Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva Book 4)

by London Miller

  But the moment was broken as his phone blared to life and when he turned his head in its direction, his hair moved, and she could see the angry red splotch on his neck. How she hadn’t noticed it up until this moment, she didn’t know, but now that she had, it felt like a bucket of ice water was dumped on her head.

  “How’s Natasha doing?”

  Hearing her tone, he looked back at her, briefly forgetting about his phone. “What?”

  She poked at the mark on his neck, wondering if her doing that hurt him nearly as much as seeing it hurt her. “How much does that run nowadays? Or is she free because you’re her boss?”

  “Alex, don’t start that shit.”

  “What shit? I’m just curious. No wonder you needed a shower. I can’t imagine trying to—”

  His eyes narrowed, promising pain if she finished that statement, but if there was one thing she knew, Luka would never physically hurt her. If he hadn’t by now, he wouldn’t. Emotionally? Well, he was doing a bang-up job of that.

  “Has she ever had to rush through it? Maybe another client was just dying to get at her before your dick even got soft?”

  The phone was completely forgotten as Luka turned back fully to face her, and if she had to guess, he was only getting angrier. Except, she didn’t care. When she got started, she didn’t, couldn’t stop.

  “Alex, enough.”

  Raising a brow, she smiled sweetly. “Or?”

  A muscle ticked beneath his eye as he glared at her. “We have to do this shit every time I see you?”

  “If I recall, you asked to pick me up, not the other way around. For all I cared, you could have stayed with the neighborhood’s friendly whore.”

  That was the thing with Luka, he argued back, at least when it was just the pair of them and as long as it was light-hearted, he bantered with her when others were around—even Mishca. If she wasn’t the one to end it, then it could go on for more than an hour, once for days.

  There was just no point in arguing with him about where he liked to stick his dick. Especially if he was just going to keep doing it. It could fall off for all she cared at the moment.

  “If we’re done, we should get going. There are people I actually want to see today.”

  Luka mumbled something beneath his breath but walked ahead of her, nearly pulling the door off its hinges as he yanked it open.

  Donning her sunglasses because her eyes were still bloodshot, Alex followed behind him, choosing to ignore the look he was sending her as they boarded the elevator and headed down.

  The ride over to Amber’s was short and uneventful, the pounding in Alex’s skull finally dwindling to nothing.

  Alex waved to Amber as she climbed into the Jeep, still ignoring Luka’s presence entirely. She returned to her phone, could practically feel Luka’s gaze on her, but she was very good at pretending, and he was only making it easier for her. Amber cleared her throat, probably feeling the tension between them, especially with Luka’s reckless driving and the way he mumbled every few seconds.

  By the time they reached the older building, parking alongside the sidewalk and Luka feeding the meter after he’d climbed out, it was clear for anyone to see that there was a problem, but Alex wouldn’t be the one to break it, not this time. If Luka thought he was stubborn, then he obviously must have forgotten who he was dealing with.

  Inside the penthouse, Alex made herself at home, as she always did when she came over, but this time it was more of an excuse to avoid Luka for a little while longer until they were leaving.

  She checked her appearance in the bathroom, hunted through the refrigerator for a bottle of water that was usually stored there, and even busied herself on her phone before returning to the living room and taking a seat next to Luka, making sure there was a good amount of space between them.

  It was not too long later that Lauren exited her bedroom, her gaze going over the three of them until her smile faltered a bit. “Everything okay?”

  Alex liked to think of her brother’s new wife as the peacemaker between all of them. She wanted everyone to get along, and if there was a problem, she found a way to fix it. Most of her efforts were put toward mending the relationship between Mishca and Klaus—the twin no one had known existed until about a year ago. It was almost fitting how someone as dark as Mishca appeared to end up with someone like her. While he had dark hair and blue eyes, she was tan, with brown hair with highlights from the sun, and hazel eyes that seemed to miss nothing. In all, Lauren was the nice counterpart to Mishca’s seriousness.

  Alex, glad that she was still wearing her sunglasses, looked up and nodded, forcing a smile before turning back to her phone, watching the dial spin as she played a trivia game that she was currently mastering.

  Luka, ever the cheerful one, looked ready to commit violence as he shoved a hand through his hair, his body tight with tension as he glared at Alex, at least until he relaxed and smiled over at Amber.

  “I think I left a shirt at your place back—”

  Alex should have known he was trying to goad her. It wasn’t like this was their first go-round, but even still, she found herself asking, “Why were you at her place?”

  She clamped her mouth shut, realizing how that must have sounded, but the damage was done. He was still angry with her, she could see it in his eyes, but he was pleased to get a reaction out of her more…the asshole.

  Amber, who was clueless as to what was happening between them, quickly tried to explain. “It wasn’t—”

  Alex, who had yet to turn away from Luka said, “At least I could understand why you’d sleep with her, unlike that—”

  She might not have understood what his problem was with the word, ‘whore’, but that didn’t stop her from attempting to use it.

  “Poshyol ty’—Fuck off.”

  Now she got the reaction she’d wanted.

