Chapter 5 #2
My eyes stay on her as she leaves her afternoon lab.
Her beautiful red hair catches the sun, highlighting the various shades hidden in the thick waves.
There will never be a time when I look at her hair and don’t associate it with blood.
Like her hair, it’s never just one color.
Blood comes in a variety of shades depending on how oxygenated it is and even from what part of the body it comes from.
If I slit someone’s throat, the color is a bright red, a vivid arterial crimson, just like Cyn’s hair when the sun hits it just right.
A gut wound will produce a darker color, almost like spilled wine.
It’s the exact color of her hair when it’s wet from the shower.
So many subtle variations and my sweet little Cyn has them all.
The corner of my mouth twitches when I see her dart a quick look over her shoulder.
She’s been doing this a lot lately, trying to spot me with unexpected turns of her head.
It’s an adorable attempt at catching me, and if I was terrible at my job, it might work.
She’s not going to spot me, though, not unless I want her to, and right now I want to stay hidden.
Her green eyes scan the crowd, unknowingly passing over the exact spot where I’m hiding.
I don’t miss the way her face falls when she thinks she’s not being watched, when she thinks I’ve forgotten about her and moved on.
She has no idea I haven’t stopped watching her, that my eyes have been on her this whole time.
I follow her back to her dorm, and when she’s safely tucked up in her room and I have the feed on my phone to prove it, I send a text to Niki, asking him to meet me at The Red Room.
Mia and I are watching the club tonight, and both of us are curious and want an in-person update.
Niki sometimes forgets that not everyone is as computer smart as he is, and trying to get him to explain things through texts is enough to make anyone want to claw their own eyeballs out.
It’s much easier to bombard him with questions in person where he can’t just set his phone aside and pretend he didn’t see the incoming messages.
When I get there, I park around back next to Mia’s motorcycle.
The club isn’t open yet, so the place is nice and quiet.
I’m not looking forward to spending the evening here.
I can already feel the headache I’m guaranteed to have after listening to the godawful music they blast from the speakers in here for hours on end.
Alexei, one of the managers, is already here.
With the help of two of the waitresses, he’s getting the bar stocked and making sure everything is ready to go before the doors open.
I’m not surprised to see how hard they’re working, just like I’m not surprised when they realize I’m the one who’s just walked through the door and quickly avert their eyes.
We pay very well, and that’s before whatever tips they earn.
They all want to keep their jobs, so they try very hard to not attract my attention.
Some of the rumors about me are true, but many of them aren’t.
I don’t beat the shit out of people for no reason, I won’t kill any of them if they get in my way or piss me off, but I don’t bother telling them that.
I prefer this. I hate small talk, and they’re not a part of the Bratva and they aren’t Cyn, so I have no desire to talk to them.
“Hey, man,” I say before taking the chair next to Niki. I turn it around and sit backwards so I can rest my arms on the back while I give my sister a nod and ask, “Hear anything new?”
Niki’s laptop is already opened, screen filled with things I’ll never understand, and when he glances over at me, he says, “Nothing about Cupid, but you’ll be happy to know that Adam and April are no longer a couple.”
I give an annoyed groan at the memory of having to watch them fuck. “I’m truly devastated. I honestly thought they had long-term potential.”
Niki grins. “I know, right? I was just as surprised as April when she caught him fucking Hailey without her yesterday.”
Sarcasm lacing every word, I say, “I did not see that one coming.”
Niki grimaces. “Unfortunately, I did. He grunts like a pig when he ejaculates.”
I laugh while Mia arches a brow at us. “Who the hell are Adam and April?”
“One of the cameras I set up at the frat house was in Adam’s room. They came in while I was looking around, and I had to hide in the closet while they fucked.”
Mia laughs and says, “I’m so happy I missed that one.”
“I still have the footage if you want to see it,” Niki tells her. “I’ll warn you, it’s pretty sad, though.”
“No, thanks,” Mia says. “Find anything else that doesn’t involve pig noises?”
Before Niki can say anything, she holds up a hand and says, “Seriously, though, explain it like you’re talking to a kindergartener.”
I lean over and nudge her arm. “Come on, little sis, give us some credit. I’d say we have at least a third-grade level of understanding.” I smirk and add, “Maybe even fourth.”
