“Are you trying to get in here?”
“I don’t drink anymore,” she said striding to his side.
“Since when.”
Since that night with Snow that she barely remembered and Luka subsequently helping her get through it. “Just a life change.”
“Good for you, but I’m having a bad night, so excuse me.”
“Huh, Klaus said something similar. Oh, don’t look at me like that,” she said when he gave her a dark look. “There a reason you were going for each other’s throat?”
“He disrespected my wife.”
Alex frowned. “Why are you talking like that?”
He arched a brow.
“My wife. Niklaus. Why are you being so formal?”
“What do you want, Alex?”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked, and this time it wasn’t meant as a casual question. He was acting off.
“If I thought that would help, then I would tell you, but it won’t.”
“You’ve always told me before,” she said nudging him when he stood back up. “We used to talk about everything before…”
Well, before they found out she wasn’t Mikhail’s daughter. Since then, their relationship hadn’t been the same.
Smiling almost sadly, he drew her into his side with an arm around her shoulders. “How’ve you been?”
“Better lately.” And the person she had to thank for that was out in the living room with another girl.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Before she could stop him, he reached up, mussing her hair, making her shove him away as he laughed.
“You’re a grown man, Mishca! When are you going to stop that?”
“But you’ll always be my little sister.”
“I know,” she said dryly, blindly trying to fix her hair.
“So why are you in here with me instead of out there?”
Instead of out there with Luka, he meant. “Someone needed to make sure you were okay.”
“While I don’t doubt you cared enough to check, but perhaps you’re really in here because Natasha is here.”
Alex shrugged, the only answer she was willing to give.
“Lauren invited her, months ago. You know how nice she can be. Obviously that was before the two of you finally decided to get together.”
She looked at him sharply, shaking her head. “We’re not together.”
“No? Then why when I needed him for a job did he leave your apartment at four in the morning. Coincidence? Or maybe he was changing a lightbulb…”
Since there was a clear view into the living room, she couldn’t help but seek him out. “It’s…complicated. We—”
“Believe me when I say I don’t want details.”
She looked back at Mishca, trying to gauge how he felt about this, but his expression remained neutral. “You’re not going to throw a fit about this?”
“And what would that change? If I told you to stay away from him, or vice versa, the pair of you would just go after each other anyway. There’s no point in me wasting my breath.” He drew her in for a hug once more, kissing the top of her head. “I wish I could promise that things would be easy, but I won’t lie to you about that.”
There was something about the inflection in his words that made her wonder what he was really trying to tell her.
“Can you promise me something?” he asked suddenly.
“Anything.”
“No matter what happens, trust that I have your best interest at heart. And more than anything, I’m still going to protect you from anyone who wants to hurt you.” He sighed, finally taking a sip of his drink. “There will come a time when you’ll question that. That’s why I’m telling you now. Don’t forget.”
Mishca was being…strange. Everything about this night was strange.
The oven beeped suddenly, drawing Lauren back into the kitchen, but she wasn’t alone. Luka followed.
Alex, not wanting to be in the same room as him, stepped out of the way to let them pass, but Luka was there to intercept her.
“Are you ignoring me?” he asked quietly for only her to hear.
It was either that or acknowledge the fact that he had brought his sex buddy to the party only days after they’d had sex.
Pasting on a smile, Alex shook her head. “Of course not. I’m just letting you enjoy your date.” There, she had said what she wanted to say, and she hadn’t called her a whore. That was a step in the right direction and she was kind of proud of herself.
“I didn’t invite her. She was in the lobby on her way up when I got here.”
Mishca had reaffirmed that, but it still didn’t make her feel any better. Not when she was unsure of where they stood.
“Luka, you can do whatever you want.”
She stepped around him before he could stop her, going back to her seat next to Klaus. This time, she threw her legs over his.
“Feeling better, big guy?”
He rolled his eyes. “I think you already asked me that.”
“Just making sure.” Alex hadn’t had many conversations with Klaus, but it wasn’t too late to change that. “So what’s it like being a mercenary? Hard work?”
A sudden burst of laughter left him as he took a swig from a newly opened bottle of beer. That was better than the heavy alcohol he’d been drinking before.
“We drink and shoot things, not always in that order.”
She didn’t have to ask whether he had ever been shot. Mishca had made that clear. “Are you a good shot?”
“The best shot.”
“No way. Show me proof or I won’t believe you.”
Holding her legs steady, he leaned up to pick up a magazine from the table, flipping it open, then tearing a few sheets out.
“It’s as much hand-eye coordination as it is anything else.”
He balled up one, tossing it between his hands. He seemed to be eyeing something off to the side.
“You have to be prepared for varying conditions. You have to anticipate any variances in the weather, even the slightest. First, you need your weapon.” He held up the ball for her to see. “Next, you wait for your target to get into position, then finally…”
He tossed it, the paper ball shooting through the air to hit Luka right in the forehead as he came around the corner.
