“Ahem. Person here with you. Watching. Don’t enjoy watching people snog.”
Kristoff shot back away from Amelia and found himself almost as flustered as she was. “Yes. Well. I think I’ll be on my way. Goodnight Amelia.” He walked to the door, “Jack, I’m sure we’ll see each other around.” Before he could confuse himself and his protegee anymore he darted out the door. Just as he started down the stairs he realized, he’d called Jack by name, but he’d never been introduced. Fuck. He was getting messed up.
*
Amelia looked after Kristoff in confusion. Had he just kissed her? She lifted her fingers to her lips remembering how good that touch had felt. Electrifying.
“Ahem, cut the mooney face. He’s not good for you.”
“What do you mean he’s not good for me?”
Jack shifted between his feet. “Just take my word for it, he isn’t.”
Amelia thought back to the odd way the two men had spoken to each other, “Do you know each other?”
“Oh! No! Of course not. I just … know his type. Users. You can do so much better.”
Amelia flushed, “Good thing I’m not dating him then, he’s my teacher.” Jack gave her a look. “He’s never done that before…the kissing thing…he thinks of me as a friend.”
“A friend.”
“Leave it alone. I’ll go get your Mountain Dew. Order me some General Tso’s.”
Jack looked at her for a moment, “Alright. Hurry home.”
Amelia sighed in relief as she opened the door. Something weird just happened - no several somethings weird happened. And she was entirely uncertain if any of it had been good.
As she walked toward the store, Amelia rubbed the small gold crucifix in her pocket absently, the gold warming to her touch. It was comforting to have that little piece of Mona back with her. Pausing, Amelia pulled the chain out then snapped it around her neck. Maybe she had been meant to find the necklace in the muck like that. A blessing from beyond the grave. She resumed walking, feeling the slight weight of the cross, a reassurance that she was doing the right thing. Mona would be avenged and her spirit would rest.
*
As soon as Kristoff was across town at the studio he staggered into the alley beside it and caught his breath, crushing his forehead against the prickly brick wall. He leaned against it’s rough texture, flushed and panting from having run like a callow youth.
He’d have to watch himself in the future with Amelia. Damn. Playing this game seemed to be turning into a more complex cypher. …Maybe, he’d just have to reconsider what he wanted the end game to be..
Kristoff stood and brushed himself off to sort himself straight and he turned from his personal problem to what he had learned.
When he had planted the necklace, giving himself an in into what had happened to her sister, he hadn’t expected such a response - or such a grisly story. Kolya had had some idea, but his information was hobbled by the family’s possession of the body.
The truth as it turned out was worse than either of them had thought - Kolya would be hard to contain when he heard the details - and if he decided to chase his own vengeance in the matter.
So who had done it?
Kristoff had several ideas - but one stuck out the most.
The Italians.
Chapter 12
Amelia was woken at 6:30pm the next night by her bat-phone ringing. Either Kristoff or Kolya wanted something. Fishing around in her leather jacket (still on the floor from the previous night) Amelia hung halfway off the bed, her hair in her face, to answer it. “Yas.” Amelia said groggily.
“You aren’t up yet? You're late.” Came Kristoff’s voice..
“I can’t be late. We had no plans.”
“Did you check your text messages?”
“Text messages?”
“Oh Amelia, you must enter the 21st century dear. Look at your phone, the little verbal messages on the screen? Do you see them?” Amelia groaned and flipped the phone over to look at it, as he had said there was a little block — several little blocks — of words telling her to be at the warehouse at six.
“I’ve never owned a cell phone before.” She grouched.
“Well now you do, get your ass out of bed and be here in a half an hour.”
“I’ll be there,” she said shortly and hung up on him before he could add some smart-ass reply.
Amelia hauled herself out of bed as quickly as she could, still tired from the day before. Kristoff and she hadn’t parted until one that morning and she’d been up until eight afterward. Cursing his name. And reliving the entire kiss in vivid detail. Argh.
