We arrived at the house. Neither Kallan’s nor Olezka’s car was in the driveway, but the lights were still on from when I left. I wiggled in his arms and noticed my head was cleared from any lingering pain or fogginess. It felt wrong being in Timur’s arms. He quickly set me on my feet, his hand hovering near my elbow to make sure I didn’t fall over.
“I’m guessing that you’re going to disappear again?”
“Da. I have business elsewhere. I only swung by the house to check in on my brats. They were gone, and your scent mingled with Anubis’s was fresh. I followed since it is dark and dangerous for a human to be out this late.”
“Hey! Your brother has been teaching me self-defense. I’ve sort of got this.” I lifted my chin defiantly, but he only raised a brow in response. Okay, maybe I didn’t have this. “Fine, I’ll wait inside,” I muttered.
“Roman should be home soon.”
“Will you, at least, wait until Olezka gets home?” I knew Olezka worried about his older brother, no matter what else he claimed.
“Nyet, it’s okay. Just tell my brat I’ll see him soon. Be safe, Sixx. Try not to wander off alone,” Timur warned.
Chapter 4
Before disappearing again, Timur made sure that I went back inside the house. Twenty minutes later, my nervousness got the better of me, and I looked outside, startled when the closest streetlight highlighted Timur’s large silhouette standing sentinel at the edge of the yard. Honestly, after my second headache incident in as many days, I didn’t want to go back outside. No, thank you. I wasn’t that dumb. It was reassuring to see Timur out there, though.
Unable to focus, I put on a TV show that Ana and I typically only watched in between picking a new binge-worthy series. Even as I sat on the couch, blankly staring at the screen, I couldn’t escape the weight of that headache or the fear that followed me when I was outside. I bounced my foot against the floor spastically, my knee jumping high, unable to sit still. I took a deep breath and tried to force myself to relax. Instead of sitting on the edge of the couch, I scooted against the backrest, but even that didn’t help.
Anubis’s ear twitched, and he lifted his head to glare at me. When I still fidgeted, he grunted and climbed off the couch in search of a resting place that didn’t bounce. But not before giving me an annoyed look and heading to his dog bed… which I might have guilted Olezka into buying. Olezka didn’t want Anubis on the couch, but he tolerated it while I was here because he knew how much I loved the puppy snuggles. I simply asked where Anubis slept when I wasn’t here and was horrified when he said the floor. Hence, the dog bed.
Unfortunately, even that memory couldn’t bring a smile to my face. They had been gone for several hours, and my imagination skipped past wild two hours ago. Knowing they would be going up against those two massive werewolves, not to mention their pack, forced me to relive memories and imagine scenarios that prevented my mind from resting.
They were dead.
Or taken like Ana and I had been when we were in high school.
They were outnumbered and outpowered.
Just then, as I’d worked myself into another anxiety-riddled frenzy, the door at the back of the kitchen creaked open. I bolted from the couch and darted into the kitchen where I was relieved to see Roman, who twisted around and stared at me with raised brows.
“I figured you all had gone over to the gon-don place.”
I scrunched my face, unfamiliar with his Russian word. “The what?”
“The fae,” Roman growled, but I had a feeling that was not what he’d originally said. Right now, I didn’t want to bug him. He liked to teach me Russian swear words and phrases because it annoyed Olezka, and I enjoyed the relationship we had. Eventually, I’d like to start learning some Russian for Z but on the sly so I could surprise him.
“Oh, no. Kallan got a lead regarding Dreamscape and took Ana with him to investigate, but then he called Olezka to come help out. Z left a few hours ago.”
“Hmm. And you got left behind?”
“Probably for the best,” I muttered.
Roman nodded, but the tightness around his mouth made me wonder what else he wanted to say. I understood their reasoning for leaving me behind. As a human, I didn’t have natural defenses against paras. I was vulnerable, which made them vulnerable. I could usually help from the sidelines, but Olezka was insanely protective. After what happened so recently with my investigation into Nova and subsequently being drugged with Dreamscape, well, let’s just say he liked the idea of keeping me far from even the sidelines.
