I nod hesitantly and poke my finger at him. “Just don’t lie to me.”
He grabs my finger and hooks his pinkie around it. “I promise.”
I listen open-mouthed as he tells me about his family. I don’t know much about what went on in Russia after the fall of communism, nor about the current regime’s almost certain links with organised crime, and I’m totally speechless.
“Alexei… I mean Daniel… thought he was doing the right thing by blowing the whistle on the money laundering.” Gleb’s full lips twist. “He had no clue how reckless he was being. No clue how deeply our father was involved. No clue Eric was lying to him about me.”
“So, it wasn’t just Victoria’s murder that broke him?” I ask.
Gleb shrugs. “Daniel is a good man. Oftentimes, he hides behind a brutish exterior as he’s basically an introvert.” Gleb’s smile is ironic. “Papa was the same.”
I scrunch up my face. “What about Ben?”
“Ben could turn out more like me.” Gleb’s grin is wolfish. “He needs you and Becca to ground him.”
Gleb stares into my eyes, beseechingly.
Poor little Ben, bereft and acting up.
I’d go to the ends of the earth to help him, I realise that now.
I just hope I can be of some use.
“Alright,” I say, pushing myself to my feet. “I’ll tell Mum, Dad and Becca. Then I’d better start packing.” I pause for a moment. “I hope you’ve booked us return flights. Becca needs to go back to school in two weeks’ time.”
Gleb holds up his hands. “I’ll show you the booking, if you like.” He reaches for his phone.
“Where are you staying?” I ask, after I’ve checked he’s told me the truth.
“At the Riverside.”
The best hotel in Wyemouth.
Of course.
“I’d invite you and your family to eat with me,” he says. “But jet lag has wiped me out and I really need to get some shut-eye.”
“That’s okay. We need to have an early night too.” I scroll through my phone for our passport details. I show them to him and he makes a note.
“Our flight leaves for Denver shortly before three in the afternoon.” He gives a relieved smile. “With the seven-hour time difference, we’ll arrive at five thirty. I’ll drive us up to Daniel’s place.”
We make arrangements for him to pick Becca and me up straight after breakfast. Then, like a thief in the night, he stalks across the lawn towards the road.
Toby looks up from where he’s lying by my feet. His long pink tongue lolls out of the side of his mouth, and he gives me a reproachful look.
I scratch the top of his furry head. “Yeah, I know. I’m crazy. But I can’t help it.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Daniel
The sound of a car engine outside sends me running to the window.
Fucking hell!
Gleb is getting out of an SUV.
Catrin is with him.
She’s carrying a sleeping Becca in her arms.
My heart slams aga
inst my ribcage.
Shit, am I hallucinating?
I turn and stare at the Vodka bottle on the kitchen table.
Nope.
I haven’t had anything to drink.
Yet.
I look outside again, my stomach churning.
I still can’t believe it.
I go to the front door and open up. “You could have let me know, Gleb.” I whisper low in my throat. “The house is a mess.”
Which is an understatement.
I can’t remember the last time I picked up the clutter.
Or cleaned, even.
“Sorry, bro’… I wasn’t sure Catrin would agree to the visit.” He hefts a suitcase across the decking, a backpack slung over his shoulder. “Then it kinda slipped my mind to warn you we were on our way.”
Like hell it slipped his mind…
“Hello, Daniel,” Catrin says brightly from where she’s standing next to him. “Aren’t you going to let us in?”
I move back, and she brushes past me in the doorway, her soft curves making my dick swell against the zipper of my jeans.
“Why are you here?” I ask, still not believing my eyes.
She shifts Becca over to her other shoulder. “Gleb told me you needed my help.”
“I. Don’t. Need. Any. Help.”
I’ll fucking kill Gleb.
Her nostrils flare as she looks me up and down. She lifts an arched eyebrow. “Yeah, I can tell…” She pauses. “Is there a room we can have? I’m dead on my feet.”
“This house has four bedrooms, of course there’s a room you can have.” The words stick in my throat.
I lead her through the open-plan living area, averting my gaze from Ben’s Lego strewn all over the floor and the piles of unwashed dishes and dirty laundry left lying around. I’m fucking ashamed of the state of the place my son has been living in.
“How long are you planning on staying?” I ask.
Gleb eyes shoot daggers at me. “Christ, Alexei… I mean, Daniel. Where are your manners?”
I ignore my big brother’s rhetorical question. For a moment, he’d sounded just like Papa, and he’d made me feel like a kid. I glower at him.
We go up the open riser staircase. There are two master bedrooms with en-suites and two singles. Ben is already asleep in one, and Gleb will spend the night in the other, so I take Catrin through to the second double. “I haven’t made the bed… for obvious reasons,” I say, opening the chest of drawers and extracting sheets and blankets.
Catrin lays Becca down on the couch by the window. “Thanks. We’ll be fine now.” She takes the suitcase from Gleb’s hands.
“Would you like to come down and have something to eat? Or drink?”
I don’t want to let her out of my sight.
She shakes her head. “Too tired. It’s gone four in the morning UK time.”
I shift my weight from one leg to the other. “Well, good night then.”
She’s already making the bed, her beautiful body bent over the mattress; she doesn’t even glance up as I close the door.
I adjust my straining cock as I go downstairs.
I find Gleb in the kitchen, eating a ham sandwich. “Would you mind telling me why you’ve brought Catrin and Becca here without running it by me first?”
He steps back but angles his face towards me. Dark stubble covers his chin. “I did it for Ben. Didn’t wanna get his hopes up in case Catrin wouldn’t play ball.”