He’d just kissed her. Just a little one. But it had felt a lot more…a lot more….well a lot more. Amelia threw on her jeans and brushed her hair, stuffing her head through a t-shirt at the same time. Then, grabbing her coat she raced out of the apartment.
Chest heaving Amelia pelted through the streets shoving and pushing, darting in front of cars. As she got to the warehouse doors she didn’t stop, and swung them madly running through the cluttered isles. When she came to Kristoff and Kolya’s corner she skidded to a stop, and propped her hands on her knees breathing hard. Kristoff stood in front of her with his eyes on his egregious Breitling. “You’re 15 seconds late.” He said gravely. Amelia groaned. He shook his head. “I think you know what that means.” Amelia grunted and panted.
“What?”
Kristoff gave her an unreliable sad smile. He didn’t look too upset. “You’ve already been late several times. You must move faster - a slow hunter is a dead hunter. We must think of a penalty for tardiness.”
“Are you tormenting the poor girl brother?” Kolya’s voice came from behind her, and Amelia looked at him with wide doe eyes.
“He’s holding me hostage to random things for sexual favors.” Amelia snickered.
Kolya looked at Kristoff “Well that’s not nice.”
Kristoff scoffed. “Oh pipe down, I said nothing of the sort. You’ll know if I’m demanding sexual favors.”
“You better not Richie Rich.”
Kristoff smirked. “Almost a whole week around me and she still cannot detect sarcasm. I don’t need coercion to get any favors - I have charm for that.”
“Chaaaarm,” she mimicked.
“Now, now.” Kolya cut in. “I think I need to separate you two for a little while. Kristoff, go back to your cave —- I mean darkroom. And Amelia, why don’t you come with me.”
Kristoff snickered. “I’ll pop in in a bit when she’s cooled off.”
Amelia lunged for him playfully and Kolya caught her arm. His grip was firm for such a slight build. “Ignore him, he’s being juvenile. Come on. I’ve had an idea for a day or two now that I want to pass by you.”
Amelia took two fingers and pointed at her eyes and back at Kristoff as Kolya pulled her away. He grinned toothily and quirked an eyebrow.
Crossing into the room Kolya used as a studio, he picked up the picture of the woman on the stool from the back that haunted Amelia and set it against the wall. Then he riffled around in his canvases to pull a blank one out of the same size. This one he put on his easel Amelia looked on curiously.
“What are you doing?”
Kolya fiddled with the alignment of the canvas and began to speak with his back to her.
“I’ve been thinking, I love this piece. In fact, I love it so much I’d like to do a series.”
Amelia cocked her head cautiously. “What are you getting at?”
“I’d like you to model for the next one.”
“Nude?”
“I think it would be lovely.”
“I don’t know, I’ve never done this…and I’m not sure I like the idea of you seeing me…like that.”
“You would be facing away from me, all important bits would be hidden.”
Amelia considered it. In college she’d thought about making a few bucks nude modeling for the sketching class. Was this any different? If anything, she’d be showing less. Ko
lya smiled lightly. “I’ll even make you a deal.” Amelia’s eyes darkened, deals seemed to be something the twins had in common. “You’ll incur no penance for any tardiness to our sessions - in stead I will allow you to incur a few favors.”
“So, you’d owe me?”
“Precisely, and you can spend then how you like”
“Can I get you to shave your brother’s head?”
Kolya laughed. “I think that may take a few chips in your pocket, but if you get there I’ll see what I can do.”
“Done!” Amelia giggled gleefully. “Where do I change?”
Kolya looked a little bashful. “I’m afraid, you’ll have to change here, but I’ll shut the door and turn away. I promise.”
Amelia nodded stiffly. “Where do you want me?”
Kolya looked around and fished out the same stool from the first painting and set it caddy corner to his new canvas. “Here, I want the images to be close in composition.”
“Ok, turn around.” Was she really going to do this? To get Kristoff’s ass kicked? She paused. Hells Yes. Shedding her clothes into a corner Amelia sat down on the stool facing away from Kolya. “It’s ok to turn back,” She called out. Behind her she heard Kolya stir and walk over, he gently moved her around a bit on the stool to set her at the angle he wanted to paint. Then, she could feel him pull away and stand back considering. It was disconcerting to hear him but not see him with his very quiet measured steps. Amelia glanced behind her at him, he looked pensive.
