Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva #4)(106)

Once they were in her room, she set up Sacha’s bouncing chair, carefully laying him on it, making sure the overhanging toys were in reach. It was easy enough keeping him entertained.

Going over to the sitting area in the room, Alex sat, folding her legs beneath her as she watched Klaus walk over. She tried not to look at him, focusing on her lap because no matter how different their personalities were, he still looked just like Mishca.

“What do you want, Klaus?”

He got comfortable first, drumming his fingers on the armrest of the chair. “How’s Paris?”

“Fine.”

“Ballet?” He tried again.

“Fine.”

“And how are you doing?”

“Fine.”

Klaus sighed, leaning his head against the back of the sofa. “Not good enough.”

“Why do you even care? The last time I checked, the only person you really cared about in this f*cked up family of ours is Lauren. Tell me, Klaus, do you get those twin urges? Can you feel them when they’re f*cking?”

While he didn’t lose the smile, Klaus’ eyes grew hard. “I’ve heard that before. Guess the Albanian rubbed off on you.”

Anger flushed through her. “You don’t get to talk about him. Ever.”

“No? Seems fair since he went to work on me, and though the only thing I wanted to do was make him pay for this, I kept this secret from the Russian. You should be thanking me.”

Alex scoffed. “Let me make sure I have this right. You show up out of nowhere threatening everybody, acting like a complete dick, at least until your brother’s wife bats her eyes at you, and then you have a change of heart? Oh, but wait, you lure that f*cking Albanian here and what does he do? He buries me alive, and the only reason I’m here is because of Luka. So f*ck whatever you’re—”

“Listen.”

He’d never been anything but polite to her, so the sharpness of his voice caught her off guard.

“The Albanian you know, he wasn’t that guy years ago.” He visibly tried to rein in his anger, though whether it was aimed at her, she wasn’t sure. “I understand your loyalty. Believe me. I did what I could, but there are—”

“Is this the part where I thank you?” Alex asked, and then thought better of it. “Thank you, Klaus. For everything that you’ve done. But that doesn’t change anything because Luka isn’t here.”

Alex dropped her feet to the ground. “I watched all of you do everything in your power to make Lauren safe. No one was safe. I never doubted for a second that when I needed you, you would be there. Not a single one of you lifted a finger to do anything to help Luka. So, honestly? Save your lecture or whatever you’re here to give. I don’t want to hear it.”

“Do you honestly think I wanted you to get hurt, Alex?” he asked, rising to his feet.

“I don’t think any of you cared what happened to me, as long as Luka suffered for who he was before.” She gestured to the door. “Please. Just save your hypocrisy and just get out.”





44

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Home Away from Home





As soon as she touched down in Paris, the plane rolling to a stop on the runway, it felt like a weight lifted off Alex’s shoulders. She hailed a cab back to her place, happy to see her building coming into view. Paying, she stepped out, typing in the code to get in the gate, heading toward the back of the courtyard where the elevator was located.

She made a stop at one of the ground floor apartments first, knocking gently, smiling when she heard the whines coming from the other side. It took about a minute, but once the door opened, Loki came flying out, his big body barreling into hers as he licked at her face, his tail wagging.

She laughed, pushing him away as she rubbed his head, smiling up at Cadessa who was leaning in the door with an apron around her waist, a kitchen towel in her hand.

“He’s missed you.”

“Only because I take him to the dog park every other day.”

“You should come over for dinner tonight, Aleksandria. We would love to have you.”

Cadessa and her husband, Gabriel, were the only couple in the entire building near Alex’s age, though still a number of years older. When she’d moved in, Cadessa had instantly welcomed her in, introducing her to Gabriel a few days later. Alex couldn’t count the number of times she had been over to their place for dinner, at least twice a week.

They knew about Loki since Alex needed them to watch him, they knew she traveled back to New York when she could—even showed them the picture she carried of Sacha—and that she was dancing with the Francis Ballet Company. For once, since she was younger, she had friends, and though they knew nothing about the family she came from—she went out of her way to avoid talking about them—she was glad for it.

“Sure. Need me to pick up anything from the market? I was going anyway.”

“No, no. We have everything.”

Smiling, Alex waved goodbye, Loki at her heels as they made the short journey up to her apartment. Shifting her luggage to her other shoulder, she unlocked the door, pushing it open, letting Loki trot in first before she followed behind, closing it back and sliding the lock into place. Turning back around, she dropped her keys in the bowl on her way in, dropping her bags along the way.