35. Ana

THIRTY-FIVE

Ana

I 'm needy and twitching with impatience. I'm going to kill Valentin, asshole. Why did he have to call Dima? He lives with Vlad and Tali; he could have asked them for whatever he needs. Trying to take my mind off what I want to do and can't, I lay back and play my book with both earphones in. It's a new release so I don't have my favorite chapters yet, and each new page brings with it a new emotion.

I'm lost in the fake world and gasp as though it's real. I reach for my phone so I can restart it to understand it better when silver eyes move into my vision. Dima plucks my earphone out with two fingers and raises a brow. "That good, lisichka?"

Nodding my head, I switch to speaker so he can hear it too. He pauses it and leans over me with his hand beside my head. There's hurt in his eyes, and I forget about my book.

I trace his features with my finger and wait for them to pick back up like I'm used to. He's never sad, grumpy sometimes, but he's never upset. It morphs into rage when his phone buzzes and he kisses my forehead before moving away from me. Me and anger are longtime friends, so I follow after him, it's my turn to repay the favor.

He stops me as I change into an appropriate outfit rather than his hoodie I've stolen. His touch is gentle as he holds my wrist, and his brows slowly comes together, cupping my cheek as he looks into my eyes with that crease deepening.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The anger isn't in his voice, and I pull my hand free so I can put my t-shirt on. Pulling my hair out of my collar, I answer easily.

"With you, let's go kill whoever has hurt you."

His smile comes back.It's always so soft and warm, I could fall into it, then it's on my lips and he holds my face between both hands as he speaks into me. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

He kisses me hard enough to steal the air from my lungs. Thumbs stroking against my cheeks and his mouth on mine. I'm dizzy when I'm finally allowed to come up for air and he rests his forehead on mine, his mouth opening and closing like a fish in slow motion without any sound coming out.

I'm dazed by his weirdness, but he only shakes his head of whatever thoughts are screaming at him and whispers, "One day." He doesn't give me any information, not that I need it, whoever hurt him enough for him to be angry is all I need to know, there's no background or justification required. I'd happily go to war for Dima, he's my favorite person and he always smiles at me.

There's a sinking in my stomach as I think about him not being in front of me and I nearly trip over my feet as I launch myself at his back. My arms wrap around him, trapping one of his at his side and he slowly turns his head. His muscles are rigid, and the violence is more potent than before as he asks, "What's wrong?"

I shake my head, not understanding how to explain it. But he doesn't let it drop and grabs my arm to gently move around him and pick me up. I wrap all of my limbs around him, and he kisses each of my cheeks before he softens his voice.

"Tell me, lisichka."

I sound dumb as I hide in the crook of his neck.

"You do everything for me, and I don't want you to go anywhere, but I know you will because I'm not a good friend."

All the shows I watched to learn how to be around normal people had arguments because one person was selfish, they kept taking or causing drama and then the other person didn't want to be around them. That's what I'm doing to Dima.

He relaxes and kisses my shoulder before promising, "I will never go anywhere without you, and you're not my friend."

Everything turns cold at his words and my throat is dry. Until he kisses my cheek again and whispers against my ear, "You are mine, and I am yours. What's around my neck, beautiful?"

"My sticker?"

He nods and gently pulls me out of his neck to press his lips above my pendant between my collarbones before he asks, "And what does this mean?"

"That I'm yours and you're mine," I say.

Another nod and he tightens his arms around me in answer.

I expect to go to a warehouse as it's the usual setting for torture, but we pull up outside of a gym, it's one everyone knows as being associated with the Vartanovs and Valentin's car is the only other one outside. Humming my song in my head to stop the uneasy feeling taking over, I act like Dima's shadow and follow him inside.

His entire demeanor changes as soon as we step through the steel side door, it's more intense than when he's been in the cage. Looking for the source of it, Val stands with his own anger beside Tali, all three of them are pissed at the unknown man standing in the center of the gym. His eyes are watery, the lights reflecting off the liquid, distorting the color and he looks at Dima as though he's seen a ghost.

