Page 96 of Villainous Kingpin

I roamed the old streets of Lisbon. It was a beautiful city. Ageless with a welcoming vibe. The weather was mild, though still cool. The breath of old colonial times was evident everywhere you looked. And so much history.

Not that I was into history. Especially when mine seemed so damn fucked up.

I watched the skyline of this old city. The spectacular hilltop vista from St. George’s Castle stretched for miles. Davina’s sister, Aurora, lived in a villa by the sea. Uncle Liam and Davina visited a few times. I’d been too busy training and avoiding everyone.

Even Juliette stopped spending so much time in California, busy with our new school plans.

Lowering myself on the thousand year old steps, I stared out into the horizon, my fingers tracing the bracelet on my wrist, my thumb finding the hidden kingpin pendant every so often and brushing against it. Even after all this time, I still couldn’t find the courage to take it off.

“Are you hiding here?” A familiar deep voice came from behind me and I turned around to find Sasha Nikolaev standing there, leaning against the castle wall. He wore his signature three-piece-suit that I hated ever since I met Basilio. Though truthfully, he didn’t remind me of Basilio at all. Sasha was more MMA built. Bas was more… well, gorgeous.

“I’m not hiding.”

Somehow, I wasn’t surprised to find Sasha here. The man had some scary and seriously disturbing stalking skills. Much like his brother, Alexei, from what little I heard.

Sasha’s eyes roamed over me, as they always did. He was like an annoying, overbearing brother, ensuring I wasn’t hurt.

“Then why are you here, staring into space with that empty expression?” he challenged.

I shook my head tiredly. “What do you want, Sasha?”

Tense silence stretched, broken up only by the sound of the wind and distant noises of the city below us. I just wanted to sit down and keep those noises for my company. Just the thought of a social gathering and fake smiles was agonizing.

“Say the word, Wyn,” he drawled. “And he’s dead.”

I blew an exasperated breath. “Don’t you have enough people on your list to kill?”

He gave me his shark grin. “Some are business. Some are pleasure. I’m looking for some pleasure kills.”

Narrowing my eyes on him, I regarded him with caution. “You’re nuts. You know that, right?”

He shrugged.

“Yeah, but you like me.”

I rolled my eyes. I wore my warm Lou & Grey black leggings and a large gray sweater. The temperature here was mild enough not to need a jacket.

“Yeah, but more from afar,” I muttered. “Kind of like lions. Magnificent creatures but you don’t want to be next to them.”

He sat himself down next to me, uncaring of his expensive suit. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of me now.”

I glanced at him sideways. “No, I’m not. But there is something deranged about you. And I have plenty of that with Jules.” He gave me another one of his signature shark grins. “Honestly, I don’t know why you and Juliette don’t get along. You’re both nuts.”

“Is she into BDSM?” he asked curiously and I just about fell over. Good thing I was sitting down.

“You’re joking, right?” I swallowed. I wouldn’t tell him Juliette was a virgin. She was an all talk, no action type of girl when it came to sexual interaction.

“Yeah, I just wanted a reaction out of you.” He shoved his shoulder into me playfully. “She’s too young for me. You two are basically kids.”

I scoffed. “Fuck you. I’m twenty-one.”

“Ah, there is her spirit,” he mused. “I wondered if Nationals had crushed you.”

And just like that, self-pity made an appearance. My eyes stung and I blinked to ensure no tears would dare make an appearance.

“Sasha, you’re exhausting.” My voice came out shaky and I twisted my fingers together.

“Want to talk about Nationals?”