Then he reached around his back, pulling his braid to the front and unbound the bottom. It had been apparently held together with another length of black satin. He looked at Amelia and walked over. “If this bothers you, tell me,” He said quietly. Then wrapped the ribbon around her wrists behind the stool and tied a big present-like bow. She couldn’t decide if this smacked of kinky sex, or just some weird artist thing.
Kolya stepped back, looking at her as if to ask what she thought. Amelia wiggled the ribbon a bit, found it not too tight and shrugged. “Ok.”
Kolya nodded slowly. Then taking her long hair, he draped it over her shoulder to curve over her back like a swag, and then fall over onto her chest. It was, to Amelia’s great worry, just as precarious a position as the other girl’s. Just different. It was hard to hold still enough to keep everything Kolya had done in place.
Amelia barely managed to stay still, focusing now on her hearing to perceive what was going on around her in the room. She heard Kolya shuffle over to where she assumed the canvas was and start drawing with something. Amelia figured it would be charcoal or a paint stick. “Can I talk?” She asked carefully. She heard a faint laugh behind her.
“Of course.”
“Why are you two visiting New York from Russia?”
“Actually, I live here. It’s Kristoff who’s visiting.” Kolya replied vaguely.
“Oh, how long have you lived here?”
“A few years or so.”
“Then do you have any galleries showing your work? Or. What do you do for work?”
“No, I haven’t shown in a long time. And I run the family business.”
“What’s that?” Amelia asked, listening to the fine scratching on the canvas as she knew he blocked the painting out on it’s blank slate with charcoal.
She could almost hear the shrug of Kolya’s shoulders when he answered. “It’s mainly imports, antiques from Russia and such.”
“Oh.” Responded Amelia again, not sure what to ask next. “Do you like it?” she asked hesitantly. She heard the sketching pause.
“It’s what I was raised to do. That is to say, it is what I know. Is it what I would be doing if I had a choice? I don’t know. But I can’t say I dislike it.”
“Hmmm. What was it like growing up royalty?”
“Dull, dull, dull. I’m a hands-on kind of person. If no one lets you do anything for yourself it grows boring. It’s why I agreed to run the branch of family business in North America. Here I make all the decisions about what I and my staff can and can’t do.”
“Your little fiefdom?”
“Just so.”
They lapsed into silence then, Amelia listening to the hypnotic sounds of an artist working charcoal across paper. Kolya it seemed could allow a comfortable silence. He was such an odd contrast to his bombastic brother. Suddenly a set of sharp clicks sounded behind her and Amelia jerked around to look just as Kristoff took another picture. Amelia’s face turned into flame. “How dare you!”
Kolya glowered at his brother, and Kristoff gave one of his careless smiles. “You didn’t tell me we would be having a live model.”
Kolya strode to where Kristoff stood and tried to slam the door. “Because she only agreed for me to use her.”
Kristoff leaned against the door jamb to keep it open. “And why would she do that?”
“Because unlike you, I’m allowing her to collect debt rather than contract it. Speaking of which, I think for the free shots, you’ll not find her owing you further for this evening’s tardiness.”
Kristoff glared at Kolya. Meanwhile Amelia had been hastily dressing with them so preoccupied, and when she heard that Kolya demanded her penance paid, she ran over and impulsively kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, for saving me from the mean slave driver.” Amelia watched Kolya grinned over her shoulder at Kristoff triumphantly.
Kristoff shook is head in disbelief. “I think you’re done for the night. But be back here at four tomorrow in clothing you don't care about.” He went to turn away, then seemed to rethink it and rummaged around in his back pocket pulling out his wallet. “Here,” he said taking out a card. “Every week I will deposit your earnings into this account. You make more than anyone should carry in cash in any city - no matter how tame.” Amelia reached for it. “However,” Kristoff said, pulling the card back again. “I expect you to eat real food from now on. We slacked on lessons today, so tomorrow we make it up. You will not get any better at hunting if you’re living on Mountain Dew and fast food.”
