Debase

by Rachel Van Dyken

I wanted it to last longer.

  Gently, she pressed me onto my back, her eyes raking over me as she very slowly lowered her head.

  I flinched. “Alice, don’t, seriously don’t—”

  The word died on my lips.

  And I, Andrei Petrov, heir to one of the deadliest mobs in history.

  Fell.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Phoenix

  HIS DAMN PHONE was off, which meant she was either alive or dead.

  Perfect.

  I tapped my fingers against the black folder and weighed my options as I sat alone at the kitchen table, drinking a glass of wine, wondering when the other shoe was going to fall.

  If the De Langes were the ones locating the girls and dropping them off at the clubs, then the world finally made sense again.

  We would need to send in Chase. Fast.

  And we would need the FBI to raid the club in a way that made it look like the Italians and Russians weren’t ratting each other out or working with each other.

  Shit.

  I stared into my wine glass as the sound of feet hitting the hardwood gave me pause.

  “Junior.” I smiled as a I said his name. “You were supposed to be in bed.”

  “I was in bed.” Smart ass. He was wearing Spiderman pajamas and had a shit-eating grin on his face. “I just wanted a drink of water.”

  “You have a glass by the bed.” I pointed out.

  “It’s not my Batman one.”

  Patience. Patience. Patience. “Oh, I’m sorry does the water taste different depending on the cup?”

  “YUP!”

  Dear God.

  “So, your dinosaur cup?”

  “Poop.” He laughed. “It tastes like poop!”

  I grabbed him and pulled him onto my lap while he fell into a fit of giggles.

  Three children were out there waiting to be pulled into the protective fold of our family.

  The only problem was the name associated with them.

  The only problem was the De Langes wanted them as much as we did, and Andrei didn’t even know they existed.

  The grandfather clock chimed midnight.

  There was only one thing we could do.

  After all, Andrei would need his family. He would need people he trusted, people he could rely on.

  Fucking hell.

  I kissed my son on the head. “Off to bed, Junior, I’ll be in there in five minutes.”

  “All right.” He skipped away.

  I grabbed my phone.

  I was creating more chaos.

  We were supposed to be at peace.

  I was inviting more war.

  But if it helped us destroy what was left of the De Langes, if it gave Andrei the support he needed, the family that he never had the chance to have.

  I would do it.

  I dialed the number to Italian royalty.

  The pure bloods.

  I called in the Sinacore Family.

  “Yes?” A heavily accented voice said smoothly into the phone. “What is it, Nicolasi?”

  “The missing Sinacore heirs.” I bit down on my lip. “I have one, as well as the location of the other two.”

  He was silent and then, “In the States?”

  “Chicago.”

  “How long have you known this?”

  “Long enough.”

  His sigh was long, hard. “You risk war bringing the children into this. They are the rightful heirs.”

  “We risk war either way. It’s their birthright.”

  “Where is the boy?”

  “Man.” I grinned to myself. “He’s a man… You know him by the name of Andrei Petrov.”

  I will never forget the amount of cursing that occurred before arrangements were made.

  Or the feeling of sickness in my chest that I was about to make life for him a hell of a lot harder.

  “Strap in, Andrei, strap the hell in.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Alice

  I WANTED HIM.

  More of him.

  All of him.

  I felt like I was on the edge peering over it, terrified to jump, wishing I was smart enough to swing to the other side and avoid danger altogether.

  That’s what Phoenix had offered me.

  Was I really ignoring the help and just closing my eyes and falling into darkness? By choice?

  He trusted me.

  And I was almost scared to admit, I trusted him too, Andrei Petrov, murderer, monster.

  Lover.

  Friend.

  Ax interrupted us holding up what looked like his cell phone. I was ready to throw it across the room, but the look on his face told me it was important, so when he apologized by kissing me on the forehead and walking out of the room.

  I sighed and lay back against the bed.

  That was an hour ago.

  And I had class that afternoon, a lab actually, I wasn’t sure if he was going to drive me again or give me some freedom to go to and from the school.

  My bet was on guard duty.

  I waited a little longer.

  He wasn’t coming back, was he?

  I crawled to the side of the bed, threw my legs over, stood, stretched, and decided to go put on a movie and plan out dinner before I took off. It was the least I could do, right?

  Every cell that made up my body buzzed with the awareness of him, of the way he smelled, tasted.

  I was high on a drug I didn’t even know I had taken until it was too late.

  The kitchen was empty.

  The door to the hall locked again.

  Another prison.

  Only I would have liked to stay in this one, if it meant Andrei stayed. I probably wouldn’t look back.

  I made my way over to the fridge and pulled it open, but I wasn’t really seeing anything. My mind was too filled with what-ifs when it came to Andrei.

  I felt different with him.

  Alive.

  Free.

  I shut the door and leaned back against the counter. Phoenix’s words seemed to stamp themselves into my consciousness.

  I wanted to ask Andrei what it meant.

  I felt stupid having that conversation. Then again, how else were we supposed to get past the point of him wearing gloves, or being able to receive a touch, a kiss that wasn’t started by him?

