Chapter 7 #6
“I’ve been watching the frat house cameras with him,” Damien says. “So far we haven’t learned anything aside from the fact that they all jerk off way too much when they’re alone, and there’s a constant string of girls at the house. No sign of any of them being drugged, though.”
“Anything new with the laptops?” I ask.
“Not since we last talked. He’s still digging his way through.” Damien stretches his arms up and yawns. “God, I’m fucking tired.”
Mia grins over at him. “Rough night?”
“Hell yeah it was. I promised Luka and Lara I’d help them out. Mira’s been having colic the last few nights, and they’re both exhausted. Jesus, I had no idea a baby could scream so much and for so long. Roma was so quiet, but, man, his little sister has some lungs.”
Mia laughs at his rough night, so he tells her. “Yeah, laugh it up. The next time they need help, I’m volunteering Aunt Mia and Uncle Dario.”
“Mira’s a cutie,” Mia says. “We’ll babysit her anytime they want.”
“I’ll remember that,” Damien warns her. No one asks me if I want to babysit, so I don’t volunteer.
Even though none of my nieces and nephews are scared of me, I’ve never taken much of a hands-on role with them.
I hold them and play around with them when we’re together, but I don’t watch them on my own.
I love that they aren’t scared of me, though.
It’s always given me hope, makes me think that maybe I’m not completely lacking inside, that there must be enough good in me for them to sense.
Cyn makes me feel the same way. Someone so sweet and innocent wouldn’t be able to tolerate being near me, so maybe she senses the same good in me that my nieces and nephews do.
I slip my hand in my pocket, letting my fingers feel the coil of braided hair while Damien and Mia discuss their plans to watch the club.
“I made Niki a bet,” she says with a grin. “If I can beat him to some information about Cupid, then he has to get his nose pierced.”
“And if he finds it first?” I ask.
My little sister scrunches up her nose when she says, “It doesn’t matter because I don’t plan on losing.”
Damien and I share a look before he laughs and nudges Mia’s arm. “Yeah, you’re not getting off that easy. What do you have to do if Niki wins?”
Mia cringes when she says, “The next time they have a karaoke night in here I have to get up and sing.”
“What song?” I ask, unable to hide my grin because I know how much my little sister would hate to do this.
She mumbles a quick, “‘My Heart Will Go on’ by Celine Dion.”
Damien and I both start laughing, and when I can finally speak, I say, “That’s going to be awful, Mia. You can’t carry a tune.”
She glares at me while Damien says, “Yeah, that song choice isn’t an accident. He put a lot of thought into this. There’s no way to fake it with that one. It’s just going to be godawful from start to finish and incredibly painful to watch.”
“Or listen to,” I add.
“You two can fuck right off,” Mia says, trying not to laugh. “I’m not losing, so it’s not going to happen.”
“Sure you aren’t,” Damien says while he pats her hand. “I’m sure you’ll find information before the genius hacker in our family. You betcha.”
“Dario is going to love this,” I tell her. “I’ll make sure everyone in the family is here for it.”
“It’s not happening,” she says again. “This is going to end with a ring in Niki’s nose and not a mic in my hand.”
“I gotta be honest,” I tell her. “I’m kind of hoping you lose, because I would really like to hear you belting out that incredibly slow, sentimental song.
I’m assuming you’ll dedicate it to Dario.
” I laugh and look over at Damien. “He’s the only one on the planet who would actually consider it a gift. ”
“Laugh it up while you can,” she tells us.
“I’m coming here tomorrow night and getting some information.
Dario’s coming with me to hang out in the corner and watch me because apparently his willingness to let me put myself in danger only goes so far.
” She rolls her eyes at the same time as she gives a big smile.
“Marriage is all about compromise, right?”
“That’s what they say,” I tell her.
Damien gets up to leave, but before he goes, he tells Mia, “I look forward to your performance. I’m wearing ear plugs, but I’m still looking forward to it.
” He looks over at me and adds, “I’m going to go keep Niki company while he works.
You know how he gets. He’ll forget to eat and drink if someone isn’t there to hand him food and water. ”
“Call me if you hear anything,” I tell him.
He nods and leaves me alone with Mia. It doesn’t take her long at all before she’s pointing at my Band-Aids and asking, “What the fuck is that about?”
“I got cut,” I say. “Don’t worry. It’s not deep.”
“I’m not worried about the cut. I mean, a tiny, pink Band-Aid is keeping it in check, so I’m not too concerned about you bleeding out. What I’m wondering is who the hell gave you the polka-dot bandages.”