“The Mountain Dew is Jack’s.”
Kristoff simply stared at her,
“Alright, alright got it, healthy food. Bleh. If I didn’t know better I’d think you cared.”
“Well since we both know the truth, you can get along home then without worries.”
Amelia rolled her eyes stifling a grin, and started out into the dying night.
*
“What are you playing at Kolya?” Kristoff dropped his smile and growled turning on his twin with a glare.
Kolya narrowed his eyes to slits, “No, what are you playing at? What happened to the real point of this exercise? What have you learned?”
Kristoff sighed shutting the door to Kolya’s studio and sitting down on the stool Amelia vacated. “You’re not going to like this.”
Kolya crossed his arms over his chest and pursed his lips into a sharp white line. “I did not ask you to baby me. As I recall I’m the eldest in the family.”
“By three minutes.” Kristoff grumbled propping his elbows on his spread knees and looking away.
“I don’t care how fine a margin, as the heir to the family I don’t need my little brother trying to shield me from the ugly truth. As you seem to be forgetting, I am an ugly truth myself.”
“Fine, fine. But who’s going to shield the rest of the world when your temper gets the best of you?” Kristoff snapped. Kolya simply waited stonily. “She was torn up…it sounds like a rather nasty group feeding.”
Kolya’s eyes flashed a preternatural glow and narrowed. “I see.”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking but pull yourself back.” Kristoff growled urgently. “We need to be circumspect about this or we could cause a war with the Italians.” He exhaled deeply then looked away again, “Look…Kolya, I really like Amelia. She’s clever, and witty and doesn’t let me bully her and… I was thinking, she could join me as my permanent apprentice…then maybe my partner.”
Kolya stared blankly at Kristoff for a moment
. “My needing to be circumspect concerns you? And what about you? With her family getting any closer would be foolish if not positively suicidal.” His gaze went hard again. “Think of her sister.”
“It won’t happen with us, I’ll take care of her and she’ll grow better as a hunter through my tutalage…”
Kolya scoffed and looked at the painting of the sitting woman. “Mona was already good, the best.”
“This is not the same.”
Kolya waved his hand dismissively. “So you say. But take care it is not both her funeral and yours you court.”
“Anything worth having is worth fighting for. All that matters in the end is what she thinks. The Italians and her family can go to hell.”
Kolya snorted and shook his head derisively. “I think you’ve already lost the battle, see if she even bears to look at you after the whole truth comes out.”
Chapter 13
As Amelia walked to the warehouse the next day she felt better than she had in years. In a splurge the last night, she’d bought a whole large extra- pepperoni, extra cheese, garlic and onion pizza and a cheap bottle of wine. She was little hung over - true - but she’d eaten one of her favorite foods and taken out a whole bottle of red.
She wasn’t sure she could go back to the first relationship with Kristoff. After the third glass of wine, on her hasn’t drunk alcohol in four years stomach, she admitted to the fact that she’d … kind of…found the whole ‘kissing incident’ hot. Very hot. And (when not being a pompous ass) he really was funny and charming.
And she might want a piece of that - or three.
Not that she had the time or inclination for a relationship at this point in her life….or that Kristoff was an appropriate choice. But a little fun…
Why did he go from professional to hot blooded on the turn of a dime?
Well, today she’d see.
Walking through the doors five minutes early Amelia stopped at Kristoff’s work station where he stood leaned over looking at the set of pictures from the Brooklyn bridge. He simply waved at her absently to sit and continued as if she wasn’t there. A marked change from the day before. He muttered to himself over an image and turned it over to look at the next. “Hmph.” he sighed. “I got this one wrong. The shadows are wrong…” Amelia looked over his shoulder at the shot. As usual, nothing was wrong. But rather than tempt him into conversation, she wanted to know what he would say first.
A Guide to Vampire Hunting: ...and other failures (Alchemy Inc. Book 1) Page 8