by Belle Aurora
I walked Lidi to the table, then set her down by the edge, taking the box and handing it to her. It was too big to fit in her hands, so I held it while she took a good look at the pictures. The moment she saw what it was, her mouth rounded in a comically round O, and she gasped none too quietly, looking around the table to see if everyone else was seeing what she was seeing.
My smile was gargantuan. Nothing made me feel the way I felt when I spoiled my niece.
“Fairies,” she whispered, and her eyes sparkled. She looked up at me, and her squeaky voice enquired, “Dey live in dis one?” Her stubby little finger pointed at the box.
I nodded at the image of the toadstool fairy house. “They sure do. And if you’re really quiet and watch very closely, you might even see one. But you have to be quiet, or you’ll scare them away.”
Lidi breathed in deeply, her expression full of awe, like she’d just discovered the meaning of life.
“Oh my. A quiet toy.” Mina’s face was reverent. She placed her hands together, the image of the Madonna herself, then spoke a soft, “God bless you, Nas.”
I winked at Mina and just couldn’t help myself. I hurled Lidi back into my arms and held her tight, melting as she giggled. This time, she put her chubby arm rolls around me and hugged me back, resting her head on my shoulder. There really was no greater feeling in the world than being trusted by a child in this capacity.
I dared someone to hurt my little fluffy doughnut. God help the person who tried. They’d have to answer to me, and I didn’t give a shit if you were five years old or fifty.
I would cut a bitch.
The back door opened, and believing it was Ada, I didn’t turn to see who it was. But then he spoke.
“What the hell? Y’all are having a party? I guess my invite was lost in the mail.”
Lev uttered, “You’re family, Viktor. Your invitation is implied.”
“Not one of you rang the doorbell. You realize that, don’t you?” Sasha scowled. “I think it’s time I changed the locks.”
I spun just in time to see Vik approach, and when he did, he said, “Hey, baby.”
Call it habit.
“Hi” was my breathy response, because he looked like sex in gray sweats worn low on his hips and a black tee that hugged every muscular ridge of his torso in an obscene way.
He stopped a foot away and watched me with sly eyes, as if searching for any sign of my falling apart. When he was satisfied that I was okay, he reached out and took my niece out of my arms. Without falter, Lidi went to him, and when he held her fast and looked down at her with love in his eyes, he said, “Hey, baby,” a second a time, and my stomach dropped right out of my asshole.
Oh God.
Oh God.
My brain gasped with realization.
He wasn’t talking to me.
My neck heated with mortification.
Was there a hole nearby that I could crawl into? Perhaps a cliff to punt myself off?
You moron.
He winked at me and very obviously held in a laugh, like he knew exactly what happened.
Too embarrassed to speak, I bit the tip of my tongue and held my breath for a full minute to stop the deranged shriek that threatened to escape me.
Vik moved to sit at the table with Lidiya in his lap, and she was happy to sit there, peering up at him with a sweet, toothy smile. I joined the rest of them, parking myself at the opposite end of the table, far, far away from the man who turned me into a simpleton with nothing more than a greeting.
While Sasha got into conversation with Vik, I picked up one of my muffins and nibbled at it. Lev reached for one, and I smacked his hand, shooting him a glare. He glared right back, and after a short standoff, I reluctantly handed him one. He peeled off the wrapper and shoved the entire thing in his mouth. As he chewed slowly, trying not to choke, I took another bite and garbled out an amused, “Oink, oink.”
Crumbs flew out of my mouth as I spoke, and I covered my lips, chuckling.
Lev narrowed his eyes at me but softened the admonishment with a twitch of his lips. Mina heard me and rushed to her husband’s defense. She stood behind him and hugged him close, cradling his head awkwardly to her small bosom. “Don’t listen to her, sweetie. I like the way you eat. Go ahead and finish your muffin.”
Lev’s hand came up to caress her shoulder, and they really did make me sick sometimes. It was unnatural to be as cute as they were.
My gaze was slowly being drawn to the tall, built man currently pretending to eat my niece’s round fist, and it took everything I had to feign boredom, when really my ovaries were throbbing. At this point, distraction was a good call.
