by Ivy Clyde
While I believed he had a reason to put Skye at Knightswood, I still couldn’t fathom as to why.
I glanced down at Skye again, catching her gaze as she smiled up at me.
My heart skipped a beat each time I caught her looking at me like that. True, she was the perfect mirror image of the girl I once loved, but she was a completely different person. I knew that from the moment I met her.
If it had been Maria who saw me dying with my wrists slashed, she would have panicked. I doubted whether she would ever be as fast Skye to call for help.
The other thing I noticed was Skye’s fiery temper. While she was usually calm and friendly, she was quick to get angry and stay angry. Maria, on the other hand, always relented no matter how much someone upset her. Maria preferred to stay silent even she was hurting but Skye…she would never back down from protecting herself.
“It’s been so long since I’ve been out like this,” said Skye from beside me. She raised her arms to the sky and faced the setting sun, breathing in deeply.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” I said, taking her bag from her and slinging it across my chest. Since she had no experience of being on a bike, I wanted to make it as safe as possible for her. Next, I helped put on her helmet.
Skye stood still, letting me click and tighten the strap under her chin. She was childlike, allowing me to do it for her. At that moment, I realized how vulnerable she truly was. She was putting her trust in me, a complete stranger, to take her away. We did go to the same school but would anyone care to enquire after her if something happened to her? It would be so easy to whisk her away to Romanoff Manor and hide her there, allowing no other male to set eyes on her. I mentally shook my head. As tempting as it was, I preferred to give her time to choose to stay with me.
A fierce need to protect her flared inside me, shaking me to my core. The only girl I’d ever felt this way about was Maria but I’d let her down. The pain of losing her had been one of the reasons I’d resorted to ending my life. Could I live with myself if I ever let something happen to Skye?
“Are you okay?” she asked, gazing into my eyes.
“Yeah. Let’s get going.” I placed the helmet on my head and pulled down the visor, hiding the intense emotions coursing through me. Mounting the bike, I waited for Skye to climb on.
She clambered onto the bike, wriggling her hips until she’d seated herself comfortably. Next, she took her time to fix her skirt before placing her arms around me. Fire pulsed through my veins at her touch. She was holding onto me to stay on the bike safely but it didn’t stop my body from reacting to her soft, warm body molding against me.
“I’m ready,” she called from behind me.
“Hold tight,” I said, starting the engine and feeling the machine come to life under us. Skye’s arms tightened around me and I was glad she couldn’t see the grin spreading on my face. I let the bike shoot forward, taking us back onto the highway. Skye’s shriek of excitement and laughter made my spirits rise high. Stepping on the gas, I speeded up the bike.
The sun was setting behind us, casting a deep gold and orange sunset on the horizon before us. It was late September but the trees lining the road were still green. A cool evening breeze roared past us, making me feel freer than I’d felt in a long, long time.
Making sure Skye was still holding onto me tightly, I let my mind delve into the events of the last few months.
My parents and uncles were murdered earlier that year. My elder brother, Egor, was tortured so brutally, he lost his mind, leaving me to be the sole heir and owner of my family’s vast empire. We were one of the three ruling mafia families in this part of the country but our power was crumbling.
Our main business involved the manufacturing of weapons, selling them to the military and other government organizations, but we also had ways to sell them to other parties through underhanded, illegal means. It made us extremely powerful but also attracted the envy of others.
I had no proof but was sure it was the Volkovs who’d attacked my family. Egor had lost his mind but he kept repeating one thing. “It was the Volkovs.”
I approached the Ivanovs so they would side with me in my attempt to gain justice but Nikolai refused to take the word of my mentally disabled brother. He demanded more proof but so far, I had none. I just knew how ruthless and backstabbing the Volkovs could be. They were the reason Maria was dead.
My fingers tightened on the handlebar as the image of her last moments swam before my eyes. Her eyes were spilling with tears as she reaffirmed her love for her fiancé, Dimitri. A second later, Dimitri had shot her himself, letting the bullet pierce her heart in one single blow.
Skye’s arms tightened around me, jolting me out of my thoughts. I’d let the bike go too fast, letting my distraction interrupt my focus. I slowed down and immediately felt Skye’s arms relax against me.
Night was setting in and the breeze blowing past was turning cooler. I hoped she wasn’t getting cold as I continued to drive toward our destination. By now, she’d let her head rest against my shoulder. That gesture of acceptance sent waves of warmth shooting through me. She was too open, too trusting and too vulnerable.
My protective instinct rose to the surface once again, worrying about the fact that Dimitri had already seen her. There was no way he would let her be. He was bound to try to get her on his side as a kind of substitute for his dead fiancé.
Hatred coursed through me every time I thought of Dimitri. Until the start of this year, we’d been best friends. The three of us, me, Maria and Dimitri had grown up together. We were the same age, making it easier for us to bond together.
As time went by, we both fell in love with Maria. Even if she’d felt the same way for me, there was no chance for us to be together because she had been groomed to be Nikolai’s bride since she was a baby.
