by T. L Smith
He smirks, and I fist pump the air for making his face crack a smile for the first time—well, the first time I’ve witnessed it anyway.
“Freya, what the fuck were you thinking?” Patrick’s voice startles me away from the television making me jump.
“I was angry.”
He shakes his head at me. “He’s your husband, Freya.”
With a “humph” I turn back to the television.
“You have to stay married to him, Freya.”
While swinging around fast, my mouth drops wide open. “He’s alive?” I ask in disbelief.
“Yes, despite your defiance trying to kill him. He is still very much alive and he isn’t fucking happy,” he says walking away.
Pushing myself back I collapse on the couch next to Grekh. “Want to kill someone for me?” I question with a smile and raise my eyebrows up and down insinuatingly.
He shakes his head with a smirk still in place as he goes back to watching the television.
Damn! Next time I’ve got to try a lot harder.
Chapter 17
Viktor
My head is hurting, blood is pouring all over my pillow. A man with glasses and a needle hovers over me as he stitches me up. He doesn’t speak to me as he repairs the wound. My head throbs, hard. I look to the side to see the television shattered and on the floor, glass and blood covering it.
I can’t believe she tried to kill me while I slept.
Maybe she does hate me.
Then again she wouldn’t have let me touch her if she did. She wouldn’t have curled into my arms the way she did if she actually hated me. Maybe a part of her does, but I also think a part of her craves me as much as I crave her. Even if death hangs between our love and hate. Like a puppet wanting to pull on each string, it doesn’t know which emotions to pull for the day. I guess today hate played out for her. Last night, though, that was not hate. No, that was raw strong emotion, maybe mixed with a touch of hate when I made her come. Because I did it, I made her body become mine and she hates me for that.
The man pulls on a stitch, ties it and cuts the thread. He stands and walks out the door not saying a word to me. When I finally stand up, I feel my body aching, the soreness of it all is too much. I reach for my pants and pull them up. My phone is vibrating in my pocket and when I reach for it I notice that it’s Kazier, with several missed calls from him as well. I’ve never not answered his calls, so the ringing one hundred times means I must have him worried.
“About fucking time,” he curses at me. “Where the fuck have you been. Actually, don’t answer that…” he goes silent, “… are you with Patrick?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Good, stay there. We’re on our way,” he says hanging up before I can say anything else. Not that I want to, my head is ringing with pain and actually all I really want to do is sleep.
I find my shirt at the bottom of the bed, but when I reach down to grab it I have a slight head spin. Closing my eyes I realize that doesn’t help one fucking bit. It just makes me dizzier.
The door opens and the devil herself walks into the room, shutting the door and leaning against it as she watches me.
“You’re alive,” she says rolling her eyes. I can tell she’s not impressed at all.
“You smashed a fucking TV on my head,” I say while trying to pull the shirt over my head. When I look up at her, her eyes are watching me, drinking in my body.
“You deserved it,” she huffs turning her head to the side.
“Are you finished now? Trying to kill me?” I take a step closer to her.
“Not even close…”
I shake my head because I actually believe her. “Do you want to be spanked, little bird?”
As she turns her head to look at me, I step up and pin her to the door. I notice the cut on her neck has a clean bandage on it—I replaced the soiled one last night after she passed out. I also noticed the bruises covering her legs when she bared them to me.
She goes to open her mouth, but I don’t give her a chance to talk. Instead, I slam my mouth over hers, shutting her up and kissing her sweet soft lips that taste like lollies. She pushes on my chest but kisses me back. I don’t even think she realizes she’s doing it. I skirt my hands around her waist, lifting her back from the door so I can pull her as close to me as possible. Her hands skim my waist, she bites my lip then she does something that makes me want to kill her and fuck her all at once, she defies me. As she tugs at my lip with her teeth, her knee comes up and punches me in the groin. My mouth instantly leaves hers and I take in a large mouthful of air, then step back crouching down. “Fuck,” I scream.
“I won’t let you play with me again. Next time it may not be my knee, but a knife,” she says opening the door.
“You’ll beg for it, little bird. Fucking beg,” I say just as she walks out, leaving me crouching holding my fucking junk in place. I try to stand and wince when I do so.
“I like what you’ve done to her,” a voice comes through to me. I see that it’s Patrick standing there. “She would never have defied our father. She was his golden girl… she always listened. Freya wasn’t a fan of death or pain, though she was taught it in all aspects of her life. She wanted normal, but now she wants revenge. As I said, I like what you’ve done to her,” he reiterates while nodding his head. “Your friends have arrived. Let’s hope they play nice today, hey Viktor?” He walks out, dressed in his ugly as fuck suit, leaving me standing there wondering what the fuck he wants.
They all turn to look up at me as I make my way down the stairs. All their faces showing no sign of emotion. Kazier and the other two are standing near the front door. I don’t see Freya anywhere, just Patrick and two of his men by his side move in.
“I’m glad you could make it. We were just discussing your wife,” Patrick says swinging his hand indicating I should join them. Taking the last step I stand in the middle to the side so I can see all the parties standing here. “I’ll leave you to talk, then we will have lunch,” Patrick says with a click of his finger as he and his men walk away. We are the only ones left standing in the foyer. Anton smirks as he watches me, but it isn’t a friendly smirk, after all I did lock him down in Death’s basement.