I think about ignoring her, but Mia and I have always been close, and it’s painfully obvious that I’m going to need some help navigating this very new terrain. Looking over at my sister, I say, “I met someone.”
The shocked look on her face is pretty much what I expected and so is the whispered, “Holy shit,” she gives. She shakes her head, making her pink-dyed hair brush her shoulders. I run my thumb over Cyn’s braid one last time before I explain how I found her.
“She saw you kill three guys?”
“I was wearing my mask,” I tell her. “It’s fine. She hasn’t said anything, and she’s not going to.”
“I’m just stunned she’s still breathing.
” Mia still looks shocked, and when she sees the look I’m giving her, she laughs and says, “Come on, you have to see how this is a surprise to me. Not only did you not kill her, but you saved her, Sasha. You saved her and you made sure she got back to her dorm safely. And Chort likes her? What the hell is going on here?”
“I have no fucking clue.”
“So who is she? Do you have a picture?”
Mia leans forward, curiosity taking the lead as I show her the photo I stole from her dorm room, the one of her with one of the shelter dogs that she’d had tacked to her bulletin board. Cyn has a huge smile on her face while the beagle pup leans in to lick her cheek.
“She’s really pretty,” Mia says with a grin. “And looks very sweet and not at all like she’d be into murder.”
I ignore the obvious word of caution and grab my phone so I can pull up the feed to her dorm. I check it first, and when I see Cyn bent over one of her textbooks, I take a few seconds to drink in the sight of her before I hand my phone over.
“Please tell me this isn’t a hidden camera you put in her room.”
“Is that wrong?” I ask. “How else am I supposed to know if she’s okay?”
“You call her or you go there to see her. You can’t watch her through a camera like a perv, Sasha.”
I think about what she’s said and then shake my head. “I asked Niki to give me the private link and make sure no one else sees it, and it’s not like I have a camera in the bathroom or anything. This just lets me see her while she studies.”
“And sleeps,” Mia says.
I grin. “I break into her room at night for that.”
“Jesus Christ,” Mia whispers.
“I don’t think she minds, if that makes it any better.”
Mia stares at my phone. “So what’s she like?”
“I don’t know much,” I admit. “She’s smart, I know that, and hard working.
She volunteers at an animal shelter and works part time at a vet clinic near the university.
I think she might be planning to be a vet.
I’m not sure. We haven’t had a chance to really talk.
I’ve mainly been watching from a distance.
” I grin and add, “She’s taking a Russian class, and I don’t think she’s terrified of me anymore. ”
“Has she seen your face?” Mia asks, while handing me my phone back.
“Part of it. She knows my name, though.”
Mia sits back and studies me. After a few seconds, she says, “You really like her, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“And you don’t want to hurt her?” Her voice is hesitant, but I can tell there’s no judgment in it. No matter what answer I give, my sister won’t judge me. She never has.
“No, I don’t.” I look back at my phone, watching as Cyn brushes her hair back in a move that’s second-nature to her, and I grin at the clear annoyance in the movement. She may hate her hair, but I love it enough for the both of us.
“I honestly wasn’t sure this day would ever come,” Mia says, “but I’m happy for you, and I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Maybe I’ll bring her for your karaoke night,” I tease.
“You can bring her to witness Niki getting his nose pierced instead,” she fires back.
I pocket my phone and say, “Maybe I will, but don’t say anything to the others yet, okay?
Niki probably already knows because I asked him to direct this feed to my phone instead of his, but no one else knows anything, and she has no idea who I am or what I do.
” I sigh and add, “No doubt she’ll come to her senses and tell me to get lost and never come back. ”
Mia raises a brow at me. “Would you listen to her if she did?”
I grin and shake my head. “No way in hell. She’s mine.”
“I won’t say anything to the others,” Mia promises. “I can’t wait to meet the woman who not only tamed Chort but also my crazy-ass older brother.”
“I think you’ll like her, but I’m not ready to introduce her around just yet.
” The truth is I’m not ready to share her yet.
I want more time where it’s just the two of us.
She needs to get to know me before she learns about what I do.
She knows enough, but she doesn’t realize that night was a common occurrence.
The killing wasn’t a heat-of-the moment kind of thing.
I’m not sure if she’s ready for that kind of brutal honesty yet, and I don’t want to scare her off.
If she gets scared, she’ll run, and then I’ll have to chase.
And the idea of doing that is far too appealing to think about right now.