Chapter Nineteen
Lilianna reminds me a lot of myself at her age. Bright and vivacious.She’s got the whole world in front of her. Just like I used to. Only Lilianna will get to live hers. She’s going to succeed. She will achieve anything she wants to. There’s a twinge of pain in my chest. I’m happy for Lilianna, and I’ll always root for her. But sometimes, it hurts to think about what could have been. The life I could have had.
“How was that?” Lilianna asks.
“Good,” I reply, shaking off my thoughts.
“Will you teach me the sing move from the movie?”
I smile. “Yeah. I’ll need to borrow one of the guys, though.”
My eyes scan the gym the Volkovs built in their basement. Several guards are standing around, but not one of the brothers. Strange. I thought I’d at least see Kaz. He’s always lingering around. If I think about it, I haven’t seen him much since yesterday morning. When we did it.
A sobering thought rolls into my head. He only followed me around like a puppy for sex. That would make a lot of sense. The whole insta-love bit was just an act. My lungs seize for a painful minute before I feel nothing again. This is why my walls are so damn high. Men are nothing special. Only keep them around if they’re useful.
My body fills with a slow fury. The flames start at my toes, growing larger as they creep up my body. My gaze lands on a guard. He’s staring right back at me. Some of the men who work for the Volkovs give me molester vibes. This is one of them. He’s always looking at me like I’m some damn treat. And if it were just me, maybe I’d let it go, but I’ve seen him stare at Lilianna with that same look. It’s only a matter of time before he’s dumb enough to try something.
I look over at Lilianna, “Can you translate for me?”
She nods.
Looking back at my next victim, I beacon him over to us. When he’s within earshot, I start talking.
“Ask him if he’s willing to help me with a move.”
Lilianna repeats my question. Just as I thought, the scarred man doesn’t hesitate to say yes. As he climbs into the ring, he walks between Lilianna and me. His brown eyes never leave mine. It’s clear he thinks he’s about to have some fun. Poor guy.
“Tell him to stand behind me.”
The man, Egor, as Lilianna calls him, does what I ask. He stands only a few feet behind me. I hear him mutter something under his breath, but I can’t understand what he’s saying.
“Okay, tell him to grab me.”
“Are you sure?” Lilianna asks. She brings her voice low. “He’s kinda gross if you haven’t noticed.”
I give her a smile. “I noticed. Why else do you think he’s up here?”
She makes an O with her mouth and steps away, repeating my instructions. Seconds later, Egor rushes at me. He wraps his arms around me. One around my neck and the other around my waist. Why do I get the feeling this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this? Lilianna was right. Egor is gross. Not just because he smells like tacos, but his arms are greasy like he bathed in a tub of them.
I wait until he’s holding me tight.
“Solar plexus,” I announce before swinging my elbow back and hitting Egor in his soft stomach.
He grunts, loosening his hold on me.
“Instep.”
My foot comes down on his. His grunt turns into a groan. Before he can step back, I bring my fist up and hit him in the nose without turning around.
“Nose.”
Just as easily, I swing my fist in a downward motion. As hard as I can, I punch him in the groin. Egor squeals like a little girl. He falls backward, landing on the ropes before slipping through those and landing on the ground like a jackass.
“And finally, the groin.”
Lilianna claps like an excited toddler. “That was amazing.”
“Yes, it was.”
I turn to see Mikhail standing near the ring. He must’ve come into the gym while I was busy tossing one of his men around. With his gray business suit, he looks ready for a boardroom, not the gym. Mikhail’s eyes narrow as he steps closer. His polished shoes click against the hard floor of the gym. I notice the gym has gone quiet. The guards who were working out have stopped. All their attention is on their boss.
“That was quite the show you just put on,” he says as he stops right next to the ropes.
I straighten. My long ponytail brushes against my shoulders as I shrug at Mikhail. “Sorry, not sorry.”
“My turn,” Lilianna says.
She’s bouncing up and down on her toes with excitement.
“Pick your victim,” I tell her, ignoring Mikhail’s stare.
There’s a small piece of me that hopes she picks her father. But she doesn’t. She grabs a guard that’s barely old enough to drink. I look at Mikhail just in time to see disappointment ripple over his features. He wanted her to pick him, too. In the week I’ve been here, I’ve seen the tension between them. Lilianna really believes he’s a bad person. But I think she wants a dad. It would explain why she took to her uncles so quickly but not her real father.
Lilianna tells her punching bag to stand behind her. She repeats my every move, but not perfectly.
“Hit him harder,” I tell her. “He needs to be stunned in that first hit.”
The guard starts to argue in Russian before Mikhail silences him with a look. Mikhail spits another Russian word out. I don’t know what he said, but the guard falls in line. He takes his place behind Lilianna again.
“What did you say to him?” I ask Mikhail, scooting closer to him.
“Nothing.”
“I can just ask Lilianna, you know.”
“I told him I’d kill him if he didn’t do it.”
“That’s a bit dramatic.”
He shrugs. “Sorry, not sorry.”
I roll my eyes. He doesn’t act the way Lilianna’s mother said he did. But then again, maybe it’s another act. His brother has already proven they play dirty. I don’t see why Mikhail would be any different.
“Throw your elbow hard,” I tell Lilianna right before she swings back.
She listens, putting her weight into the hit more. The guard wheezes when her elbow collides with him. By the time she’s gone through all the steps, he’s not doing better than Egor.
