Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva #4)(89)

She was apologizing? To her? Resentment filled her as she glared at Alex. Of course she could apologize, she had gotten Luka, the one person that Natasha wanted for herself.

“You’ll never be enough for him,” Natasha couldn’t help but say, sinking low enough that she had to say something, anything if it meant that someone else was hurting, even if it was just a fraction of what she felt.

And her emotions were only made worse by the fact that Alex didn’t look hurt by what she was saying. She actually looked like she felt sorry for her.

“I’ll tell him to call you.”

This time, Alex didn’t wait for her to respond. She just walked off, leaving Natasha to stand on the curb, angrier than she had ever felt in her life.

Back at her apartment, she tried not to think about the Albanian and the words he’d said to her. But the more she sat in her apartment, the more her phone called to her and the need to call Luka. She hadn’t talked to him much at all since Mishca had shut down the operation, nor had she really seen any of the Russians that she’d known during her time working for them.

Her thoughts scattered when her phone rang, a number she had never seen before lighting up the screen. She only hesitated a second before connecting the call.

“Hello?”

“What do you need?”

Luka had always been brusque, but she didn’t think he had ever sounded as short with her as he did now. Not even when he’d come to her place to break it off after he’d finally decided to be with Alex.

“You could at least say, ‘hello, how are you.’ That’s the least you could do, Luka.”

“Hello. How are you? Now, what do you need?”

Struggling for patience, Natasha said, “I was trying to see you earlier—”

“Alex told me. All of it.” A hint of anger entered his voice. “Careful what you say next. She asked me to call. That’s the end of my obligation.”

At that moment, Natasha forgot all about telling him about the man that had visited her. “So, as long as I let you do whatever you wanted to me, then I was okay. But now that you’re with the princess, I’m just another whore?”

“I never called you a whore.”

“That’s all you have to say? I gave you everything! We were happy, and now you’re acting as though I mean nothing to you because you’ve finally had your taste of young *?”

It was the wrong thing to say.

His silence told her that, and it was too late for her to take it back, but more than that, she didn’t want to.

Fuck Alex.

Fuck her brother.

And f*ck the entire Volkov Bratva.

“Don’t ever talk about her like that,” he said calmly. “You won’t like what I do if I hear it again. This is it, Natasha. Stay away from Alex and don’t ask for me again.”

He hung up, the click sounding loud in her ears. She was hurt, embarrassed, and more importantly, she was angry.

She wanted to rage, to destroy the few precious things in her apartment so something else could feel as broken as she did, but there was a better way to get back at Luka for his carelessness.

Pulling the card out, she didn’t waste any time dialing the number.





36

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Reminders





“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Alex asked as they stopped in front of Lauren’s building. She had yet to take her eyes off him since they pulled off.

Before, he would have told her, or at least given her some information that would quell the anxiety she felt. He didn’t know much more than she did, but he knew as much as she did, Mishca’s call cryptic and short. The only assignment he’d been given was to deliver Alex to Lauren’s apartment and make sure they stayed there, and then he was to drive to the address given.

“I don’t know much,” Luka responded, dragging her across the seat so he could plant a kiss on her lips. “And even if I did, it wouldn’t be for you to worry about.”

Rolling her eyes, Alex pulled away from him, her hand going to the car door. “Not you, too.”

He smiled, shrugging. “For good reason. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Yeah, knowing you, you’d shoot first and ask questions later,” she joked.

He helped her out of the Jeep, his smile tight but genuine. “I’d burn this city to the ground.”

A part of her was thrilled at those words, but the new rational side didn't like them as much. It was one thing to say what he was willing to risk to protect her, but he was also saying he would risk himself and she didn’t want that.

When he readied to leave, she hesitated, wanting to call him back but not wanting to look foolish. If there was one person who could handle himself, it was Luka. It was his job after all, but that didn’t stop the sliver of anxiety from racing through her at the thought of whatever unknown he was going out to face.

He glanced back at her, pausing mid-step before returning to her. His hand cupped the nape of her neck as he dragged her forward, his mouth swooping down to connect with hers. Just a brief touch, but it was all she needed to calm herself.

“I’ll see you soon.”

____

There was nothing quite like the smell of a burned body and decomp. The moment Luka stepped foot onto the property, his gaze searched the surrounding area in case someone had decided to stick around, and the scents assaulted his nose. The second he was used to. He’d been around enough dead bodies to recognize it, but the first made his heart skip a beat.