Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva #4)(83)

They wait patiently

For a reason to wake,

Take an overdue breath,

And crawl back to my ear.





-Author Unknown





33

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Past Demons





Time warped things. Memories. Appearances. But just as easily as things seemed different, everything, even the most insignificant of details came rushing back as though they had never been gone.

Fatos was as Luka remembered him. Though he did, at least, look a bit older, but under the guise of a man, he could still see the remnants of the boy he’d raced home with on occasion.

He was a few inches shorter than Luka’s six-foot-four with dark brown hair that was carefully styled. And his eyes…they were as dark as the pit in his chest. Unlike Luka, who had gained at least another twenty pounds of muscles since the last time they’d seen each other, Fatos was thin. Almost too thin.

Looking at him now, it was hard to rationalize that this was the same person who had been his best friend throughout grade school, only to turn into a rival when Luka had needed him most. Even now, the two sides of him were ever present. Content and pleasant on the outside, but behind that calm smile was a monster that liked to come out and play. For a moment, Luka thought of how Klaus always looked at him, and the thoughts he’d have at the sight of him.

Right now, as he stood more than a dozen feet away from his old friend, Luka could only remember how he’d been so glad to hurt those who had done nothing to earn it.

But hadn’t Luka?

He worked under his own principles, and now that Fatos was here admiring his handiwork, Luka knew how it must look. It didn’t matter that he knew Snow deserved every last cut from his blade. To Fatos, it just looked like he and Luka were one and the same.

“What are you doing here, Fatos?” Luka asked as he wiped his hands on the front of his jeans. Glancing back at Snow, who sat slumped forward in the chair, it made it far easier to see his back had been slashed to ribbons.

Even if Luka had entertained the idea of letting him live with the reminder of what he had suffered, there was no way he was letting him go now, not with Fatos in the room. His true identity was one of his most well-kept secrets, and he wasn’t going to jeopardize it for anyone. It was already enough that Klaus knew, and though he never hung it over his head, the threat was always there.

And what would the mercenary do now with Fatos in the city? Already, Luka heard the clock ticking, knowing that it was only a matter of time before everything he’d built for himself came crashing down. If Klaus were tracking the Organization the way Luka thought he was, he would know soon enough that Fatos was stateside.

And hadn’t he warned Luka? It felt like so long ago that Klaus had come to him, speaking of things he had never considered.

Fatos looked the part. Perfectly groomed, he was wearing a suit that probably cost more money than Luka had spent on his entire wardrobe. While Luka didn’t want to wrap his mind around Fatos being in charge of any organization, let alone the one that Luka hated, he understood why he would make a great leader.

Undoubtedly, he would do whatever he needed to remain at the top.

Klaus had asked whether he would be willing to trade his life for Fatos’. He hadn’t given him an answer because he wasn’t sure he would be able to. Now? He needed Fatos out of the picture.

It seemed only appropriate that he would appear once more when Luka was truly happy.

“Did you not miss me, v?lla?” Fatos asked patiently, his eyes drifting to the body at Luka’s back, a small smile curling his lips. There was no disgust in his gaze, no surprise at the gruesome work. If anything, Fatos was proud of the work he saw.

“Brother? I’m not your brother. Now answer my question. It’s been five years. What do you want?”

After several moments of just gazing at the body, he finally looked back to Luka. “Would you believe me if I told you I missed you? It’s true,” he was quick to add when he saw the look of disbelief cross Luka’s face. “There have been rumors, of course, saying that you had allied yourself with the Russians. I could understand why they would think that—your mother and all—but I would have never thought that you would get so comfortable with the very person you were paid to kill. How does that work exactly?”

Not rising to the bait, Luka asked a question of his own. “You have your own experience with that, so you tell me.”

Fatos looked hurt, as though what Luka was implying actually hurt him. “I would have never hurt you. You know this.”

“Did I miss when you carved into my back with a dirty blade? Or maybe when you were betting against me when I fought in the Pit?” He thought of bringing up Elena and what Fatos had done to her, but from the look on his face, he was expecting it.

And no matter how he tried to shake it, he had to admit that what was done to him was the best at extracting information from those on the receiving end. While Luka had never broken, others had. Many others.

“But that made you better, did it not?” Fatos asked, gesturing to Snow. “That day made you more. You can’t still be angry with me over this. If I recall, you accepted my care while I tended to the wounds.”

That was because he’d been too f*cking weak to do anything more than lay there in agony. It wasn’t until he had gotten his strength back did Luka kick Fatos out with threats of murder.