“Told you it was easy,” I smile at her.
Lilianna holds her hand up for a high five. “That was fun.”
I chuckle. “Want to go again?”
She nods, scanning the room for her next target. Her gaze lands on someone, and the color drains from her face.
“Shit.”
“What?”
I follow her line of sight, finding a kid. He looks like he’s been hitting the steroids a little too hard. I don’t like the hard glint in his eyes as he stares at Lilianna. As if she’s doing something wrong.
“What are you two looking at?” Mikhail asks, turning to look.
The kid’s demeanor completely changes. From angry to smiling. Like a damn switch was flipped.
“Lili,” the kid says. “Did you forget we had plans?” His voice is sugary sweet, but it’s fake. There’s not a nice bone in this boy’s body.
I can’t tell if Mikhail is picking up on the menacing energy coming from him, but I don’t think he likes him. His body is rigid as he stares the kid down. The blonde teenager has the smarts to be scared.
“We do?” Lilianna asks. “I don’t remember making any.”
“We were going to go out for your birthday?”
“Her birthday isn’t for a few days,” Mikhail states.
“Yes, but I’m going to be out of town that day, so I need to celebrate with her early.”
My gut churns. Something is off about this kid. I can’t figure out why. But I don’t want Lilianna to leave with him. Not tonight, anyway.
“Why don’t you guys have dinner here? We could double.”
“We?” Lilianna and Mikhail ask at the same time.
I give him a look. “Yes, we.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Lilianna’s boyfriend says. “We really wanted to do something private. Right, Lilianna?”
“Uh, y-yeah.”
My ears are hearing her words, but I’m not believing a syllable of them. She might like this guy but is not interested in going somewhere with him tonight.
Thankfully, Mikhail steps in.
“Arkadi, please, I insist. Have dinner with all of us tonight. I heard the chef is making duck.”
My eyes bounce between Lilianna’s boyfriend and her. She chews on her lip as she waits for his decision.
“Okay,” he relents. “We can have dinner here.”
“Good,” Mikhail says.
“I should shower first,” Lilianna says.
“Of course,” Mikhail says. “Arkadi, you can wait for her in the living room.”
He doesn’t let Arkadi reply before he calls over another guard. “Escort Mr. Popov to the living room. Make sure he stays comfortable.”
The guard nods, pulling Arkadi out of the gym. Lilianna and I jump down from the ring. There’s a tense silence between the three of us as we leave the gym.
“Meet in the dining room in an hour?” I say when we reach the split in the hallways.
Her room is one way, and mine is another.
“I can’t leave Arkadi waiting that long,” Lilianna replies.
I give her a look, hoping she can read the disappointment on my face. “Okay, well, I can. So I’ll be there in an hour.”
Lilianna smiles. “Okay. Thanks for teaching me today.”
“You’re welcome. I can show you more tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Thanks again.”
She goes down her hallway, promising to see us in an hour. Mikhail turns towards me.
“I’ll walk you to your room.”
“That’s not necessary.”
He gestures down the hallway, completely ignoring me. “After you.”
“Whatever.”
Mikhail falls in step behind me as I glide down the hallway. Awkward does not begin to describe how I feel. Neither of us says a word, but I”m thinking about yesterday the entire way to my room. I can’t stop thinking about the Mikhail fucked his fist as he watched his little brother fuck me. Speaking of Kaz…
“Where is your little brother?”
“Which one?”
I give Mikhail a look. “Which one do you think I’m talking about?”
The man chuckles at me. I can’t decide if I’m angry by the sound or turned on.
“I’m not sure where Kaz ran off to. Onto his next conquest, I’m sure.”
A bullet of sadness hits my heart. I figured that was the case, but it still sucks to hear it confirmed.
“Good to know,” I reply.
“Any particular reason you chose Egor?” Mikhail says as we near my bedroom door.
“Other than the fact that he’s a creep? No, not really.”
“What do you mean he’s a creep?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” I mutter.
Most guys don’t. Even the good ones. It’s like they have a blind spot for the men in their lives. They’re disgusted by the behavior yet choose to be in the company of men like that.
“Try me.”
I come to a stop outside my room. “I don’t know how you don’t see it. He is always staring at Lilianna. She’s uncomfortable around him.”
Keeping my head high, I challenge him. My whole being prepared to defend myself. Prepared for him to not believe me.
“He does what?” His voice is low, lethal.
“You heard me.”
“I’ll handle it.”
I raise an eyebrow, surprised. That was easy… too easy. Another part of the act, maybe? To make me trust them. It’s smart.
“Don’t like my way of handling things?”
Mikhail steps closer to me. Almost too close. He smells like fresh rain, like the calm in a storm. It makes me dizzy with desire.
“If a man is disrespecting you and my daughter like that, he needs more than a beat down. He needs a fucking bullet to the brain.”
His words make me embarrassingly wet. Protective men are always a turn-on for me. I must not do a good job of hiding my needs. Mikhail pushes me. My back hits the wall. A burst of pain shoots through my bones, but I barely have time to process it before Mikhail slams his lips onto mine. He doesn’t ask for permission; he just takes it. Mikhail pries my mouth open. He slips his tongue into my mouth. I can’t stop the muffled moan that tumbles from my throat. Winding my arms around his neck, I pull him closer to me.
“Well, well, well.”
Mikhail and I jump apart, turning towards the voice. Kaz.