“I’m so glad you’re safe,” she says, squeezing me tight.
“Yeah … me too, so don’t kill me now, please.”
She laughs and lets me go. “Sorry. I’m just so happy.”
My eyes drift down to the ground where there’s a body right beside the door. “Fuck …”
“Oh, it’s okay,” Alisha muses, but she’s not looking at it either, so I guess she might be a little spooked.
“Sorry, we didn’t have time to clean up yet.”
“Are there more inside?” she whispers.
“Yeah, but they’re all dead too, so nothing to worry about,” I say.
She looks a bit squeamish. “Okay …”
“My girl,” Deangelo says, stepping forward and pecking me on the cheek. “You did it! I’m so fucking proud of ya.”
“Thanks. Couldn’t have done it without you.”
“You know I would’ve come here if you’d called.”
“Nah, I needed to do this myself,” I say.
“Good for you. Still got the gun? Mind if I get it back?”
“Sure.” I pull it from my back pocket and hand it back to him. “Sorry, I went through all the bullets. I can pay it back later.”
“Nah, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad I could help.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I appreciate it.”
“So everything’s taken care of?” he asks.
“Yeah … except for that bloody mess.”
“I can call a few of my guys if you want.” He rummages in his pocket. “They know how to properly clean shit up. Ain’t no fucking cop who’s found one drop of blood.”
I hold up my hand. “It’s fine. Viktor’s already calling a few men. Thanks.”
“Okay. Your call, girl. I’m just here to make sure you’re okay and to drop off your sister.” He salutes me and turns around. “See ya around!”
“Thanks,” I say, as he walks off.
“Is he in there?” Alisha asks.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to be scared of him anymore.”
“So he’s dead?”
“What? No,” I say.
She looks skeptical. “What happened to you? Is he forcing you to say that?”
“No, of course not.” I laugh. “We just … got to know each other.” I shrug.
“And?”
“He’s not as bad as you think.” I don’t know why, but my cheeks start to glow. “He’s actually … nice.”
Her eyes widen, and she crosses her arms. “What the f—Did he drug you?”
“No! God no.” I grab her hand. “C’mon. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
“No shit,” she says as I pull her into the house.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks again. “You don’t look like you got any scratches, but you don’t seem mentally stable.”
I sigh. “I’m fine. Viktor’s the one who got hurt.”
She makes a face. “Something changed, didn’t it?”
“What are you talking about?” I narrow my eyes at her too now.
“You … you seem different. Happy, almost.”
I glance at her. “That’s because I am.”
“Wow. This is so totally not what I expected to happen,” she says as I pull her into the room, right when Viktor looks up and waves awkwardly at her.
“Uh … hi again?”
Her eyes widen in shock as she sees his scars for the first time.
“Oh, my …”
“Yeah, I get that a lot,” he says.
“So that’s why … the mask,” she stutters, but then the look on her face completely changes. “You …” She points at him as she tries to march to him, probably to either lecture him or give him a smack in the face, but I grab her arm.
“Alisha, don’t jump on him. He’s hurt.”
“He fucking deserves it!”
“She’s right, I do,” he says.
“You, stay out of it!” she hisses at him, then returns her attention to him. “Why are you defending him? He locked you up like a prisoner.”
“It isn’t like that,” I say.
“Uh, yeah it is! He kept you against your will.”
“I did it to save your ass, okay?”
“And I appreciate that, but—”
“Then let me talk.”
Her lips part but then close again. “Fine.”
“Yes, he kept me here as a prisoner, but I wasn’t treated badly. I wasn’t hurt. I was fed properly, had a bed. And he became nicer.”
“Being nice isn’t my greatest asset, though,” Viktor adds, playfully raising a brow to catch my attention. He knows just how to make me blush. Motherfucker.
“Shut it,” I say to him, and then focus on Alisha again. “Things changed. Between us. We grew closer. And …”
“And what? You love him?”
I open my mouth but then slam my lips together, embarrassed that she says it out loud like that.
Her jaw drops. “No … you’re serious? What?”
“Please understand.”
“You’re in love … with this guy?” She points at him again.
“Hey, I can hear you, you know,” he says.
“I want you to hear me! You don’t deserve my sister.”
“Alisha!” I grab her arms. “He saved me. And you. He saved us both.”
“From what?” she frowns.
“From becoming servants. Remember the tattoo on your neck?”
Her fingers briefly touch it.
“You always knew it was bad.”
“Yeah, but you can’t be serious …”
“I am. They were gonna sell us. Use us. He took us out of that place years ago.”
She glances at him with less hatred than before.
“But … you almost died because of him.”
“I chose to come back here,” I say. “To save him.”
“And I’m very grateful,” he adds, folding his arms behind his head.
She looks at him then at me again, and she does this a few times before sighing out loud. “So I’m just to accept that my sister is sleeping with the enemy?”
“I’m not the enemy, but yeah … she is sleeping with me all right.” He grins when he sees my face.
I growl at him. “What he wants to say is that we like each other too much. This isn’t just a fling. It’s … more than that.”
