Chapter 33 – Harley
“ W ho’s truck and trailer is that?” Grandma pointed through the front windshield.
“Probably one of Marta’s boys,” Grandpa groused, rolling the Camry to a stop. “They wanted to take some of the horses to their southern field, lower the grass before rifle opener.”
I chewed on my cheek. This close to the fall deer hunting season, it wasn’t smart to keep horses or cattle in the open fields. But it wasn’t like I could tell my aunt no if she wanted to take her father-in-law’s horses.
She’s not taking any of mine.
Preparing myself for a fight, I stabbed the release and the seatbelt went flying.
“No, Glen was in church. He would have said if Marta was coming over with the rest of the family,” Grandma countered.
Irritation radiated off my grandfather. “I don’t know that man. He looks like a hoodlum.”
Heart jumping, I cut my gaze to the truck, where a lean figure sauntered around the front of the big diesel truck. He might not be built as broad as his brother, but he sure as hell cut an imposing image. That smirk carved across his face was deceptive.
“That’s alright, I know him,” I said, cracking open my door and jumping out before my grandfather put the vehicle in park.
“Harley!” Lucas—no! Luka called. “I want you to meet my wife, Victoria.”
A woman about my age hurried forward. Wild curls framed her face. I could just hear my grandma groaning about her attire. The combat boots were kickass, but the fishnet tights, black shorts, graphic tee, and flannel cut a very rockstar-punk look.
I instantly liked her. “Hi, Victoria, welcome!”
She pulled me into an immediate hug. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Our Cami Joe admires the hell out of you.”
Surprised pleasure trickled through me. “She’s a wonderful person.”
My grandparents chose that moment to wander over, and a round of introductions ensued. I hoped that the neighbors wouldn’t notice the sideways glances or the tightness in my grandparents’ comments. They didn’t even give the neighbors a chance to make an impression.
“That’s some trailer you’ve got there, boy,” Grandpa observed.
I pleaded with anything listening to my mental anguish that he could stop being so grumpy. It was wishful thinking at this point.
“Thank you, sir! I was wondering if I could impose on your granddaughter for a job this afternoon.” Something in Luka’s blue eyes twinkled.
Victoria gave me a side squeeze, as if she could sense my nerves. “It was my idea actually.”
“We have family coming over for a barbeque, I’m afraid Harley will have to decline,” my grandfather stated.
Already, I could hear one of my cousin’s rice-rockets popping and backfiring on the road. Just because they put on a loud, obnoxious exhaust did not make the cheap car fast.
“What did you need, Lucas?” I stressed the name, which only made him smirk harder.
“I’ve got a couple of nieces who would just love a pony,” Luka explained. The way he spoke would have made him a prime candidate for drama school. “Their mom and dad won’t consider the addition to our family, so I thought I would do the next best thing and rent one for the day.”
“Oh, that could be nice for Harley,” Grandma started to say, but my grandfather interrupted her.
“Like I said, Harley is busy with family obligations today. Now why don’t you take that fancy rig and—”
I cut off my grandfather. “I’d be happy to saddle up my pony and bring her over.”
The skin around Grandpa’s neck was growing red. But frankly, I didn’t see the problem with the neighbor’s request. It was my animal, and my grandfather was being a grump.
And…I didn’t want to see the family. The barbeque was sprung on me at church. Grandma looked so damn exhausted when Aunt Beatrice said she was coming over with some of the others. While I certainly didn’t want to disappoint my grandma, I also didn’t feel like ruining my weekend with an influx of the relatives. They weren’t supposed to be around, so it wasn’t like they would miss me if I wasn’t.
If they’d wanted to hang out, they could have messaged—any of them—the last eight weeks. Why should I be tied here to their plans?
“Actually,” Victoria added, “we were hoping you could bring a mare too, and give us ladies some riding lessons. It won’t make us skilled horsewomen, but I’m looking to score major brownie points with the family.”
“It’s okay if you want to go, Harley,” Grandma offered.
The objection was on the tip of my grandpa’s tongue, but the neighbor spoke up quickly.
“And we’ll pay. Handsomely.” Luka jerked his eyebrows up and down. “I’m talking insane. Especially—” he drawled like some Southern debutant “—since we’re interrupting a barbeque.”
