Page 52 of The Games of Madmen

The cut under my rib is super tender.

“Let me help you.” He goes straight into action without waiting for me to reply.

It’s not fair how tender he touches me, coaxing my arms through the armholes without raising them so as not to pull on the glue keeping my wound together. Once he lifts it over my head, he roams a lazy observation over my now exposed tits, down to my cut and then dipping lower. Despite myself, a heavy throb pulses in my lower stomach.

There’s seriously something wrong with me.

“Z.” Rodion’s voice cuts through the almost suffocating tension. I jolt and nearly trip over Jeremiah’s corpse, trying to put space between us.

“I was, he was, we were…”

“I don’t care,” Rodion snaps, his stern glare moving from me, and softening when landing on his brother. “Z, I need you out here for a minute.”

Great. I’m finding new ways to piss him off. Going to my closet, I rummage through my clothes and want to kick myself for only owning uncomfortable but fabulous outfits. Opting to just sling on my bathrobe, I listen out for the twins and then panic washes over me.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

Darting from the bedroom, my feet skid on the tiled hallway floor as I race toward the other bedroom. “What are you doing?” I bark out, panic in my voice. “You can’t be in here.”

It’s too late because they’re already standing in the middle of her room.

“Whose is this?” Rodion asks.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

“Alyona! Whose room is this?” he repeats when I don’t speak.

Zahkar is silent, and my head swims trying to find an answer.

This isn’t happening.

“You have a baby?” Z whispers.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Chapter Fifteen

Zahkar

My mind is racing.

Pink is everywhere.

It’s also the only room with carpet. Soft and plush beneath my feet. Stuffed toys are everywhere and all the furniture is encrusted in rhinestones. Above the sparkly crib is a glitter painted plaque that reads:

Princess Roza.

It’s the only room in this shell of a house that has Alyona’s personality stamped all over it.

“You have a baby?” I breathe, voice barely above a whisper.

Why the hell didn’t she mention a fucking baby? What’s happening right now? I feel like I’m in some alternate reality where down is up and up is down. Nothing makes sense.

A baby.

Alyona has a baby. She’s a mother.

“Where’s the baby?” Rodion asks in a razor-sharp tone.