“I’m going upstairs to shower. Will you be okay down here?”
“Yup.” I turned to head back to the living room.
“Sixx?”
Surprised by the change in his voice, I looked over my shoulder at Roman.
“You’re good for him, you know? I know you humans consider what you and Olezka have as being far too early in your relationship to be serious, but you help him forget.”
My brows pinched together in confusion. Just as I started to ask what he meant, Roman disappeared up the stairs before I could speak.
What did he mean by that? What was so horrible that Olezka wanted to forget?
I flushed as I thought back to what Ana and I discovered while eavesdropping at the bar. Apparently, when paras found their mates, the bond was felt strongly on both sides. Also, most paras lived a lot longer than humans. They had waited for decades, if not centuries, for their mates to come into their lives. They didn’t date like humans. At least, not from the limited information that Ana’s co-bartender, Mark gave us and even more limited information than what Ana’s late aunt had given us. Olezka was certainly tight-lipped about it. He seemed content to take our relationship at human speed for me, but it was hard for me to gauge our relationship because of the extreme circumstances that surrounded it.
With those thoughts now filling my head, along with imagined scenarios of Ana, Kallan, and Olezka dying or being seriously injured by rabid werewolves, I snuck some of Olezka’s expensive vodka.
Wrong? Totally. But he…he might kill me for it.
****
As I waited for the others to return, I used the bottle I’d be drinking from as a mic. I warbled a horrible rendition of a song that Ana and I had been obsessed with listening to when we were in high school. Anubis had given up on my antics and laid in his bed, expelling an annoyed huff every few minutes. As I trailed off, the door opened. “Haven’t you people ever heard of closing the door?” another voice chimed in with humor lacing her tone. I twisted toward the sound of my visitor and tripped over my feet, the fuzziness of my head slowing my motor skills drastically. My stomach plummeted as the floor came rushing up to meet my face.
“Ozorink, what are you doing?” Olezka exclaimed. Moving faster than any human, he managed to grab me around the waist the instant before my face would have smacked against the tile floor. With a sigh, he tucked me securely against his chest. My heart fluttered in my chest as I gripped his strong arm, but my relief at being rescued was diminished when the remaining vodka spilled out of the upturned bottle.
“Oh, you weren’t fast enough to save it,” I pouted.
Olezka cursed.
“Oooh.” I twisted in his hold and poked his cheek. “You said a bad word! You never swear.”
“Da, my ozorink. I often swear, just not around you.”
Even in my drunken state, I could see how tired Olezka was. His features were drawn, and dark circles ringed his eyes. Coming home to an inebriated mate only made it worse.
“Oh, shit. Uh, Olezka?” Ana said behind me.
“I’m so sorry! I made your night so much harder than it already was. And – hic – and I-”
Olezka’s eyes went wide, and he looked past me as if searching for my off button.
Ana patted my head. “She’s an emotional drunk. Just snuggle her for a bit, and let her sleep it off.”
Olezka looked down at me once more before nodding curtly. Before I knew it, he’d s
cooped me into his arms and lifted me over his shoulder.
“Wheee!” I cheered, excited that he seemed to be in a better mood until the moment my stomach landed on his shoulder. “Oh, that’s not wheee.”
Ana snorted loudly before barking out a laugh. “Watch her stomach!” she shouted a warning.
Olezka carried me up the stairs, holding me just a bit off his shoulder so my stomach wouldn’t bounce against it. After a jaw-cracking yawn, I breathed in Olezka’s unique scent. It drew me in. The smoky, spicy mixture had such an effect on me. I had been stressed out since the moment he walked out the door, but now that he was back, I felt my muscles loosen.
“You’re home,” I whispered.
Olezka didn’t say anything. Instead, he moved quickly down the hallway to his bedroom. Opening the door and closing it behind us softly, he set me down on the bed and tucked me in. I turned to snuggle the pillow closest to me, my eyelids already heavy with sleep.
