Chapter 39 Violets #2
Anika’s fingers shook and bloody fingerprints smeared onto her gun safe, but she forced herself to reign in her adrenaline and her fears.
You can do this.
While her kills before this had gone according to plan, she would not be outsmarted by a man.
Bang!
Mikko’s firearm erupted in the stillness.
The bullet ripped past Anika, her safe still flashing red, and buried itself into the plaster a couple inches from her head. Debris and dust settled to the floor as they both stood there frozen.
“Relent,” he commanded, hands steady and form unwavering. A true predator on the hunt.
Four strides separated them.
It felt monumental and suffocating all at once.
Anika was a grown woman still tormented by her thirteen year old self’s trauma.
Gunshots still made her flinch despite her training. Blood marring her hands reminded her of her mother. And the panic settling inside her chest…well, that had been a long time companion right alongside of rage.
She’d tried to overwrite it all with new memories, empowering actions, but some wounds took too long to fucking heal.
“It’s useless, Anika, I changed the passcode,” Mikko’s voice rang out above the eerie quiet. It’d only be a matter of time before one of her neighbors called the police to report a disturbance.
“What?”
“Your gun safe.”
“How the fuck did you do that?”
“My obsessive tendencies eventually pay off.” A glimmer of something else flashed across his eyes, his hair tousled and his chest heaving. It was almost as if he was vouching for a younger version of himself too.
“Shoot me then, “ she crossed her arms, “get it over with.”
“I have a better idea, malyshka.” He waved the gun, motioning for her to walk. “Let’s take this back downstairs, shall we?”
Her spine was ramrod straight, her senses on high alert, but there was nothing she could do at this very moment.
Cooperate, assess, then act, her brain chanted.
“Eager to check back in on Levi?” she goaded. The soles of her feet stung with each step, her arm felt inflamed from the flesh wound, and her brain felt swollen inside her skull. Shock was the only thing keeping her pain at bay and her body in motion.
“Despite his shortcomings, he’s more helpful to me alive than dead,” Mikko said, falling into step behind her. The press of his gun to her back had her thoughts scattering.
“Makes one of us,” she muttered dryly.
“Even after all this, you cling to your sarcasm. How cute.” He prodded her when she hesitated at the top of the steps.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Her feet touched the first tread and within a few short seconds she stood in her dark foyer.
“Cristiano visited your mom,” Mikko said, the words sitting like a rock in her gut.
“She was all too eager to welcome a new face. Barbara too.” They walked past the living room, Levi’s sleeping form still sprawled out where they left it.
The small victory of it all was overshadowed by Mikko’s presence at her back and his filthy words.
“Seems like they need to up their security measures, wouldn’t you say? ”
“Fuck off,” Anika snapped, the frames in her hallway the only witness to her humiliation.
“Imagine my surprise when I learned who your parents are…or were.” He continued, uncaring for whatever she had to say. Shuffling into the kitchen, she tried to stay silent, not wanting to fall into his poorly set traps. She failed.
“You know nothing of them—”
“You know, I’d agree, except I can guarantee your father would be disappointed in you for throwing a brick through someone’s window, Anika.”
“Don’t you even think about him—”
“Do you really think killing me will make you feel better? That it’ll erase what my father did?” Mikko interrupted again.
“Killing Alek would’ve made everything better, but he had to go and die before I could draw out his torture.” Venom dripped from her words. “You’re the next best thing, malysh.”
“Seems like we’re perfect for each other then, one hunting the other in an endless cycle.”
“You’re a freak. Comparing us to each other demeans my work.” Anika picked at the dark nail polish on her fingers, flakes of dried blood coming off with it.
Mikko huffed, pushing her toward the kitchen counter with the alcoholic concoctions. “You mean murder? It demeans your murders?”
“Semantics.”
“So pouring yourself a drink from these ingredients here won’t be a problem? I mean, it’s just semantics after all. Anyone could accidentally overdose on violets.”
“What are you getting at, Mikko?” The countertop was cold beneath her dirty hands. “Spit it out.”
“The same dose you gave Levi, I want you to make it for yourself.”
“No.”
He cocked his head, emerald eyes alight with the promise of torture. “It’s either that, or I’ll tell Cristiano to pay your mom another visit…only this time he won’t be so friendly.”
Anika’s jaw tightened. He was never supposed to find out about her, let alone visit her and use her existence as blackmail.
She’d been careful, but her safety nets had been yanked out from under her.
In reality, she knew the moment she’d talked to Mikko at Bubblegum she was playing with fire, bound to get burned, but Anika could only hope it was worth it.
“Fine,” she relented, “but the same dose I gave him would kill me.”
“How much will it take to make you go to sleep?”
Instead of answering, she opened the nearby cupboard and procured a clean glass. Mikko set his gun on the counter, but it never strayed far from his fingers. One wrong move and he’d aim to wound. He’d perfected hers after all; his misses were intentional, and his hits…
Anika didn’t want to find out. A cold sweat broke out across her forehead, the memory of her mom in pain from multiple bullet wounds flashing across her mind.
Clear vodka splashed into the glass and like a wave cleansing her, Anika banished her thoughts along with it. Muscle memory took over as she added a large rectangular ice cube. Her movements were watched by Mikko, his keen eyes never leaving her figure.
“Want some?” she asked, holding out the vodka bottle. His jaw twitched, but he shook his head.
“How long will Levi be out?” he asked instead as she started pouring the violet liqueur into her glass.
“For a man of his size, about forty-five minutes.” She capped her homemade concoction and set it aside. With her index finger, she stirred her drink. Pink swirled among the liquid, faint traces of blood washing away with the motion.
“And you?”
“About the same, if not an hour.” She held eye contact with him as she slipped her wet finger into her mouth and sucked it clean. “Use it wisely.”
Before she could change her mind, she gripped the cup and knocked the mixed drink back.
The alcohol burned her throat and another flash of panic erupted in her gut.
Anika was willing to put herself under and leave herself vulnerable in the presence of a man she didn’t trust. But to build his trust, she’d have to sacrifice this moment of control.
She took another deep breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Quickly, she repeated the motions and downed a second drink before sitting at her breakfast nook. “Have fun carrying us,” she quipped.
Her body was warm, the vodka already loosening her muscles.
The tension between her brows faded and her thoughts grew soft around the edges.
Anika preferred to refrain from drinking, especially recently since she had much to accomplish, so her tolerance had dwindled.
That, and she’d learned to not eat before a kill.
Sometimes what the mind could handle, the stomach could not…
He tucked his gun back into his waistband before striding over and taking a seat opposite of her. It was uncanny and way too domestic for what their current relationship warranted, but her tongue felt swollen. Her words could wait.
Anika’s eyes traced over Mikko’s strong jaw and piercing eyes.
Blood was crusted on his pale skin, his cut scabbed over along his cheekbone, and sweat also coated his forehead.
Again, she was struck by his beauty. She hated herself for thinking it, but maybe for now she’d let herself feel.
It didn’t matter anyway. Once the blur of the violet haze cleared, she’d be back on track.
Then, it would be time to burn everything from the inside out.