I took an empty muffin wrapper and threw it at the couple across from me. Lev caught it without trying, and Mina poked her tongue out at me. I flipped her the bird, and Lev lightly smacked my hand with a frown. “I don’t like that, Nas.”
Mina laughed damn near hysterically at the death stare I was lobbing at my brother. Her laugh turned into a scared giggle when I leaned forward and got into my brother’s face.
My eye twitched. “You don’t like that?”
“No,” he insisted. “I don’t.”
Okay. All right.
My hand came out slowly. With my thumb holding my middle finger, he stared at my fingers as they came closer and closer. He flinched mildly when I flicked his nose. “What about that? Did you like that?”
Mina snorted, and the hands at Lev’s shoulders shook.
But Lev wasn’t amused. He glowered at me, rubbing his nose. “Not at all.”
“And yet—” I grinned. “—it didn’t stop me from doing it, did it?”
Lev’s lips thinned. “No. I suppose it didn’t.”
I slapped a hand to his knee good-naturedly. “Pick the battles you can win, moy brat.”
“Surprisingly good advice,” uttered Sasha from the other side of the table.
My nose bunched at the surprise in his tone. “I do have a brain, you know.”
“Then it stands to wonder why you rarely use it” was the smartass response I got from my eldest brother.
Lev snuffled while Mina barked out a laugh so hard she wheezed. Vik coughed to cover his mirth, turning away so I couldn’t see his face.
My eyes narrowed dangerously. A slight smile lit Sasha’s mouth. I didn’t want to find it funny, but it was, and when my lip twitched, his brow rose in victory.
“Kakashka” was all I managed to say, because he really was a piece of shit sometimes.
The mood was light and breezy… until it wasn’t.
Sasha’s phone rang, and when he saw who was calling, he answered right away. “Hello.” Then, “Yes, I’m home.” He sat up straighter. “Look. Not that it’s any of your business, but he came to m—” He glared down at his phone. “Fuck.” Sasha cleared his throat. “We’re about to have company.”
Sasha stood, bracing, and the vibe around us changed dramatically. A few minutes passed, and my heart stuttered as Philippe Neige, my ex-fiancé, strode into the back yard. I sat up taller at his unexpected entrance.
His dark-blond hair was no longer set in unruly, surfer waves that you wished to run your hands through but cut short in a business do. His green eyes always seemed to smile, but they were hard as stone at present. His nose was crooked, but it hadn’t always been.
Oh no. Vik helped with that.
From the looks of things, Philippe had a bone to pick, and it was with my brother.
“How could you?” His French accent was heavy. He stared unblinkingly at Sasha. “I thought we were friends.”
The tension was thick enough to carve with a knife.
My brother responded a mild “We are.”
Philippe shot back, “Bullshit! Friends don’t prey on family, Sasha.”
What the hell?
I turned to face my brother and asked, “What is he talking about?”
But Sasha didn’t bother to look at me. He merely said to the angry Frenchman, “Listen to me, Philipp
e. He came to me. He seemed desperate. I just gave him what he needed. No harm, no foul.”
The face Philippe made was one of a man who couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “He is a twenty-one-year-old gambling addict, you inconsiderate prick. Why didn’t you call me?” His tone rose. “I would have called you!”
Frost lined Sasha’s words. “If he wanted you to know, he would have come to you.”
Looking back and forth between them, I was so confused.
Philippe rounded on him, and Vik stepped in his way, handing Lidiya to Mina. “Cool it, Frenchie.”
“Lidi, let’s go inside and see if Ada’s got a yummy snack for us,” Mina told the little girl with a feigned smile, but when her anxious eyes shot to Lev, he simply gave her a curt nod.
Philippe waited until the little girl was out of sight before he snarled at Vik, “Get the fuck out of my way, you second-rate mall cop.”
From the way Vik looked at him, a slow but vicious smile stretching his lips, I could tell he badly wanted to add another scar to the man’s face as he’d done the first.
