17. Dima

SEVENTEEN

Dima

F uck, I want to kiss her. Feel those lips that are currently tipped up in a satisfied grin against mine. There's no fantasy about fucking Ana, it's a need inside me to have her close and just fucking hold her. The thought hasn't left me since I nearly acted on it while she laid under the starless sky. Those beautiful eyes were open and honest, she wasn't hiding or being anyone else.

I'm nearly ten years older than her. She's got a family of fucking psychos for brothers, and I'd kill any little cunt who had as much blood on his hands as me for going near my sister. But I want to risk it. I've never stepped outside of the bounds of whatever order I'm given; I follow the code and do all the shit I'm supposed to. The only person who could stop me when it comes to this is Ana herself.

I shouldn't be thinking of her while I'm stood around all four of the psychos in Vlad's office, but I can't stop myself. Especially when she looks at me for help after Val's finished having his current tantrum. He does the same as he looks around the room for back up.

"She's not fucking fighting."

It takes me a second to realize he's talking about my hellion, and I'm inclined to agree. The thought of her taking any more hits has me hardening and she faces off against everyone. It's easy to see the resemblance to her brothers when she doesn't have her contacts in, now it's only visible in the deadly tone.

"You can't tell me what to do."

She could easily beat the shit out of him, but he's too hardheaded to back down as he stares her out and Tali joins our side.

"Not happening, little sister, no one gets to touch you."

We're in some fucked up parallel universe and Vlad sounds bored as he, of all people, takes her side.

"Pipsqueak chooses. The same way you two got to."

Her face wars between gratitude and loathing before the smug smile comes back.Tali's dumbass makes it drop as he keeps arguing and I'm going to beat the shit out of him.

"You're not fucking fighting, Ana. Do you know what could happen to you?"

As much as she denies that the bond is there, she always proves it, and she steps closer to him, arguing in a way only family can.

"I know more than you do." It turns into bickering when he acts like a prick rolling his eyes, and she begins ticking items off on her fingers while my awe grows. "I can play the piano and violin. Drive a yacht and helicopter. Shoot better than you. And I can fight better than you because you're a little bitch."

Valentin's jaw drops and he quietly asks, "Where the fuck did you learn that shit?"

My good mood turns to smoke as she says the same fucking answer she does for everything.

"The clients taught me things, I'm not dumb."

The two idiots don't know about Ana's childhood, they think we brought her into the Bratva after seeing her fight and Vlad hardens at the thought of his secret missions being revealed.

I've watched the fuckers grow up. They may be feared once they step out of the house, but at home they're still pea-brained teenagers. They don't allow the topic to drop and look between the three people who have information as they both ask, "What fucking clients?"

I don't say shit, it's not my place to give either of their secrets.

But Ana is Ana, she doesn't pause or show any emotion as she answers their follow-up questions that have the atmosphere turning murderous.

"Yulia was a madam, a child pimp, she was training me."

I step back to block the exit before dumb and dumber go on a killing spree and the name Yulia becomes extinct. Ana looks at everyone confused until her lips form a small O and they twist to the side as she avoids her brothers' eyes.

They must have heard the rumors with the guards' shit talk. Even Stasya has and she keeps herself away from the Bratva publicly. But hearing dumb fucks say someone's a prostitute isn't the same as finding out she was a child one. They both look at each other and Vlad remains seated, almost forgotten, as Val turns to leave.

Tali pulls Ana into his arms and kisses the top of her head. "No one touches my sister and gets away with it."

She scowls at him, uncomfortable with the care, and punches him in the ribs. He rubs the sting away and joins Val's side. The door hits my back as they advance, and Inessa not so gently does it again until I move out of the way. Stepping into the tension, she brushes it aside and fixates on Tali.

"Time to put your money where your big mouth is, outside. Now."

This family is strange as fuck, so Ana fits right in. If they were normal she'd struggle.

He hooks his arm around Ana's neck and drags her with him as he says, "You can be my emotional support person, let's go."

I'm following after them like a lost lamb because she laughs. It's small and light – that sound might not fully encapsulate her, but it fucking owns me. If she ever laughs freely, full of joy, I'm fucked.

Dani cackles and lifts Tali's t-shirt to attach sticky, square pads to his abdomen as Val barks behind me. "Why the fuck are you undressing him?"

She ignores her husband and all of Tali's cockiness leaves as he grabs Ana's hand when she does the sane thing and tries to leave. I'm watching her face for any sign of discomfort as Inessa starts pressing buttons and Val comes to my side to watch the circus act. He grabs his wife and wraps his arm over her collar bones as she sets his jealousy at ease.

"He said that labor pains would be easy to handle because he's such a big, strong man."

Dumb fuck. He should have kept his mouth shut.He never learns his lesson, he used to do the same thing to Katya when she started her period in a house full of boys, so she kicked him in the balls.

They've even got Viktor in on it, and he looks to his dad, upping the ante. "You're doing it after Tali."

