by T. L Smith
“Does your father know?” Anton asks. “That you want us to find one of your men who betrayed you.”
Patrick’s eyes go wide.
Bingo.
“How dare you speak to me like that,” he says but in Russian, the anger taking hold of him.
“He’s right, you want us to find him?”
He goes to yell again, but takes a deep breath and turns toward the bodies, he waits a few seconds before he looks back to us. “Find him, torture him, kill him.”
“What did he do,” Anton asks, he likes to push people.
“You push your position a little too far, my friend.”
“He knows his position,” Kazier speaks for him while Patrick looks to him.
“You let your men act this way? Speak this way to someone that’s in authority to them?”
“You are not authority to me, Patrick. You are in my home land now,” Kazier’s voice is low, deadly.
“He was my third man, he came with me to this country. He skipped out on us yesterday after the wedding, with over one-hundred thousands of dollars on him.”
“So you want him dead?” I ask, not believing his story at all. Sure he may have stolen the money but that’s nothing to him, I know for a fact that would be pocket change to people like them.
“Yes, torture him and any known associates.”
“You do know we aren’t your men? Why should we be doing your dirty work?” Anton pipes up.
“Because now we are family. You have aligned with us. You don’t ask questions when it comes to killing someone, you just do it. If you have a problem with that, I’m sure my father would love to hear of it.”
He likes to bring his father up, it’s his weapon. He knows how much that relationship means to Kazier’s family. It makes them bigger, stronger, more feared by their rivals around the world. Not that we weren’t feared before, now it’s just a line you don’t want to cross.
Kazier shakes his head. He’s getting sick of his shit as well, and I don’t care how powerful they are, Kazier would slice his throat and deal with the consequences later if he pissed him off enough.
“Listen now, Patrick… are you listening? I hope you are because this will be the last time I speak on this. The. First. And. Last. You ask for our help, you do it politely, and we are happy to assist. You tell us the truth of why you want us to do it, not some bullshit you think will appease us. Because if you do it again, I won’t care who you are, what rock you climbed out from under… I will kill you and I won’t be merciful about it.”
Patrick doesn’t say a word straight away, I think he’s shocked. He nods his head and looks to me. “It’s for Freya. He wants her.”
“Why couldn’t you just say that?” Kazier asks.
“I noticed it yesterday, you didn’t want to marry her. So why would you care about her?”
“Just because I didn’t want to marry her, doesn’t mean I won’t protect her. Even from you,” I spit at him.
“I’d never hurt her, ever.”
Nodding my head, I actually for the first time believe what he says. In our families we grow up close. If you don’t have a sibling, it’s your cousins you spend every day with. He would have had Freya, where we had each other.
“Where’s your fourth man,” he asks looking out to the car.
“Be glad he didn’t come,” Anton scoffs at him walking out the door first.
Chapter 6
Freya
He isn’t there when I get out of the shower, he left. On the bed though, is a card—a black credit card with a note that reads ‘Buy what you want!’ with nothing else. Pulling out some jeans and a shirt from my bag on the floor, I throw up my hair and decide I’m going to break his bank. Expecting me to furnish this place by myself, this isn’t the stay at home wife he signed up for. I will not be that kind of woman, he’s dreaming if he thinks so.
I notice his coat hanging up in the closet, it’s the only thing in there. Then I remember his eyes, the way he stared at me in the shower with those mad, possessive eyes that looked like they were about to hunt me down and take me as his. I’ve never seen him look at me like that before, it’s usually protect mode for him. Or not speaking. God, I’ve gotten more conversation out of Death than I usually get out of Viktor.
Except now, he speaks to me and I guess he figures he had to eventually. I am, after all, married to him, till death do us part and all that. Literally, there will be no divorce here, it isn’t how this works. But I can’t think of that, because all I can see is his cock. I’ve never even touched one, his is the first cock I’ve seen up close.
Gosh, do I even call it a cock? Or penis? Or dick?
Maybe I should ask him what he prefers I call it. Leaning over, I grab the card and head out the door calling Elina on the way. She knows how to spend money and she can spend it all for me.
Elina meets me at the mall, I spot her before she sees me. She’s dressed like she’s going to a club in a short red dress, her heels are high. Elina’s hands are running along some of the sofas in the store feeling the fabric. She turns to smile at me as I walk up behind her.
“So we are spending as much as possible? You need to furnish the whole house, right?” she asks.
While nodding my head, she smiles and claps her hands excitedly.
“I love shopping, especially when it’s not with my own money.” She starts walking around fast, her hands touching everything. Obviously she’s testing the quality, but I have no idea how she can do that. To me the fabrics all feel the same.
“Okay… so tell me, how many rooms?”
In answer I shrug my shoulders, I didn’t really look around too much and to be honest I don’t really care.
“Okay fine… your room then, living room, kitchen, dining…” I shake my head and she trails off.
“That’s the only room he has done… ours,” I say shrugging my shoulders, because I don’t want to change that room. It was something he actually did for me even if it is empty, he took the time to do it.
“So your sharing then?” she asks surprised.
“Yep.”
“So how’s that going for you two? Did you do the deed last night?”