Holy hell. This was escalating quickly.
I had to step in. This man had once meant something to me, which was why he and Vik would never get along. They would take any excuse to lash into each other. I stepped into the middle of them, putting my hand on Philippe’s chest. “Stop it.” When neither of them moved, I pushed at Philippe and said, “That’s enough!”
Philippe looked over my head, rage seeping out of every pore, smirking at Vik. “You always need a woman to protect you?”
If only that were the truth. But no. Rather, I was protecting him from Vik, because Vik would tear him apart. I witnessed it once before. It was utterly terrifying.
“Hey.” I cupped Philippe’s face in my hands and pulled at his cheeks. “Philippe.” Finally, he looked down, and when his eyes regained focus, I said gently, “Look at me.”
Philippe lost some of his steam. His quiet words were spoken just for my ears. “’Allo, mon ange.”
“Hi.” I smiled softly, and when his rough hand came to rest over mine, his fingers tightened on my own, and I returned the squeeze. Now that things were a touch calmer, I stepped away and looked around at the men around me, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice, and asked, “What the hell is going on here?”
No one spoke for a while, until Philippe let out a hostile, “What’s going on is that a person who I considered a friend went behind my back—”
“I did not go behind your back,” Sasha exhaled, very clearly frustrated. “He came to me.”
“—and decided to loan my younger brother a hundred and fifty large.”
My chest ached.
I slowly turned to look at Sasha, my expression stoic.
From somewhere behind me, Lev asked, “Is this true?”
Philippe went on, and his gaze on my eldest brother was unwavering. “Oh, it’s true, all right. Imagine giving an addict that amount of money. You may as well have put a bullet in his brain. How was he meant to pay that back, let alone the exorbitant interest? Huh?”
“Sasha.” My brow lowered, the disappointment I felt palpable.
My brother simply watched Philippe closely. “He’s a grown man.”
Philippe thundered, “He’s a child.”
When Sasha had nothing to say to that, Philippe reached into the back of his pants and took out two five-inch stacks of crisp hundreds, throwing them onto the table. “This is a hundred and sixty grand, for the inconvenience, and you’ll not get a cent more from me. Understand, asshole?”
“Easy,” muttered Vik dangerously, taking a small step closer in warning.
Sasha sighed then, and for the first time in forever, he actually looked contrite. “Philippe—”
But Philippe simply shook his head as he cut him off. “No. You had your chance to talk to me.” He took a step backward with a passing glance to my brother. “You will get no other.” His voice rough, he stated, “We’re done.”
And I could tell he meant it.
“Wait.” My heart broke for him as I watched him go. “Philippe!” I turned to face my cold, unfeeling brother. “Sash, you’re just going to let him go?” I blinked in disbelief. “Apologize to him!”
“For what?” was Sasha’s empty reply.
My heart beat a little faster. “Are you kidding me?”
Sasha picked up the money on the table, peering down at the heavy stacks in his hands. His blunt statement made me wonder if my brother really was the monster he made himself out to be. “It’s just business.”
And my gut sank, because after what I just witnessed, there was every possibility he was.
12
Nastasia
Troubled by what occurred the day before, I found myself at my uncle’s door the very next morning. Nicolas let me in, and the moment Laredo took in my tired expression, he stood and opened his arms to me. I didn’t want to be that girl, but damn, I needed the comfort. And so, I stepped into his waiting arms and allowed myself to be held.
Last night, Vik found me in my room, sitting up in my bed, waiting, and he undressed easily. I pulled up the covers, and under he slipped. He held me all night, and my mother kept her distance. She usually did when Vik was around. Perhaps it was because he consumed me in every which way. When Vik was close, it was impossible to think of anything other than the man himself. He overrode my thoughts. A usually annoying peculiarity that just happened to come in handy the past few days. As per the current routine, I woke alone, but I woke rested.
“Is he here?” I asked my uncle quietly, and I didn’t need to elaborate. He pulled back to look down at me, and when he shook his head, I closed my eyes and uttered, “I didn’t know.” I blinked up at him. “He has to know that, right?”
