Alexie’s hand is still holding onto mine, instilling me with just a modicum of comfort. The back of his hand is covered with tattoos, as is the majority of his body. I always found a sense of peace in looking at them, tracing them, and occasionally coloring them in as if he was my very own human coloring page.
He has intricate patterns on the back of his hand, and I envision putting in bold pops of color in the small open spaces. There was this time after Alexie pissed me off, I used permanent marker on his arm tattoos to get back at him. His arms and hands looked like a rainbow exploded all over him. The problem was that he wasn’t phased at all. He had said,’You turned me into a beautiful stained glass window, Malyshka’. I swear he wore a short sleeve shirt for a week, even though it was cold outside, just to prove he didn’t care.
“Malyshka,”Alexie whispers softly in my ear. My head lifts at the endearment. I was lost in my thoughts, again. Looking towards Alexie, our eyes lock on each other as he leans forward and gently touches his lips to my forehead. “They’re waiting for you to tell your story.”
Glancing back to the group, my eyes scan the table to take in everyone’s expressions. Conrad is still fumbling with the papers in front of him.He’s really trying his best to avoid looking at me.Stryker doesn’t seem to have that issue, but his face isn’t harsh or filled with anger. When our eyes meet, he gives me a wink that makes my heart flutter. Turning in my chair to look at King, I see he isn’t looking at me at all. His eyes are like daggers staring at Alexie.What the hell is his problem now?Alexie is very passionate and loves to show affection no matter who is around. What King and I almost had before that stupid video plays in my mind. He was admitting he wanted me, and his body showed that as well. My pussy clenches at the thought of what we didn’t get to finish in the elevator. As if knowing that I’m thinking about him, his eyes shoot over and lock on mine. King is always intense, but I don’t know if the intensity behind his eyes is his hatred for me or his wanting to fuck me on this table right now in front of everyone.One can only dream. Ugh! Shut up, Nat!
I’m surprised when it’s King that breaks the silence. “So it seems you have nothing to say, making you the traitor I knew you to be, so can we get on with this already?” He strolls across the room and takes a seat beside Conrad.
My eyes narrow in on him. “I have plenty to say, and there’s an entire story to tell, but as far as I can see, you’ve already made your mind up. So is there even a point to all of this since you’ve already condemned me?” I retort back to King.
“Little Fox, we didn’t all come here and give you the floor tonothear your story,” Stryker says, his tone a little harsh. “I want no interruptions unless it’s genuine questions,” he says, his voice becoming more demanding. “And there will be no snarky comments.” His tone is even more stern as he directs a look between Marcela and King. “Got it?”
King looks to Stryker and raises his fingers to his forehead, making a saluting gesture. “Yes, Sir!” King says in his sarcastic tone.
“Marcela?” Stryker looks to her for confirmation that there won’t be a problem.
“Whatever you say, Stryker, as usual,” Marcela says back but doesn’t look up.
Stryker turns his attention back to me. “Now go ahead, Little Fox.”
I squeeze Alexie’s hand for reassurance that he’s still here with me. Taking a few deep breaths, I decided to just dive right in.“So first thing first, my name is Natalia Kalashnik.” Immediately Conrad writes that down for future research. I’m sure he’s trying to find anything under that name, but he won’t. That name no longer exists. He was right, whoever works for the Volkovs is good and can erase someone’s entire existence. “I was born and raised in New York, being first generation American. My parents came here not long after my mom found out she was pregnant because there was a lot of conflict in their hometown, and they wanted to be safe. To give me a better life.”
I have to take a pause before talking about my parents. Their faces are not fully formed in my memory anymore, even though I was old enough to remember them before they passed. I don’t even have a picture to remember them or to memorize their faces. What I do remember is watching my mom do her hair and makeup. I know she was beautiful, and I wanted to be just like her. My father doted on her as though he couldn’t believe someone so beautiful chose him. Not that my dad was unfortunate looking, he was handsome and my Prince Charming. My dream was to have someone love me the way my dad loved my mom.