The freak's eyes come to me next, and he tries to smile but it looks wrong, as his thick Russian accent is coated in emotion.

"Do you remember me, dochenka?"

Why is he calling me his daughter? I'm not his kid. Dima's laugh is harsh and filled with disgust, making the man flinch before he takes a step forward, covering me.

"You stupid fuck."

The scoff around his words is worse and the man bristles with the insult.I'm confused when everyone else seems to know who he is. Val and Tali automatically come to my side while Dima finally clues me in.

"You thought she was Katya? Father of the fucking year, you don't even remember your kid's eye color?"

I don't look anything like Katya, she's taller and has hazel eyes. With or without my contacts it doesn't match.

Now that I know it's his dad, I look at him properly. They have a few resemblances, but it's drowned out by the differences of who they are as people. This is the man who hurt him, killed his mom and gave him the scar under his jaw. I'm going to have so much fun killing him. An arm wraps around my shoulders and Val keeps me in place with a whisper, "This is his Yulia."

It's Dima's kill, not mine.

I have to force myself not to move when the fucker tries to act intimidating.

"Watch your mouth, I'm still your father."

For the first time, I see true cruelty on Dima's features, he doesn't like torture, it's going to change as he takes a step closer, daring him.

"I'm not a boy now, old man, and I'm not a woman so you're cowardly suka ass won't fucking touch me."

He's vibrating with rage, his entire body tensing, waiting for the first punch.It's a dumb psychological thing, you don't want to be the first one to strike because you know once it's begun it will be over. The fight isn't about your physical exertion but feeling the other person's will to survive and crushing it, overcoming it, resorting them to nothing because that's how they made you feel.

Dumb cunt speaks, making it worse.

"I never hurt your mama, I loved her."

Dima isn't a liar. He doesn't talk about his mom, but he loves her, and he kept her rosary. Val and Tali take deep breaths then stop breathing as a roar leaves the nicest person I've ever met. My lips lift seeing Dima get his vengeance, justice for his mom, Katya, and himself.

Picking his father up by his collar, the bloodied face has me choking back a laugh. There's no fight in him, he's weak. No one tries to stop Dima from taking however many pounds of flesh he wants until the doors open behind us and three pairs of footsteps move closer. I turn to see Katya and she has tears in her eyes, the tip of her nose is red as though she's already cried before coming in but they're back again. She blinks the tears away as she marches past us with Vlad and Mischa joining the audience.

I've never seen her fight. I know she can with being initiated but she usually hides out in the city lying about school. Dima relaxes slightly when his sister is by his side, and she squeezes his arm to let their father go. The dumb fuck keeps speaking around his bloody mouth and nose.

"Katya?"

He hasn't begged for his life. He's just repeating the same shit as though his sperm meeting an egg entitles him to be free of any consequences.

I can't stop my laugh coming out and someone else joins me when she spits out at him physically and verbally. "Fuck you."

A glob of saliva clings to his cheek and she turns to her brother, looking up at him and snarls, "He's not worth it, leave him to fucking rot, like nothing with nothing."

Their father tries to argue but she shuts him down and her force is one that I admire.

"Try and fucking touch me, you'll see I'm not my mother's daughter, I'll put you in the fucking ground."

Finally getting the message, he limps away, and the doors slam closed while everyone remains fixed in place.

The sound is like a gavel, allowing Katya to break down and she hugs Dima like a little girl. Fucking prick, she might not want the blood to be on his hands, but I can do it. He doesn't get to hurt nice people, both Katya and Dima are nice. Katya always gave me food and she would let me sleep in her apartment.

My smile comes out, seeing a baseball bat, as I slip away from the audience. I've never used one before and I swipe it as I leave the gym, tucking it under my sleeve in case there are normal people stood outside.

Dickhead hasn't made it very far and he doesn't have any sense of someone following him. I'm not fortunate enough to have that issue and stop dead in my tracks until the person behind me reveals themselves.

