Page 37

THIRTY-SIX

Inessa

T he one place that always felt like home doesn’t anymore as Dariya checks me over. Holding my arms out exaggeratedly. She rolls her eyes and turns, going into the lounge. Misha turns into the little shit I grew up with, hooking his arm around my neck and whispering, “You might be Mrs. Devil now, but I still remember messy Nessy.”

I hate that nickname. I was a clumsy kid, always falling over or spilling things and the foghorn would announce it every fucking time. He’s a prick and always acts like we didn’t beat the shit out of each other as children in front of the Vartanovs.

Jabbing my elbow into his side, I straighten my spine, acting unaffected as we follow his mom.

Grandfather looks younger and his smile is a fraction bigger as he comes in and goes through the documents from our legal businesses. It’s hard to imagine that he’s the teenager we still have to bury stories on with the old man sat in front of me. As much as I want to sit here and soak up my family, I rush through my goodbyes, leaving three puzzled faces. It’s not some newlywed bullshit, I’m religious with taking the pill at the same time every day and old men love hearing their own voices, making me run late after a day of meetings for the media company and Steorra.

I’m a hypocrite, enjoying the way Vlad plays with my body while knowing what he is. But men use women, so I can at least satiate my lust while I’m tied to the bastard. The benefits he offers are all physical and I turn on the massage seats in his car. It’s the best one out of the fleet, and he always scans the paintwork whenever I drive it.

Picking up his habit of tapping in threes, I press my fingers against all the shiny glass on the display spanning the full dash, hoping it pisses him off. Angry Vlad is better than the gentle one he’s trying to be. The gentle, soft version still holds roughness and shows how fake it is. I don’t need him to lull me in with a beautiful lie when the ugly truth has him in my thoughts and dreams.But I still melt every time he does it and I know if I ever wake up beside him I’ll be ruined. He’s even ruined something as awful as period pains by holding me until I fell asleep with his hot hand replacing the heating pad.

Engines growl around me as I take the turn for the Vartanov estate. Looking over my shoulder, there are four bikes forming a motorcade around the car and getting closer. Fucking inconsiderate bastards, don’t they fucking realize I’m already late to take my contraception? If the world was ruled by women, life would be so much easier, there would still be wars but at least we’d fucking communicate a timetable so we could do the important shit.

I speed up and they match me, closing in tighter as we approach the private road leading to the house. The sounds of rumbling get louder as more of Satan’s Rejects surround me and I’m cut off from moving any further forward. Technology works against me with the auto breaking stopping the car when I want to go through them.

Their leader tries his best to be intimidating, throwing his leg over the bike and walking towards me as he unholsters a gun. Even the dark tint can’t hold my eye roll, the fucker watches too many movies, and he’s dumb as fuck thinking I’d be fearful of anyone when I’m married to the devil himself. Knocking on my window with the barrel, I roll it down, acting bored because I am.

“Thanks for the invite but I don’t want to join your little club.”

Growing up within the Bratva I know the best way to hurt a man, his ego. Every one of them bristles at the snub and I don’t move as dickface unlocks my door. I get out before he can touch me, my shoulders are straight, and my head is up. I may not have stars on my knees, but they’re etched into my fucking bones. His breath touches my face and I stare blankly, fixing on thin air to stop from grimacing.

“You’re too sweet for that bastard,” he snarls.

Stroking his finger across my cheek, I give him the attention he wants, and my voice is cold despite my false smile.

“And you’re too old to be playing on your bikes with your friends.”

He must be nearly sixty years old, and age has not been kind to the president of Satan’s Rejects. His gut hangs over his jeans and there’s a stain on his t-shirt. The younger men aren’t slobs and at least dress appropriately,unlike the older men they’re all dotted between who emulate their leader

Their president grips my hair at my nape and pulls my head back. I force my muscles not to react. Men are all the fucking same, what they can’t do with intellect they do by force. Fucking pathetic, another reason why the world would be better if women were in charge. His spit touches my cheek as he angrily hisses when his little ego can’t take my inaction.

“A woman should know her place, her mouth is only useful to put things in, not for whatever falls the fuck out.”

I don’t believe in running away, and do what my loving husband always says I do — run my mouth.

“I already have a roof over my head, which is a lot more comfortable than your gut.”

I wipe away the bastard’s fucking saliva and my insides recoil as he bends my head to the side and licks a path up my neck. The burn on my scalp is nothing compared to the one in my throat at the dirty fuck licking me.

Reaching my ear, he whispers, “I’ll be coming back for you.”

I have to force the bile back down my throat as he nibbles on my earlobe before letting me go. There’s too much fucking excitement in his perverted voice and they all scurry away like ants as tires roll over the gravel.

Staring after them like my gaze can slow them down, Katya jumps out of the car before it can fully stop and rushes to my side.

“Was that?—”

Cutting her off, I nod, and she gets back in the car. I need to bleach my fucking skin and get the fucker’s DNA off me and jump back into Vlad’s car I stole for the day. She follows me and races down the private road as I feel my blood boil at the spit drying on my fucking neck. I keep my head tilted so I don’t have to cut off my hair, and Dima’s brows come together at my weird-ass behavior.

I ignore everyone, my heels angrily click against the wood as I storm through the house into the kitchen and Katya stays behind to talk to her brother. There’s always cleaning products under the sink from whoever Vlad hires to come in the middle of the night and the containers drop as I grab the disinfectant. I run the hot water and soak a cloth in as much of the disinfectant as possible while muttering to myself.

