Chapter 13 #4
“The deal we made didn’t actually include me keeping the piercing. I just had to get it done,” he reminds her.
“True enough,” she agrees, “but keep it in a little while longer. It might grow on you.”
“Definitely keep it,” our dad says.
“Yeah,” Uncle Vitaly says. “Keep it and then add in a lip and eyebrow ring and you can be twinsies with your Uncle Lev.”
“I think I’ll stick with just the one,” Niki says, ignoring the teasing while he keeps his focus on the laptop in front of him.
After a few seconds, he says, “Okay, so that will narrow the search down, but we have another issue we need to talk about. A few girls have gone missing on campus, and I think it might be connected.”
“Connected how?” Damien asks from the other end of the table.
Niki shrugs. “I’m not sure yet. Maybe something went wrong. It’s not unheard of for people to have a bad reaction to Rohypnol.”
“So you think they died and they dumped the bodies somewhere?” I ask.
“Anything’s possible,” Niki says. “I’m still poking around, and I’m not going to stop until I get something.”
Unease prickles my skin, but I remind myself that Cyn is safe and sound right now, back home and in our bed.
I left her resting with a very happy Chort, and even if she was on campus, she doesn’t hang out at bars and take drinks from strange men.
No one is going to get to her. I’ll make damn fucking sure of that.
I still can’t resist asking, “What girls have gone missing?”
“So far three.” Niki clicks on a few buttons and then gives me a pointed look before he turns his laptop so I can see the screen.
I don’t recognize two of the girls, but the third is a face I’m all too familiar with.
It’s Cyn’s old roommate, the peppy cheerleader who’d gotten pissed when I’d let her fall on her ass.
“Are the police involved?” I ask.
“Barely,” Niki says, turning his screen back around.
“All three are over eighteen, there’s no evidence of foul play, and there are some clues that make it look like they’ve just left campus of their own free will, emails complaining about college life and wanting a break, a debit card trail of plane tickets, shit like that.
It’s obvious Cupid is covering his tracks.
After all, a bunch of dead college girls is going to be real bad for business. ”
While the others keep discussing the next steps, I slip my phone out of my pocket and send a quick text to Cyn.
ME:
You okay?
Her reply is a photo of her and Chort. She’s smiling and laughing while Chort licks her face.
CYN:
We’re good. I’m spoiling him rotten while I watch a movie and rest my very sore body.
I grin, remembering exactly why her body is so sore today.
“Holy shit.”
I look up at the sound of my Uncle Vitaly’s voice. He’s looking right at me with a stunned look on his face.
“What?” my dad asks, trying to figure out what’s going on.
“Your son has met someone,” my uncle says, still looking shocked. He sighs and says, “Jesus Christ, Sasha, please tell me she’s not chained up somewhere. Is she still alive?”
I look over at my uncle. Keeping my face blank, I ask, “So you think I’d just chain some woman up at my place and keep her hanging from the rafters?” I clarify and add, “Possibly dead and hanging from the rafters?”
My uncle looks around the room and gives a soft laugh. “I mean, it’s not beyond the realm of possibilities, right?” Looking back at me, he adds, “You know I love the hell out of your fucked-up ass, nephew, but you have to admit you’re capable of it.”
“I am,” I admit, “but that’s not what’s happening. She’s alive and well, and right at this very moment she’s in my bed, watching a movie with Chort.”
Uncle Vitaly laughs and points a finger at me. “You almost had me until you mentioned your dog. No way in hell would he just lay around like that. He nearly killed me the last time I saw him.”
“He barely nipped at you,” I correct. “And here, see for yourself.”
I pull up the photo Cyn just sent me, double-checking that nothing is visible I don’t want everyone seeing before I slide it over to him.
“Holy shit,” he whispers while my dad grabs it and studies the photo.
Raising a pierced brow at me, he asks, “When did this happen?”