  Her smile was brittle as she faced off with Luka, but she was immune to his anger, had never feared it a day in her life despite how others reacted to him. Canting her head to the side, Alex asked, “Sensitive about your whore, Luka?”

  “Who I fuck doesn’t concern you.”

  That much was true but tell that to her stupid heart that actually cared about him. “Likewise.”

  She hadn’t meant it, it wasn’t like she was spending time with anyone recently, but her thoughts had immediately drifted to Snow—whose name had finally come to her—when he’d said that, and to the conversation they’d had earlier.

  There was confusion on his face for the briefest of moments, and something akin to hurt if he were capable of that kind of emotion, but all too soon, more anger replaced it, which confused her. Why would he care now?

  Sensing where this was going, Lauren, ever helpful, jumped in, grabbing Luka’s attention before he could respond. “I thought you were with Mish today?”

  He glanced back at her, gaze immediately returning to Alex. There was accusation there that she still didn’t understand. “Long fucking story. I’ll get the car.”

  With him on his feet, heading for the door, Alex wasn’t ready to deal with the questions she knew Lauren would be prone to ask with him gone. Instead, she headed for the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her, wishing that she liked anyone but him.

  4

  ____

  See You Later

  His arms folded across his chest, Luka contemplated whether it was worth the trouble to go off on Alex as he longed to. No one talked to him the way she did, not when there was even a hint of his anger. But she was fearless when she faced off with him, never once backing down, even when others would wither under his gaze.

  That was because she knew he would never hurt her, not in that way.

  And mostly because she was a major pain in his ass.

  He knew she didn’t like Natasha, but it was not because Natasha had done anything to her, but because she was with him. The feelings Alex had for him were complicated. Fuck, their entire relationship was complicated, and not just because he
was always two steps from the abyss.

  She had the misfortune of being the boss’ daughter. Not only was she practically mafia royalty—it didn’t matter who her father was, they were both very high up—but she had been deemed untouchable long before Luka had ever reached New York.

  It had been easy enough for Luka to control himself around her back when they first met. She had only been sixteen at the time, and despite his predilections for breaking the rules, he refused to cross that one. Not after what he had seen back at Bastian’s compound. And with that image stuck in his head, it was easy to ignore her advances. But the longer he was around her since she had chosen to stay in the city instead of returning to France where she had lived for the better part of three years, the more he found that he actually liked her.

  She was pretty, of course. Her mother was too, though that bitch was treacherous. But he found Alex to be rather refreshing since she didn’t shy away from him the way others did. The persona that he had adopted once he’d entered the fold of the Bratva was not one meant to make friends, and he’d managed to keep others away from him since they all thought he was crazy.

  For whatever reason, Alex didn’t care.

  And whether he had wanted to admit it to himself at the time, he had been lonely, but while she was good for conversations and just having around when the silence was too suffocating, he couldn’t sleep with her, not when she would have wanted more from him. That was why he’d sought out Natasha.

  He had made her a promise. So long as he was with her, and even after, no one would bother her. Every Tuesday was his night with her, and the rest of the time, she could do what she pleased. For two years now, he had gone to her, sating his lust and darker emotions, and it had worked for them…until Alex.

  The more he tried to keep her out of trouble, the more time he had to spend with her. And there had been nights when the silence had stretched between them, but he hadn’t minded, not when she was with him. That night was his first mistake. He had almost given in to what she wanted. Shit, what they both wanted, but he had pulled away before it was too much. But with just that little taste, it was almost impossible to turn away.

  From that moment, everything between them had been intense. Conversations. Arguments. Shit, just being in the same room together sparked something that could almost be physically touched.

  And though he liked Alex more than he would ever admit in this lifetime, that didn’t mean he liked when she acted out. Before, her drinking had bothered him, but it wasn’t his place to say anything. But ever since the night she had gone off on her own to handle Anya, he had made it his business.

  He knew her now, better than he knew himself in fact, so he could tell when she was spiraling. That was why Mishca had asked him to watch out for her, make sure she wasn’t doing anything that she would regret later. Seeing her today…he was doing a piss-poor job of it, it seemed.

  It was clear to see that she was hungover. He’d known it the second he picked her up, but he didn’t call her on it the way he needed to. He’d gone easy on her because seeing her so fragile brought out the protective instinct in him.

  She always had.

  And he might have gotten through to her had she not seen the hickey on his neck.

  That dropped them right back to square one.

  Luka kept his hands in his pockets as he trailed behind them, his eyes constantly drifting to Alex. Despite being hungover and looking like hell this morning, she had cleaned up well. And those heels she insisted on wearing did amazing things to her legs.

  Blinking, he noticed Lauren had fallen behind Alex and Amber after her phone call, and he knew with just a glance that she was going to do what she did best.

  Meddle.

  “Do you want my honest opinion?” she asked once he had caught up with her.

  “No.” He really didn’t because, no matter what she said, it wouldn’t help him.

  Ignoring him, as only she could do, she said, “I don’t think Mish would actually kill you if you had a thing with a particular someone who’s close to him.”

  Rolling his eyes, though the action was lost on her, he replied, “Leave it alone, Lauren.”