Niki sighs and tears his eyes from the screen.
He’s used to us bugging the hell out of him and barely even gets irritated by it now.
“Cupid’s smart. He knows what he’s doing, and so far he’s a ghost, but I’ll find him.
Right now I’ve got a string of payments to ghost wallets and various drop-off locations, but they never use the same place twice. ”
A few clicks of his keyboard and he’s pulling up a new document. I lean in closer, narrowing my eyes at the screen while I quickly scan through the list of transactions. Even I know this is bullshit. Same amounts, same days of the week, and all of it for perfectly rounded numbers.
“He’s making no attempt to hide this shit,” I say.
“No, he’s not,” Niki agrees, “but I’m not too surprised. The things that are well hidden are all things that Cupid is in control of. This is Tom’s Venmo account, and the stupid fuck obviously doesn’t know any better.”
Mia looks between the two of us. “So what’s the next move?”
Niki grins. “I’m going to keep digging around until I find him.
If nothing turns up, I’ll pull an invite link off his computer and get myself into their private chat.
I can do a controlled buy with a burner phone and wallet.
We’ll be able to secure the drop-off site and grab whoever shows up.
That’s a last resort, though. We don’t want to scare Cupid off, and I have a feeling this bastard will run and hide the second he thinks we’re on to him.
” Niki’s smile widens. “I’ll still find him, but it’ll be a lot uglier. ”
I perk up at that. Ugly, I can do. Before I can ask what that plan might involve, all our phones start buzzing. We all tense, worried something might be wrong, but as soon as I see the message on my screen, I grin and look at my sister and cousin.
“Looks like we have another niece on the way.”
“Man, Val is probably losing his mind right about now,” Niki says. His fingers fly across the keyboard again, and then he laughs at the security camera footage that pops up, filling his screen.
“What is that?” Mia asks, scooting around so she can see what we’re looking at.
“I hacked into the maternity ward back when Nat had her first baby,” Niki says like it’s no big deal.
“Damn,” Mia mutters.
Niki shrugs. “It’s come in handy with all the babies our family keeps popping out.”
“There he is.” Mia points at the screen, knowing better than to actually touch the expensive piece of equipment that Niki treats like a firstborn son. “Look at him. He’s already freaking out.”
The footage is grainy, but there’s no mistaking Val’s worried face as he steps out of the elevator with Yelena.
He’s pushing the wheelchair while juggling a diaper bag and a small suitcase.
Every few feet he stops and leans over to make sure Yel is okay.
We see her nod and pat his hand, but she’s clutching her very round stomach, and even with the bad quality of the video, it’s obvious she’s in a lot of pain and well into the labor part of things.
When several nurses rush over to help lead them to their room, Mia looks at us and asks, “You guys going up there now, or are you waiting until it’s over?”
“I’ll go up in a little bit,” I tell her. “You know how packed it gets. I’m guessing Mom and Dad are already on their way. Uncle Matvey is going to be just as nervous as Val.”
“He will be,” Mia agrees. “He’s so excited to be a grandpa, though, and Ev is just as excited to be an uncle.”
“Tell me about it,” Niki says. “I can’t wait for Talia to go into labor.”
Mia laughs and smacks our cousin’s arm. “You’ve already bought your niece a toy laptop, haven’t you?”
Niki grins, but he doesn’t bother denying it. He had the same kind of toy when he was little, and he carried that thing around everywhere he went.
“It’ll be hilarious if she’s as computer smart as I am,” I tell him.
He arches a brow at me. “I’m not so sure I’d ever put the words computer and smart together when talking about you.”
“Hey,” I say with a laugh. “I’m not that bad.”
He shrugs, but the look on his face makes it clear he thinks I am.
He’s not completely wrong, so I let it go, and when I stay silent, he laughs while he shuts his laptop and packs it away.
Standing, he slings the worn leather strap of his messenger bag across his chest and says, “I’ll meet you guys over there. ”
Mia looks up from her phone to say, “Dario and I will be there soon. We’ll probably drive over with Nat and Dom.”
“I’m going to run and check on Chort so he doesn’t get violent with my couch. I’ll drive over there soon, though.”