“I’m glad the werewolves didn’t kill you,” I murmured sleepily. “I was worried.”
Olezka chuckled and leaned down, brushing my hair from my face. I leaned into his touch and closed my eyes to revel in the sensation of his tender touch.
“Zhizn' moya, you had nothing to fear.”
“Of course I did. Werewolves almost killed me before. I didn’t want them to kill you,” I muttered, half asleep, but startled awake when he stopped petting me. Managing to pry my eyes open, I saw a flash of fire in his eyes before he blinked it away.
“I will remain here until you sleep,” he promised as he continued to brush his fingers through my hair. I breathed out a soft sigh. Within moments, sleep claimed me.
****
“Oh, God,” I groaned the instant I woke. My mouth tasted like cotton. My head pounded as if a drum circle of smelly hippies had taken up residence in my skull. My stomach gurgled unpleasantly.
“Nyet. Here.”
I squinted one eye open to see Olezka holding a tall glass of water and a couple of pain relievers in his hand. Sitting up, I took them from him, grateful for his foresight. My stomach knotted, and I took a sip of water before taking the tablets. Once I drained the glass, Olezka took it from me and set it on the side table by him.
Once I’d been properly medicated, his attention returned to me full-force. I wiggled under his scrutiny, running my hands through my hair when he still didn’t say anything.
“So, you guys didn’t call me last night and let me know what was going on,” I said, feeling a little hurt. Ana knew about my past, particularly about my anxieties that revolved around werewolves.
“Much happened. We need to talk.” There was a tone to his voice that I didn’t like at all. But before he could begin, last night came crashing into my mind.
“Oh…fudge. You guys walked in on me singing, didn’t you?”
“Da. Pchelka, you are many things, but a singer is not one.”
My cheeks burned. Oh, I knew I couldn’t hold a tune worth a crap, which was why I only sang when I was either alone or drunk. But the underlying reason for my drunkenness still hung in the air. They didn’t check in, which caused my mind to run wild with imagined injuries and fatalities, and after taking a walk didn’t help, I stumbled on the vodka to calm myself down.
Then I remembered Timur. Oh, shoot. Timur!
“Olezka!” I caught his arm, turning toward him. He looked down at my bare legs that were now free from the blanket. After my walk and before I got drunk, I changed into a pair of sleeping shorts that I’d left here from our last extended stay, topped with one of Olezka’s oversized shirts. I flushed again because his stare held a strange power over me—a shiver of delight following where his gaze went.
“No! Stop that. I have something to tell you.” I playfully slapped his arm. But when he looked up at me, his features morphed into a grim expression. My stomach twisted in apprehension.
“What happened?”
“We need to talk, priyatel.”
My heart pounded in my chest. I saw Ana before I passed out last night, right?
“Is Ana okay?”
“Da, she probably wants to see you. She slept in Timur’s room last night again. Come, we will get you food and speak with Ana.”
Olezka took hold of my hand and started to tug me up but stopped when the rest of the covers dropped away. His gaze swept over me in a lingering hot stare that made me squirm. I bit my lip. He reached out to touch me, almost like he couldn’t hold back. His fingers barely swept over my exposed thigh, but my body reacted. An electric thrill swept through me.
“We should… I should get dressed.” Oh, boy, why do I sound so breathy? Well, I knew why, but dang.
“Da. Dress, krasotka. Meet me downstairs once you’re ready.” But instead of leaving, he tugged his arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest. I blinked up at him, my lips parted as I waited for him to make the next move. My heart pounded in my chest. He brushed his lips against mine teasingly, but Olezka didn’t half-ass anything. Thank goodness.
He pulled me impossibly closer, his free hand raking through my hair and holding me close as he dominated the kiss, taking it further and longer than I think he originally intended.
Once he pulled away, my heart stammered in my chest, and I tried to remember which way was up.
“Dress, Sixx.”
“Uh-huh.”