Alex and Amber both laughed, especially at the expression on Luka’s face as he looked down at the ball that had fallen at his feet, his hands out at his sides.
“Patience is key,” Klaus said with a small smile.
The longer they sat there, the more Alex realized that she actually enjoyed Klaus’ company. When he wasn’t brooding—or threatening to kill people—he was actually pretty cool to talk to.
“I need to borrow her for a few minutes,” Luka said as he took a seat beside Alex, directing his statement to Klaus.
“By all means,” Klaus said, finishing the last of his drink. “Floor’s yours.”
“Alone…”
“Just pretend I’m not here,” he suggested, but it was clear that he wasn’t trying to give them any privacy. In fact, he turned in their direction, leaning his head back against the couch.
“Fine,” Luka started, shifting so he could face Klaus better. “Since you want to air all our dirty laundry. The last time we were alone, you weren’t gentle at all. I asked you to ease into it—do you think I like being bruised?—but no, you just needed to ram it in.”
Alex spat out the soda she’d been sipping, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as she laughed, feeling the others’ eyes on them.
Klaus might have tried to look irritated, but his twitching lips gave him away. “I need another fucking drink.”
He got to his feet, unnecessarily giving Luka a shove as he got up. Now that his spot was vacant, there was plenty of room for Luka to move over and increase the space between them, but he stayed exactly where he was.
Despite the fact that he had successfully removed Klaus from their spot
, Alex still wasn’t ready to talk to him.
“You’ve got five seconds, Alex.”
Smirking, she did the counting for him. “Five, four, three, two, one. And yet, I’m still not—”
He lifted his glass, holding it precariously over her lap as if he had every intention of spilling it on her.
“You spill that on me and I will kick your ass, Luka.”
He shrugged, grinning at her. “I like pain, gets me off. I’m sure you remember that well enough.”
Surprise made her mouth fall open, but she recovered quick enough, turning away from him, feeling the heat in her face.
She definitely remembered the way he reacted when she’d raked her nails down his back…or how everything just seemed to get rougher…
Whatever he saw on her face at the moment had him drawing closer, his gaze intent on her lips, and everyone else in the room seemed to disappear. She wanted him again, and—
“Luka, can I talk to you?”
Natasha’s voice snapped her back to reality. Alex cleared her throat, sitting back away from Luka as she waited to see what he would do next.
While his face had been open and expressive toward her, he shut down completely as he looked at Natasha.
“Go,” Alex encouraged him.
He looked at her, as though he were trying to figure out if she truly meant that.
But she did, and it wasn’t because she was trying to be petty.
Cursing beneath his breath, Luka got to his feet, gripping Natasha’s upper arm as he led her around a corner.
They weren’t gone long—though it felt like it—and when they returned, it was time for dinner. Alex took a seat next to Klaus, Luka dropping down on her other side and Natasha next to him.
Mishca sat directly across from Klaus—which encouraged the latter to fling peas across the table at him—Lauren next to him, and Amber beside her.
Besides the awkward tension between Alex, Luka, and Natasha, and the food war that Klaus was trying to initiate, everything was fine.
“Must you be such a child?” Mishca asked when Klaus nailed him in the middle of his forehead.
Launching another one, the mercenary smirked and said, “Takes one to know one.”
Alex, trying not to laugh at the indignant look on Mishca’s face, was busy cutting into a piece of chicken when she felt Luka’s hand on her leg beneath the table. She startled, jumping slightly, but no one was the wiser as she glanced at him, seeing the hint of a smile on his lips.
Shoving his hand away, she went back to her food, only for him to put it right back.
“There something I can help you with, Luka?”
He looked surprised that she was talking to him. “What do you mean?”
Rolling her eyes, she bounced the leg she was holding. “There a reason for that?”
He shrugged, reaching for his fork with his only available hand. “No, I just like the feel of you.”
In seconds, she felt the anger drain out of her.
Dammit.
“You have company. I wouldn’t want to distract you.”
He grinned. “You’ve always been a distraction.”
“Luka.”
They both looked up and over to Mishca who was glaring at his enforcer.
If looks could kill…
The reprimand was clear in Mishca’s voice. He didn’t have to say more.
“Just sitting here, boss.”
But he deliberately rubbed his thumb over her leg though it didn’t look like he had moved at all.
“If I have to—”
“Let’s open presents!” Lauren suddenly announced, glaring at both her husband and his twin, then at Luka.
Whatever she had planned for this night, it wasn’t going the way she wanted.
Dinner forgotten, they all headed back out to the living room, all except Luka who went to a back bedroom, Natasha following behind.
Despite what had happened at the table, and how his touch still lingered, she counted every second he was gone. But instead of just sitting there, she went over to pick up the presents she had bought and passed them out.
Lauren was first, Mishca, even Klaus, and another for Amber. Luka’s, she just left in the spot where he had been sitting.
From Mishca and Lauren, she got a pair of very amazing shoes that she remembered particularly asking for when she and Lauren had been talking. Klaus, surprisingly, got her a rather fashionable ring that doubled as a weapon—that was her favorite so far.