“It’s a long story,” I say, but when that doesn’t satisfy any of them, I tell them about meeting her, and then give a condensed version of the few weeks after that, leaving out the parts that are none of their goddamn business.
“Wow,” my Uncle Roman mutters, while my Uncle Danil scrubs a hand over his jaw, and my cousins look at me with a mixture of confusion and shock.
I’m not surprised it’s my Uncle Vitaly who breaks the silence. “You’re marrying her, right? Because it’s obvious you aren’t killing her. I’ll be honest and say I’m still stunned by that one.”
I grin at my nosy family. “Yeah, I’m marrying her.”
My dad’s smile is huge, and I hadn’t realized until this moment how worried he’s been about me. I can see the joy and relief on his face now, though, and I know he can’t wait to tell my mom.
He slides my phone back over to me and says, “We want to meet her.”
Uncle Vitaly chimes in with, “Usually I worry about introducing fiancées to the family, but, fuck, if she can tolerate your crazy ass then nothing else about this family will shock her.”
I take my phone and put it away before I meet his eyes and say, “She thinks I’m sweet, and she thinks Chort is a giant cuddly baby of a dog.”
Everyone laughs because they’ve never once used the word sweet to describe me or my dog.
“She’s definitely the one for you,” my Uncle Matvey says.
I couldn’t agree more, and as I relax back in my chair, we make plans for the next week, deciding who will be watching the club and what rounds we want to make on campus.
I’m usually eager for these meetings to end so I can get back out there and work, but now I’m eager for a different reason.
Cyn only has a limited number of days a month where she’ll be bleeding, and I intend to take full advantage of them.
By the time we’re all standing and getting ready to go, I’m so eager to get back to her I can barely keep still.
I’d like to hop on my bike and race home, but my dad stops me at the door.
“So you met someone?” He rests his shoulder against the doorway, obviously curious and wanting more details than I’d shared with the others.
“I did,” I tell him, and then I add, “I found someone who knocked me on my ass.”
He’s quick to give me a full smile, and then because he’s surprisingly affectionate for a man who looks so tough, he pulls me in for a hug.
“I’m happy for you, son, and your mom is going to be thrilled.
I can’t wait to tell her and Nat.” When he lets me go, he’s still smiling.
With his hand still squeezing my shoulder, he says, “I knew you’d find someone.
You’ve always thought of yourself as bad, Sasha, no matter how many times I’ve tried to tell you you’re not.
I’m glad you didn’t push this away. You deserve to be happy, and I can’t wait to meet her. ”
“Thanks, Dad,” I tell him, and then because I feel like it needs to be said, I say, “None of this would’ve been possible if it weren’t for you.
I know what I am, and most parents would’ve washed their hands of me long ago, but you never did.
The only reason I’m capable of loving Cyn is because of you, so thanks for not giving up on me. ”
My dad grins and gives my cheek a gentle pat. “Is your girl making you soft?”
“For her, yes,” I admit. “For everyone else, not a chance in hell.” I meet his eyes, letting him see the darkness that still lives inside me, the darkness I know I’ll never be free of because there’s no untangling it from me. We’re one and the same, to kill it would be to kill me.
My dad nods, understanding me perfectly as he gives my shoulder a squeeze. “I wouldn’t change a thing about you, Sasha. Your mom and I love you as you are, we always have, and we always will.”
Knowing I’m about to give him one hell of a gift, I lean in and say, “Cyn’s mom’s maiden name is Vetrov.”
My dad’s laugh is one of pure joy. “Are you serious.”
I smack his back and nod my head. “You’re finally getting a Russian in the family. It might be a few generations back, but it’s there.”
“Still fucking counts,” my dad says, and then he hollers for my Uncle Vitaly, no doubt eager to let him know he can stop teasing him about only having Italian in-laws.
Once I’m in the parking garage, I send a quick text to Cyn.
ME:
Better get naked, krovinka. I’m on my way.
Grinning, I pull my helmet on, already more than ready to slide back into her.