I heard his throaty laugh drifting away as he shut the door behind him. I hadn’t brought clothes with me since I thought Ana and I would be returning home the night before, so I picked another shirt of Olezka’s and grabbed a pair of his sweatpants, dressing in a daze as his scent wrapped around me. The legs went way past my feet, but I rolled them enough so I wouldn’t trip over them.
At the top of the stairs, the scent of a savory breakfast wafted toward my nostrils. My previously twisted stomach suddenly untwisted. Instead, a loud growl answered Anubis’s happy bark, which he reserved for when someone was about to give him a treat. I climbed down the stairs and joined Ana, Kallan, and Olezka in the kitchen. Not surprisingly, Roman was absent. He tolerated Ana, but he positively hated Kallan. It was a mystery I wanted to uncover, but at the moment, I was more interested in unraveling the mystery that surrounded Olezka. All I knew about him was the Cliffs Notes version of his job and that he was protective, not just of me but of his family.
The light air that usually settled around our breakfast gatherings was missing. Ana finger-waved to me as I walked into the kitchen.
“Hey.”
“Come sit; I will bring you a plate,” Olezka offered from where he stood at the stove.
I sat next to Ana, who had already started eating her hash, omelet, and breakfast sausages. I snagged a link from her plate, and she tried to poke my hand with her fork. Kallan had nothing in front of him, but I rarely saw him eat. His stare was unnerving as it rested on my face, and I shifted in my seat. Olezka placed a plate in front of me and one in front of his chair, which was piled high with enough food to feed a small village.
“Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?” Ana asked in her straightforward way before Z had even sat down. I’d scooped up a bit of the omelet and had it halfway to my mouth, but my fork stilled at her words. Ana and Olezka were staring each other down, and then he lifted his lip as a growl rumbled through his chest.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“You need to get out of the city. You are a weakness,” Kallan said brusquely, still staring me down unflinchingly.
I set my fork back down, mourning the sudden loss of my appetite. “What?”
“You are a weakness, human.”
Chapter 5
Well, three out of the four people sitting at the table were about to jump the fourth.
“Kallan!” Ana yelled.
“If you two want to dance around it, you can. But we need to move quickly.”
“What happened last night?” I asked.
“She is not just a human, and you know it. She is my mate; you will
respect her as such,” Olezka growled, his fists clenched.
“She needs to leave,” Kallan said again, his anger increasing and darkening his features.
I tried to interrupt again. “What happened?”
They continued to ignore me, intent on bickering amongst themselves. Rolling my eyes, I went back to eating my breakfast until they decided to calm down. It was obvious they wouldn’t listen to me until they got it out of their systems. I peeked up after I took another bite of my hash and noticed the table had quieted down. Ana looked at me with a smirk on her face. I took another bite before I sat back.
“Okay, now that’s out of the way, would someone like to tell me exactly what’s going on?”
Olezka began, “Last night, when we went to check out the tip that Kallan got, we were able to watch a drug deal from afar. We know…” He cut off when I crept my hand up as if to ask a question. “What?”
His deep, sensual voice paired with his exotic accent this early in the morning slowed my cognitive skills. “Maybe Ana should tell the story, just until I…” I flushed. “Just until I’m a little more alert.”
Definitely not because I’m thinking about the kiss we just shared. Nope, not at all. Olezka gave me a smile that melted my heart. Heat fluttered through my gut, swirling lower still. Oh, boy.
“Alright, you two. Calm down. I don’t want to have to get my spray bottle out,” Ana chastised.
“Could you all focus?” Kallan snapped.
“We were watching from afar, as I was saying,” Olezka continued. “I scented the werewolves, and Kallan saw the beasts. Just as the human who had purchased Dreamscape was leaving, one of the werewolves got a little too excited. He started to go after the human, at which point Ana intervened.”
Ana got a sheepish look, her gaze flickering over to Kallan. He wore a frown so deep I thought his face would be permanently stuck that way. Olezka grunted, shifting everyone’s attention back to him.
The Sidekick Chronicles: Sixx and the Fae Page 3