____
Dinner with Cadessa and her husband was as good as she’d expected, the food divine, and the conversation was good as well. She’d learned to enjoy the calmness of her everyday life now that she was far away from the Bratva.
After another long day of practice, Alex went over to a corner of the studio, gingerly removing her pointe shoes. She pulled on a pair of loose boots, wincing when the fabric rubbed against sensitive skin.
Packing everything else away in her duffel, she headed for the door, but not before she was intercepted by the few friends she had in the company. With so many different dancers, there were dozens of different personalities. When it came time for auditions for a lead spot, it brought the worst out in some.
But there were at least a few who Alex had become close with.
“Are you up for company?” Robbie asked with a sweet smile, his ruddy cheeks more flushed after their practice.
He was nice, and if not for his consistent need to hit on any new girl who joined the company, he would have definitely been the guy you brought home to meet your parents.
Except Alex wasn’t interested and doubted she ever would.
Forcing a smile though, she nodded. “Sure. I think Jordan, Raj, and Amerie are coming, too.”
It was clear that he thought it would just be the pair of them alone, but she wanted to put an end to that early.
Catching sight of Amerie across the room, she said a quick goodbye to Robbie, linking her arm with her friend.
“I hope you’re not too busy tonight to hang out for a couple of hours,” she whispered as they left the studio. “I might have mentioned to Robbie that you, Raj, and Jordan were coming over.”
“Are you still avoiding telling him that you’re not interested?”
“No, I did tell him I wasn’t interested. He just thinks I’m playing hard to get.”
____
While her friends enjoyed their impromptu get-together, Alex sat right in the middle of it but could not have felt more detached.
A new bottle of vintage wine had been opened and glasses poured, but Alex had quietly refused, drinking sparkling grape juice instead. As everyone became more inebriated, it felt different being the only sober one for a change.
Quietly excusing herself, Alex went to the kitchen and poured another glass, happily chugging it down like it was the real thing. No one else had to know that she wasn’t much of a drinker. Despite the melancholy she’d been living under for the last six months, she wasn’t even tempted to take a drink. Even though it currently surrounded her.
The urge to drink was always at the back of her mind because it would be so easy just to let it take the pain away…but instead, she fell into something more productive, something that she could be proud of rather than feel guilty about.
“Who was he?”
Glancing over her shoulder at Amerie, there was no point in her trying to act like nothing was wrong. “His name was Luka.”
Resting her glass on the counter beside her, she regarded Alex quizzically. “Did the two of you break up…or was it because of your family?”
“You know about my family?”
“I don’t think there’s anybody who doesn’t know about your family.”
Laughing, Alex shook her head. “It was a little bit of everything, to be honest.”
“I’m sure you can’t really tell me anything, but here’s my advice. If it was meant to be, it can still happen…no matter the odds.”
She knew her friend meant well, but no matter how desperately she wanted to believe those words, she wouldn’t give herself false hope.
“Thanks.”
“Well, it’s getting late. I should probably get going. All of us really.”
When they returned to the living room, though, Robbie was already passed out on the floor. When he had gotten down there, Alex didn’t know.
Raj offered to grab him, but Alex waved her hand. “Let him sleep it off here.”
“You sure?” Amerie asked.
“Yeah, no worries. My guard dog will protect me if anything happens.”
They might have laughed at that remark because Loki was mostly docile, but they didn’t know what Loki was capable of.
Seeing them out, Alex straightened up, pouring out the remaining wine in the bottle before tossing it. Grabbing a spare blanket from the closet, she covered up Robbie, and then let Loki out of the bedroom.
The moment he spotted Robbie on the couch, his ears perked up, his lips pulling back from his teeth.
“Easy there, killer. We need him for the show tomorrow night. You can’t make him into your chew toy.”
She stepped out on the balcony, her glass in hand, taking a seat in one of the wrought-iron chairs, curling her legs up beneath her. It was a particularly starry night out, no clouds obscuring the sky. Loki had padded out after her, resting at her feet, but he perked up suddenly, his head canting to the side, pained whines making her frown down at him.
“What’s wrong?”
Alex reached to pet him, wanting to soothe whatever bothered him, but his attention focused solely on the street below. She tried to peer down and see what was upsetting him, but the street was mostly deserted besides the occasional person walking by.
She had almost dismissed it, thinking it might have just been a bird he saw. Then, just out of sight, she saw someone standing below, smoke wafting out into the air around him.
Alex stood, walking over to the edge, trying to get a closer look, but in those few seconds, the person had gone.
…only the dwindling smoke an indication that someone had been standing there at all.
45
____
Slave
Seven months ago…
Handcuffed to the wall of the van, and his legs restrained with cuffs bolted into the floor, Luka leaned his head back against the thin metal paneling, keeping perfectly still despite the jostling on the uneven road. Two men sat on either side of him, guns in hands and fingers just against the triggers.
