6. Arsen
6
ARSEN
“We should’ve hidden the knives.”
Polina peeks through the front windows the same way she’s done multiple times per hour since I first told her I was bringing Laila and Nina home. “You’d deserve it.”
“On second thought,” I say, “maybe I should hide the knives from you, too.”
She sniffles proudly. “As long as you treat that girl well, you have nothing to worry about from me.”
I don’t say it, but even by that metric, I might have something to worry about.
Headlights turn through the main gate, and Kira appears behind Polina, poking her head over her shoulder to see through the front door. “Dominik just texted. They’re almost here.”
“Finally. I thought they’d be here hours ago,” Polina grumbles.
“She stopped to see Marie first.”
Not that either one of my men had given me any explanation. They were supposed to bring Nina and Laila straight from the airport to my doorstep. But, considering the circumstances, I’m willing to let this small act of insubordination slide. Call it an olive branch.
But as the gates open and the Escalade purrs up the drive, I have a sense my olive branch is about to be set on fire and flung straight back at my head.
Gedeon is the first one out. Polina and Kira pull him in for hugs. He nods at me from between their shoulders. The last couple months have left his hair shaggy and a dusting of stubble on his jawline. His eyes have changed, too, though fuck me if I can figure out how, exactly.
Before I can say anything, Dominik walks around the car and opens the back door.
And my breath stops.
She slips out in slow motion. A peek of her foot. A length of calf. Then the rest of her. She’s wearing jeans and a black t-shirt that clings to curves I can’t stop tracing. When she finally turns to face me, she tosses her hair over her shoulder. It’s shorter than it was when she left, framing a face that looks none too happy to see me.
Then she turns away and reaches into the backseat.
She comes back with a rosy-cheeked baby, head full of auburn hair and the brightest green eyes I’ve ever seen.
“Nina…” I whisper.
I stayed busy the last few months—distracted myself with work and lies that what I was doing was best for all of us—but now, the weight of it all comes crashing down on my shoulders. I feel every second of the time we lost hanging from me, dragging me down.
Polina and Kira surround Laila and Nina, swallowing them in a barrage of hugs and kisses and excited squeals.
I stand marooned in the doorway, unwilling to leave, but equally unwilling to walk down there and pull her into my arms like I desperately want to. I’m not prepared for what it will feel like for her to shove me away.
“How’d it go with Marie?” I ask gruffly as Dom and Ged join me.
“Emotional,” Dominik offers.
I roll my eyes. “What vital info. Glad to know I have eyes and ears on the inside.”
But I know exactly what he means. It’s the reason I got her back on the first available flight. There’s no telling how much longer Marie will be with us, and despite what Laila probably thinks, I wanted her to be able to say goodbye.
“She’s drained, Arsen,” he warns. “I wouldn’t try anything today.”
“And what exactly do you think I’d try?”
I’m only partially asking for ideas. I’ve spent so long forcing myself to keep Laila out of reach that I’m truly not sure what to do with her now that she’s back.
He shrugs. “I’m just sayin’.”
As Laila makes it through her crowd of admirers and heads towards the house, Gedeon and Dom have a sudden and violent need for water. They rush past me and into the house.
Cowards.
I could step to the side and give her the choice of breezing past without acknowledging me, but that’s not really a choice for me. So I place myself in her path, blocking the door.
Laila stops in front of me, her gaze slowly rising to mine like she’s giving me time to second-guess my decision and get the fuck out of her way.
“Arsen.” Her voice is cold. An icy, frigid, even-the-penguins-need-fucking-parkas kind of cold.
“You must be hungry.”
“I’m not,” she answers curtly. “I just want to turn in for the night.”
“Polina spent the whole day planning dinner.” No offense to Polina, but I care less about that and more about how much I was counting on that hour of dinner to help break the ice.
“I’ll take something in my room. Is that okay, Pol?” She turns to Polina, and just like that, the ice thaws and the sun comes out.
Apparently, I’m the only one getting the cold shoulder.
Polina nuzzles Nina’s chubby cheek and nods. “Of course, lovely. Whatever you like.”
“You and Kira can join me if you’d like.” Laila turns back to me, the softness in her face disappearing altogether. “Is there anything else?”
“Actually, ye?—”
“Then it’ll have to wait. I’m too tired to discuss anything now.”
She maneuvers around me without actually touching me. As Polina approaches with Nina in her arms, I reach for her.
“Nina’s hungry,” Laila calls back, surprising even Polina. “And it’s past her bedtime. I need to feed her and put her down for bed.”
Translation: I don’t want you going near my daughter.
Dominik’s warning rings in my head. I decide not to push my luck today.
The women proceed through the house, and I watch my daughter until they turn a corner and she’s gone.
“Fucking Christ on a cracker, man.” Dominik’s voice carries from the shadows of the hallway. “That was a trainwreck.”
“Thanks for pointing out the obvious,” I mutter.
“Well, what did you expect?”
He follows me into my office, and I “accidentally” hit him with the door as I try to close it. He yelps, but rolls his eyes.
Gedeon is already sitting in front of my desk, nursing a glass of bourbon. “On a scale of one to Laila is currently in her room summoning a vengeance demon, how bad was it?”
“A solid eight. Drawing the pentagrams as we speak, I’d imagine.”
Gedeon groans. “I was hoping for some rest once we finally got back here, but looks like I’ll be manning the fucking windows again.”
I snatch the glass from in front of him and down it, enjoying the burn. “What does that mean?”
“She was in the process of her third escape attempt the night you called,” he explains. “I never let on, but she was getting pretty sneaky there by the end. A couple more tries, and she might’ve slipped away.”
I consider how I’d react to a call that Gedeon lost Laila and immediately stop considering it. I don’t want to murder one of my best friends, so it’s best not to dwell on the possibility.
“Where was she trying to go?”
“Back here is my best guess.” Gedeon shrugs. “She wanted to be with her mother. For obvious reasons.”
I don’t miss the judgmental glares I get from both my vory .
“If you want to look at anyone like that, look at Alessandro Calcagno,” I spit. “He was the reason she couldn’t be here. Now, things can go back to normal.”
“Speaking of normal…” Gedeon clears his throat. “Did you read her new contract?”
I grit my teeth. Speaking of killing one of my best friends, I was close to doing exactly that when I got that email from him this morning.
“That’s not a contract—it's a joke.”
“It’s a joke she’s pretty serious about. She’s not going to let it go.”
“Aside from the name-calling, it looked pretty official,” Dominik adds.
“You’ve read it?”
He wriggles uncomfortably. “She sent me a copy to proofread.”
I slam my fist on the table. “Delete the damn thing. No, actually, print it up and use it to wipe your ass with.”
Dominik purses his lips. “I can do whatever you want me to do with it. But I’m not the one that matters.”
I pour myself a glass of Gedeon’s bourbon.
Unfortunately, he has a point there.