“Oh, you don’t have to pay,” I rushed to add. “I’m happy to share.”
“No, no, we want to hire you, Harley. Riding lessons this afternoon and use of the horses,” Victoria insisted, looking at my speechless grandparents. “Sorry to disrupt family barbeque.”
She didn’t sound very sorry.
I had to turn to the side to hide my smile.
“Two grand, and I won’t take your refusal.” Luka clapped his hands together.
“Is this some kind of joke?” Grandpa boomed.
My jaw nearly hit the floor. “That’s too much—”
But Victoria cut off my protest. “The top riding instructors make mid-six figures a year, that comes out to sixty thousand a month, which comes out to an average of two grand a day.”
“I’m not a top riding instructor,” I protested.
My grandpa snorted, but grandma smacked him with her handbag.
“But you are important to us,” Luka said, and I heard something else, loud and clear, under his words.
My gaze narrowed, but that only made him smile more.
The Honda Civic rolled into the drive, and Drake, Dallas, and Duke jumped out of the vehicle. They scurried over, sensing the juicy situation unfolding in the front drive.
“Let’s go get the horses.” I tugged Victoria’s hand and exited the too-loud interactions. Luka seemed quite comfortable in the face of my obnoxious male cousins. I didn’t know him well, but I would guess he had no problems handling himself in a confrontation.
The soft scent of hay and animals wrapped around me as we pushed into the barn. I grabbed pieces of tack, handing them to Victoria.
“You’re not offended that we’re paying?” she questioned gently.
I snorted. “That kind of money will make life much easier. I can’t afford to be offended.”
“Cami said your family drives you nuts. Every time you talk about them, you get flustered.” Victoria ran her fingertips over the stall rails. “I can see why.”
“That’s a very bold statement,” I countered. They were my family after all. I should be bothered by her criticism. But as three more crappy vehicles pulled up outside, and the cackle of voices grew louder, I couldn’t help but begrudgingly admit they were right.
“Actually, we wanted to meet Cami’s roommate before she goes through with this idea to switch dorms on us.” Victoria turned to face me. “Imagine our surprise when the little minx told us who you were.”
“She said Lucas knew I was on campus.” I crossed my arms.
“He did, but he also had no idea you two were such good friends. We’re very protective of our Cami Joe. We wanted her to commute, but she dug her heels in and insisted it was safer to live on campus than drive every day.”
It was time to address the elephant in the room. “And this has nothing to do with what happened over the summer? With Kole?”
Kolya…. His real name is Kolya.
Victoria sighed. “My husband’s brother is an odd duck. And coming from our family, that’s saying something. Whatever happened between you two, we don’t really know the details. Kole is…quiet.”
My chest pinched tight at those words. Kole was different, but that was what made him so special—special to me.
Don’t think about him. Not right now. I fisted my hands, digging my nails into my palms.
“So this is about Cami and the university,” I insisted.
Victoria nodded. “Promise. Life is funny like that, making you two roommates. Of all the people….”
Her smile was genuine. I could read it as plain as day.
“Alright, so how many nieces do you have? We want to win major brownie points, so I think a pony a piece if we can swing it.”
“Two—a two-and-a-half-year-old and the other is a year next month,” Vivian said enthusiastically.
I gave her a dry look. “Can the one-year-old even walk?”
She gave me a sheepish look. “Not yet.”
“Okay—” I blew out a long breath. “We’ll bring two mares and one pony. An adult will have to ride with her.”
“Probably you. None of us have much experience on horseback.”
“Except my brother,” Luka chuckled bounding into the barn. “But don’t worry,” he added quickly, seeing the emotion I couldn’t keep off my face. “He’s not in town to show us all up.”
I rolled my eyes. “We went on a sum total of three rides last summer. That hardly counts as riding experience.”
“Well…I’m not going to risk his ire by revealing his secrets but let me ask a simple question.” Luka rubbed his jaw, laughter making his face bright, even in the muted light of the barn. “Did he seem exceptionally capable the first time you took him riding?”
I shut the gate behind Lilac and glared at him. “Not that I want to talk about your brother, but yes, he was capable and a fast learner.”
“Uh, huh. And that didn’t seem odd to you?” Luka smirked.
“Are you telling me that your brother is a big fat liar?” I kept from raising my voice, but only barely. This was too much, this was all too damn much!
