26. Domenic
“Fuck.”
I sit up sharply. Igor’s head has just bounced off the glass of the diner’s window.
Mackenzie and Tino pay attention, too.
“Do we go in there?” Tino asks.
I grit my teeth. “Just give it a minute.”
Kirill and his father both get to their feet. Grigoriy Stepanov puts his hand out to his son, and, after a moment of hesitation, Kirill shakes it. His father pulls him in closer, and smacks Kirill on the back.
“It’s okay.” I let out a breath. “He’s okay.”
Grigoriy and Igor both leave, but I don’t miss the way Igor shoots Kirill a backward glance full of hate.
Tino must have spotted it, too. “That man does not think much of Kirill.”
“Perhaps Igor’s jealous,” I comment. “He wishes he was Grigoriy’s son.”
Tino snorts. “More fool, him.”
We stay put, waiting for the two men to reach the huge, black tank of a vehicle Grigoriy drives. They both climb in, and a moment later, the engine roars to life. They pull out into the street and drive away, garnering the attention of all the locals as they go.
We ought to get out of here, too. Maybe someone has called the police over that scene in the diner, and we don’t want to be hanging around when they arrive.
Kirill steps out of the diner. He pauses on the sidewalk, closes his eyes, and lets out a huge breath. Then he scrubs his hands over his face, and his shoulders slump. He opens his eyes again and spots the car. His eyebrows draw together, and he screws up his nose. That’s not quite the “happy to see us” reaction I was expecting. Usually, he’d be happy as fuck to see us after time with his father.
I throw open the driver’s door and climb out, using the open door to rest my forearms upon as I call out to him. “You’re still alive, then?”
Kirill cocks his head. “You thought I wouldn’t be?”
“It was fifty-fifty, to be fair, though me or Tino might kill you now after you sent that fucking text.”
A female voice comes from across the roof of the car where Mackenzie has also climbed out. “Or I might.”
Kirill spots her, and his entire expression changes. It’s like a light has gone on inside him, his normally cold blue eyes brightening. He doesn’t give a shit that Mackenzie has just said she might kill him, and, after hearing about her past, she actually might not be kidding.
“You came,” he says.
Fuck me, he’s only talking to her, not us. What the hell?
The rear door opens, and Tino gets out, too. “We all came. We weren’t going to let your father do something bad. We’re a team, remember? We stick together, no matter what, right, Kill-buddy?”
The light vanishes from Kirill’s eyes again, but he nods. “Of course. We are a team.”
“That text was pushing the fucking limit, though,” Tino says. “Do something like that again, and we’ll fuck you over ourselves.”
Kirill’s gaze tracks to the left then drops to the sidewalk, and he gives a perfunctory nod. “Understood.”
Why is he acting off? I’m about to say something more, but Mackenzie gets there first.
“Who wants to go for a swim?” she asks, clearly trying to lighten the mood.
I glance her way. “A swim? Where?”
“Duh, in one of the lakes, of course. It’s still warm enough. Come on. We could do with some fun.”
Tino nods. “Yeah, man. We could definitely do with some fun.”
I frown. “We don’t have any swimming gear with us.”
Mackenzie sends me a flirty little wink from over the top of the car. “Who says we need it?”
I don’t need any more convincing. “Yeah, let’s do it. We need to blow off some steam.”
“I have my car.” Kirill jerks his chin toward where he’s parked. “I will follow.”
“Sounds good.” I bang the roof of the car a couple of times with my palm. “Everyone back in. We’re going swimming.”
I know of a spot that’s midway between the town and Verona Falls. It’s secluded, with a small beach, and it’ll be perfect for what we want. I wonder why we haven’t done this more—gotten out of the confines of the university campus—but then I remember why. Mack’s been hiding out, and even now there’s a possibility some asshole is out to get her. It’s hard to imagine anything bad happening to her like this, though. It’s a beautiful day, and she’s with all of us. There’s no way we’re going to let anything bad happen.
