18. Kyril
18
Kyril
“ W here have you been?” Cassian stared at me over his laptop screen. I hardly ever saw him sleep these days. His dad had been pushing him harder than ever, eager for him to step up and enter the world of politics.
He’d already begun parading him around at political functions, which the press loved. And why wouldn’t they? Cassian was handsome, intelligent, and excellent at public speaking. Like his father, but without the psychotic tendencies.
“Burying a body.” I slipped my jacket and shoes off, intending to take a long, hot shower. We’d been careful when handling the body, but it paid to be thorough. Thankfully, there was a washing machine in the apartment, so I didn’t have to traipse down to the laundry room in the basement to clean my grave-digging clothes.
Cassian’s eyebrows shot up as I stripped off in the living room.
“Body? Who did you kill this time?”
Rolling my eyes, I bundled up my dirty clothes. He made me sound like a serial killer. “I didn’t kill anyone, mudak . I merely assisted with the burial.”
I stalked over to the washing machine and shoved everything into the drum, selected a hot cycle, and hit start. 3 AM wasn’t the best time to be running the washing machine, as it vibrated loudly once it reached the spin cycle, but if the people in the apartment below wanted to complain, I was all ears.
I still had a semi from kissing Thea, but Cassian was polite enough not to comment. He probably assumed burying bodies turned me on. Unlike my father, however, I didn’t get off on sadistically murdering people, chopping them up into small pieces, and sending them back to their family in a box via DHL.
“I’m going to grab a shower, but I’ll explain when I come back.”
Hot water cascaded over my head and back, washing away the sweat and dirt. It had been a nice little workout this evening, and I was glad I’d taken a detour into town to chat with Ron, the guy who ran the underground fight club.
He owed me money, despite Cassian’s intervention, and I’d grown tired of waiting for him to cough up. After a few strong words (aka threats) we now had an understanding. I fought, and he paid me. No more procrastinating and making excuses.
I didn’t care about his bullshit arrangements with the local criminal fraternity. I went to the club to fight and relieve my pent-up anger and aggression. It was safer than getting into fights on campus. And less likely to see me kicked out of college.
Otets wouldn’t like it if that happened. He had a vested interest in me graduating.
My mind soon drifted back to Thea. I was one hundred percent right about her. She really was a vicious little gadyuka. Despite my asking several times, she refused to say why she’d killed the guy, but from the bruise on her cheek, he’d deserved it. He was lucky I hadn’t witnessed him beating on her.
The stab wound she’d inflicted would have killed him in seconds - a direct hit to the carotid. If it had been up to me, his death would have taken far longer, and been a lot more painful.
Otets had plenty of vors in this part of the world, and their resources were at my disposal. I could call on a few contacts and retrieve the body we’d buried earlier. But I doubted that would be necessary. The grave was deep, and nowhere near the main hiking trails in this area.
And given who the mudak was, I doubted very much the local police would investigate his disappearance too thoroughly. I’d seen him around. He was a petty criminal, affiliated with a low-level street gang. No wife in the picture that I was aware of. Nobody would give a shit when he vanished without a trace.
Thea looked so small and exhausted when we arrived back. I’d wanted to wrap her up in my arms and carry her to bed. An altogether alien feeling. Women never had that effect on me. Mostly I barely tolerated them, but Thea was different.
She was nothing like my cyka of a stepmother. Ekaterina had blond hair and pale skin, whereas Thea was dark with golden olive skin. They were like night and day.
The sight of Ekaterina naked made my dick want to take a vacation, but the thought of Thea naked and wet for me had the opposite effect.
I fisted my cock and relived the moment I’d seen her standing over the blood-soaked body of her enemy. An avenging Angel of Death. God, I so wanted to sink my cock into her right now.
One taste of her lips and I was an addict. The way she’d pressed against me, how her soft curves fitted perfectly against my hard muscles. Her breathy little moan when I forced my tongue inside her mouth.
I came in a rush of heat and pleasure, spraying cum over the black-tiled wall before the water washed it away. It took a few long minutes for my heart rate to slow down, but once my legs stopped shaking and my dick softened, I rinsed the last of the soap away and grabbed a thick towel.
Thea and I were soul mates. I could feel our connection in the blackest fragments of my twisted soul, and for the first time in forever, Ekaterina wasn’t in my head, tormenting me with her sick words and deeds.
I felt lighter, freer.
“Drink?” Cassian nodded, so I poured an extra glass of vodka and handed it to him. I finished mine in a few mouthfuls, enjoying the buzz as it slid down my throat, and then refilled my glass.
Because I kept the bottle in the freezer, the vodka was deliciously syrupy and perfectly chilled. Just the way I liked it.
“Spill,” he said when I dropped onto the sofa. There was no sign of Milo or Landon, not that it mattered. Cassian would fill them in tomorrow. Once I’d told him everything, I was heading to bed. It had been a long night, and I was wilting like a half-dead flower.
“So after I had a nice chat with Ron…” Cassian snorted with amusement. “…I headed back to college. Got halfway here and came across our little gadyuka standing next to a dead body on the side of the road.”
Cassian almost choked on his vodka. “What happened?”
I waved my hand dismissively. “It was that piece of shit from the fight club. The one who orchestrated the attack on her. She refused to tell me exactly what happened, but I suspect he targeted her again. Only this time, she killed him.” I ground my teeth in irritation at the memory of her bruised face.
“And you helped her get rid of the evidence.”
“Of course.”
He nodded with satisfaction. “Good.”
It wasn’t the reply I expected. “Good?”
“Yes, good. We don’t need a murder investigation taking place in the area. It would cause too many problems and throw a spotlight back on me again.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “Although… that might actually work in my favor. Father would have to delay the engagement announcement if there was a press pack camped outside the college. Camilla’s father wouldn’t appreciate the publicity.”
I ground my teeth at the thought of Thea being arrested. “No.”
“No?”
“You’re not throwing Thea under the bus to delay the engagement. Or me, for that matter. If the body pops up and it turns into a murder investigation, there’s no guarantee they won’t find my DNA on it somewhere.”
He scowled at me and slammed his empty glass down on the table. “Fine!”
Some of the tension left my shoulders with his assurance he wasn’t about to do anything we’d all regret. “Good, I’m glad we agree. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some sleep.”
I dropped my empty glass in the dishwasher but left the vodka bottle for him. From the deep lines etched across his forehead, his need was greater than mine. The fucker needed to be careful before all his hair fell out from stress.
“Kyril?” he called, just as I reached my bedroom doorway.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t get attached to her. She’s trouble.”
“Not a chance,” I scoffed, knowing full well it was a lie, and also much too late.
I’d already fallen for her.