“There are two things you need to know about Kole.” Luka held up his fingers to demonstrate the point. “One, he would never lie. But the man has more secrets than the ancient mystics. And two, he would never hurt you, Harley.”
But he did.
I handed the lead rope to Victoria. My voice was hoarse with the emotions I struggled to suppress. “Her name is Lilac. Why don’t you two get to know each other, while I go catch a pony?”
“I can help!” Luka offered excitedly.
I was tempted to hand him the bucket of grain treats. The horses would trample his dumb ass trying to get to the goodies, I could see it play out in my mind’s eye.
But two things stopped me.
I didn’t want my family laughing at the cidiot. And I heard yet another vehicle pull up. This was my escape from family time full of side comments and mean observations poorly concealed under blanket statements. The sooner we left, the better.
“Next time,” I offered and went to bring in the animals from the pasture.
***
“Look at you go, Katya!” Vivian whooped.
It was Vivian, not Victoria. The moment the wild-haired woman found out I knew everyone’s true name, she quickly had me start using hers. Luka apparently gave her the name on the drive up, and she loathed it. While the fact that they used false identities was beyond weird, they painted a beautiful family picture. There was nothing fake about the way they interacted.
I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Kazimir leading Lilac, while his wife and baby daughter rode around the yard. If Luka knew he would spend four hours leading his two-year-old niece around on the dappled pony, it was doubtful that would have stopped him. The uncle was in his element! He never complained.
It was the easiest two grand I’d ever made, and part of me felt guilty for the money sitting in my tote bag on the front seat of the Passat. But I knew what I was worth, and the family didn’t seem to be stretched thin to offer the amount.
Cami Joe trotted over on the painted gelding. Her sister launched out of the folding chair and hurried to take her turn. I watched Brittany climb on the back of the horse and ride off to do a lap around the property.
“This was the most amazing weekend ever,” Cami gushed, grabbing the water bottle Vivian offered. “I can’t thank you two enough!”
“I’m glad to hear it, roomie,” I smiled.
At the same time, Vivian chirped, “You’re welcome!”
I for one appreciated that the Kolya talk had been kept to a minimum. The whole family seemed to have an unspoken understanding that I was here as Cami’s friend and not as Kolya’s summer fling. They’d welcomed me with open arms. Having the horses as a distraction really helped.
“I don’t want to pack up and go home,” I sighed. “Today has been lovely.”
“That’s because tomorrow you have to drive back to campus,” Cami laughed. “How about we open another bottle of red, and enjoy a glass as the sun sets?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell the nineteen-year-old that she wasn’t old enough. But from what I’d gathered, the family wasn’t all born here. The grandmother was from Italy. The step-grandfather was from Russia of all places. They hadn’t come to the lake, but the way everyone talked about their later-in-life romance was full of awe and respect. It seemed that they governed the household as matriarch and patriarch, keeping their Old World traditions alive. This meant wine was served instead of water at meals, even at lunch when we ate hotdogs roasted on sticks. Plus…this was Wisconsin. Underage kids drank in bars all the time so long as consenting adults were present.
The reason it felt so strange to me was that Cami didn’t drink on campus. Her current roommates went out every weekend and many weeknights. But my little scholar friend did not.
“One glass,” I agreed.
Cami disappeared into the house.
“You’re good for her, you know that?” Vivian observed, watching Cami disappear. “She hasn’t had it easy, growing up, I mean. I know I speak for the others when I say that we’re grateful you’ve taken her under your wing at school.”
“The weirdest part,” I confided. “She’s young enough to be my daughter. Lots of girls around here get knocked up in high school.”
Vivian hummed in agreement. “Maybe that’s part of it, but I think you two have more of a friend dynamic than maternal.”
I let out a long breath. “Yeah.”
At that moment, the lumberjack pushed out of the house, his fiery wife close on his heels. Blood spiked in my veins. I should be used to Dimitri at this point, having spent the day around him. But just like when he first greeted me, my heart beat double time. This cousin was the spitting image of Kolya with a few minor exceptions. Dimitri didn’t have the silver scars littering his body, and the way he moved wasn’t…otherworldly. While my peripheral vision tricked me time and time again that it was Kolya, once I took a good hard look at the cousin, I knew. He wasn’t living stone like the gargoyle I couldn’t stop thinking about.
