by K. J. Dahlen
“What happened when you did get back?” Nicky asked quietly as he rubbed her arm tenderly.
Serenity shook her head as if to clear it. “It wasn’t quite dawn yet when I got back, so I had to wait out in the cold until the sun came up and the Nuns woke up. It took them so long to open the door.” She looked over at Nicky. “I was so cold. Sister Mary found me and she took me to the showers to get me warm again, then Mother Superior called me to her office. She gave me detention for being outside the walls after curfew. She didn’t like me very much but that was ok, I didn’t much like her either.”
“Well, that’s just horseshit!” Raven scoffed.
Serenity shrugged. “It was what it was. Anyway, I kept myself close to the nunnery after that. Then when I was ten or so, the nuns sent me to school in town. They thought I should see just how the other kids would treat me. It wasn’t easy and I came home with bruises more days than I didn’t, but I found something there that I was good at. I found the internet. One night I was on my way back to the orphanage when I saw something I shouldn’t have. I saw Z shoot a man, then set him on fire. I was fourteen years old then. I watched in horror as the man burned to death. Z just stood there and watched. I couldn’t move. It was only when he left, that I could run away from the scene. I ran back to the nunnery, packed my clothes, grabbed my file and I left. I stopped by the school on my way out of town and took a laptop. It was an older model but it worked and I could learn on it.”
The people in the room sat quietly listening to her story, some looked saddened.
Raven nodded, as she seemed to understand.
Nicky reached down and held her hand.
Nikoli sighed as he studied her while she spoke.
“I stayed under the radar and out of sight. The next few years were tough but I lived through them. I began to move around the state for a while when I was seventeen. I read somewhere that the man I saw that day when the two men came to the nunnery when I was seven was elected Governor of New York. I looked him up and that’s when I found out who he was. His name is Arthur Bailey. According to the notes I found in my file, he was the man my mother named as my father.”
“Who was the other man with him that day?” Sergi queried needing all the facts as always.
“His name was Owen Vandross. He was the Governor’s head of security. I ran into him once when I was almost eighteen years old. I didn’t know it but he’d been looking for me since I left the nunnery. He heard I might be in Middleton and came to see if the rumors were true. I was out in the park enjoying the sunshine for a little while when he almost ran right into me. I don’t know which of us was more surprised, him or me. He grabbed me and dragged me further into the woods. Then he asked me what I thought I was doing this close to the city. I asked him what was he talking about and he sneered that my father was in New York with his wife and legitimate daughter and they would be horrified if they were to run into me on the streets. Then he backed me against a tree, he took out a knife and stabbed me with it. I think I was so surprised I didn’t feel anything. I slid down the tree to the ground and just sat there.”
“What happened next child?” Misha asked with a hard expression.
“He just turned and walked away. I remembered seeing the bottom of his shoes as he walked away. I just sat there for a few minutes then got up and stumbled back to where I was staying. I patched myself up the best I could and I prayed I would wake up the next morning. He must have not hit anything major, though it hurt like hell for days afterwards. So I woke up, packed and left Middleton. It took me a week to reach the next town. I couldn’t move very fast. But every day I got a little stronger and every day I got a little further away from that nasty man. I learned quickly how to hide and stay out of the light. I had to, to survive.”
“So how did Zhora find you?” Sergi asked.
Serenity turned her head into Nicky’s chest. “I’m tired. I think I need to lay down for a while.”
His arms tightened around her. He got to his feet and picked her up. Looking over at Nikoli he asked, “Is my room still my room?”
Nikoli nodded but showed nothing on his face.
“I’ll just get her settled then I’ll come back.” Nicky turned and walked out of his father’s apartments and went to his own. One of his father’s security team follow him and even opened the door for him. Nicky carried her through to his bedroom and laid her one the bed.
When he saw her tears, he gently brushed them away and smiled at her. “I love you, my sweet light.”
Serenity smiled back. “I don’t know why you do. I’m a hot mess and no one has loved me before.”
“Well, I do love you,” he repeated. “I think I was half in love with you the whole time we battled online. I’ve never known anyone better than I was. You intrigued me then and again, when we met face to face.”
“Bet you never expected to meet a freak, when you met me, did you?” she asked.
Nicky looked into her eyes and saw heartbreak in them. “Sweet girl, you are not a freak. Not to me and not to anyone who ever took the time to know you. You’re an intelligent woman forced to live alone in the dark. But that’s not going to be necessary anymore. With me beside you, you can do and be anything you want to be.”
A single tear ran down her cheek. “Z and my father won’t let that happen.”
Nicky smiled. “Your father and his man Owen are going down for what they did to you. And Zhora, isn’t long for this world if my father and Sergi have their way and believe me... they will have their way.” He looked around his room. “This isn’t much but it will be home for a while. Get some rest.” He leaned forward and kissed her gently. “Baby, I know you’re hurting and talking about that shit took its toll. But I want you to know, you’ll be safe here. You don’t have to run anymore. I’ll be here and I got your back. Ok?”