Sitting alone across from them was Fatos, who whistled a haunting melody beneath his breath, but he too had his gun in his lap.
He might have been unable to move, and they quite clearly outnumbered and outgunned him, but they were still afraid of what he was capable of doing.
Maybe not Fatos, though.
Despite everything, he knew that because Alex was still in harm’s way unless he conceded to what Fatos wanted, Luka wasn’t going anywhere.
Unlike the van they had used to grab Klaus off the street, this one had windows, a luxury for which Luka was actually happy. He didn’t know if there would be a time when he saw the sky again, so he wanted to enjoy it for as long as possible.
Gazing out, he noticed that despite the years, so much had changed since the last time he was in Berat, even more than he had expected. The home he had once shared with his mother, that old crumbling apartment building, was no more. Burned from the inside out, just a hulking mess of soldered brick and mortar.
It was strange…He had seen things burned before—sometimes up close and personal—but they had never filled him with such peace before. It might have once held special memories, but it also reminded him of a time that he would much rather forget. A time when his life had changed in ways that had shaped the very path he was on.
Now, at least, there was one less thing to haunt him.
They rode on further, children skirting out of the way as the van sped past, looking after them for several seconds before losing interest.
Soon, they were passing Bastian’s house of horrors, and unlike his apartment, the house was still standing, and just behind it, the barn stood tall. But this place that he often looked back on with such disdain…it was not nearly as foreboding as he remembered.
God, he could still remember the day when he’d first arrive, how haunting the place had seemed from a distance…even if it had looked normal by anyone else’s standards. But maybe even in his youth, he knew the horrors tha
t awaited him.
To Luka’s surprise, they rode on past, at least another hour down the road before they reached another place that looked like it could stand the test of time. There was a gate, even dogs that walked the perimeter, and enough security cameras that let Luka know that this was where they conducted at least some of the business.
When they rolled to a stop, Fatos barked orders and the exterior doors opened, sunlight spilling in, temporarily blinding Luka in its brightness. He didn’t resist as two men grabbed hold of him, dragging him out and onto the dirt.
He could feel the eyes on him as he was led from one prison to another, the conditions worsening. While the front property looked to be in pristine condition, the building behind it was older and didn’t look to be maintained.
If Luka were in a better mood, he might have laughed at the absurdity of being led back to another shitty building, just as he had when he’d first come to Bastian. On that cold dirt floor of Bastian’s old barn, Luka had hoped many a night that he would become more.
How far he had fallen…
There was a chair waiting for him, a coil of rope resting beside it. Only Fatos would enjoy the indignity Luka would feel at being strapped to a chair. It was starting to seem as though his entire goal was to make Luka relive those years leading up to the moment that he had chosen to join the Bratva.
But there was also the reminder of what Luka was capable of. It might have been a while since he’d stepped foot in the Pit, but he was still capable of doing damage with his fists…and that was nothing compared to when he was inspired.
They had to keep him as restrained as possible.
Shoved into the chair, Luka refused to give them the reaction they sought, staying silent as they began tying him down. But before they did, they removed his shirt.
Fatos eventually came into view, his gaze sweeping around the room before landing on Luka once more.
He thought again of why he hadn’t pulled the trigger when he had the opportunity…why he had hesitated.
He should have. He should have ended it before Fatos had managed to rip his world apart. Again.
His ink was appraised with a critical eye and whatever he saw made Fatos frown, circling the chair until he was behind Luka.
Fatos reached out with a gentle hand, sweeping his fingers over the length of Luka’s back, effortlessly finding the scarred lines that were buried beneath different hues of ink. Unlike Alex, he didn’t mistakenly fall upon them, but actively sought them out with a reverence that made Luka’s skin crawl.
He was quiet for some time, and then tapped Luka on the shoulder before stepping into view, shaking his head as though disappointed. “I’m hurt that you covered these. I thought you more than anyone else would wear them like a badge of honor.”
Luka thought about remaining silent, focusing on one of the multitude of water stains that complemented the wall, wanting to distance himself from the inevitable pain that this night would bring. Even with the time that had passed, as Fatos’ hand drifted over the marks that he had left there, Luka could vividly remember the pain of the heated blade gliding along his flesh, how his skin felt once it was sliced open. He might have learned to channel his pain in a different manner, but that didn’t mean he wanted it. Just imagining what Fatos would do to him later made his fingers clench.
His distaste for being helpless was nothing compared to how he felt as he watched one of Fatos’ men approach him with a pair of cutting shears.
More than anybody, Fatos knew how much Luka hated having a shaved head.
He didn’t keep his hair long as a fashion statement, but as another way to rid himself of the life he had before this place took him away and destroyed what little humanity he had clung onto.
Not only that, but there was something hidden beneath the coiling strands of blond hair, a gift Bastian had called it, so Luka would never forget his place. Like many things, it was one of his greatest shames.