A tear spills down my face, and I see something white wave in front of me. I look to my side, and BJ’s holding a tissue out for me. Taking it from her, I dab the tear from my cheek. BJ’s hand rubs up and down my arm for comfort. As soothing as it is, the pressure behind my eyes becomes more intense, and I have to look down.I can’t talk about them. It’s too painful.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Just breathe,Malyshka. If you can’t talk about them, then don’t,” Alexie says as he rubs a hand up and down my back.
“No. They deserve to know everything,” I say back to him. Everyone’s eyes are on me, even Conrad’s. I look at him before continuing. Just knowing he will gain a better understanding as to why I did what I did gives me the strength I need. “My parents were killed when I was eight years old. They were collateral damage from a rival family.”Deep breaths, Nat.“We were on a trip, my dad said it was a work trip, but I’ve always questioned if that was true. Some men broke in, and my mom shoved me into a closet, pleading with me to stay quiet. I was in that fucking closet for hours.”
BJ’s hand squeezes my arm. “Oh my god, Nat! Please, tell me you didn’t witness the whole thing.” I withdraw my hand from Alexie’s and reach over to clasp her hand that’s still holding my arm.
“I didn’t see it, but I heard the screams and shouting. The last thing I remember is my mom yelling for my dad.” Tears now freely pour down my face. I hear a chair move and look over to see that King has gotten up to stand behind his chair with both hands planted on the back of it. He doesn’t look up and keeps his eyes focused on the ground.
“How did you get out of there?” BJ asks softly.
“I stayed there until I felt like I couldn’t breathe anymore. I honestly have no idea how much time passed, but when I came out, the sun was setting. The men broke in during breakfast.” No one says anything, so I continue. “When I left the closet, no one was there. My parents were gone, but there was blood everywhere. I still have no idea what happened, and I try to not let my imagination run wild with what could have happened.”
“Are you sure they’re dead?” Conrad says, his eyes still on me. “I could do a search.”
“As much as I wish that could be true, I know they’re dead. Alexie saw their bodies.” Everyone’s attention immediately moves to Alexie.
“Calm down, everyone. I had nothing to do with it,” Alexie snarls. King stands up a little straighter and glares at Alexie as he speaks. “I was only nine, for christ’s sake. I happened to be tagging along with my dad, who was there to intercept the people that murdered her parents. Kind of like taking your kid to work day, but my dad was desensitizing me to the whole underworld lifestyle. Real father-son bonding time,” Alexie spits out in a very sarcastic tone. “We were too late, though. Her parents were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or so we were told. It is an awful coincidence that immigrants from Russia were taken out by a rival Russian family.”
My eyes snap to Alexie because he’s never shared his thoughts on this before. I believed we both just accepted it to be a coincidence, and he tried to assure me that there was no connection. He notices my attention on him. “It’s not like that,Malyshka. I never had proof of anything and didn’t want you to chase leads that didn’t exist.” Alexie turns his attention back to the group. “Anyway, I saw them take the bodies out. Two of those were Natalia’s parents, from what she described.”
“So what did you do with the bodies? Just bury them in the middle of nowhere and treat them like trash?” Stryker asks, his voice harsh and angry.
“Andrei let me bury them properly,” I interject before Alexie could respond, and all eyes turn back to me. I notice that even Marcela is paying full attention to what is being said. “When I left my hiding space, I ran outside. I was just trying to get air because I felt like I couldn’t breathe. As I was running, I literally ran into Andrei as he was standing outside.”
“Did he hurt you?” Conrad questions.
“No,” I admit, but before I can continue, King opens his mouth to comment.
“Looks like he took real good care of you,” King mocks. “Let me guess.Printsessa,was it?”
Fuck. He saw that message. “What are you talking about, King?” Stryker asks.