She was an abandoned baby the Volkovs adopted in their family. While Dimitri was sent to school, Maria was homeschooled, guarded day and night like a precious jewel by the household. She grew up to be too innocent, too vulnerable. When the order for her death was issued, she probably had no idea how to get out of the trap. I wanted to help her but she’d given up already.
Maria was loved, cherished and protected by the Volkov family. However, when accusations rose up against her, they turned their backs on her, letting her take the blame for a crime she could have never committed.
They’d broken her heart into pieces and she’d willingly accepted their decree and embraced death.
I won’t let Dimitri get close to Skye, I vowed. He won’t hurt another girl I like.
I let one of my gloved hands come off the handle and settle on Skye’s.
Another half an hour passed. A glow of light appeared in the far horizon, telling me the racecourse was close by. It was away from the main highway, along a path that only the club members were aware of. This piece of land was owned by one of Knightswood Academy’s alumni, making it a heaven for those of us who enjoyed racing our custom-made rides. It was the only place where we could really play with our expensive toys without any restrictions.
Slowing down the bike, I took a turn to enter the woods that lined the road. The way was bumpy for a while and had Skye gasping with each rise and fall of the bike. She held onto me tighter, only making my smile grow wider.
After a few minutes, a new path opened up, offering us a smoother ride.
“This is so much better!” I heard Skye shout out from behind me as I drove us through the curving road that would take us up the mountain. The air was cooler here. Beats of music soon reached us. We were close now.
A few minutes later, we came onto a vast field, lit up with giant stadium lights, their powerful beams making it as bright as daylight. Slowing down the pace of my bike to a crawl, I headed toward the faraway corner where cars and bikes were parked in a single line.
“Are we here?” she asked in a loud voice from behind.
“Yeah.” I stopped the bike and allowed her to scramble down fi
rst. She was still awkward about it, holding onto my shoulders as she got down. I dismounted after her and took off the helmet. A cool breeze blew by, playing with my untamable curls.
“I’m so stiff,” said Skye, stretching her neck to the side and rotating her shoulders. “I was holding onto you too tight.”
“I didn’t mind.” A grin played on my lips and she smiled in reply.
I locked our helmets to the bike while Skye checked out the cars parked there.
“I have no idea what any of these are called,” she said, gesturing toward them. “But they all look amazing.”
“They are all custom-built,” I replied, glancing at the row of gleaming race cars and the few bikes parked there. “You won’t find a second one that looks like them.”
“Wow,” she breathed. “I can only imagine how much they cost. This place is really like a Fast and Furious movie, especially Tokyo Drift.”
“You like that movie?”
She nodded. “Kind of.”
“Come on. Let me show you around and then we can go for a ride around the race circuit.”
She gave a nod and moved forward to stand beside me. I took her hand in mine and she let me, seeming quite at ease as I led the way toward the central area where most of the crowd was gathered.
Nearby, a small group of young men and women were dancing to the beats of a familiar hip hop song. My own body thrummed with energy at the sight. It had been months since I felt the urge to dance. Part of me had accepted that it died with Maria.
I glanced down at Skye. She was eagerly looking all about the place, taking in the people who were drinking from cans of beer or checking out a new race car, painted a luminous neon green. Her body was unconsciously moving to the rhythm of the beats.
“Do you dance, Skye?” I asked.
She turned toward me with a thoughtful look. “Not anymore. It’s been ages since I last went to a party and grooved to a good song.” She gestured toward the group dancing nearby. “They look like they’re having fun, don’t they?”
“You want to join them?”
Her brows raised high. “No way I’m as good as them,” she said with a shake of her head. “It’s embarrassing enough I’m dressed in this stupid uniform while those girls are rocking their party dresses.”
A low chuckle escaped me. What she called ‘party dresses’ was the tiniest outfit these girls could manage to find. On most occasions, I’d find my gaze straying toward them but tonight, all my attention was on the awkward, shy girl at my side.
“What are you doing here?” said a deeply familiar voice from beside me.
Rage burned in my veins as I turned around to face my old best friend, Dimitri, who was my biggest enemy now. “Is it any of your business?”
His gaze slid toward Skye. She moved closer to me on instinct. “It’s won’t be safe for you to drink and do drugs while you have her with you,” he said in a cold voice.
“Fuck you, Dimitri,” I grated through clenched teeth.
“I’m saying it for your own good,” he said, leveling his gaze with mine. “You might have taken to attacking me but I still care for you and our friendship.”
I scoffed. “Your friendship isn’t worth the dog shit on the sole of my shoe. As for attacking you, that wasn’t me.”
“Those men had the Romanoff sigil on them.”
“Stop making up stories.”
“Skye was there that night,” he said, motioning toward her. “Wasn’t I shot and about to die?”
She looked stricken for a moment and I saw the cogs turning in her mind as she glanced between me and Dimitri. “He was shot,” she said slowly, measuring each word she spoke. “But I have no idea who those people were.”
Dimitri looked back at me. “I didn’t lie about being shot. And I’m not lying about the people who did it to me.”
“I’m not like the Volkovs,” I said in a low, bitter voice. “It’s your family that killed mine.”
