Chapter 3 #2
“She did!” Lucian agreed. “Look!” He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt to show me.
I crouched down to their level and inspected his skin, not seeing a bruise but pretending I did anyway because I could see how proud Theodora was of herself. I didn’t have the heart to break that.
“Good job!” I praised. “Just like I taught you.”
Vin snickered, shaking his head. “My parents are still pissed you taught her how to throw a punch.”
“Someone had to.” I shrugged, rising back to my full height.
In my opinion, Theodora should have been taught how to defend herself from the moment she could walk.
It wasn’t as if we lived some normal, apple-pie life.
The Mafia was filled with violence, bloodshed, and death.
That was something Theodora didn’t choose.
She was born into it, and her parents should have prepared her for that.
To not do so was doing Theodora a serious disservice and leaving her vulnerable to all the danger that life brought forth.
So I taught the kid how to punch. How to kick. How to always aim for the eyes and balls if a man tried to hurt her.
“What’s been going on with you, anyway?” I asked Vin. “Last I heard, you’d been sent away on some sort of business for your brother.”
Something flashed across his face before he was able to shut it down.
Vin’s smile turned strained. Somewhat forced.
Fake. “Yeah, you know, just the usual work bullshit.” He laid both hands on Lucian and Theodora’s shoulders.
“Come on, you two. Let’s go say hi to everyone.
” And then he was off, ushering his two younger siblings in front of him at a brisk pace.
I let him make his escape because I knew I would get to the bottom of whatever the fuck that was about later. I had a persistent personality—absolutely no qualms about badgering the shit out of someone until I got the information I wanted.
Eventually, they would all get so annoyed they’d tell me just to get me to leave them alone.
Worked perfectly well, if you asked me.
I mingled with everyone, making small chitchat and meaningless conversation. I suspected a lot of them only showed up because those types of events brought forth free food and booze. I knew that was why I always attended them.
Being the incredibly social being I was, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere, the music, the carefreeness of it all. It was a rare moment for us—not filled with violence and death for once.
I’d done the rounds, saying hello to everyone before I grabbed a plate of food and sat down at one of the dozens of tables spread out on the grass.
“How’s guard duty going? My sister still playing by the rules?” I asked Christian as I took a sip of my beer.
He was sitting across from me, dressed in a dark button-down shirt and dark jeans. His brother, Luca, was beside him, a plate overflowing with food.
Christian fidgeted, his brows pulled into a frown as he adjusted himself. He’d been doing that since I sat down. “She’s been very good. I swear, after Illayana got kidnapped the second time, Arturo was ready to fucking murder us.”
“Chop up our bodies and sell the parts on the black market,” Luca added, shoving food into his mouth. “He showed us the exact blade he’d use to do it too.”
Christian nodded. He pulled at his pants as if they were uncomfortable and had started to annoy him. “It was big, and—”
“Motherfucking terrifying,” Luca finished.
“You know it freaks me the fuck out when you do that finishing each other’s sentences bullshit,” I snapped.
They both smiled at me, and they weren’t friendly, pleasant smiles. They were fucking chilling ones, like in that horror movie, Smile.
“It’s—” Christian began.
“Twin-tuition,” Luca finished again for him.
I glared at them. “You guys fucking suck.”
They both laughed.
“So, do you know anything about your future bride?” Christian asked, leaning forward to try and steal a fry off Luca’s plate. His brother slapped his hand away before he was able to without looking up, making Christian scowl.
“Nope. Nothing. Not a thing.”
“Seriously?” Luca frowned. “You didn’t look her up online or anything?”
I’d debated it, but in the end, decided not to.
Why?
Because I wanted a little fucking mystery for once. Everything in my life had become so predictable. Boring. I wanted something different. A little suspense.
“Nope.” I took another sip of my beer, the bubbly liquid tickling down the back of my throat. “I just hope she’s at least got a sense of humor.” She was going to need one with what I had planned.
Luca pushed his plate away and patted his stomach contentedly.
He watched his brother continue to fidget, an almost knowing glint in his eyes, and lips turned up slightly as if he was trying not to laugh.
“It’s just a marriage on paper, right?” he asked, diverting his attention back to me.
“I mean, if she doesn’t like you, at least you can have sex with other women. ”
I chose not to acknowledge his words, instead switching the conversation to Christian’s constant fidgeting.
“Dude. What is going on with you?”
“I don’t know,” he all but groaned, scratching at himself. “My balls are so itchy.”