I shake my head. “I just saw… well, he doesn’t care about showing it to me,” I say very quietly.
“Well, if he’s anything like Kazier, he’s blessed. So why the fuck not show it.” She shrugs looking back at the furniture, stops, and I run into her back. “You’ve… never mind,” she says as she takes a step off again.
“Say it,” I egg her on.
She turns to face me. Her make-up is flawlessly perfect. Me—I’m completely bare. “You’ve had sex before, right?”
“No.”
Her eyes go wide and she sits on one of the seats and pulls me down to sit next to her.
“I’m not going to sugar coat it for you, all right.” I nod my head. “It hurts like a bitch… like a burn you can’t do anything about. I wasn’t even prepared, not even wet, just bam… and the blood, be prepared for the blood.”
“A lot of it?”
“No, it’s like the end of a period, spotting.”
I don’t even know what to say, those few words just make me even more scared. Or maybe I should just get it over with, I can’t decide which one.
“Let’s shop till we drop,” she says standing clapping her hands. And we do, we buy so much shit I don’t even know what to do with half of it.
***
I’m trying to get the television to work when the door opens. Viktor looks tired, and at first he doesn’t even see me until he knocks into the case standing just to the side of the door. He swears under his breath and looks around. He spots me straight away, his eyes zooming in on me.
“You had a busy day, I see.” His eyes leave me and I want them back. I like it when he looks at me, it’s so mixed like he’s fighting something neither of us know about.
“I may have sent you broke,” I say looking back to the television trying to get it to work.
/> “I don’t care, I told you to use as much as you needed.”
Giving up on the fifth try, I can’t get this smart television to work for the life of me.
“I’m not joking. This couch alone… just this single couch… cost almost twenty-thousand. Can you imagine what the rest cost?” I tease him, just to get a reaction. He looks around the room at the new dining set, the new kitchen utensils, furniture, and all of it chosen by Elina. I don’t even care what’s in the house. Let’s face it I’ve grown up in luxury, I’ve lived with all the expensive things and they mean nothing to me.
“Who’d you take with you?” he asks surprising me and I don’t answer at first.
“Elina?” He guesses right, I smirk.
“Where have you been?” I ask him changing the subject. He kicks his shoes off, places his knife at the door and walks over to me taking a seat right next to me, his thigh touches mine.
“Work,” is all he answers. He picks up the remote and within a few seconds he has the television working like I haven’t been sitting here for an hour trying to accomplish that small task.
“What’s for dinner?” I ask him turning so I’m facing him. I don’t cook. Well, I do, I just prefer not to.
“You,” he says turning to me. I try to hide any emotion that shows on my face and fail because I bite my lip in nervousness. “I promise to be gentle… at first.” He winks.
I hold up my hands. “Not happening,” I say shaking my head.
“You are my wife. What is between your legs is mine as well. What’s yours is mine and all that shit.”
I scoff at him. “Does that mean you’re mine?” I ask leaning in to him. He leans right back, his lips touch mine and it surprises me. His hand comes up the back of my neck, he grips it tight as he draws me to him, pulling my body against his. My legs wrap around his waist, his free hand holds me tight against my hip. I can feel him against me. His lips feel seductive, his tongue invades my mouth, claiming me, and I’m not sure that’s something I want to be—claimed.
He groans as he kisses me harder, our mouth’s smashed together. His hand on my hip starts to move me, friction is caused and sparks fly between my legs. Starting to move myself, I want more of this. I don’t even know what it is but I love it. His mouth leaves mine as I begin to pant, he places soft kisses on my lips and holds his grip on my neck tighter. His grip becomes more and more possessive, tighter and tighter as he grasps onto me. My hips now have a mind of their own, his lips now searching my neck, dropping down lower to uncharted territory. He pulls my shirt down and exposes my breasts. He reaches out and touches, slowly caressing them. I want to object, to tell him to stop, but my mind won’t let me. It wants him to have his way with me, it wants his hands and his mouth everywhere. Especially, while I’m under this spell, whatever kind of wickedly delicious spell this is.
“Freya,” his voice is raspy and I like that I can do that to him. To have an effect on him. My body starts to shake and goes limp. I stop moving and collapse on his chest, interrupting his access to my neck and breast. He laughs when I try to get my breathing back under control. His hand pulls away from my neck and his fingers touch my hips. I jump back and try to escape his hold, but he doesn’t let me. His hold is strong and inescapable. When I look up to his eyes, the green is so intense I feel like he’s looking deeper than anyone else.
“Trying to escape, little bird,” he whispers. I push on his rock-hard chest again and he lets me pull away this time. So I stand up and grab my keys on the table in front of us.
“I’m going to see Pollie.”
He stands and looks down at his cock. “Want to fix that…” he points with his finger, “… before we go?” His head drops to the side as his eyes gauge my reaction. I shake my head and walk to the door. Feeling him following me but before I can open the door, he pulls the keys from my hand and starts to put on his shoes.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m coming,” is all he says as he walks past me and slaps my ass. I have to take a deep breath before I choose to follow him, he’s fucking with my emotions and I know it.