Serenity smiled. Lifting her hand to his jaw, she ran her fingers up his neck. “I hear you. And whatsmore, I’m glad you got my back. Dragging all that stuff up just now brought home to me that my life has been a nightmare. After I told it to all those people in that room, I wonder now, how I survived it.”
“You survived because you and I were fated to meet.” Nicky nodded at her.
Serenity grinned. “Oh, is that right? Fate decided I had to survive just to meet you?”
“Yup.” Nicky nodded. “Our story is written in the stars somewhere. It has to be.” He pushed away from the bed and kissed her again. “You get some rest. I have to go back and talk to my father and the others. I’ll be back in a while.”
“Ok.” She nodded as she watched him walk away. She closed her eyes and while she didn’t sleep, she did get some rest. She just wanted to blank out the bad taste of her past. Most times, it worked but this time it didn’t. All the little tricks she’d used before wouldn’t work this time.
Chapter Eight
After a while, Serenity got up and went out to Nicky’s living room. She saw their bags sitting by the door and she went to get her laptop. Pulling out the computer, she sat down on the sofa and opened the lid.
Scrolling down, she got caught up on everything she missed the last few days. Just when she was about to close out, she heard a rather timid knock on her door. She got up and went to answer it.
When she opened the door, she found herself looking at Malina. She peered beyond her to see an empty hall. “What are you doing here?” she asked the girl gently.
“I heard you and Nicky came back and I wanted to see if you were okay...You didn’t look so good the other day when I saw you.”
Serenity stepped back and let the girl into the apartment. She left the door part way open when she turned to face the little girl.
Malina took her hand and dragged her over to the sofa. “I’m so glad you came back.” She smiled.
Serenity smiled slightly but didn’t say anything.
“Are you mad at my dad?” Malina asked. “I know I am.”
“Why would you be mad at your father?” Serenit
y asked as she frowned at the other girl.
“Because he hurt you and he had no right to do that,” Malina told her simply.
Serenity knew what she said next would determine her place in this soon to be family. She studied the little girl sitting next to her. “You know you are very lucky to even have a father. Some of us aren’t so lucky. At least your father wants to know you. Mine never did.”
“How come?” Malina asked with wide eyes.
“I’m different from most people and in his eyes, that difference is a bad thing.”
“You mean because you’re whiter than most people?” Malina asked. “Why would that matter? He’s your father, he’s supposed to love you matter what. That’s what being a father is all about, isn’t it? That’s what my mother tells me anyway.”
Serenity nodded. “I wish it were that simple but I’m an albino and that makes most people think I’m a freak. They look at me and all they can see is the color of my hair, skin and eyes. They don’t see the real me.”
“But Nicky did, didn’t he?” Malina asked. “He saw the person you were inside.”
Serenity smiled. “Yeah, he did.”
“My dad still had no right to hurt you.” Malina frowned. She looked down at the floor and voiced her hidden fears. “What if one day, I made him mad, would he do to me what he did to you too?”
Serenity slipped to the floor and knelt in front of the little girl, cupping her chin she brought her face up to see her eyes. “I don’t think your father would ever hurt you. Do you want to know why?”
Malina nodded.
“Because he loves you. You belong to him. Yes, you might make him mad over the years, but I don’t think he would ever strike you. He might yell and scream a lot and there will be days when you can’t see eye to eye on any number of things, but he would never hit you in anger.”
“What happened to your father?” Malina asked.
“I don’t know, I’ve never met the man.”
Malina looked shocked. “You never met your father?”
Serenity shook her head. “I’ve met his security detail twice now but not him. I did get to see him once when I was younger than you are now.”
“What about your mother? What happened to her?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never met her either.”
“Can I ask why? Did she pass away?”
Serenity bit her bottom lip. “No she didn’t die, well as far as I know she’s still alive, somewhere, just not with me.” She paused then decided to be honest. “I was told she took one look at me and decided she didn’t want me. To her I was a freak and she didn’t want me in her life.”
“So you don’t have any family around at all?”
“No, but I have Nicky now and that’s enough for me. It’s more than I had growing up.”
“Well, you got me too, if you want me that is.” Malina shyly looked over at her.
“I’d like that very much.” Serenity smiled. “If your father doesn’t mind, or your mother.”
“I don’t mind a bit,” Bella called out from the doorway softly. “I’m very proud of the fact she has a friend like you.”
Serenity looked up at Bella and smiled. “Thank you. I’m the lucky one, she’s a cool kiddo.”
Malina grinned. “Did you hear that Mom? I’m a cool kiddo!”
“I heard that.” Bella’s smile widened. “Come on kiddo, let’s let Serenity get cleaned up, and changed for dinner.”
Serenity nodded. “It won’t take me long to wash my hands. I’m afraid I don’t have anything to change into. What you see is all I own for clothes.”