Luca snickered, covering his mouth. “Maybe it’s from that chick you hooked up with last night.”
“Fuck you, asshole. You know I don’t ride bareback.”
“Or…maybe…just maybe…someone put poison ivy on your underwear as payback for leaving a wild snake in their bed.”
Christian’s jaw dropped open in outrage. “You didn’t,” he breathed.
“Snake?” I questioned, trying to contain my laughter.
Luca’s eyes snapped to me, burning with anger. “I hate snakes, and that fucker knows it,” he said, whipping up an accusatory finger at his brother.
“How was that any different from when you put a tarantula in the bathroom while I was taking a shower?!”
“Herbet wouldn’t have hurt you. That snake could have killed me! Wrapped around my throat while I was sleeping and strangled me to death, or something even more sinister.”
I pinched my lips together to stop myself from bursting into a fit of laughter. “H-herbet?”
Christian thumped a hand on the table angrily while his other one scratched at his groin vigorously. “That moron decided to keep it. Keep the fucking spider that’s as big as your hand. Brought it a goddamn tank and everything.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second,” I said, holding up a hand. “Tarantulas are okay, but snakes aren’t?” I asked Luca.
“Snakes. Have. No. Legs.”
“Spiders have too many legs. What the hell is wrong with you?!” Christian seethed.
“What’s wrong with you?!” Luca blasted back.
The twins broke out into a full-blown argument, and I just sat back and enjoyed the show.
In a way, it reminded me so much of Illayana and me.
I couldn’t help but grow a little nostalgic.
I sat there, soaking it all up and enjoying it as their fight escalated, both of them getting to their feet to yell at each other.
It wasn’t until a few minutes had gone by and I heard a song—“Moves like Jagger”—hit the air that my attention finally shifted, and I turned around.
Illayana was standing next to the DJ booth, a mischievous glint in her eyes as the song intro continued. She flicked her head, signaling for me to join her. I rolled my eyes as if the idea of doing so was nothing but a chore when, in actuality, excitement buzzed through my veins.
I got to my feet, leaving Christian and Luca to continue their bickering, and started making my way over to the little makeshift dance floor.
I clicked my fingers, bopping along to the beat of the music, and Illayana did the same until we met in the middle and then we broke out into our routine—a dance from when we were kids.
After my mother died and my father left to track down her killers, life in the Volkov household was rough.
We were all grieving. Suffering. And it seemed like life would never get any better.
Illayana and I were inseparable during those first few years.
We leaned on each other. Supported each other. Helped each other through the loss.
One of the things we liked to do was come up with silly little dance routines and perform them for Aleksandr and Nikolai because it made them laugh.
It wasn’t a cure. The furthest thing from it. But for those few minutes, the hurt over losing our mother had stopped.
Illayana and I weaved around each other, hiking our thumbs over our shoulders as our bodies swayed side to side.
We transitioned effortlessly into the next move, and then the next and the next, doing all those silly, embarrassing dance moves from back in the 90s.
The running man, the butterfly, even the fucking cabbage patch.
Clapping, cheering, and whooping came from the crowd that had slowly started to gather around us.
I grabbed Illayana’s hands and started spinning us like Jack and Rose in Titanic. Her head fell back and she laughed, squealing as I spun us faster and faster. It was the most fun I’d had in a long time, the smile on my face so big my cheeks started to hurt.
The routine itself was only thirty seconds long, so, once we’d finished it, we began to pull people in from the crowd to dance with us.
Everyone joined in. Sitting at a table not far from the dance floor were my father, siblings, and their partners.
Nikolai helped Tatiana to her feet, one hand on her belly, and guided her over, the two of them doing a slow dance despite the fact that the beat of the music was definitely not designed for such dancing.
Drea dragged Aleksandr up, the grumpy look on his face speaking volumes.
He didn’t fight her as she bounded over excitedly on the tips of her toes, dragging him along.
She just danced in circles around him while he watched her, completely bewitched.
Autumn wiggled her eyebrows at my father. He shook his head. She calmly moved to a stand and held out her hand. He sighed, rolling his eyes before placing his hand in hers. They made their way over, joining in.
Arturo snuck up behind Illayana, wrapping his arms around her waist. She giggled, leaning her body back into his. Illayana turned to face him, and they got completely lost in one another, the rest of the world just fading away from them.
It was a sickenly beautiful family moment.
I should have known it wasn’t going to last, though.