“You stayed?” Kazier asks looking at my forehead where the stitches are.
I plan to go home later and shave my hair off, I never let it grow, except lately I haven’t had time to worry about it. I nod my head.
“Who did that?” He nods to it.
“Freya,” I tell him.
Death’s lips twitch up.
“How?”
“With a television… while I was sleeping.”
Anton bends over in a fit of laughter. Death is now full on smirking trying to contain his laughter.
“You fucked her, didn’t you?” Anton shuts up and waits for my answer, they all know she was a virgin.
“I did.”
“You want to be with her?” he asks.
I simply nod my head, I think I do anyway.
“Okay, let’s get this over with,” he says walking to the sitting area where they’re all located. Freya is sitting next to the man that was touching her neck yesterday. I walk straight over and pull her up into my embrace, she fights me off then says something. Before I can even think she’s gone from my arms, a gun now aimed at my head, and a knife is at Kazier’s throat. It all happened so fast I didn’t even see it coming.
Her friend, Grekh, is pushing his line, he doesn’t smile or act cocky as he holds us both in position. He just stands there waiting for an order. One that will not come. Kazier swears under his breath, then just as fast as Grekh moves, so do Anton and Death. Anton grabs Freya, holds her tight with her back to his front, her hands trapped and a gun to her head. Death stands behind Grekh, his hands outreached but we can’t see what he has.
“Sin, I see you have met Sebastian’s brother. Isn’t he something special?” Patrick says.
The man named Grekh stares at both of us hard before he
lowers his weapons. He turns, and as he does Death spins with him and we all see he has a knife to his spine, one move and he could sever it, never allowing him to walk again. He takes a step forward, Death keeps his weapon in his hand, and when he turns to Death he nods his head with respect then walks away.
“Sin here… or as my sister calls him by his real name Grekh, is very good friends with your brother, Dmitry,” Patrick says to Death, using his real name. Death chooses not to acknowledge him and comes back to stand behind Kazier and I. “They’re very loyal to you. I wonder what you do to empower such loyalty…” he taps his chin with his hand. “What I don’t understand is how he still is…” he points to me, “… he loves her, and you know it. I can tell you do. Yet, here you are wanting to kill her. And yet, they never dreamed of doing so to your wife, Kazier, the one who is actually the enemy.”
“She isn’t the enemy,” Kazier says, then turns to look to me. “I’m not killing her. I don’t plan to.” He looks to Freya who’s quiet as Anton holds her in place. He nods his head and Anton releases her. She steps away and walks over to Kazier, and her palm comes up and slaps him hard across the face.
“She also trusted you. What she failed to realize is that you’re just like your father and do what is best for you. At the time she was what was best… now she isn’t.” He starts to walk out. “Come, let’s eat.” We all follow him.
Freya is already seated at the table when we walk in, Patrick sits next to her at the head of the table. Servers come out placing plates of food in front of Patrick and us then he thanks them as they walk away.
“So I think we should discuss a new plan, don’t you?” Patrick questions cutting into his steak.
I turn to look at her, she’s sitting across from me looking down at her food but not eating it.
“I agree to your terms, those that were honored by my father. And with Freya staying married to Viktor, you must agree to mine.”
I turn to look at Kazier, I didn’t realize we had to re-bargain our lives.
“What’s yours?” Freya asks before anyone else can.
He places his knife on the table and covers her hand with his.
“You must stay in your seat, and you must try to act as if you are not a child. Agreed?” he asks her.
She nods her head, it’s almost imperceptible but I see it.
“You will bear a child, and when that child becomes the age of sixteen, you will send him to me. You know I cannot have kids. Therefore father put so much pressure on you to be married and the bloodline must be strong for the child to have respect. Kazier agreed to help raise the child as they were raised.”
Death, pain, torture, punishments, that’s how we were raised. Our childhood wasn’t easy, it was rough. We didn’t have it like most do. She doesn’t say anything as she stares at their hands.
“I know you like him, Freya. Don’t object and say you don’t. The house heard you last night, this won’t be as bad as your head is playing it out to be. A child is a gift.”
“You want my child?” she asks him in disbelief. He takes a deep breath and removes his hand.
“You are the only one I trust in this world. You are the same bloodline as me. So to keep our heritage strong and in power, a child must take over from me when I reach of age. You know how this works.”
“You’re using me just like he did…”
He shakes his head.
I can see the defiance building in her, she has it so strong. It’s like a cage that she rattles and breaks free from.
“No, I’m doing what’s best for our family. You know I will love him.”
She nods her head then smiles.
“What if it’s a girl, Patrick?”
He looks down to his steak and starts cutting.
“Raise her the same, times are changing,” is all he says then proceeds to eat.
It leaves us all sitting there watching them, wondering what is about to happen next.