  “I’m just saying—”

  “Jesus fucking Christ. Leave it alone. If I wanted your advice, then I would have asked for it. Stop trying to ‘fix’ shit when you should be worried about yourself.”

  He regretted his words the moment she deflated. He’d never raised his voice to her, or spoken to her any way that wasn’t respectful. She was too nice, almost to a fault. It wasn’t her fault she believed in true love and that bullshit.

  “Won’t happen again.”

  Shit.

  Before he could right what he’d said, she was off, and by the time they left an hour later, it wasn’t just Alex who was ignoring him.

  ____

  Luka found himself in Mishca’s office once again, waiting for the assignments he’d need to hand out while Mishca and Lauren were gone on their honeymoon. Since he would be offsite for about a week, someone needed to take the reins in his place.

  His feet kicked up on the table, he whistled to himself, already thinking about what he would be doing later. The more Mishca tried to speak over him, the louder he whistled until the sound was nearly ear splitting.

  “Luka.” There was a warning in his voice, but it was one Luka didn’t heed. “This is serious.”

  Luka nodded good-naturedly. “Serious? This is serious. Very serious,” Luka agreed. “I’ll make sure nothing falls to shit while you’re off choking the dragon.”

  Pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, Mishca squeezed his eyes shut, grappling for patience. “Luka—”

  “Jerking the chicken?” he suggested instead, nearly cracking another smile.

  “Get out.”

  Finally.

  Luka was on his feet, more than ready to get out of there.

  “One more thing.”

  He turned as Mishca came around his desk, rolling up his sleeve. His brows rose as he tried to guess what Mishca would say next. But it wasn’t anything he said, but what he did. Slinging a fist out, he connected with Luka’s nose, the pain quick and absolute.

  His head snapped back, his hands immediately going up to cup his nose, a surprised laugh leaving him. Once the shock wore off, Luka wiped his nose with the back of his hand, smearing the blood.

  Still smiling, he said, “You hit like a bitch.”

  The seriousness left Mishca as he returned that smile. “Don’t ever break my finger again.”

  That was what this was about? He’d though Mishca had forgotten about that little incident.

  “I need you to do something else for me. Tell Alex to stay at the penthouse while we’re gone. She’ll be more secure there.”

  “I thought I was supposed to stay away from her? You know since she doesn’t need my type of ‘shit’ in her life.”

  Mishca had been right about that, but he didn’t even know the half of it.

  “Yet I trust her with you more than anyone else. Don’t make me regret that decision.”

  Letting his humor fade, he regarded Mishca seriously. “If you thought for a second that you would, then you wouldn’t be assigning me to her.”

  Luka was one of the few people who knew the truth about Alex. Most saw a spoiled little girl who was desperate for somebody’s attention, but Luka knew what Alex had lived through as a child, even if she hadn’t outright told him.

  Mikhail was too busy with the Bratva to be a proper father, and Anya…well, there hadn’t been a parental instinct in her body, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have expectations, some that were almost too much for a child to live up to.

  Alex was still trying to shake that influence off, but that was years of conditioning that she would have to rid herself of.

  “See you when you get back,” Luka said over his shoulder as he headed for the door.

  5

  ____

  10 years ago…<
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  Her heart thumped painfully in her chest, strands of hair sticking to her sweaty neck and forehead as Alex finished another set of spins, dropping down from the tips of her pointe shoes, turning to face her mother with a brilliant smile.

  For the last three weeks, she had been working tirelessly on her routine for her very first audition with a similar company based in Paris. She might not have been able to pronounce any of the names of the people she’d be performing for—it had taken her entirely too long to remember that her instructor’s name wasn’t Mr. Grey—out she would make sure that she was perfect for it.

  “That was awful.” This sentiment came from Anya sitting in a chair across the dance studio, hands folded primly in her lap.

  She didn’t believe in wearing jeans—an idea that she passed on to Alex—and despite present company, she wore a dress that would have been inappropriate if not for the long fur coat she wore to combat Manhattan’s chilly weather.

  Unlike the other mothers who came in to observe on the other side of the glass, Anya dressed as though she were on her way to New York’s Fashion Week, but that could have also been because most of the girls who came to this particular studio were brought in by nannies or drivers. Anya didn’t believe in hiring maids, or any females for that matter, though Alex never understood why.

  Today was Alex’s third solo practice for the week, and if she were being honest, she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. But until she reached Anya’s level of perfection, she would continue until her feet bled if necessary.

  Alex’s instructor, Mr. Grey, noticeably grimaced though this expression was lost on Anya as she was too busy frowning at Alex. Trying not to let her frustration show, Alex resumed her starting position, waiting for the pianist to begin again.

  Legs braced, she started, trying to ignore the feel of Anya’s eyes on her as she moved, wishing that she could lose herself in the movements as she had when she was alone in this room. By the time she finished, her chest heaving with every breath she took, she had waited for Anya to speak, knowing that she couldn’t say anything negative. This time, she hadn’t missed a step. But Anya just gathered her things, blinking once at Alex to convey the only message she had to give.