22. Wynter
Wynter
I missed Bas and it had only been a few days.
The girls and I managed to pull off our plan, though I was hesitant to say our heist in Philadelphia was a success.
We followed the armored money truck from Priest's club to the gas station.
Ivy seduced the men and drugged them, then we stole it and drove it to Trenton, to the perfect spot at the Delaware River.
Slight hiccup happened.
Alexei and Sasha Nikolaev caught us red-handed, pushing the armored vehicle into the river. We almost shit our pants being cornered by Alexei and Sasha Nikolaev. Yeah, that was unexpected.
In retrospect, it was better that we were caught by the two of them and Davina’s sister rather than Priest. After all, he didn’t strike me as a forgiving man, especially considering we robbed him of forty million. Priest would have definitely read us our last rites.
A shudder rolled down my spine.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure who was scarier. Priest. Alexei Nikolaev. Or a slightly unhinged looking Sasha Nikolaev. Jesus, we dug ourselves deeper and deeper into the underworld. Uncle and Mom kept us out of it for twenty-one years and we managed to jump right in. Into the deep end.
But we handled it admirably. I think. Maybe?
Well, considering we never dealt with mobsters, I’d say we deserved a fucking medal. Though not sure if I’d earn a medal for dating the hottest kingpin. Yeah, I wouldn’t share that quite yet.
Uncle Liam was furious enough without divulging that little extra detail.
But at least he came clean with Jules. She deserved to know the truth about her real parents.
The fact that we weren’t blood related didn’t diminish the fact she was my cousin.
Nothing could take that away. Though it made me wonder - how much did they actually withhold from us?
Maybe it was all the stress from the last night that made my skating lousy. I’d been on the ice for the past two and a half hours and I only became worse at my jumps by the minute.
Usually when I hit the ice, I’d stop thinking. For me, it was all about instinct and feelings as I jumped and glided around the ice. It was such an exhilarating feeling of freedom that it was addictive.
Until recently. But today was especially bad.
With each heartbeat, my heart tugged at me, pushing me towards Bas and away from my mother and the ice.
I didn’t want to leave New York. All I could feel was anguish because my days at Yale were approaching the end. I knew the only way to stay with Bas was to hurt Mom.
I wanted to stay with him. I felt alive and happy around him.
I knew after my conversation with her while I was in Philly, she’d never consider moving here.
And I still sent her a text last night asking if we could continue our practices here in New York.
I couldn’t stop hoping. I didn’t want to disappoint her, and I didn’t want to leave Bas.
Her answer was immediate. My hope crushed.
So I’d poured all my frustration into skating. I worked on my technical elements - jumps, triple Salchows, spins, more jumps. I pumped my heart, hoping I’d burn this brimming feeling inside me that I hated.
Helplessness.
I turned my body around to skate backwards as fast as possible so I could go into a triple Lutz. That particular jump always made me feel better. Yet, as I flew through the air, I knew I fucked it up. Yet again. My weight was off; my speed was off; my fucking mind was off.
I landed. Barely. My leg gave out the moment my skates hit the ice. My body tried to compensate and bear the weight. It felt like falling on fucking concrete. In all my years of skating, I had never fallen as many times as I had today.
Blaming exhaustion was pointless. I’d skated with less sleep before. It was my mind that was fucking me all up. Well, my mind and heart.
Sprawled over the ice, I rolled over and stared at the ceiling. It was pointless to keep going. My head was elsewhere. So was my heart. But how do I explain that to my mother? Basilio DiLustro was known to be part of the Syndicate and my mother hated anything to do with that kind of life.
She wouldn’t cave in for her brother; she certainly wouldn’t for a mere stranger.
Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to have her run away from the underworld.
Now that Uncle Liam confirmed Jules and Killian weren’t his biological children, I couldn’t help but wonder what other secrets lurked in our pasts.
Somehow, I didn’t think the story ended there.
My gut feeling warned there were big things Uncle Liam and Mom had kept us in the dark about.