Chapter 18
Freya
His stare doesn’t leave me the entire time, it burns right through me as my brother speaks. He wants to touch me, I can feel that he does. Viktor wants to wrap his hands back around my neck and have his way with me. Even if I partially want that, it’s all too much to take on right now. I sit there in silence as Kazier and Patrick discuss shit that I don’t care about. I can feel a heavy weight coming down on my shoulders, it’s too much to bear. I don’t want kids, not yet, I’m too young.
When I look up, Viktor is still watching me. I stand and walk away from the table, they don’t even care that I do. They continue talking as if I haven’t even left.
Maybe he’s more like our father than I saw.
Maybe I just didn’t want to believe it.
I can’t get over that if it’s a girl he would still want her. Girls don’t have power, it’s the men that do.
Does he think with time that would change? I doubt that very much.
A hand comes down on my shoulder, I turn just before I hit the stairs and see Viktor watching me.
“Do you want to get out of here?”
I shake my head at him. I don’t want him near me either, I don’t want anyone right now. I run up the stairs locking the door after I enter. Then I close my eyes, hoping when I wake the world will be a better place.
***
My phone is ringing, and ringing, and ringing, so I grab it with sleepy hands putting it to my ear.
“Get dressed,” Elina screams in my ear. “I’ll be there in ten. We’re going to get shit faced,” she says hanging up. I know what that means, we’ll be going to her favorite club. She loves that place. How weird it is that I have formed some sort of fucked up relationship with her? My opposite, the woman who’s now married to my supposed arranged husband.
I get ready, jeans and flattering boob-tube. The top has shoulder sleeves that hang off, which is unusual and it’s white with black stripes. It matches with my black jeans. I place on some wedges, straighten my hair and apply some gloss to my lips. When I walk down the stairs, Patrick is standing at the door looking at Elina who’s dressed like she’s about to go and work the streets. His arms are crossed as he looks her up and down. He turns when he hears me walking down, looks me over and back to her.
“You’re going out?” he asks.
I nod my head and Elina smiles at me.
“Stay safe,” he says walking away from us.
“Well, he’s intense,” she says. “And has poor fashion sense.” She laughs as we walk to the car.
“They aren’t with you?”
She opens the door and shakes her head. “Nope, I snuck out. So, of course, they aren’t with me. I figured you need to forget for a while.” She continues to talk about Pollie and the baby as we drive. About how stupidly cute he is and that she can’t wait to have her own someday. I stare at the window, there’s too much baby talk for me and not enough alcohol in my system. Everyone seems to be wanting kids, having kids, yet here I am trying to run from it all. I just want to be me, for a little while longer and figure out who I am.
The valet takes the keys to her car and she’s ushered in like a VIP. They call her by her first name, she waves and keeps walking. I remember Viktor saying this is where they met, that he fell in love with her because she was unlike anyone else, so free that Kazier wanted her all to himself. I can see it as she leans over the bar, smiles with her red lips and gets free drinks. I can see as other women stare at her and either hate her or want to be her. She has her own world around her, it’s very enticing when you get close enough to see it.
We start drinking, she goes slow but keeps on passing me vodka.
“The boys said you can drink…” as she passes me another. “I’m personally a light weight and don’t drink much,” she tells me sipping slowly on her pink concoction. A song comes on and she places her glass on the table, grabs my hand and pulls me to the dance floor. I suck at dancing, not going to lie, I know how to move my hips and that’s the extent of it all. Men sur
round her as she has her hands up in the air swaying and singing. Some try touching her and she brushes them off like nothing, not even fazed by it.
A hand lands on my hip, I twist his fingers and he screams as he pulls away. She opens her eyes and then reaches between her breasts. Pulling out a small case, she winks at me as she opens it, taking out a little white pill. She places it in her mouth and then dips it back in offering me a piece. I open my mouth, hoping and praying I get lost, not stuck in this world a second longer.
She continues to dance, placing the case back between her breasts and starts twirling again, we dance for a good ten minutes before I have to go to the bathroom. I signal to her where I’m going, she smiles and swings side to side lost in her own world as I leave. I don’t know what I just took, and frankly I don’t even care right now. I can’t feel it working yet, and I’m a bit disappointed in that fact.
As soon as I finish in the bathroom, I spot Elina standing up on the stage near the DJ, her dress is short and I’m sure whoever is down below can see whatever it is she has on underneath. I walk over to her and pull her hand down to me, she smiles and drops down wrapping her arms around my neck, then starts swinging me back and forth. She doesn’t let go even when I try to pull away.
Someone hands up two bottles of water—a bouncer—and I take them because they haven’t been opened and manage to pull away from her. I open hers and give it to her, she takes a sip then pours the rest down the front of her dress, drops her head back and laughs.
“I haven’t done this in years, but I knew you wanted to get lost.” She runs her hand over my shoulder.
My stomach starts turning and I feel like I need to be sick. I bend over and she leans over to whisper in my ear. I don’t know how we can hear each other in this place seeing as it’s filled with people and loud music.
“Just breathe through it,” she says then steps back. “Oh fuck…” I stand to see her looking up at the entry way, the boys just walked in, and they are looking right at us.
“Let’s hide.” I giggle, she laughs, and we walk with backs hunched hoping they can’t see us. I turn to say something to her when my head runs straight into something hard.