Chapter 2 #3
My mom fills him in on the future girls’ night plan while she finishes cutting potatoes and carrots.
She side-eyes me when I open a bag of cookies, but doesn’t say anything.
I’ve never once not been able to eat supper, so she knows I can be trusted to snack at will without it affecting anything.
My dad grins and holds out his hand so I can fill it with cookies.
“You two are terrible,” my mom says, but when my dad holds one up to her lips, she opens up so he can slip it in.
“You’re so easy to corrupt,” my dad says with a laugh.
With her mouth full, she mumbles, “You know I can’t resist sugar.”
My dad mutters a quick, “Among other things,” that I pretend to not hear.
Grabbing another handful of cookies, I start to back out while I ask “Where are Misha and Yuri?”
“They should be back in a couple of hours,” my dad says, and then adds, “Work stuff.”
Knowing that’s as many details as I’m going to get, I tell them I’m going to clean up and unpack and then head down the hall.
Nyx follows at my side, and once we’re in my room, I slip her a dog bone.
She usually sleeps in bed with me, but I also have a large cushion for her by the window, and I’m relieved to see that’s the spot she’s chosen.
I love her to pieces, but she slobbers like crazy when she’s eating and I’d rather not have that all over the bed.
While she chews, I toss my dirty clothes in the hamper, and as soon as I see my book at the bottom of the bag, I grab it and flip to the page I’d left off at. Without thinking, I sit down, and then hiss out a breath at the shock of pain that radiates along my backside.
“Goddammit, Allie,” I mutter as I flip over onto my stomach. Nyx lifts her amber eyes to mine and I say, “I may never forgive her for this. I’m not going to be able to sit down for days.”
She grunts her sympathy and then goes back to chewing.
I drape myself over the mattress so I can read my book and reach out to scratch her butt.
I’m dying to know how this book is going to end, and it doesn’t take long before I’m caught right back up into it.
I stay in my happy place of sexy stalker men until I hear Misha’s deep voice and then Yuri’s laugh.
Nyx perks up and whines as she looks at me.
She knows those voices and she knows what it means, so when I say, “Go see your brothers,” she gives a happy yelp and goes trotting out the door.
Before I can haul myself off the bed, I hear three excited dogs greeting each other like it’s been weeks instead of hours.
“Hey, Sitka,” Yuri says as soon as he sees me.
I smile at my brother and then try to dodge Misha’s hand when he goes to mess up my hair. There’s no dodging my brother, though, and when he ruffles it into a tangly mess, he laughs and says, “Good to have you back, little sis. How was your trip?”
My hair is thick, and it’s a nightmare to try and keep it in line. For some reason, my brothers have always thought it’s hilarious to make it look like a rat’s nest.
“When are you gonna outgrow this?” I ask him.
The grin Misha gives me shows just a hint of the devil I know he can be. “Probably as soon as it stops bothering you.”
I sigh and very carefully start to use my fingers to untangle the dark strands that are now flying all over the place.
While I do that, they grab a bag of chips and start munching.
Yuri is four years older than me, and Misha is seven.
I’ve been told I was a surprise pregnancy, but even if I was a whoopsie baby, no one has ever made me feel like I was a mistake.
Misha and Yuri might be a touch crazy, but aside from doing irritating shit like constantly messing my hair up, they’re the best brothers anyone could ever ask for.
I lean my hip against the counter while I keep working on my hair and ask, “How was work?”
“Fun,” Yuri says with a grin. My eyes are the same grey color as his, and right now his are lit up with amusement.
“Very,” Misha adds while holding his hand up. He wiggles his fingers, and I don’t need to get any closer to see the dried blood that’s still covering them.
Giving up on my hair, I toss it behind me and reach for a chip instead. “You better wash your hands. Mom will have a fit if she sees that, and Dad will be furious if you upset Mom.”
“Mom could never be mad at me,” he says with a grin, but he says it while walking over to the sink. Lathering his hands in soap, he starts to scrub while he adds, “Plus, she knows who taught me how to do this.”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t like to be reminded of how dangerous it is,” I say. “She worries.”
“She shouldn’t,” Yuri says. “We’re really good at what we do.”
I raise a brow. “Maybe a little too good?”
They both laugh.
“No such thing,” Misha says, running a now clean hand through his dark hair.
He always keeps it a touch too long and he smiles even bigger when the strands fall right back into place without a tangle to be seen.
Unlike Yuri and I, Misha’s eyes are the same exact whiskey-brown as our dad’s, and it always looks like he’s up to trouble. Probably because he always is.
“That’s so unfair,” I tell him. “I’m the girl. I should have the silky hair.”
“Aww, don’t pout,” he says. “If you do, we won’t let you come with us next weekend.”
They both grin when I perk up and look between them. “What’s going on next weekend?”
“A whole lot of fun if you’re up for it,” Yuri says.
“I’m definitely up for it,” I say right before our parents walk in. We quickly switch topics, but not before I see Misha give me a slight nod to let me know he’ll fill me in later. I’m so excited about what’s to come that I almost miss what our dad’s just said.
“Damien’s coming?” I ask, trying really hard to make it sound like it’s not a big deal and definitely not something I’m in any way interested in.
“Yeah,” our dad says while he gets the homemade bread out of the oven and our mom grabs the bowls. “He and Ev are coming for a few weeks. They needed a break. They’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Sounds good,” Misha says. “We’ll make sure they have stuff to do.”
My dad points the bread knife at him. “Don’t involve them in shit, Misha. Just because Max works with us doesn’t mean they do too.”
“I would never do that, Dad,” he says, and I swear our dad almost looks guilty.
“It’s just easy to forget. That’s all I’m saying, but when they’re here, they’re guests. That’s it.” He waits for both my brothers to nod before he starts cutting the bread into slices.
While everyone starts carrying stuff to the table, my mind races with the news I just heard.
I can’t let on that I care. If my dad or brothers thought for one second that I was obsessing over Damien Melnikov, they’d lock me in the house while he’s here and never let me near him.
My family is amazing, and I love them all unconditionally.
I know how lucky I am to have them, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind to who they are.
I know what they’re capable of and protective doesn’t even begin to describe how my dad and brothers are towards me.
There’s no way they can find out about the secret crush I’ve had on Damien since I first met him at Talia’s wedding.
Every time he comes to visit his cousin, I fall a little harder, and it’s been hell trying to keep everything tamped down and pretend I don’t feel anything for him.
When he walks into a room, all I want to do is run and jump in his lap, but instead I’m forced to play it cool and pretend I barely notice him.
Every time he visits, it gets harder to pretend, and I’m not sure how much longer I can manage the indifferent act I keep playing.