"Keep going, pipsqueak."

Why couldn't it be anyone else but Vlad? He's annoying as fuck, and he'll take my kill from me. If he kicks me again, I'm killing him and blaming it on Dima's father.

Restarting my stalking, I keep anticipating his foot flying out. He hasn't done it since the DNA test, but it's been years of him hitting my ankle like he's a toddler. Old fuck.

Reaching a dimly lit passageway, I quicken my steps with excitement. He won't be able to hurt Dima or Katya again, they'll never have to see him or hear his name. It's that thought that propels my arm and the wood splinters on impact with his head.

Oh.

It's not very satisfying.

I always thought hitting someone with a bat would be fun, it's boring and he goes down straight away. I didn't have a plan, but Vlad clearly did because Mischa pulls up and pops the trunk. No one says anything, I don't know what their reason behind wanting him dead is, but I go along with it and get in the car. I wonder if Tali's jokes are true, and Dima was married to Vlad. Inessa and Dani said it wasn't but he's an asshole so he wouldn't kill someone because of a friendship. I don't think he has friends, if he does then they're probably even more annoying than he is with his whole ‘look at me, I'm strong' bullshit.

Mischa doesn't go to the warehouse, he drives back to the gym and gets out. Once I'm alone with the overgrown annoying asshole, I poke my head through the seats and ask, "Were you and Dima really married?"

I'm halfway through my question when the other part of the couple gets in the driver's seat and Dima's brows go up at my question. I don't think it's rude to ask but they both smirk, trying not to laugh.

I sit back before Dima can tell me to and we drive in silence until he grumbles, "If I was gay I could get better than Vlad, but we weren't married."

I expect the asshole to be offended but he taps away on his phone, and, without looking up, says, "Shouldn't you have spoken about previous relationships before being claimed?"

I don't have any relationships so it can't be directed at me, and I don't know what claiming is. Dima keeps looking at me through the mirror and doesn't answer the question.His anger comes back when we reach the warehouse and I like seeing this side of him. It makes his nice, soft, gentle side even better. The brutal contrast of what he's capable of compared to how he chooses to act, everyone has a capacity for violence, but he doesn't hand his out without care. He cares too much.

It's evident as we enter the warehouse and in the way he purposefully beats the shit out of his father without any weapon. He's recreating the abuse he witnessed and the audience comes back, minus Katya and Mischa.

Tali has a box of pizza and holds a slice out in silent offering as we sit and watch. I nod and he brings it to my lips when he sees the drops of blood on my hands. He hands the box to Val who rolls his eyes before he becomes a human table and holds it on his forearms in front of us. Tali wraps his other arm around my shoulders and continues feeding us in alternating bites as Val mutters, "Why the fuck am I holding it?"

"Want me to feed you too, you big fucking baby?" Tali whispers so we don't distract Dima.

King Annoying Dickhead storms closer, rips the box off Val's arms and holds the edge in one hand. Vlad doesn't look at any of us as he snaps, "Shut the fuck up and eat."

Val comes to my other side, probably to stop me hitting his — our — annoying ass brother and kisses the top of my head as he asks, "Dima said you didn't find her."

I nod and open my mouth as Tali brings the pizza slice back to my lips.

"We'll find her, you know that, right?" Val whispers.

I nod, again, and we all fall silent as the sound of wet crunching vibrates through the warehouse. Dima fist is bloody and I can't determine if it's all his or if some of it is his dad's. We all just watch as his anger turns to pain and wait for him to finish or need us.

My eyes start to droop, and I lower to sit on the floor and conserve my energy. Tali follows me, crossing his legs under him and gently tilts me so my head is resting on his shoulder. I'm imagining things, the taps I do that always soothe me gently touch my joint, each finger moving in ascending order while the palm remains flat against me. It's probably some weird genetic thing, a phenomenon between siblings despite never growing up in the same environment.