Val is clever enough not to have said he could handle childbirth, so he stands taller, being smug.

"I know my weaknesses, little man. I didn't say the shit he did."

"What the fuck, I can feel it in my legs." Tali's outburst is met with zero sympathy.

He should be able to handle this shit. He's been tortured for fuck's sake.When he squeezes Ana's hand so hard her fingers lose all color my feet move. It's not a conscious decision as I pry his hand off hers and he latches onto me. He does it hard enough that my fingers tingle and I flick his forehead to get him to ease up.

"You're going to break my fingers, stop being a bitch."

The cute little laugh/snort comes from behind me. Fuck it, he can hold my hand if it makes Ana happy.

"I'm not being a bitch, it's in my thighs and ass."

Ana laughs harder and falls on the sofa from the force of it as she wheezes, "He said it's in his ass."

Inessa turns the control and scoffs, "You're only on level three. Another seven to go."

Viktor snatches it out of her hand as Tali screams, "Fuck! Stop the little shit. Vlad! Get your wife under control!"

He's fucked himself in one comment because Inessa grabs the control, turning it to ten as Tali digs his fingers into my forearm and his legs shake. He folds in on himself and screams out while everyone else laughs, ignoring my fucking pain.

Vlad storms out of his office and pauses, staring at everyone like this is more insane than the shit he does. Tali just looks at him, pleading, "Get her to stop."

Inessa turns the dial as she grits, "He doesn't control me."

The most fucked up person in this family takes a deep breath, shakes his head, and mutters, "This is why I kill people."

Viktor jumps up on the sofa and asks, "Can I do it now?"

He takes the square control from his aunt, then drops down to sit beside Ana. She whispers something in his ear and his eyes light up even though his smile is twisted as fuck. Fixing on his uncle, he asks, "Are you going to stop stealing my food?"

Tali visibly relaxes, allowing some of the blood back into my fingers, and he nods. "Yeah, just for today."

It turns into a scream when Viktor moves the dial.

"Fuck!"

My arm spasms from the force of him gripping my hand and I can't get out of it as he continues shouting, "He's a sadistic little shit!"

Ana kicks him. "Stop being mean to him."

"Yeah," Viktor says lightly as he slowly moves through the different settings, "stop being mean to me."

"Val," Tali forces through clenched teeth, "grab your fucking son."

He's fucked up even more by attacking the one Vartanov everyone is protective over. No one stops Viktor as he sits on the sofa, leisurely flicking through the levels like he's changing channels to find something interesting to watch.

I have to peel his fingers off mine and Ana takes pity on him as I do. She grabs the control and turns it off. "There you go."

He breathes out in a line and closes his eyes. "Thank fuck."

One thing no one in this family is capable of doing is keeping their mouths shut and the main culprit opens his mouth.

"It's not even that bad," Vlad says, uncapping a decanter.

His wife is the only one brave enough to argue with him. "So, you do it then."

He continues pouring his drink and she dares, "Or are you scared?"

Vlad looks over his shoulder, then at the decanter in his hand as though he's trying to come to a decision. He shrugs to himself and adds another shot before he turns. "I have a high pain threshold."

"So do fucking I!" Tali argues, "That shit is different."

He rips the sticky pads off his abs. There are red patches on his skin and he attempts to rub them away as Inessa waits for Vlad to take his place. As soon as Vlad is stood in front of her, she undoes three of his shirt buttons and slips her hand into the gap to place the pads on his stomach. "You can hold your husband's hand like your brother did."

"He's not my fucking husband," I grumble but Ana snort-laughs and I get distracted.

Vlad lazily sips from his tumbler without taking his eyes off his wife and he manages to maintain a normal conversation as they put it on level one. "Dima, what time's the fight tonight? That might make me feel something."

This is the first fight where I want to burn every cunt alive. My prefight ritual involves staying in the changing room until my name is called, but I left the doors at the same time as my hellion. She's single minded, her focus fully on her opponent standing opposite her until something gets her attention on the other side of the cage. Whatever it is has her raising her hand to stop the clack before it can sound, and my entire body goes on alert seeing her lips moves up.She never talks to herself when she's fighting, but she isn't antagonizing her opponent as she speaks to someone off at the side.

Her smile doesn't lift her cheeks and there's darkness in it as she opens the door and gestures to whoever got her attention. Two meathead cunts step forward and strip off to their boxers before following her inside the cage. They must know the person she's supposed to be fighting because they slap shoulders and stand side by fucking side. The hellion is trying to fight three grown ass men who are all at least double her size.

I make it half a step forward when Vlad's overbearing ass blocks my path. Gripping my shoulder to keep me in place, he keeps his voice low and signals for the fight to start.

"She's a Vartanova."

She's Ana, not anything else. She doesn't need to fight them alone or do anything alone because she has me. As though she can gauge my intent, her fake eyes land on me, jaw clenched, and one shake of her head has me staying still.