Chapter 7
Viktor
Fuck that woman and her body, she has me all kinds of messed up. She walks ahead of me up the stairs to Death’s door, her ass is right in the zone for my viewing pleasure and I want to smack it again to teach her a lesson. One she needs to learn. Then Death opens his door with a baby on his shoulder, and the look he gives us is that we are about to go visit his basement. I hear Pollie’s voice from inside and he walks away leaving the door open.
Freya bounces in following him and the baby, I trudge along behind her still wanting to smack that ass. As soon as I walk in and look around I notice there’s baby shit everywhere. Pollie’s sitting next to Freya as Death hands her the baby. I wonder if she knows she’s meant to be pregnant within the year, that she has to have her own soon as per her father’s request.
“Viktor, would you be so kind and take Dmitry down to his basement. Please tell him… Freya will look after me.” I turn to see Death staring at her like she’s crazy. “Please…” she says again when I don’t answer.
Death nods his head and walks off. I look to Freya who isn’t even paying me any attention, hers is solely on the child. That makes me mad—sharing her attention is something I don’t want, I want all of it, all the time. Turning around I follow a grumpy ass Death down the stairs and into the place where he hides away from the world. A body is laid out on the table, it’s old. I can tell from the smell he’s dead, even though this place smells like death anyway.
“You haven’t been working?” I ask him walking around. There are barrels everywhere, knives lined up perfectly from the hanging chain where he drains them. No blood though.
“No.”
“You’ve been unsettled?” I ask him. He knows what I mean. Death gets twitchy when he can’t do his job, it’s all he’s ever done, all he knows.
“No.”
“Well, why the fuck are we down here?”
“Why the fuck are you talking so much?” he growls at me. “Have you become Anton and I wasn’t aware?” he mocks me. He throws me a saw and I manage to catch it, but it cuts the inside of my palm. He doesn’t care. Death starts cutting the arm while I walk up and follow him beginning at the leg. This is not my usual line of work, I don’t do this at all. Death has always done it, for as long as I can remember.
“You’re falling for her,” he says pulling the arm free. He has his music on, it isn’t as loud as he usually has it so I can hear him perfectly clearly.
“I don’t know.”
“You are. Are you sure you want to, though?”
Do I want to?
I don’t even fucking know the answer to that question.
So I ignore him and continue cutting.
***
When we come back up Death goes straight to Pollie, his hand claiming hers as she sits across from Freya talking. Freya smiles at them while looking down at their enclosed hands.
“Viktor, did you want to hold him?” Pollie asks as I step into the room.
I look at their child, who I don’t even know the name of, and see he’s asleep. So I shake my head, then realize she can’t see me do that. “No, we must be going.” I walk to Freya and hold out my hand, she ignores it, gets up on her own and walks over to Pollie kissing her on the cheek then walking past me as she goes to the front door.
Death is smirking the whole time he’s watching her. “Have fun,” he says then turns back to Pollie, kissing her on her lips. When I walk out, Freya is leaning against the car waiting for me. Her eyes are turned down as she looks at the pavement. I still have the keys in my pocket so she can’t get in. I walk to her, pushing her up against the car then kiss her. My hand goes to her neck. I like the way she acts when I touch her, I like the way she moans into my mouth when I squeeze tightly around her neck. She pulls back breaking contact and turns to open the door, ducking under my arm as she climbs in. Before I can get in
the car with her I have to take a deep breath because she’s wearing thin on me, and soon I don’t know if I will able to hold back no matter how much I try.
***
“Why are we here?” she asks as I step out of the car. It’s nothing fancy, but she said she was hungry before we went to see Death, so I’ve stopped at a local sushi house for dinner. Freya climbs out and follows me in, and the waitress seats us at one of the tables with the train of sushi to the left of us. “I’ve never eaten Sushi before,” she says looking around. She stands up and checks out the food that’s moving around, then her eyes come back to me. “What do I eat?”
“Anything. Try one of everything.” She nods her head and smiles. The waiter brings over a bottle of vodka with two glasses and places them on my table. I eat here regularly, the waiter knows exactly what I like to drink. Freya looks down at the bottle and smiles, takes a sushi roll with salmon and fish eggs. Failing, I try to hide my grimace. I can’t do the eggs, just thinking of them makes me not want to eat.
“Is this a date?” she asks pouring herself a glass of vodka. I almost forgot what a seasoned drinker she is.
“Should it be?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I guess not, we are married after all. We did it all wrong, dates usually come before marriage.”
“Do you need all of that?”
“I don’t know… I’ve never had any of that,” she answers truthfully. I like that about her that I’ll be her first everything. Actually, I like it a lot.
“I have a lot of teaching to do,” I say to her. What I want to continue to say is… in the bedroom. Soon, hopefully really soon. The rest of the conversation flows well as she tells me about her family and her dickhead of a brother.
“You don’t like him?” she asks between bites.
“What’s there to like?” I reply honestly.
“He’s good to me, you know. He doesn’t have his morals right, though. But who does in this world. We were all we had growing up, until he hit a certain age and became a part of the world that I was hidden from. But he always came back for me, though. Always…” She smiles talking about him.