“Well, that’s not right, come to my room I might have something you can wear. You can’t wear shorts to dinner,” Bella informed her.
Serenity shook her head. “I’m not sure I want to go to dinner. I’m better off not being seen. I tend to get a lot of unwelcome stares if you know what I mean.”
“I do.” Bella nodded.
“Can we stay with Serenity and just eat in our rooms too?” Malina begged her mother.
“How about we all eat together in the sitting room?” Bella gave them an alternative. “That way, the men can talk freely while they eat their own dinner. Maybe Raven will join us and we can have a ladies night?”
“I would love that,” Raven announced as she joined the group. “Men talk can easily be very boring.”
“I know what!” Malina called out. “We can do a sleepover!”
Bella and Raven chuckled and enjoyed the hilarity of the situation while Serenity looked confused. Shaking her head at the little girl’s antics she said, “I have no idea what that is. Could one of you please explain?”
Raven and Bella didn’t really look surprised.
“You’ve never had a girl’s night or a slumber party, have you?” Bella asked.
Malina looked troubled by the idea that someone never knew of this fun event. “It’s where we all put our jammies on and pig out on pizza and watch movies!
Serenity shook her head. “Not where I grew up.”
Raven stalked into the room and hooked her arm in her own. “Well, then, let’s show you how it’s done. I didn’t have too many of them either when I was a kid. But I promise you’ll learn to like them.”
Bella hooked her arm around Serenity’s other arm and said, “We’ll order greasy pizza and some wine and the kiddo can have her hot cocoa and we’ll watch scary movies and talk about the guys. We can all use this chance to get to know one another. At some point, we’ll all be related so we can use this time to bond.”
Nicky sat at the dining table and watched as the others discussed what they had learned this afternoon.
Yuri leaned closer to him and spoke quietly, “You were very lucky when you left here. You know your father and the Bratva has many enemies out there waiting to pounce. They could have followed you, killed you along the road and left you for the birds or wolves to pick apart and he never would have known where to claim your bones.”
Nicky turned to the other man. “Yes, I know that. But there was no reasoning with him that night. Nothing I said or did got through to him. Not even the fact Serenity was willing to cooperate for protection. Protection, I promised her before she came back here with me. A promise he ignored completely because it suited him to use brutal force on a helpless woman.” He paused then added, “That’s why I took her and left. He was out of control. She told him everything he asked of her.”
Yuri listened and nodded. “He has already accepted that part of it. He has made his amends to Sergi for his lapse.”
“Well, isn’t that nice?” Nicky sneered. “He has made amends to Sergi for his lapse of manners. What about his amends to Serenity for beating the hell out of her?” he growled lowly.
Yuri smiled slowly. “You love her don’t you?”
“Of course I love her, I married her didn’t I?”
Yuri scoffed. “The two don’t always go hand in hand, my young friend.”
Nicky closed his eyes. “I know, and I’m sorry. Being dragged back here just doesn’t sit right somehow. I mean we were on our way back anyway when Kirill and the others showed up. Serenity wanted to make things right but she is so terrified of Zhora finding her again.” He hung his head for a moment then raised it to stare at the other man. “Nikoli looks at her like she’s a freak instead of the beautiful woman she actually is. He didn’t even try to hide his reaction. The first time or when we returned.”
Yuri nodded. “Malina is now terrified of him. She won’t even speak with him. Bella barely has anything to do with him either. He’s afraid he’s losing what he wanted so badly since he was a teenager,” Yuri informed him. “He had a family and now he’s on the brink of losing it again and he feels he’s too old to start all over again. When he lost you years ago, he searched for you for almost twenty years. He couldn’t believe it when he found you a grown man. I don’t think he ever thought he would get a chance to know you. But Raven made that happen for him. Then within a couple of y
ears of meeting you, he finds he has another child and that she’s young enough he can watch her grow. Now that little girl is afraid of him and that terrifies him.”
Nicky sighed. “Raven did the only thing possible when she entrusted me to him. That woman made right the wrong someone else did to both of us. And she did it without thoughts of rewards or even praise, she did it because she loved me and wanted what was best for me. She certainly never learned that behavior from anyone else. Well, Serenity is the same way. She did what Zhora demanded of her but she also protected my father. A man she’d never met before. She risked her life to protect him and he showed his appreciation by bullying her. He owes her a lot more than amends.”
“That’s true,” Yuri agreed. “But you don’t know your father as well as I do. He will make this up to her and he will accept her as your wife.”
Nicky scoffed. “Maybe someday but not today. He made that very clear didn’t he?”
The door opened as Kirill came in and walked directly over to Nikoli where he whispered something in Nikoli’s ear.
Nikoli nodded and looked over at Sergi. “The security teams checked both houses Serenity gave us and rounded up most of Zhora’s crew but they didn’t find him. His crew doesn’t know where the man is, but we are still looking for him.” Then he looked at Nicky. “We also found his cohort right here in the hotel.”