As soon as the clack comes my body stiffens, it doesn't relax seeing her go on the offensive for once. She doesn't allow them to take a shot first and the cheers come when one of them gets her in the ribs. It's hard enough to cause her to stumble but those fake eyes harden as she looks towards me. I'm going to kill her myself. She shakes her head and does the worst thing possible by pushing her back against the metal cage wall. There are three of them, she's trapped and further immobilizes herself by clinging to the mesh with one hand as all three lay into her. The cage jolts and I can't see who gets shots in, but her legs are moving.

She manages to use them to steady herself as she pulls herself up and grabs the knife from the pillar and I can finally fucking breathe. I expect her to slit their throat but she's a psycho, I know she's a fucking nutcase, yet I expect different. All three men take a step back, the cowards, and she laughs. Her head falls back, and she drops down to her feet still laughing and showing the psychosis runs in her veins as she throws the knife at them and rolls her shoulders, readying for their attack.

She's a psycho, a hellion. But she is mine. No one gets to hurt her and I'm vibrating with rage as the round comes to an end before they can do anything to her. She's better than them, easily without a shadow of doubt she'll kill them, and everyone can see it.But I still move forward to drag her ass out kicking and screaming. There's no if, she will definitely be murderous, but she is not fucking fighting.

The second round starts sooner than it should, and the two fucking meatheads rush forward, pinning her down. She thrashes, trying to get out of it, but they hold her limbs to the canvas with one of them pressing his knee into her stomach. It all blurs, the crowd disappearing, and the image of my hellion lost and restrained gets closer. Someone moves behind me, but I can't see anything other than the anguished memories on her face. The cage rattles with the force of me climbing over and the only fucking thing I keep sight of is Ana as I get them off her.The one with his knee in her stomach presses more of his weight down as my fist meets the back of his head but the other man holding her down is removed.

There's no crowd, no sound. There's no one else as she stands, and my knuckles split, hitting bone, with my eyes still fixed on my hellion. All her rage is channeled into her fists as she picks off the last opponent and the gurgling brings the rest of the room into focus. I look directly in front of me and there's no face, so I open my hand, letting him drop to the canvas with a heavy thud. There are people holding their hands over their mouth and nose, some have left to throw up and there's blood everywhere. Three unrecognizable dead men lay in front of me, and my entire body is covered in a mix of blood and sweat. But there are three of us alive covered in blood as Valentin stands beside Ana. His hand is on her shoulder as a claim she's not to be fucking touched.

The hellion is pissed, she shrugs him away and leaves a bloody trail as she exits the cage. She's going to burn my house down while I'm asleep. For some fucked up reason, I want to smile knowing she'll have to come into my room to do it. Maybe it will be a personal kill, she's not the type to want to keep her hands clean. Ah fuck, if she chokes me I'll kiss her with my dying breath because her hands will be on me.

The crowd parts as I leave the cage and I go to clean up before my fight that was actually scheduled. Vlad instructs the guards to clean the cage so that will buy me the time I need. He narrows his eyes at me and then in the direction Ana went and I follow her bloody footsteps. She's already gone into my changing room and she's waiting for me. Her fist flies before her cursing as soon as I open the door.

"I don't need your fucking help." I catch her wrist before she can do it again and she looks up at me enraged. "I can do things myself. Get off me."

I have enough sense to turn her around before she can knee me and cross her arms over her chest to save myself as she deflates with a whisper. "I know things and I can do them."

I'm caught off guard at the sadness in her voice and it stops me from containing my thoughts like I should.

"I know you can, you have, lisichka. Now it's my job."

There's too much honesty but Ana doesn't hear it over her anger.

I don't know when it happened, but she went from the annoying fuck I wanted to kill to the perfect hellion I will kill for. Her foot connects with my shin at the same time as her elbow into my ribs, pushing me back enough so she can escape my hold. The wild lost look on her face is going to kill me. Speaking before she gets the chance to, I beg, "Take your contacts out."

Her hands are free of blood, so she's already cleaned them but there's no movement as she pauses. Her brows come together, and she loses some of her anger to confusion. She takes a step forward and plants her feet as though there's a world I could ever raise my hand to her with malice. Holding her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I wait for those beautiful eyes to be unveiled. Every part of my body is frozen in anticipation as she quietly asks, "Why?"

Because they're more wonderful than a sunset over a waterfall and a double rainbow in the same scenery .

But my tongue fixates on honesty, and I want to claw the words back as soon as they've left my lips.

"Because I want to kiss you, but only when I can see you ."

I'm totally fucked when she leans into me and her voice drops, turning slow and husky.

"I never want to kiss you."

She pushes against my chest as soon as the last word leaves her, and I stay where I am, only allowing my hand to drop from her face.

I fucked up, badly. Ana doesn't even look at me as she walks out. It's not the rejection, I'm a grown up, I can deal with that shit. It's the thought she's going to run away and that she won't be at home when I get there.