Besides, she’s the one who suggested we do this, so she can’t be worried either.
I pull onto Main Street and glance in the rearview mirror to check Kirill is behind me. I’m still kind of pissed at that text, but I’m also relieved he’s in one piece, and it looks as though he’s sorted shit out with his dad. None of us wants Grigoriy fucking Stepanov hanging around—my father included. That man is bad news. Hopefully, he’ll return home to Russia now.
The drive is pretty, with the fall leaves on the turn, and I glance over to where Mack sits in the passenger seat, her chin propped on her palm, watching the scenery go past. We reach the turn off, and I signal before turning off the road and onto a track. Things get a little bumpy—this car is definitely not designed for off roading—and the track narrows, with trees and bushes either side. I hope my dad won’t notice any scrapes to the paintwork.
Finally, it opens up, and in front of us stretches the blue expanse of the lake. It doesn’t even have a name, just a number, like the settlers who first discovered this place gave up on naming the lakes because there were simply so many. Someone has built a little wooden jetty that sticks out across the water. The lake is so still, the bright colors of the foliage around it are reflected on the surface.
I stop the car, and Kirill pulls up beside me.
We all jump out.
“Wow, this is gorgeous,” Mackenzie says, beaming. “Why have we been stuck inside those cold stone walls for so long?”
She knows why, but none of us says it. We don’t want to ruin the suddenly jubilant mood that’s settled upon us. We kick off our shoes and prepare to rid ourselves of other clothes.
Tino lets out a whoop and runs toward the jetty, dragging off his t-shirt as he goes. I watch Mackenzie’s gaze widen as she takes in all the newly revealed tattoos that litter that Italian asshole’s body. He’s not going to get all the attention. I walk backward, heading toward the water as well. I’m focused on Mack, stealing her eye, and give a little shimmy.
She notices me and grins, and so I edge up the bottom of my t-shirt, like I’m giving her a striptease. Then I lower it and reach for the button of my jeans instead.
Behind me, Tino lands in the water with a splash. From somewhere nearby, birds launch into the air with a squawk and the crashing of leaves and branches.
Kirill comes charging out of nowhere, grabs Mackenzie around the waist, and hauls her onto his shoulder. She screams and batters his back, but she’s laughing, too.
“Put me down, you lunatic!”
But he doesn’t and instead runs with her to the end of the jetty and jumps in, still carrying her, fully clothed. Her scream turns into a shriek, and then silences as they both hit the water, narrowly missing Valentino.
A second later, their wet heads emerge from the surface.
“Oh, my God,” Mack yells, “you are so dead!” She drives her hands through the water, splashing Kirill full in the face.
I can’t help it. I erupt in laughter watching them, until I realize I’m missing out on Mackenzie soaking wet and continue to tear off my clothes.
“Incoming,” I yell as I run forward and launch off the jetty, my knees tucked to my chest. Water explodes around me, and then I’m under, my hearing becoming hollow, my eyes squeezed shut. The cold punches me in the chest. I taste the silty grit of the lake water on my tongue, and my toes find the dank, muddy bottom. I use it to gain some purchase and then push upward, toward the light.
My head breaks the surface, and drops of water immediately hit me in the face as the others all splash me.
“Oh, it’s like that, huh?” I say and give as good as I get.
We’re all laughing and splashing each other. It’s fucking freezing, but none of us cares. The smile on Mackenzie’s face is like nothing I’ve seen before. She positively glows, even though her hair is wet around her face, and her mascara has run, her laughter still fills the air. It’s the best fucking sound I’ve ever heard, and something flips in my brain. I might not be able to get enough of hearing Mack when she comes, but I swear hearing her laugh like this beats that. I want to hear that laughter every day. Maybe if I do, it’ll heal the part of me that’s broken.
I can’t remember the last time I experienced real joy, but this is it. Having fun with my two best mates and the woman we?—
I cut my thoughts off, not allowing myself to go there. I can’t go there. Ever.