“Filthy fucking cunt.”

I’m getting more pissed as three pairs of footsteps come into the kitchen behind me. They’re all fucking pricks and I’d rather have been shot than have fucking saliva on me.Who fucking licks people? Dogs. Dogs lick people. Slimy bastard.

Scrubbing my neck hard enough to take two layers of skin off, the best smell in the world mixes with the harsh disinfectant. Vlad stands at my back and holds my wrist, pausing my movements.

“You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Speaking slow like I’m mentally unstable has me wanting to fucking hurt him. Stupid prick.

I lean forward and the asshole at my back makes himself useful, holding my hair off my neck. I drop the cloth when he tugs on my wrist again. The hot water makes me feel better as I wash away what shouldn’t be there. Breathing easier with my rage warning me, I straighten as he stretches behind him. Coming back with a hand towel, he dries my neck with a smirk.

“Have you finally made yourself crazy with talking all the time?”

I hate him for making me laugh and Dima steps around the other two Vartanovs with knowing eyes. Katya is a fucking snitch, and she has the decency to look apologetic as he opens his fat mouth.

“What did they say?”

Three sets of eyes land on me with anger and no fucking context. Stepping away from Vlad, his fingers tighten on my nape, and he closes the distance I’m trying to create.He has an accusation in his eyes when I didn’t fucking do anything.

Meeting each of their eyes, I leave Vlad for last, and he knows I’m going to bullshit before I’ve even opened my mouth.

“They wanted my autograph,” I lie.

Vitali laughs, and it’s cut off with the anger coursing through Vlad as he pins his youngest brother with his stare. Tension fills the air, it’s deadly and wouldn’t be out of place in a morgue as I steel my spine. He takes a step closer, and I should record this for that dumb cunt so he can see what intimidation is supposed to fucking look like. His deadly one- word order doesn’t have the intended effect.

“Speak.”

Vlad has desensitized me to his violence. There’s always restraint with me, the same way he’s playfully angry with his family has been extended, bringing me in. It’s what tells me I’m safe, even if it’s fucking stupid. That’s what has my tongue moving, forgetting our audience.

“Do not speak to me like I’m a fucking dog you’re training.”

My heels scrape against the floor as he pulls me closer by my neck and I’m turned around to face the room quicker than I can anticipate. Valentin hesitates to stop his dickhead brother and Vitali tries to hide his laugh, fucking asshole, I thought we’d bonded during our spa sessions. Vlad wraps his arm around my waist and holds his hand over my mouth. If he wasn’t shutting me up, it would be sweet.

His chest vibrates through my back as he barks at his junior.

“What the fuck happened?”

I like it and don’t try to get away as Dima gives the wrong answer.

“We don’t have any cameras set up on that part of the road, they were in the blind spot.”

Looking up, I smile against his palm, knowing I’m the only one who can give him what he wants. Realization has Vlad taking a deep breath and his warning is silent as he stares down at me.

My anger has nearly all disappeared being around these assholes. I’ve passed it into each of them and they become my little puppets, waiting for whatever ruling I give. If I knew playing with dolls was this fun, I’d have kept the ones Dariya gave me. Power fills me and the hand on my mouth slides down, making it go to my head.

Stepping away from Vlad, I push myself up on my palms and sit on the counter with one leg crossed over the other. I need to be taller than my subjects. I speak slowly so I can keep the thread of control longer, and I’m nearly bursting with energy.

“He said, I’m too pretty for Vlad’s ugly ass.”

Starting with the wrong thing, there are shrugs of agreement and one hard stare working around the room as Katya curls her lip into her mouth to stop from laughing.

Keeping the comment about my mouth to myself because society has fucked with my brain assigning shame to me when I’ve done nothing wrong, I turn serious, giving them the rest.

“There wasn’t a threat, they must have heard Katya’s car, and they left.”

Nodding towards her like they don’t know who she is, she becomes a bigger fucking snitch and asks, “Why were you out of the car?”

There’s supposed to be a sisterhood, women supporting women and all that shit. But she’s a fucking idiot and drops me in shit. Vlad is a predator sniffing out my omission, and he slowly turns towards me. His eyes move to my neck that I’m sure is still red from my scrubbing. For the first time I feel fearful with the murder directed at me. His foot lifts as little footsteps run towards the kitchen, and I could kiss Viktor for saving me. I don’t need his controlling bullshit in front of other people, we both know better than to disrespect each other publicly even if they are his family.

The murderous tension warms as Viktor softens everyone and drags a metal baseball bat behind him. The metal scrapes against the tiled hallway until the clinks get softer against the wood. Valentin’s fixation on filling up the acreage with whatever games he can find to keep his son occupied and less lonely has Vlad’s attention as he fixes on the metal. Without looking away from it, he speaks low and deadly.

“Did he touch you?”

I gulp audibly because I didn’t do anything, but he’s acting like it was my fault. The answer is written on my face for everyone to see. He nods once to himself then charges forward, swiping the bat from Viktor’s limp hand and he doesn’t turn around.

Everyone rushes out, even Vitali who should be fucking resting with not being fully healed yet. Katya shakes her head, staring at the door with longing and I know the asshole is going to come back to fucking rage at me.

Viktor turns watching the door too and his brows come together as he asks, “I’m not going to get it back, am I?”

I slip off the counter and go to him and give him a tight-lipped smile.

“I’ll buy you a new one.”

Whatever carnage is going to be enacted will mean that there’s going to be DNA on the metal, and he deserves something clean.