Dimitri and Laurel nodded as they went to the fire ring on the stone patio, falling into a pair of patio chairs and speaking in a foreign language. The lumberjack picked up his wife’s feet after a moment, slipped off the ankle booties, and began to give her a foot massage.
I looked away, the intimacy making my heart ache.
Cami Joe returned with a bottle under each arm, cups in one hand, and her phone in the other. “Becky, the girl I share a room with, called. I think it’s about switching the living situation around.”
“Is that happening so soon?” I choked.
“We are good at making things happen fast,” Vivian said, speaking very slowly, very calculated.
Cami had basically said the same thing. I chewed the inside of my cheek. What was with this family?
“Uh-huh.” I popped the cork on the wine and poured.
Vivian accepted hers with thanks, while Cami spoke rapidly into the phone. The moment her tone changed, both Vivian and I snapped our attention to her.
“Oh, shit,” the young girl breathed. “Okay, well thanks for letting me know.”
Her hands shook as she ended the call. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder without a moment’s hesitation. “Cami? What is it?”
A shuddered exhale left her lungs. “Ava disappeared.”
“The girl from the other suite?” I frowned.
Cami nodded. “She was hanging out with that blond guy. You’ve seen him around?”
I nodded, a sickening feeling twisting my stomach.
“Ever since the first night on campus, he’s been all over Ava. The rest of us can’t stand him, which only drove Ava into his arms,” Cami stammered. “Becky thinks he’s a trafficker. All the signs were there. She got drunk a few nights ago and laid the whole scenario out.”
“The night you crashed on my floor because you needed to sleep,” I clarified.
“Yeah,” Cami breathed. “The cops don’t believe them. They won’t do anything until Ava’s been gone long enough to be considered a missing person. But by that point, it would be too late.”
Words failed me. This had to be the worst news anyone could receive. While it was entirely possible something else happened to the young woman, I knew in my gut that this was the most likely scenario. There were flyers all over campus about human trafficking. Most students laughed it off as an unlikely occurrence. But the statistics didn’t lie. It happened more often than society wanted to believe.
While I scrambled to think of something comforting to say, Vivian had her arm above her head, flagging down the guys. Luka jogged over, the dappled pony prancing to keep up with his long strides. Zoey screamed with glee at the faster pace. Not even that adorable picture could soothe the distress from the terrible news.
“We need to call your brother,” Vivian said matter-of-factly.
The air left my lungs. The world swayed. Kole. Kolya. They needed to call him? I reached for the camping chair, only to have it tip from the clumsy grasp. Cami Joe pressed her fingers into my arm, and Vivian shot me a side look.
But she kept speaking to her husband. “Something happened at Cami’s school, to her classmate.”
“I understand.” Luka tossed us the lead rope and took off sprinting to the house. He shouted in a foreign language to his cousin, and the mountain of a man rose, Laurel hurrying barefoot after him.
“They’ll handle it,” Vivian assured Cami. To me, she added, “This type of situation is Kolya’s forte.”
I gathered the pony, trying and failing to grasp the situation. Vivian took Cami’s phone and followed her husband into the house. As they left, I took pity on the younger girl and bit my tongue. I didn’t need to unload my uncertainties and myriad of questions on her.
But Cami began to explain, answering my unspoken thoughts. “My family has a lot of secrets. They can do things the police can’t. Cousin Kolya, especially.”
Kolya would be around. Could I handle that? What would I say to him? I clenched my jaw tight and looked to the sky. Before I could shake into a puddle, I steeled my resolve. “Look, if we’re going to be roommates, I can’t let anything interrupt my focus. Including your cousin.”
Cami quickly shook her head. “It won’t. They call Kolya the Wraith. He’ll come into town, deal with this, and you’ll never know he’s there if you don’t want to.”
“As easy as that?” I scoffed.
Cami Joe nodded. “Yes.”
My emotions were a rollercoaster. I could see the man I’d grown fond of or I could let him pass. The access was right there. The ball was in my court.
“I don’t want to see him,” I decided quickly. Because I knew from the way my heart clenched tight that if given enough time, I would cave.
“Done,” Cami said. “I’ll let them know.”