“And you want … my approval.”
“I just wanted you to know.” I lower my head to look into her eyes better. “And I wanted to introduce you guys properly this time. Under normal circumstances.”
I grab her arm and pull as she digs her feet in, but I persist, even though she’s scowling. She doesn’t back away once she’s in front of him, though.
Viktor holds out his hand. “Viktor Melikov. Pleasure to meet you again.”
She shakes his hand reluctantly. “Right.”
“I’m sorry about what I did to you,” he says. “It wasn’t okay. I didn’t want to hurt you, and I’m sorry if I did.”
“No, I’m fine. I just don’t want you to hurt my sister.”
“I care too much about her to ever be able to hurt her. I promise.”
She sighs again as they let go of each other, and she glances over at me again. “Are you sure about this?”
I nod. “You know me. Have I ever felt anything in my life?”
“Except for raging bitchiness? No, not that I recall.”
I sneer at her. “You know what I mean.”
“So he’s special. He’s the one.”
I sit down on the couch beside him and look at him. “He’s … it.”
Out of nowhere, his arm snakes around me and he pulls me closer. “Just say you love me and wanna have babies with me and get it over with,” he growls.
“Oh God, I’m gonna puke,” Alisha mumbles, making a finger-into-mouth movement.
“Fuck you, Viktor,” I snarl.
“No, fuck you,” he says, muffling a laugh.
; So I spin around, grab his nipples, and twist.
He squeals. “Fuck!”
“That’s what you get for embarrassing me in front of my sister!”
“Fuck you! That’s not fair,” he says. “Ow! Let go of my fucking nips!”
“Do I really have to see this?” Alisha says. “You two are fucking awkward.”
“You’ll get used to it,” I murmur, laughing maniacally at the twisted look on his face.
“Peace! Peace! I surrender!” he says.
I release his nipples, which hardened under my touch. “I win.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “No … I did.” And then he grabs my face and kisses me, right in front of my sister.
“Typical,” she murmurs.
But I’m too consumed by his lips to even care. He grips my face with both hands as he kisses me powerful, deep, almost like he’s sealing the deal.
When he takes his lips off mine, they feel raw and ready for more. I could never get enough.
“I love you,” he whispers.
“I love you too,” I say, and I mean it. I’m no longer afraid of what that actually means.
“So …” Alisha murmurs. “You two are really a thing then?”
We both nod at her, making each other laugh then.
“Can you live with that?” Viktor says when the laughing subsides.
“Hmm, I guess.” She shrugs. “Just as long as you two keep the clinginess down around me.”
“Oh, I can’t promise that,” Viktor muses.
“And you’ll have to tell me all about what happened here … between you two …”
“I will, I promise,” I say. “We just gotta clean up the dead bodies first.”
“Right.” She nods, and it makes me laugh again at how ridiculous I just sounded.
“So is she okay with us?” Viktor murmurs.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“If you really want this, Lex, I can’t say no.” She smiles at me and then narrows her eyes at Viktor. “But … No way are you keeping her here as a prisoner. She did her time. She doesn’t owe you anything, and I don’t either.”
He holds up his hands. “She’s not, I promise. She’s free to go wherever she wants. And I won’t ask you to do anything. I’m already over it. Forgive and forget. Water under the bridge or something. Whatever. Let’s just start over.”
“Right, but I’m gonna add something … We are a package deal.”
He laughs a little, trying not to overdo it from the pain. “Figured as much.”
Alisha looks at Viktor, smiling as if she just realized this is how she’s going to make him suffer. Just by being here. “Guess we’ll both be moving into your humble castle then. Got any spare rooms?”
Epilogue
Viktor
Months later
“One gold ring,” I say as I place the box on the counter.
Deangelo’s eyes gleam as he looks at the tiny marble I placed in the center. “Fantastic. My girl will be so happy.”
“I’m sure she will. Enjoy!” I wink as he tucks it into his pocket.
I’m still amazed at how accepting he’s been toward Alexis. He didn’t even mind when she quit working for him. He just wanted her to be happy, and I can see that he meant it. He comes here often, always with a smile on his face. Usually, he’s just checking up on how we’re doing, but now, he’s actually buying something for his girl. I can’t blame Alexis for liking him … He isn’t as bad as he looks.
“Thanks!” he says, as he turns around and walks out of the shop.
The little bell rings when the door closes, and I sigh a breath of relief.
One more happy customer … one more piece I managed to glue back into my own heart.
I have to admit I was reluctant to the idea of starting my own shop. When I found out Alexis had actually bought the store with the money I’d stashed away under my bed, I was livid. I’d intended to save the money for my later days when I’d no longer be in the betting scheme. But then she showed me this place, and … well, I just fell in love with it.
At first, she was the only one at the counter while I worked away my days, cutting jewels. Until one day, she was out to buy a few groceries, and this little girl came into my shop. I was hesitant to step out of my workshop and go to the storefront, but she kept ringing the little bell on my desk.