I go to the fridge, take out two beers, and toss one into his hands. “That wasn’t the reason, and you know it.”
“Okay. I guessed you’d stress about it.” He snorts out a laugh. “And I was right.”
I reduce the space between us and stand toe-to-toe with him. “You owe me a proper explanation.”
“Remember when I spoke to Ben, the last time I was here?” Gleb takes a bite of his sandwich.
I nod. My son told him he was lonely. That there was no one he liked at his school. I’d pinned my hopes on it being a passing phase. That once he’d stopped pining for Becca and Catrin he’d settle down.
“I love that little dude,” Gleb adds. “He reminds me of myself at his age. Don’t want him to suffer like I did.”
“You suffered?”
That’s news to me…
“Yeah. When we moved to London and Papa sent us to that posh school, I hated those snobby kids and teachers so much I did everything I could to get expelled.”
“Didn’t work though, did it?” I chuckle.
“Those fucking teachers were tough nuts to crack.”
“I hope you haven’t done more harm than good.” I glug my beer and let out a belch. “I mean, Catrin and Becca will only be here for a short while. What’ll happen when they leave? You might have made things even worse.”
For Ben.
And for me.
Gleb shakes his head. “Catrin was worried about the same thing. I reminded her about internet communication.” He laughs.
“I don’t think she likes me anymore,” I huff.
He laughs again. “She fucking loves you, bro’. She came all this way, didn’t she?”
“Hmm.” I shuffle my feet.
Gleb finishes his sandwich. He stares at the pile of plates in the sink. “Come on, let’s load the dishwasher then go to bed. I’ve a flight to catch first thing.”
We do as he suggests. The kitchen floor is filthy but now is not the time to clean it. Gleb goes upstairs, leaving me to finish up. I’d surreptitiously put my Vodka bottle back in the fridge while he was stacking the dishes. I pour myself a small glass and knock it back. Then another.
It might help me sleep.
I do sleep. Deeply. Can’t remember the last time I did that. I wake up to the sound of children’s voices. For a couple of seconds, I think I’m back in England. Ben and Becca have just had a sleepover. Catrin will come over to make lunch. I almost pinch myself when I hear her voice echoing through the open window from downstairs. But I don’t.
If I’m dreaming, I don’t want to wake up.
I roll over in bed and close my eyes.
“Dad,” Ben shouts right by my ear, making my pulse skitter. “Get up. We’re having breakfast already.”
I blink my eyes open. He’s standing next to my bed smiling at me. Can’t remember the last time he did that, either. He points toward the door. “Did you know Catrin and Becca are here?”
I pretend ignorance. “What? How?”
Ben’s eyes grow big. “Uncle Gleb went and got them for us.” I hear the worship in his voice and smile to myself. “He’s already left, but he said to tell you he’d be back in a few days to take me ‘n Becca fishing.”
Fishing? Since when did Gleb go fishing?
I swing my legs from the bed. My head feels less fuzzy than it’s done in the mornings of late. Maybe because I only had two glasses of Vodka instead of my usual half a bottle. “Run along, son. I’m going to take a shower.”
“Catrin’s making pancakes. You should have some, Dad. They’re amazing.”
My stomach growls.
I feel hungry for what seems like the first time in months.
I shower quickly then trim my beard, so I look less like a brute. My hair needs a cut, but that’ll have to wait.
I’m literally salivating for those pancakes by the time I step into the kitchen. The aroma of butter melting in a pan mingling with the smells of cooked batter and hot maple syrup have me drooling.
It’s like I’m in a time-warp as Catrin turns around from where she’s positioned by the stove, a spatula in her hand. She blushes and catches her lower lip between her teeth.
I’m not sure where I stand with her.
“Sorry I was a bit rude last night.” I clear my throat. “You caught me unawares.”
She flips a pancake onto a plate and hands it to me. “Gleb should have warned you.” Her voice is quiet.
“Yep.” I add syrup and fork a piece of the pancake into my mouth. “Delicious.” I eat the rest of it
ravenously.
“Want another?” She pours batter into the pan. “You need fattening up. You’re far too skinny.”
I sit at the table while she feeds me a total of four pancakes. I wash them down with coffee, feeling human again.
“Thanks,” I say.
She picks up her coffee cup. Stares at it. Puts it down again. “Thanks for what?”
“Thanks for coming to visit.”
A smile trembles on her lips. She lowers her voice. “I came for Ben.” She glances through the picture window to the landscaped garden outside, where my son and her daughter are running around playing.
I nod, curtly.
Of course, she came for him.
And I don’t resent Ben for that.
How could I, after seeing the difference in him this morning?
Then Catrin leans in toward me, her beautiful green eyes shining. “I also came for you, Daniel.” She releases a long, slow breath. “Despite everything, I still love you.” She lowers her eyes and picks up our plates to take to the sink.
I’m out of my seat in a beat, drawing her into my arms.
She melds her body to mine.
“God, Catrin.” I kiss her forehead. “I thought I’d lost you forever.” I kiss along the line of her jaw. “My life has been a living hell without you.”
She lifts her face and I bring my mouth down on hers. “I love you so much.” I come up for breath. I wrap her hair in my fist and kiss her again, more fiercely this time, biting and sucking hard on her sweet lips.
She whimpers against my tongue.
The sound goes straight to my dick.
I grab the back of her thigh and curl it around my waist, grinding against her, needing her so fucking much I’m about to explode.
She claws my shoulders. “Daniel,” she rasps. “We need to calm down... the kids…”
As if on cue, the door to the kitchen flies open and they tumble into the room.
“Mum and Daniel, sitting in a tree,” Becca sings. “K.I.S.S.I.N.G.”
