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Kir, he has his cooking. Or he did. Once he lost Clara, he stopped doing anything that reminded him of her. But he’s an amazing amateur chef, so yeah, he can have life outside work when he wants to.
Niko’s always been the playboy out of the three of us. I wouldn’t peg him as a man-whore, not by a long shot, but the girls like him and he likes them right back. He typically has dates several nights a week. Well, he did until Charleigh came along.
But me, I’ve always been pretty much about work. I don’t take vacations, go to any more parties than I absolutely have to, and only spend time with women who are as eager to get their rocks off as I am. Nothing more. They usually do it for money. Keeps it simpler that way.
This sort of life has served me well for a long time. But something’s different now. I’m not sure I like it.
In fact, I know I don’t. It’s uncomfortable, like a too-small pair of shoes you can’t take off.
Lately, work has not been the soothing balm for me it was the past. When my parents died, I barely left the office, and when I did, it was only to sleep three or four hours after several drinks. It was how I got through those tough days without losing my mind.
But now, not even work is protecting me from myself. Which means Charleigh’s on my mind pretty much all fucking day and night.
No one knows except security—and they’ll never say anything if they want to keep their jobs and their lives—but I’ve been checking in on Charleigh several times a night just to make sure she’s still fucking there. We’ve almost lost her so many times now, I feel like our luck just might be running out, something I thought I’d never say, and that the next time she’s in danger, we might not get her back.
How the fuck does someone get the better of the Alekseev brothers? Are we losing our hold on our power structure? Are other factions testing us to a greater extent than before? Have we been attacked so many times now we’re seen as weak? Do others believe that with the loss of our father comes the fall of the Alekseev empire?
Fuck that.
Not possible. And if anyone wants to argue about it, I’ll cut their head right off. We might have recently suffered serious blows, but that’s to be expected in our world. There are always ups and downs, and we will strike back, but at the right time. Not a moment sooner. Anyone who sees in us a sign of weakness for biding our time is a fool setting himself up for a big surprise. One of the reasons the Alekseevs are as strong as we are is that we take action with great forethought—we never strike first chance we get. We usually wait, gage the situation, and devise a harsh and merciless strike. Everyone knows that about us. They respect it. They fear it.
Impulsivity? That’s for amateurs, newbies, and brash idiots. Not that I don’t have the occasional blind urge, the desire to off someone who’s done me wrong. I just know to control it. Strike at the optimal time.
In spite of my distractions, I keep reminding myself it should be a load off my mind that we’ve brought on new security. And I am glad Charleigh’s self-defense training is building her confidence. Hopefully, my brothers and I can protect her so that she never needs it, but if it makes her feel better, I’m all for it.
The Charleigh we knew before the attack is not the Charleigh we have right now. She’s a remnant of her former self, obsessed with revenge to a greater extent than I think I’ve ever seen. And I’ve spent a lot of time around people seeking revenge. It will consume you with its insidious tentacles, trap you in its bitterness, and rob you of any light you ever carried. It nearly destroyed me when my parents were murdered, like a sick obsession. But two years has helped me mellow, and the belief that we’ll eventually get my parents’ killers makes it easier to get through the day.
“Do you… do you think she’s overdoing it?” Niko asks, frowning.
I know she hit him the other day when he tried to kiss her. On one hand, I guess it’s understandable. On the other, it’s pretty fucked up.
I’m surprised by her warrior mindset. Never would have thought she had it in her. I’d hate to be on her bad side.
The woman is seriously determined to make a bitch pay.
“I definitely think she’s overdoing it with the training. Not so much physically, but mentally for sure. And she’s insisting on firearms training now,” Kir says. “It’s great she’s getting in shape and all that, but she’s getting fanatical about it.”
Niko shakes his head. “He thoughtwewere after his ass, but he ought toreallybe scared now,” he says with an ironic laugh. “He pissed off the wrong woman.”
* * *
CHAPTERSEVEN
Vadik
An hour later, when Charleigh’s training is done if not for the day, then at least for the time being, we file into her room while she’s in the shower.
“Um. What are you guys doing here?” she asks when she gets out, tightening the sash on her robe, her hair dripping water onto the floor.
“We want to talk to you,” I say. “Would you mind having a seat?”
She looks from one of us to the next, suspicious, clearly having lost all ability to trust.
I get it. I can’t say I’m a trusting person, not by a long shot, but to see someone as guileless as her change almost overnight comes as a surprise to even a cynical bastard like me.
She takes a seat on the easy chair in the corner of the room, about as far away from the three of us as possible.
If that’s what she needs to do, fine.