So I went out, knowing what I’d cause. The moment she laid her eyes on me, she stopped ringing the bell. But she never stopped looking at me either.
“Wow …”
“Hi,” I say, clearing my throat to make my voice sound friendlier and less gritty. “Can I help you?”
“You … You …”
Here it comes. The death blow to the heart.
“You look awesome!”
I’m stunned. My lips part, but I have no fucking clue how to react.
“Are those real?” she asks, pointing at my face.
I put my hand behind my head. “Yeah …”
“Cool!” Her smile is broad and … real. Genuine. Like she actually thinks I’m cool.
“Can I touch it?” she says.
“Uh …”
“Sophie!” I hear a woman yell. She looks into my shop and sees the girl through the window, then opens the door. “Sophie, there you are.”
As the woman is about to grab her child’s hand, her eyes drift up and meet mine. She stares for a second, then pauses. “What were you doing in here, darling?”
“I saw the pretty ring in the window, Mommy. I want it. But then I saw the man and he’s so freaking cool! Look at his scars!”
“That’s rude, Sophie,” the mother hisses. “Say you’re sorry.”
She pouts. “But it’s true.”
“It’s fine,” I say, laughing, and I hold up my hands. “She means well.”
“Well, let’s just go,” the mother says, trying to pull the kid away.
“No, I want to touch them.”
“Touch what, darling?”
“His scars!” She pulls away from her mom’s hand and runs to me.
“Sophie, no!” The mother runs after her but then stops as Sophie is already at my feet. But the woman won’t come any closer, even though her kid does.
“Mister, mister. Can I touch you?” She looks crazily excited as I look down at her, and I can’t help but find it cute.
“Ask your mom,” I say.
“Please, Mom, can I just touch his face?” she begs, putting up a pouty face again.
The woman sighs but then smiles too. “Oh, all right.”
“Yes!” She jumps up and down, holding up her hands as if she wants me to pick her up, so I do. As I hold her, a warm feeling rushes through my body. When her tiny hands touch my face, I shiver but don’t lean away. I let her touch me, roam across my face, her fingers swiveling across every crevice, every hard line of my face.
It’s the first time I feel free.
Free of the burden of my scars.
Free because this little girl doesn’t see them as bad.
I don’t scare her.
Her innocence gives life. It gives me the opportunity to let go and feel accepted for who I am and what I look like.
“Wicked …” she mutters after a while, making me laugh again. “How did you get these scars?”
“That’s enough badgering for one day,” the mother interjects. “C’mon, Sophie.”
“But …” she mutters, frowning.
“It’s okay,” I say, smiling. “You can come back here anytime you want and ask me anything you’d like.”
Her face lights up like a Christmas tree. “Really?”
“Really.”
She’s all hyper when I put her down, running around like she’s got wings. “Mommy, please, can we come back here tomorrow?”
The mother laughs. “You have school tomorrow.”
“Aww …”
“But maybe another time,” she says.
The girl seems happy with that. Then she tugs her mom’s coat, and Mom
bends over. “Mommy, I really want the ring.”
She points at the pink one in the small box that has a tiny crystal on it. I made it a long time ago, and it wasn’t one of my best, but I’ve been hoping for years that I would eventually be able to make someone happy with it.
So I step away from the counter and go to the window, picking up the little box. “Here.” I place it in her hand. “Take it.”
Her jaw drops. “Really?”
The mother sucks in a breath. “Ahh … we can’t pay—”
“It’s on the house,” I say.
“Oooh, Mommy, can I have it, please?” the little girl squeals. “Thank you, Mister!”
Then the mother looks at me. “As long as it’s okay with Mister …” She narrows her eyes, a cue for me to jump in.
“Melikov. Call me Viktor.”
“Nice to meet you, Viktor.” She grabs my hand, and before I know it, she’s shaking it. “Hannah.”
“Hannah, nice to meet you too.”
“Well,” she says, clearing her throat after releasing my hand. “Say thanks to the kind gentleman, Sophie.”
I’ve never been called kind. Or a gentleman.
It’s new. I like it.
“Thank you, Mister,” she says, looking up at me with big, blue eyes.
I bend over and say, “You’re welcome. Put it on for school tomorrow. You’ll look like a princess in front of your friends.” Her eyes shimmer with delight, and I rub the top of her head. “You’re always welcome here.”
“Cool! Thank you so much!” she says, as her mom grabs her hand and pulls her away. “See you soon!”
“I’ll be waiting!” I call as her mother drags her out of the store, laughing.
She’s not the only one, though.
I can’t stop the smile from being stuck on my face.
It’s the first of many yet to come.
Now, I’m no longer hiding. No longer afraid of people’s reactions.
I can face them, proud of myself, proud of my scars because they mean something.
They signify the sacrifice that I made to save the love of my life.
And now that I have her with me again, I realize there’s no point in living if not to the fullest.
Some are still scared, but I don’t care anymore.
They can take me for who I am, or they can fuck off outta my store.
And my customers know this. In fact, they come here because they like it. They’re outcasts, just like me. Just like us.
Viktor Page 23