Along the back of his head, as more and more hair fell to the ground, the beginning of a word appeared, and not until nearly every strand was gone could it be read clearly. From the way Fatos grinned, as if he had known it would still be there, he was enjoying the shame that was probably clear on Luka’s face.
After Luka had helped Elena get free, Bastian had wanted to remind Luka of his place…remind him that no matter how he pleased him with the sheer amount of money he brought in, he would never be more than he was then…
In thick, black letters, inked when Luka fought with every fiber of his being to get free, was a single word, written in English for anyone to read.
Slave.
46
____
Wake Up
Venturing out onto the balcony the next morning, her gaze sweeping over the street below, Alex wondered if she’d just been imagining things last night, and maybe there hadn’t been a person staring up at her. It was surely possible. With the hours she worked and the sheer amount of time she put into practice, most days she was exhausted, and last night had been no different.
And yet…just because she was thousands of miles away from the Bratva, that didn’t mean she was very far from danger. Their family had enough enemies stateside that she had never given much thought to how many there were abroad. For all she knew, that could have been a tracker sent by someone who was trying to get to her brother. It wasn’t like she was under constant guard, and now that L…well, now that she didn’t have anyone around who was formidable in his own right, they could think she was the weak link.
For a second, she could remember the smell of the earth, pungent and rich, and Fatos’ smile when he saw her fear.
Even if she were still angry, she would rather be safe and angry than buried alive again.
Grabbing her cup of tea, she walked back inside, grabbing her phone from where it was charging next to the bed and punching in the number she knew from memory. There was no guarantee he would answer, or even be of any help with the way she had treated him when she had seen him last, but at least she could try.
Klaus was already finicky by nature. There was no telling how he would react.
The line rang for so long that she feared he wouldn’t answer, but as she was about to hang up, he finally picked up.
“Speak.”
Alex rolled her eyes as she balanced the phone between her shoulder and ear as she packed her bag for rehearsals. “You should really learn proper phone etiquette.”
Klaus was silent for a beat, the smile clear in his voice as he said, “Didn’t think I’d be getting a call from you.”
“Yeah, well I wasn’t expecting to make this call, but I think I’m being followed.”
“You call the Russian?”
She sighed, long and hard. That had been her first instinct because that was what she would have done, but she was stubborn and refused to bend. Mishca would be the last person she would call if there was a need.
“No, I called you.”
“I feel honored, really.”
“Don’t you want to do something about it, or do I need to handle it on my own?” she asked, nearly ripping the zipper as she closed the bag.
“Oh, calm your shit. Tell me what you know.”
“I don’t know. Some guy was outside my place last night. I didn’t really see him, but it was kind of obvious he was there. Then, I got flowers after my performance the other night.”
“That’s nice. I wish I got flowers after I did my job. Only thing I ever get is more death threats,” Klaus said, sounding like he was talking to himself.
What the hell? “Why aren’t you taking this seriously?”
“Trust me. If I thought you were in danger, I would. To me, this just sounds like you have a stalker. I could take care of that too, you know, for a price.”
Frustrated, Alex thought about hanging up on him. “I can’t believe there was a time when I actually thought you were a decent person.”
“If you didn’t still think that, you wouldn’t have called me
.”
She hung up on him and once again found herself staring down at the screen, her finger hovering over the ‘contacts’ icon. Once, she had contemplated deleting Mishca’s numbers from her phone but realized that was pointless considering she had committed all of them to memory.
But…she still wasn’t ready to call him.
Pocketing her phone, she walked back into the living room, closing and locking the balcony doors behind her. Robbie was finally awake, groaning as he nearly rolled off the sofa as he turned over. He might have drunken himself into a stupor last night, but he was still up early.
He looked around wide-eyed, trying to get his bearings, only relaxing when he caught sight of Alex as she walked by him.
“Did I sleep here?”
“Yeah.” She smiled. “I don’t think it would have been good for anybody to carry you home in your condition. Do you want some coffee?”
He mumbled an affirmative, carefully rising to his feet as though he thought he would tip over at any moment. “Where’s your bathroom again?”
“Down the hall to your left.”
Alex was busy pulling down two mugs from the cabinets, grabbing creamer and sugar, when she heard Robbie’s exclamation and the sound of Loki’s low growling. Hurrying after him, she did her best to hold in her laughter when she caught sight of him. Robbie had his hands up, his arms shaking, but that did nothing to appease Loki as he remained alert and in place, just a second from springing forward and latching onto Robbie’s neck.
“Loki, behave.” Alex stepped around Robbie, patting Loki on the head. “You know better. Don’t worry about him, Robbie. He’s just not used to new people.” Or he just didn’t like Robbie, but she didn’t want to tell him that.
As he went on, she led Loki back into her bedroom, giving him a treat before closing the door after she left.
Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva Book 4) Page 33