Davina showed up next to me and lowered to her knees. Sometimes I’d use her to record me so I could spot my mistakes when I went through the videos. I wouldn’t have to watch this one because every single move I’ve done for the past two hours was a major fuck up.
“Wynter, how about you take a break?” she suggested. “No sense in bruising your entire body. We had a long night yesterday. You just need a good day of rest.”
I stared up at the ceiling. It was so much more than a good day of rest that I needed, but I didn’t want to divulge that to Davina.
She kept enough secrets on our behalf from her husband.
Davina and Uncle Liam . Who would have thought it?
I was thrilled for them but I was still coming to terms with it.
“Yeah,” I agreed. There was no solution to my predicament. At least not one that wouldn’t upset someone. Either I break my mother’s heart, or I break my own and Bas’.
Davina took my face between her palms, her gray eyes locking on me. “What’s the matter?” she asked softly. “Is it the money we stole?”
A heavy sigh slipped through my lips and a cloud of hot breath dusted through the cold air. You’d think our heists would be my problem and dealing with the mobsters. The Nikolaev mobsters.
But no, something as simple as continuing my career on the East Coast versus the West Coast was my problem.
“Is it about your guy?” Davina whispered, glancing around as if to ensure nobody could hear us. When I didn’t answer, she continued, “School? About what happened yesterday?”
I just nodded. “I’m glad it all worked out yesterday. And we met your sister.”
It was better if I left her thinking it was about that. We got caught. Uncle Liam just about lost his shit.
Shifting my head, I focused on the ceiling again, worry swarming my mind. Why couldn’t I stay on the East Coast? Derek, my skating partner, could relocate here for a bit and I could have skating, Bas, and my friends. After all, the property we want to buy for the school would be on this coast.
“Tell me, Wyn,” Davina interrupted my scattered thoughts. “I’m worried about you.”
A heavy sigh slipped through my lips. I dug my skates, picking at the ice as I folded my legs. “I don’t want to go back to California,” I admitted. “My mom won’t come-”
Finding another coach wasn’t an option. Not that I could afford it.
My inheritance wouldn’t kick in until I was twenty-five or married.
But even more importantly, I couldn’t do that to my mother.
The Olympic gold was for her as much as for me.
It was her dream to skate but a freak accident while she was pregnant with me had fucked up her knee and she could never recover.
She never talked about it, but it damaged her more than physically.
It killed my father. The details were vague and I never asked her again about what happened, seeing the pain on my mother’s face.
Though, I always pondered on it. She said her accident happened in New York but refusing to visit your hometown for twenty years seemed a bit extreme. Unless, there was more to it.
There had to be more to it. What had really happened? Was it connected to the death of Juliette’s parents and Uncle’s best friends?
“I see.” Davina’s gaze met mine, and somehow, I sensed she saw more than I wanted her to.
Slapping my hands on the ice, I grunted softly as I got onto my feet, balancing on my blades. It was then that I spotted Bas at the exit of the rink. He looked almost out of place, dressed in his dark three-piece-suit and his coal dark hair that glistened like he just took a shower.
Our eyes connected and butterflies fluttered in my belly as warmth spread through my chest. I just couldn’t give him up. I loved him. So fucking much that I didn’t feel whole without him.
“Your Bas is here,” Davina announced unnecessarily. I acknowledged her, keeping my eyes on Bas and my lips curved into a smile for the first time since I woke up today. He made me happy.
“Well, at least he can get you off the ice,” she teased. “Your triple Salchows can wait.”
I didn’t bother correcting her that my last jump was a 3L. Instead, we headed towards the short wall surrounding the rink.
“Ouch,” I mumbled under my breath. Now that adrenaline wasn’t pumping through my veins, I could feel the ache in my muscles and bones. Falling on the ice was a bitch.
“You're taking my Jeep, right?” I asked, rubbing my left hip as we approached the gate, and where my skate guards were.
“Yes.” She’d go back to Uncle Liam and then they’d go see Davina’s grandfather to announce the news of their marriage. I was happy for them, though a tad bit envious. “He’s hot,” she added quietly.
