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“Arseny, I swear tofucking God, if you do not put that vodka bottle away in the next second, I will crack it over your head.” Just the sight of the alcohol bottle made me want to hurl.
My hangover was mostly gone after sleeping nearly half the day away, but the thought of alcohol right now repulsed me. So, to see Arseny pouring himself some shots in the living room as we were waiting for Nikolai to join us for the family meeting triggered me a little.
Deviously, Arseny grinned and waved the open bottle at me, making me gag a little when I caught a whiff of its contents. “What’s wrong? Did you have a little too much to drink last night?” Cheeky little asshole.
“Arseny, leave her alone.” Alexei spoke up, snatching the bottle of vodka away from his twin and setting it elsewhere out of my sight. Thank God.
Everyone, except Nikolai, filled the living room. “Do I have to be here?” I groaned, rubbing my temples as the dull ache of my hangover lingered. It was their weekly family meeting, and usually I didn’t partake because it was over by the time I got off work.
I’ve only partaken in two of their gatherings so far, and it was the typical what’s happening, what’s going on, what are your plans, yada yada. Nikolai always gave me a run-down of what they discussed at the end of the night, so I’ve never really missed anything important.
“Well, you don’thaveto be here, but we did find some things pertaining to your stepmother that you might want to hear.” Alexei informed me as he sat down next to me on the couch, holding out another glass of water for me.
Groaning, I pushed his hand away, not wanting to drown myself with more water. Sighing, Alexei pushed the glass back at me before throwing his little threat at me. “Unless you rather I hook you up to a banana bag, drink.” Yeah, no. Last time he tried to stick an I.V. in someone it took him three tries too many—it was an easy stick too.
“I swear, all you Volkov men are so demanding.” I grumbled, taking the glass of water from him and downing it with a groan.
“It’s part of our charm.” Arseny grinned with a wink, making me roll my eyes at him.
Nikolai took his sweet time with his phone call, leaving the five of us to stew in our seats. Although, I felt like a boiling pot under all their gazes. I tried to ignore it at first, thinking maybe I just saw things, but glance after glance, I could see I wasn’t mistaken. “Quit looking at me like that.”
“Hm? Like what? We’re not—”
My harsh glare made Alexei shut his mouth and avert his gaze from me. “Like I’m a victim. Those pitiful eyes.” I hated how weak they made me feel, always reminding me of my vulnerability.
Alexei quickly kicked into doctor mode. “You’re not a victim, you’re a survivor, and what you went through is...” Alexei’s sentence trailed off as he struggled to search for the right word.
“I know the spiel, you don’t have to give it to me. I still hate all of it though. It’s not like getting shot by a bullet or getting stabbed in a fight, none of that shit ever bothered me... But what happened... I don’t want to talk about it.” Even if they probably knew what happened, I didn’t want to personally divulge it myself because I don’t think I could.
The last person I expected to hear anything from spoke up. “Because none of that shit is personal, that’s the difference.” Lev grumbled.
Lev had been strange ever since last night, as in he has been nice to me. Lev and I tolerated each other, we weren’t best friends by any means, but we remained civil with each other if we had to be in the same room. He’s wary of me, which I didn’t fault him for. Even if I gave him no reason to doubt me, it was his personality according to the others, so I let it be.
After last night though, he’s been nice, almost warm towards me, but I was wary about his angle because did he act this way because he pitied me? Felt bad for what happened? Or was he actually regretful and wanted a good relationship with me?
“As if it’s going to make any difference to you.” I retorted with a roll of my eyes.
“Listen, I’m sorry if I’ve been an asshole to you, if I’d known why—”
I didn’t let him finish speaking, interrupting him. “It shouldn’t matter if I had a shitty background or not for you to start treating me decently. I get it, you’re a cautious person, you just want to look out for your brothers and protect them, but have I given you reason to doubt me so far?” I know he’s tailed me and stalked me from afar a few times, and I could care less about it if it appeased his wariness. Not like I have anything to hide. “Just quit being a douchebag and we’ll call it even and start over.”
“At least let me apologize for all the shitty things I’ve said about you.” Lev had this guilty look to him, which amused me, but considering it was Lev, it felt more strange than amusing.
“Fine, apology accepted, now go back to being a raging asshole.” I grumbled, pulling out my phone to occupy my time.
“I am not a raging asshole.” Lev bit back with a playfully harsh glare, chucking a pillow at me.
Holding my hand out, I swatted the pillow away before grabbing one next to me and throwing it at him only to have him dodge it. “You are. You’re practically the male version of Hanna with a healthy dose of testosterone to further fuel your rage.” Probably the only reason how I’ve managed to not lose my shit on Lev so far is because I’m used to dealing with Hanna, and the two were basically the same.
“Shockingly the two of them haven’t torn the city apart yet.” Stepan said, not looking up from his phone.
“I’m surprised you agreed to hire her and let those two work together. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that Hanna got an official job on the books and shit and that you’re willing to give her a chance, but to partner her and Lev up is a PR nightmare waiting to happen.” No, I didn’t pull any strings to get Hanna a job with the family’s services company, I just mentioned they were looking and she went through the hiring process like usual. But I’m pretty sure Stepan looked past her spotty resume because she was my friend and rolled the dice on her.
“Hey, she was qualified, therefore hired.” Stepan replied with a shrug of his shoulders, brushing it off like nothing. “And the two are star workers, shockingly.”
“Hey, Hanna is fun to work with, she ain’t afraid to get down and dirty.” Well, glad to see Lev liked someone acquainted with me. Although it was kind of strange to see how well the two of them got along. Pretty sure if left unchecked, those two would go on a rampage for shit and giggles.
“Sorry, the call took longer than expected, but I got some new information regarding Ivan’s activities.” Nikolai’s voice and presence changed the whole atmosphere of the room the moment he walked in. “Seems like our little business partner is double dipping with the triad.”