Luka and Natasha emerged from the back, Luka carrying the gifts he’d brought. Natasha kept her emotions carefully concealed.
Luka tossed Alex a box covered in gold wrapping paper, a glittery ribbon of the same color tied around it. It was quite bigger than the box he’d thrown over to Lauren, but surprisingly, he didn’t have one for Natasha. Call her selfish, but Alex was kind of happy with that fact.
There was a tag tucked into the ribbon, and when she turned it over, she was expecting it to have Luka’s name inked on it. She laughed softly when she saw three hastily drawn words.
You’re fucking welcome.
While everyone else was busy, Alex untied the ribbon, delicately unwrapping the box. A name of a company she had never heard of was printed along the top, and she was curious about what was inside.
She tipped the top up, taking a peek inside and immediately slammed it back into place.
This wasn’t something she wanted to share with everyone in this room, not because it was inappropriate, but because of what it meant to her. No one, not even her family, had bought her a pair of pointe shoes. Of course, the school she had attended normally provided them for a while, but if she’d wanted a special pair, she had to buy them herself.
Not caring whether anyone noticed, she carried the box to the room where her coat was, opening it back up once the door was shut. She ran her fingers over the delicate satin of the shoes, letting the ribbons slip through them. They were beautiful, simplistic, and reminded her of a life that had meant everything to her at one time.
Only Luka would think of getting her this, something that meant more to her than all the shoes in the world.
Returning to the living room, Alex picked up her glass, watching the ice cubes floating inside swirl around.
Lauren handed out her gifts next, saving Mishca for last. His was the smallest of the lot, but if the look on his face was any indication, he didn’t mind this fact. He whispered something in her ear that made her smile, urging him to open it up. Untying the ribbon, he pulled the lid off, his eyebrows shooting up as he lifted the USB-style key from the velvety interior. His ensuing smile promised things that Alex really didn’t want to think about.
Luka, who happened to be walking behind him as he tossed his own present at Lauren, looked down at the key. “Oh, SLR McLaren? Someone has good taste.”
“Go near my car, Luka, I will skin you alive.”
“Why so serious? It’s Christmas. Take that stick out your ass, Mish. Now, open my gift and say, ‘thank you Luka, you’re so generous. We love you more than the angry mercenary.’”
“You’re stereotyping me and I don’t like it,” Klaus complained.
“The three of you fight more than any girl I know,” Alex said rolling her eyes.
It didn’t go unnoticed that Mishca and Lauren were in a private, heated discussion, and it was more than clear that Lauren was winning whatever point she was trying to make. When they finally came to an agreement—and realized that everyone had noticed their small argument—they looked toward them.
Lauren and Mishca stood in front of the Christmas tree, the latter looking pensive, but Lauren looked rather excited making Alex wonder what was going on. It was beyond obvious now that whatever they were about to share was important.
“Get on with it,” Klaus said dryly. “You’re keeping us all in suspense.”
Lauren glared at him, and from the way she was looking, it seemed Klaus already knew what was about to be said. Weird.
> “We thought it was important that you all knew that…well, what I mean to say is, I consider you all family and it’s…okay, no—”
“Lauren’s pregnant,” Mishca blurted out.
Alex was taking a sip of her drink when he said that announcement, and she coughed, nearly spitting it back out. Like most of the others in the room, her eyes immediately dropped to Lauren’s stomach, though there was hardly any evidence of a pregnancy. This also explained why her clothes were so loose fitting.
Lauren’s eyes grew round as she looked at her husband, obviously not happy with the way he had told them, but no matter how it was said, Alex was sure that everyone would have been struck speechless still.
“That’s a little selfish, isn’t it?” Luka asked, breaking the silence after their announcement. “Is that my gift then? Your pregnancy? Can I at least keep the baby?”
Alex hid her smile behind her hand, coughing when even Klaus started shaking with laughter.
Lauren, who had been looking distressed at the way everyone was acting, visibly relaxed, one hand going to her stomach reflexively as she cast a smile in Mishca’s direction.
“I, for one, am excited,” Luka continued. “I’ve never owned a baby before.”
“And you won’t start now,” Mishca said, but he too couldn’t fight his smile.
Alex stood, smiling broadly at Lauren. “You should let me decorate the nursery—of course, we can do it together. You’re doing all the hard work, after all. Oh! And just wait until it’s time to pick out clothes.”
While Alex was busy talking to Lauren, Mishca had gravitated towards Luka and Klaus. Alex was so excited about the possibility of having a niece or nephew that she didn’t notice when Natasha walked up. Like before, Lauren’s smile froze, the only warning Alex got before she started speaking.
“Congratulations, Lauren. You must be so excited.”
“Thank you.”
An awkward silence fell over them, and instead of saying something mean, Alex kept her thoughts to herself. Deciding it was best to just ignore her entirely, Alex asked Lauren, “How far along are you?
“About ten weeks, maybe a little further now.”
Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva Book 4) Page 20