“He’s great.” So much more than just hot. So thoughtful and kind. Even his crazy psychotic ways made me swoon over him.
Once we reached him, Davina greeted him. “Hello.”
“Hello,” he greeted her back in a deep voice, but his eyes never left me. I loved the way he watched me. Intense. Consuming. Possessive.
“I’ll talk to you later, Wyn.” Davina pressed a kiss on my cheek and my eyes looked her way.
“Sounds good,” I said. Davina headed out and I returned my eyes back to Bas. “You’re early,” I murmured softly.
He grabbed my nape, threading his fingers into my hair, and then buried his face in my neck inhaling deeply.
“I missed you,” he rasped.
A masculine noise of satisfaction vibrated through his chest and I could feel it deep down between my thighs.
“I missed you too,” I admitted. God, I can’t leave him . Just the thought of it made my heart ache and made me want to scream in agony.
He glanced behind me. “What made you want to ice skate?”
I shrugged my shoulders. I should tell him it was for competitions, what I’d always done, but for some reason I didn’t feel like it. I liked that he didn’t know who I was and he still loved me.
“I used to skate in college,” he added and my eyes widened. “Hockey,” he clarified.
“The fearless kingpin played hockey,” I mused incredulously. “When did you have time to play? And why aren’t the reporters all over that one?” I teased.
He nipped my bottom lip. “In the morning, I’d practice. Then at night, I was the kingpin. Unless there was a game.”
A soft chuckle vibrated in my chest. “That sounds like a busy schedule.” I glanced around. The rink was still empty and I had an idea. “Want to skate?” I asked. “I know where they hide the skates.”
“Principessa, are you suggesting I steal the skates?” he retorted, pretending to be shocked.
“We’ll just borrow them,” I justified. “I won’t let you fall and we’ll keep your impeccable suit intact.”
He chuckled. “I’m not worried.”
Ten minutes later, we were both on ice. His black skates against my white ones.
My leggings and loose shirt compared to his three-piece suit.
We probably looked ridiculous; I didn’t care.
My heart sang as he held my hand, as if he was worried I’d fall and I couldn’t help grinning at his thoughtfulness.
“You’re surprisingly stable on your skates,” he complimented, the deep timbre of his voice seeping into my soul.
I grinned. Maybe I could impress him and fly through the air. Or maybe not, since I’ve landed more on my ass than on my feet today. Still, this was too much fun.
“So are you, Mr. Kingpin.” It was slightly silly because he was still wearing his three-piece-suit. He pulled it off with panache though. This man could do no wrong. At least not in my eyes.
He was graceful, dangerous, and fascinating all in one. My own romantic villainous kingpin.
I raised my eyes and watched him, while my chest filled with warmth. He cocked an eyebrow, as if asking if everything was okay and my heart fluttered like a butterfly captured in a jar. Except I was his willing victim.
His arms wrapped around my waist and he lifted me up like I weighed nothing. My hands came around his neck and our lips met, as my body pressed against his. I wasn’t experienced with relationships but these feelings… I wanted to see where they took us.
There was something comfortable and easy about being with him.
Even better than the exhilarating feeling I had from the moment I stepped on the ice.
Reporters and newscasters called me an ice princess.
A natural on the ice, like I was born on it.
But not even that compared to these feelings I had for Bas.
Our tongues slid against each other, his mouth consuming me and kissing me deeper. I moaned and he swallowed it, then nipped my bottom lip.
“Ready to go home?” he murmured against my lips. Home . Yes, I was ready to go home. With him. And see this through. Regardless if it ended in a fairy tale or a broken heart because there was one thing I knew would be even worse. To wonder for the rest of my life whether I lost my chance at love.
I nodded my response.
He skated backwards and I followed. I remembered his words from before. I’ll always follow . I’d always follow him too, because he was mine as much as I was his.
It was at the very moment I decided I’d stay with him.
Basilio DiLustro engraved himself on my flesh, into my marrow, and I couldn’t let go.