  My body shivered.

  The sound of the lock turning and then the door opening had me turning toward the entrance.

  My body gave a jolt when it wasn’t Andrei who stepped through but Ax. He grinned over at me and then tossed a pair of keys in the air and swiped them. “I’ve been sent to take you to class.”

  I deflated a bit and nodded. “Yeah, I wasn’t sure if he was going to let me drive myself or if I was going to get a babysitter.”

  “More like bodyguard,” Ax said softly. “He worries.”

  “Does he?”

  Ax’s expression sobered. “You really don’t understand, do you? What people would do to you if they knew? You’d be begging for death, and Andrei is under strict instructions if he’s ever in contact with a De Lange.”

  I froze. “Wh-what?”

  “Maim them first, kill a few days later so their anxiety spikes, or kill on sight.”

  I gulped and looked down at my feet. “He took an oath?”

  “Every one of the Italians, myself included, and Andrei, took a blood oath to each other, and to Chase, executioner of the De Lange line. According to the five families, we are now four, and the De Lange arm does not exist.”

  It was like getting told my history was gone. Even though it wasn’t a proud history, it still existed, I was still a part of something, no matter how horrible or debasing it was.

  And now, I was a walking contradiction.

  Sleeping with the enemy.

  Close enough.

  No wonder Andrei didn’t trust me.

  I wasn’t even supposed to be breathing. He’d warned me, he’d gone to great lengths to protect me.

  And I
still hadn’t fully grasped the situation until now. “What if I turned myself in?”

  “Don’t!” Ax snapped. “Then I would be a dead man.”

  “How so?”

  “Andrei would slit my throat for failing to protect you even if it was from yourself.” He shrugged. “Now, grab your shit so we aren’t late.”

  He pulled out a gun, his hand on the trigger as it hung at his side. His expression went from friendly to killer in seconds.

  I quickly ran into my bedroom and donned my uniform, including thigh-high boots, then ran out to meet him. “Ready.”

  “Let’s go.” He opened the door and put his hand on the small of my back as we walked down the dimly lit hallways into the main part of the club.

  Andrei was sitting at the bar with a man who looked vaguely familiar and a gorgeous woman with sharp features and her hair cut to her chin. Bright red lipstick painted her lips, and she was wearing leather pants and a loose sweater that fell over her shoulder. Her heels were spikey and looked expensive.

  My eyes darted to the scene.

  They all had vodka shots.

  And I was going to college.

  It was just another reminder how different our worlds would always be, and how he would always attempt to shield me from the darkness.

  Andrei looked my way and lifted his glass in the air and then returned his attention back to the man and woman.

  My heart squeezed.

  The things we’d shared.

  Done.

  Together.

  My memory flashed, his hands touching my skin, burning from the inside out, so sensual and slow that I almost went mad with it. And touching him, feeling his strength between my fingertips as I brought him to his knees.

  It meant something to me.

  Sharing that with a guy when before it made me cower.

  I stumbled a bit, lost in my thoughts. Ax had me by the arm in seconds. “You okay?”

  “Uh, yeah.” My weak voice gave me away, along with the tears that were gathering in my eyes. Would it have killed him to at least have checked on me himself?

  I sensed Andrei before I turned around.

  It was like he’d appeared out of thin air.

  His hand touched the door just as I was about to get in the car, I turned to him and suppressed a wince. The heat from his body was almost too much.

  I lifted my eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

  Fallen angels had nothing on this guy, even his swagger had swagger as he locked eyes with me and gave the smallest of smiles.

  Being on the receiving end of his smile was like staring directly at the sun; it almost hurt my eyes, but it was too pretty, too bright to look away.

  For someone so dark, he knew how to smile well.

  And somehow, his smile made me feel worse.

  “You all right?” he whispered, leaning in.

  Now he asks?

  “Yeah, I have class.” I was already turning.

  His hand was on my waist before I could get into the car.

  And then he was pressing me against the Escalade, his hands on my face as he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.

  My knees went weak.

  He tasted like vodka and honey.

  My mouth trembled.

  He thumbed my lower lip. “Be safe, dorogaya.”

  “I’ll try not to run into any murderers during Econ,” I countered, searching his eyes, wishing he would tell me more, admit that I was surrounded by murderers on a daily basis since being with him.

  Surrounded by threats.

  Not just from the Italians.

  But from him.

  From anyone and everyone who knew what my line had done.

  I almost hung my head.

  But I wasn’t guilty of anything but being born in the wrong family.

  “See you later.” I finally found more words and quickly crawled into the car.

  In my peripheral vision, I noticed his eyes flicker with something as his expressionless face seemed to darken.

  I almost asked Ax to hit the accelerator for fear that Andrei was going to jump into the car and do something crazy.

  Ax slowly put the SUV into drive and off we went.

  I exhaled in relief only when we were closing in on campus.

  “He means well,” Ax finally admitted as he drove through the open gate. “He just doesn’t know how to execute his feelings in a way that doesn’t scare people shitless.”

