15. Dima

FIFTEEN

Dima

W itnessing Ana slowly get more comfortable around her family since she found out about them — excluding Vlad — is like watching one of those videos of a hummingbird sheltering from the rain inside a flower. Her psychotic ways make sense now that I know her parentage, and I'm stopped from my creeping when Vlad calls me into his office to go through whatever plan he has now.

"Why did you kill the suka on the gate?"

Because he was a prick, and I didn't like what he said.

The cunt deserved a long, drawn-out death, not a bullet to the head. Seeing him grab his dick and tell Ana to prove she's worth the money boils my piss. I don't give a fuck that she's Vlad's half-sister, she deserves respect without the relation. Giving him his preferred answer for his own actions, I shrug, "Felt like it."

Everyone's fearful of the dickhead, the same way they are of Ana. The difference is they undermine her, thinking her size and the fact she's a woman makes her any less lethal. No one would pull that shit with Vlad, his brothers, or me, they'd keep their fucking mouths shut.

"You knew, didn't you?" I ask.

He shrugs as he leans back in his chair. "I'd heard rumors of one the whores carrying his bastard child. But you know what the Vory are like, they run their mouths and when I asked about it they said he beat it out of her."

I've known him too long, it's why I know that he's hiding something, so I prod, "Then?"

"Then," he grits, "that motherfucking suka tried to harm my wife after breaking into my safe that had a list of all of his whores."

"Who's her mother?"

"Why are you so interested?"

"I'm curious, not interested," I correct.

"Some dumb bitch that fucked up, probably Yulia from what Ana has said. Len hated his sons, but I never thought we'd be the lucky ones because he kept us."

With the topic of that toxic cunt now brought up, I give him the details of where Ana wants to visit to look for Nina and he goes through the logistics as he brings up the only person who has power over him.

"Inessa has an event on that day, can she wait twenty-four hours to leave?"

The hellion will dig a tunnel with a spork if I even attempt to delay her. She doesn't need her brothers when she has me and it will be simple — she goes into some club, looks around and if we find Nina, we take her. If we don't, she kills everyone which isn't a task that her brothers would need to do for her when she's more than capable herself.

"I'll go with her since the club is open to the public, it can't be too bloody, and a Vartanov family bonding session shouldn't be something that's unleashed in front of normal civilization."

I let him have the day with his wife, so I don't have Inessa chewing my ass out for taking her husband away from her when she needs him to scare people into adding extra zeros to their donation, and I go back to my new hobby — staring at Ana.

She hasn't taken her contacts out again as she sits between her brothers. I keep doing this shit like a fucking creep, finding myself watching her do mundane things. She's too quiet at home and in the warehouse there's always some weapon in her hand and blood on her face. But right now, she's smiling, even if it doesn't reach her eyes. If she shows who she truly is with a genuine smile, she'd have the world at her feet.She's less psychotic with Viktor and tilts her head to the side to look at the injury-induced heterochromia. Once she's finished her assessment, she pats him on the head and shows she's capable of care.

"It does look scary, but that's cool and if you cover one eye you can pretend that you have the blob in the other one too, so no one looks at you."

Her eyes light up when her phone vibrates. Innocent excitement rather than violence pulls at her features and her steps are rushed. It's cute as fuck. She has to pass me to leave, and I fall in step beside the hellion.

"Where you going, lisichka?"

Her head snaps up and I'm seeing things as her cheeks turn the faintest pink. Whatever she's planning is something deeply personal as she hides her phone and stumbles over her excuse. "Just out."

I haven't seen her talking to anyone so it can't be some little prick taking her on a date. It better fucking not be. The only people who come in close enough contact don't deserve her, and if it's the cunt who beat her, I'll kill him. She doesn't get in the car and tries to walk away before turning and looking up at me with that adorable softness.

"Can you take me somewhere?"

My entire body relaxes at her question, and I nod, getting in the car.I'll be able to get the fucker's address. She'll blow my car up when I lock her in it but at least no one will get close enough to hurt her again. Her attention is solely fixed on her phone, and she only gives me a street name rather than the full address. The entire drive is spent with Ana staring at that screen and memorizing what's on there. I want to snatch it from her hand, but I manage to refrain without the threat of bodily harm.

Everything becomes familiar when I reach our destination. It's a restaurant. Is she fuck getting out of the car. I'll deal with whatever psychotic violence will come before she goes into a very fucking exclusive, known for dates, restaurant.

"Who is he?"

My voice is too rough, demanding, but I can't temper it. The cunt won't treat her like she deserves. They'll take advantage of her, and she'll let them hurt her again.

She turns to me with one hand on the door and her brows together. Her confusion doesn't ease me as she says, "The chef? I think he's called Salvo."

The chef is an old man who has no fucking business wining and dining my hellion. I hold her jaw hostage so she can't escape and she remains still as I roughly ask, "No. Who is going to be sat opposite you?"

That little tinge of pink comes back, and she looks away. She's blushing over some dickhead. Ana, the hellion who kills people and I'd only ever think of red being on her cheeks due to blood, is nervous and shy. It's wrong, she should never be shy. She's confident and stronger than anyone I know.

I wait for her to say something as I stroke the delicate bone of her jaw. She doesn't speak and I hate the fake color of her eyes. It's in that moment with my heart in my throat that I realize I want my name to come out of her mouth. She always lets her guard down when she eats. She'll babble about bullshit to fill the silence and I don't want to miss it. Or have anyone else see her like that.