Uncle Laredo’s brows pulled down. “Of course he does, sweet girl. Philippe doesn’t blame anyone for what happened more than he blames himself.” He shot me a sad smile. “It’s been a rough year for him.”
Well, that sure as shit didn’t make me feel any better.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
I stared, incredulous. “If you knew, would you tell me?”
My uncle smiled gently at my ability to see through his bullshit. “He wishes to be alone. To take some time to help his brother. I’ve allowed it.” Laredo cupped my cheek. “I protect my boys, sweetheart.”
My stomach twisted, because although he may not have meant it as a stab, it definitely felt like one toward Sasha. Worse than that, my brother deserved it.
Fair enough.
I half rolled my eyes. “What about the other one?”
My uncle’s smile lifted. “Now, he is in his room. You’re welcome to wake him up.”
With a quick kiss to his cheek, I move down the long hall, and when I got to his room, I opened the door just a sliver. The room was pitch-black and smelled of his aftershave. I called out quietly, “Alessio?” After all, he was a grown man, and he could’ve been doing grown man things in that room. I didn’t want to catch him unawares. “Les?”
No response.
Was he even in here?
I pushed the door a little, allowing some of the light from the hall to penetrate. Under the silken navy covers, the shape of him was clear, and when I was sure he was decent, I tiptoed into the room, stood by his bed, and smiled down at his scarred, sleeping face.
He looked so peaceful.
Oh well.
Spreading my wings, I threw my arms out at my sides and flew. My body connected with his. At the moment of impact, he doubled over in pain, pushing me off, and let out a long, wheezed, “Oh fuck, my nuts!”
While I rolled onto the free side of his bed, I rested my cheek on my upturned hand and said sweetly, “Good morning.”
Oh my. If looks could kill.
I laughed in complete silence.
Alessio glared at me with tired eyes before throwing his head back onto the pillow and groaning, “You bitch.” He cupped himself
through the sheets. “Ah, my dick.”
Okay, so I did feel bad. Not enough to not taunt him though. “I’ll bet Cora would rub it better.”
“Nas,” he growled in warning, and I lifted both my hands in the air in apology. As he half panted, I watched his eyes narrow on me. “What are you doing here? It’s too fucking early.”
A scoff ripped out of my throat. “It’s 11:00 a.m., sir. Get your tight butt out of bed and take me out for coffee.”
“What?” he uttered, and his entire body stilled. His eyes darted around, and his lip curled. Cautiously, he enquired, “Like a date?”
“Ew.” I tasted sick in my mouth and visibly recoiled. “We’re cousins, dude.”
Alessio seemed a little offended at my disgust. “Twice removed. Through adoption. Not by blood.”
I couldn’t help the strained chuckle that escaped me as I drew out the question. “Wait. Are you offended? Do you want me to want to date you?”
“Jesus, no.” He glowered at me, and I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it, but his cheeks turned pink.
What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t mess with him a little?
“I can pretend, if you want me to,” I went on, my body shaking with merriment. “Hold your hand and all.”
“God.” Alessio ran a hand down his face. “You’re so tiring, woman.”
He sounded so drained, so very weary, that I decided to give him a break. I sat up against the headboard and pushed down the need to fuck with him some more. “Look. I’m sorry, okay? It’s just that everyone has some type of shit going on at the moment. Lev and Mina are busy doing…”
“Each other?” he offered, and I nodded.
“And Sasha is…” I paused.
“An asshole,” Alessio provided.
“Well, yeah.”
This was exactly why I hung out with Alessio. I was under no illusions about the person he was. He was cold, and hard, and he could be downright cruel. But still, he understood me.
“Cora is studying. Anika is around, but I don’t feel right piling my crap onto her. And Vik….”
My heart squeezed.
Our current sleeping situation hadn’t mended the invisible wall between us. Every so often, something funny would happen, or I would get frustrated about work or my brothers or life in general. Someone would piss me off, and I’d need to vent, or I’d experience something that I wanted to share. And there was only one person I wanted to share those things with.