  I smiled at that. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that.”

  “Try not to worry about it.” He parked the SUV in a spot close to the Econ building.

  I hopped out, expecting him to stay in the car and wait for me.

  Instead, Ax moved around the vehicle and held out his hand. “Let me carry your bag.”

  I stared him down. “Is carrying my books really in your job description?”

  “No, I’m just a gentleman.” He flashed me an easy smile that showed off yet more Italian genes that should be used to sell sunglasses or clothes, underwear — hell, laundry detergent.

  I handed him my bag as we slowly walked into the building. Students stared. Andrei’s previous outburst probably hadn’t helped.

  I didn’t really think twice about the stares. I knew what people thought. That I had a psycho boyfriend — or husband, whatever, I had his last name — it did matter.

  I. Was. Safe.

  I quickly found my seat as Ax waited outside the lab, cell phone in hand like he was going to read or check out CNN for the next two hours.

  With a sigh, I looked down.

  On my desk was a piece of paper.

  In bold black letters it read, Russian Whore.

  I quickly grabbed it, crushed it between my hands as I made my way over to the trash can and threw it away.

  The professor had yet to show up.

  More students filed in.

  And as I made my way back to my seat, I noticed several more signs being held by students.

  Russian Whore.

  Petrov Prostitute.

  Spread Eagle at Eagle Elite.

  I was shaking by the time I made it back to my desk and the students didn’t seem to care just laughed amongst each other while taking pictures of the signs and posting them who knows where.

  Facebook.

  Instagram.

  Snapchat.

  The signs of course disappeared five minutes later.

  And I sat, in absolute hell minus one lab partner.

  Staring at a paper that I couldn’t seem to read because I was so sick to my stomach over what I’d seen, over the way they’d treated a stranger.

  So, he scared my missing lab partner. Big. Deal.

  How was I the whore?

  My stomach clenched more as a girl walked by me and placed a drawing on my desk.

  I assumed it was me.

  And I was bending over in front of him.

  I shoved it away.

  Tears slipped down my cheeks.

  Because hadn’t that been the truth this morning?

  And then he’d ignored me.

  Only to kiss me again when he thought I was hurt.

  I was so confused, so upset that I almost didn’t notice the hush that descended over the room twenty minutes later.

  My hair stood on end as I slowly turned.

  Andrei walked through the door, a look of complete rage rendering his features terrifying as he locked eyes on me, and then he crossed his arms and stood in the middle of the room.

  The door opened again.

  Tex Campisi walked in.

  If a pin had dropped, it wouldn’t dare have made a sound.

  I could have sworn the guy next to me started praying.

  Nixon was next, his smile cruel as he stared at everyone like they were his next meal.

  Dante sauntered in.

  The room erupted in mad whispers.

  Phoenix followed.

  The whispers stopped.

  Sergio was next, his swagger confident, his eyes loc
king on mine with purpose I didn’t understand.

  And then finally, Chase Abandonato.

  The murderer of my family line made his way into the room with blood splatters on his shirt and a knife in his hands.

  The professor didn’t blink.

  He yawned and pulled out the newspaper and read as if the most powerful men in the crime world weren’t just hanging out in Econ.

  Andrei raked the room with his gaze. “This isn’t a game.”

  People looked away.

  “Fucking look at me when I’m talking!” he roared.

  A girl in front started bawling.

  And the guy who Andrei had stopped next to shook so violently his desk started to move.

  “Insult what’s mine again, and we’ll be transporting you in body bags. Do. You. Understand. Me?”

  Heads nodded.

  “Chase.” Andrei said his name through clenched teeth. “A demonstration.”

  Chase’s eyes roamed across the room until he finally stopped on a guy who was looking down at his lap. “You. Stand.”

  The guy blinked up at him, his face pale. Slowly, he stood on shaking legs.

  “What’s your name?”

  “P-Peter.” The guy’s voice cracked.

  “Peter.” Chase crossed his arms over his chest. “All right Peter, I’m going to give the class thirty seconds to tell me who started the signs or I’m going to cut off a finger. It seems to be a fair trade to me… One.”

  As he counted, people shied away.

  “Fifteen.”

  Nobody was standing.

  “Sixteen.”

  I didn’t want them to suffer because of me.

  It was my fault.

  “Twenty.”

  Shit.

  Tears filled my eyes as I glanced around the room. This wasn’t their world; this wasn’t their war!

  “Twenty-eight.”

  “Me.” I jumped to my feet.

  An explosion of shocks and whispers filled the room. “I didn’t start it, but it’s my fault for being who I am. It’s always going to haunt me like it haunts you, don’t involve people whose blood will never be worth spilling. The cost is too great… even to someone like you.”

  And to my utter surprise, Chase Abandonato… smiled. “That will be the lesson for today folks. The reason she’s with us is because she’s the only fucking person in this room willing to make the hard choice. The only girl in this room who gives eye contact. And the only girl in this room worthy of the Petrov name.”

  Andrei stepped forward and put a hand on Chase’s shoulder. “Beautifully said.”