Her voice comes out small and she doesn't look at me as she says, "My food?" Picking her self-assuredness back up, she has a twisted smirk on her face and those fake eyes lock on to me. "Is there supposed to be an audience?"

Yes, one. Me .

It takes a second to realize that she's going to eat alone, and I swear this girl is pure fucking innocence inside.I'm not going to let her sit in a restaurant on her own when it's filled with couples. The people here are snobby as fuck, and they'd look down at her like there's something wrong with not needing to be up someone's ass.

I soften my voice and pull my hand back from her face.

"Stay here."

The hellion doesn't fucking listen as I round the car and she's already stood on the street when I reach the door I was supposed to open.She could tear anyone's ego to shreds, the same way she does physically, without even breaking a sweat. She slows her steps as I follow her into the restaurant and the innocent excitement is back. I've seen her hold organs in her bare hands and the two images don't make sense as she mentally rehearses something. Her lips are moving but there's too much concentration on her face for it to be talking to herself. The waitress doesn't ask our names or how many people are in our party, the perks of being a ruthless prick means people jump before you have to ask.

Clearly unhappy with being led straight to the most private booth, Ana whispers, "Why didn't she talk?"

I smirk pointing out what she's forgotten.

"You're a Vartanova, people don't talk unless you want them to, hellion."

I don't mention that I come here once a month. Well, I did before I got my new houseguest. I haven't even thought about Heather once since Ana has taken over my life. Heather's always floating around her rotation so I'm sure I've been replaced in her list of acceptable dates.

Ana slides into the booth, keeping a space free between us and the waitress leaves us alone despite my hellion obviously ready to order. She doesn't look around or stare at other tables, she is only ever concerned with what's in her own head. I'm sure she's started to have full-length conversations with herself. I'll catch her sometimes with different emotions flashing across her face as though there's a back and forth, but her lips have stopped moving as much.

Despite her naivety with some things, she's elegant in her movements as she lays the napkin on her thighs. It's a mind fuck being around her, little things that add to her contradicting behavior. She's grown up but immature, innocent and violent, scary as fuck but just as sweet.

My hellion doesn't look up from pretending to study the menu and there's only intrigue in her voice.

"Why did you follow me?"

I don't have an answer. If I tell her the truth, she'll be uneasy, and I don't want to make her uncomfortable.

"I was hungry, got a problem with it, lisichka?"

Ana finally looks up, focusing on my neck and I sit taller for some reason as she tilts her head a fraction like she's studying me.It's not uncomfortable despite there being a chance she's calculating slitting my throat. Her observation is cut short as the waitress comes back to take our orders and my hellion is starving because she orders half of the items on the menu. When we're left alone again she lets her thoughts free.

"How long did the tattoo on your neck take to heal?"

I can't remember and I hate it, so I give a bullshit answer, forcing her to talk more. "It depends on the person, and how many sessions you do. Are you planning on adding something to it?"

She shakes her head, and she allows me to bask in the sound of her voice, telling me her plans.

"I want my full body covered, not my back. Those scars can't be covered. But tattoos get itchy when they're healing and if my neck is itchy then that will be annoying."

There's no emotion in her voice regarding the scars. It's destroying me knowing they're on her skin and I can't take them away. Ana's slowly opening up and I'm in awe of the privilege as she pulls her sleeve up and examines her forearm.

"These ones weren't too bad. I can't even see them anymore."

Ending on a sigh, she slowly lets her arm rest on the table. My hands automatically move to brush the skin.There's no scarring on her hand and I can't see any under the tattoos but as soon as my fingers graze her wrist I can feel them. It doesn't flow in a pattern, there are patches of her skin that are free from marks, but the ridges show how deep they went, the ink has been pressed into her skin to hide any shadows and my voice drops to a whisper, "What happened?"

She's unbothered by the fact she was hurt and finds humor in it.

"I was dumb and fell over into the puddle, because I didn't realize my sleeve was soaked in turpentine when I lit the match, poof, it lit my sleeve on fire."

I'll hate any answer she gives yet I can't stop myself from asking, "How old were you?"

She's young, the scars are healed, and she's always been covered when she fights so I don't know when she could have got them. But she breaks me without meaning to as she gives the worst answer possible.

"The first time I tried to burn it all? I think I was five that day."

Fuck me, I'm going to break down and embarrass myself. Five years old. She was only on this planet for five fucking years and a fiery death was a better option than whatever the fuck she'd experienced. My emotions are forced on hold as the table is filled up with food and I can't hold it back as soon as we're alone.

My voice is choked, turning rough without meaning.

"Come here."

She doesn't move and picks up her knife and fork, a little smile that barely lifts her lips on her face as she looks at the steak knife.

I pat the seat beside me to get her to move, she asks, "Why?"

"Because I need to hold you in the next three seconds, or I'll have a fucking breakdown."

There's too much honesty in my answer which I chase away by grabbing her plate, I move it so it's closer to me and she follows it with an eye roll. I make sure I don't cover her face as I pull her into my side so she can eat and kiss the top of her head with a promise that no one will get close to hurting her ever a-fucking-gain.I'll give her whatever she wants to make up for all the pain and suffering she's been through.

Her whisper has a smile pulling at my lips. "Don't pity me, I got rid of two guards that day."

There's nothing but pride filling me. At five she was lethal, and I sit back, allowing her enough space to eat comfortably without me wrapped around her.