“Egor isn’t in his right mind. How can you trust his word and blame us for what happened? We would never…” He shook his head and shut his eyes tight before glaring back at me. “You’ve known us all your life. Do you think my family could ever do that you?”
“I never thought you could do that to Maria either.” His face blanched immediately but the rage burned in his eyes.
“Hey, hey! Look who’s finally here,” a jovial voice reached us. Next moment, a tall man in a white suit appeared between me and Dimitri, wrapping his arms around each of our shoulders. “I thought you’d forgotten about my little piece of heaven.” The smell of beer and pot suffocated me as Luca Ricci forced us closer.
Luca Ricci was the owner of the land around here. He was the one who took the initiative to build the race circuit that allowed us to race our rides on this mountain. Two gold teeth glinted from his open mouth as he grinned at me and Dimitri.
“How about a good race tonight, boys? Things aren’t the same until you kids make it lively.”
“He’s not fit to race,” said Dimitri, motioning toward me.
“Really?” Luca cast a doubtful glance in my direction. “What happened? And who’s that little school girl? Your girlfriend?”
A smirk rose on my lips at Dimitri’s tight expression. Pulling Skye against me, I nodded. “She’s my girl.” Looking back at Dimitri, I added, “He’s just too afraid to race me. He always loses.”
Luca barked a laugh, shaking his head. “I’ve missed you two. How about a race, then? For old time’s sake?”
“I’m up for it,” I said confidently. I was done letting Dimitri get away with trying to make me look like the weaker man.
“Excellent.” Luca turned toward Dimitri, staring at him expectantly.
“Fine,” Dimitri bit out.
Luca walked away, probably to announce the upcoming race.
“Good luck to both of you,” said Skye, looking between us. I hated that she was even looking at Dimitri. He was the one person she had to avoid at Knightswood Academy.
“Ladies and gents,” Luca’s voice boomed all over the area. “Dimitri Volkov and Andrei Romanoff will be racing right now.” The crowd around us cheered loudly. “Place your bets quickly and gather around.”
“Barely anyone talks about you two at school but you’re popular here,” said Skye, looking between me and Dimitri. “Do you guys win a lot of money from this gig?”
“We don’t do it for money,” said Dimitri.
“Don’t talk to her.” I pulled Skye against me again. “She’s with me.”
“So what?” said Dimitri with an arrogant shrug of his shoulder. “You don’t own her.”
“Place your bets now!” Luca’s voice roared over us. “And the stakes get higher because Andrei Romanoff will be riding with his new girlfriend. She’s a hot piece of ass in a schoolgirl uniform, so give her some love y’all!”
“What?” Skye was staring up at the tall glass-fronted podium inside which Luca was making his announcements. “What’s he talking about?”
“Come on,” I said, grabbing her hand. “We’re winning this race tonight. You can even keep all the money from the win.”
Skye looked startled for a moment, but a slow smile slowly stretched her lips. “I do like money.” She chuckled and pressed her body against mine playfully. “Let’s do this, boyfriend,” she added with a giggle.
I glanced at Dimitri who was watching us with a murderous glare. His hands were balled into tight fists at his side. Suppressing a smile, I wrapped an arm around Skye’s shoulder and tugged her along with me to get my bike.
My bike was recently conditioned, so I was confident about its performance. If I kept my focus right, it would be an easy win for me. And with Skye at my side, my determination to beat Dimitri was stronger than ever.
23
Skye
It felt like being fitted into armor as Andrei fixed the helmet’s strap under my chin. He had a determined grin on his face despite the clash with Dimitri minutes ago. My own thoug
hts were scattered by the excitement flowing through my veins. Even in my wildest imagination, I couldn’t have imagined myself in a place like this.
Booze flowed like water here. The men and women were either drinking or smoking with their friends. The girls walking around were beautiful with figures as incredible and polished as Victoria’s Secret models. Their clothes were skimpy, leaving very little to the imagination. Luxury cars and race cars were everywhere, each more impressive than the next.
I’d entered a completely different world to the one I knew but with Andrei at my side, I felt no inhibitions.
“Make sure you hold onto me tightly,” Andrei was saying. “We’ll be going twice as fast as before.”
“Twice?” I was sure we were going close to a hundred miles per hour back on the highway before. My gaze fell on the gleaming motorbike before us. “Can it really go up to that speed?”
“Yes. If I push it, this baby can go even faster.” A proud grin lit up his features but soon it dimmed. “This bike is as good as my own control over it. So, sit tight and keep holding onto me.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t hold you back. Give it all you’ve got.”
He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “You just care about winning the prize, don’t you?”
I shrugged, not even bothering to hide my true feelings. Everyone at school knew me to be the Charity Case. I might as well play the part and earn some extra cash.
The shouts and jeers grew louder as a silver car drove past us and stopped in the distance where the other cars were gathered. Two large, wide screens had come alive in that corner, focusing on Dimitri sitting behind the wheels.
“Come on.”
I climbed behind Andrei, still getting used to sitting on a bike properly. Just as I wrapped my arms around him, he let the bike shoot forward and come to a stop beside Dimitri’s silver beast of a car. The engines of both machines roared but both drivers held a tight leash, waiting for Luca to drop the flag he was holding.