The Lost Souls (The Holy Trinity #2.5)(18)

“What?” he snarled.

“Let’s go for a walk.”

Nico glared at him. “In the snow?”

“Yeah, in the f*cking snow.” Grabbing Nico’s coat off the hook by the door, Xan tossed it to him.

Fine. Whatever.

He’d put on his coat and go for a walk but before he left, he was going to make a big show of kissing his daughter good-bye. And his wife…she’d get tongue. A lot of it. Maybe a boob grab too.

“Don’t do it,” Xan said quietly. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s only going to make shit worse.”

Nico, about to tell Xan when and where he could go f*ck himself, glanced toward Becki, saw her playing with Michaela, smiling and laughing with Tobar, and decided that once again Xan was probably right.

Gritting his teeth, he shrugged on his coat and without a word to anyone, stalked out the door Xan was holding open for him.

“Smoke?” Xan asked, digging through his pockets. Emerging with a pack of hand-rolled cigarettes and a lighter, he placed one between his teeth and then offered the pack to Nico.

Shaking his head no, Nico folded his arms across his chest. “Frate, is there a reason I’m standing in the snow, freezing?”

“I like blood as much as the next guy,” Xan said around an exhale of smoke. “Maybe a little more than the next guy. But blood and babies don’t mix, and with all that aggression you were throwing off in there, frate, it was about to get bloody.”

Nico’s hands fisted. “I would have dragged him outside first.”

Smirking, Xan shook his head. “Baró Fuckhead is more powerful than you. He’d have you flat on your ass before you got near him.”

Before Nico could punch him in the face for that * statement, Xan grabbed his arm and started dragging him forward, weaving through the rows of trailers until they came to the center of the living lot. Then Xan shoved him in the direction of the food tent.

“What we need to do…” Xan said, ducking in behind him under the heavy canvas tent flap. Ignoring him, Nico took a seat at the nearest picnic bench.

“Lyuba!” Xan shouted in the direction of Marko’s mother. “Dou? v? rog!”

From behind the steaming pots, the older woman glared at him. “Only because you said please, you big idiot!”

“What we need to do,” Xan repeated, sliding into the bench across from him. “Is get him laid. Then he’ll lay off Becki.”

Nico snorted. “Fat chance of that happening. Nobody likes him anymore.”

“But he’s Baró,” Xan said, grinning.

The two men stared at each other.

“Magdolna,” they said simultaneously and just as quickly started laughing. Magdolna was one of the Horváth triplets, all three of whom had pretty loose morals when it came to men. Before he’d gotten serious about Becki, he’d dabbled between Magdolna’s thighs more times than he could count, but their mutual feelings for each other had never surpassed friendship.

Lyuba appeared above them and slammed down two bowls of steaming stew. Pausing for a moment, she glared down at Xan before spinning on her heel and marching back to her post.

Xan watched her stalk away, shaking his head. “She blames me,” he said quietly. “For Marko running off.”

As far as Nico was concerned, Marko was a f*cking * who deserved whatever fate he met. “Forget her,” he said. “Are you good, frate? All bullshit aside?”

“I’m breathing,” Xan said quietly. “I’m keeping my dick in my pants and I’m sober, and that’s about all I am.”

What the f*ck was he supposed to say to that? Congrats on no longer drinking yourself to death? Or good job on not falling between every pair of spread legs in camp?

Thankfully, Xan chose that moment to pick up his spoon and start eating, saving Nico from having to respond. The two men ate in silence until Xan set down his spoon and said, “I miss her. I feel like I’m gonna miss her for the rest of my life…” Trailing off, he let out a large breath that hung like a cloud in the frigid air, and glanced away.

“Frate—” Nico started, then stopped. He didn’t have a clue what he was going to say.

Xan turned back to him. “Do you think she’s…Trin…do you think she’s alive?”

No. Despite her magic giving her an advantage most people didn’t have, Trinity had been alone ever since receiving her powers. Without learning how to properly use them, after seeing firsthand what she had accidentally done to that hospital, Nico couldn’t fathom that things had gotten better for her. But what did he know? He’d lived as part of a clan his entire life, had been taught by an entire community of people everything he knew. They’d worked as team to survive; they always had. The absence of a few wouldn’t change much, whereas the absence many would change everything. But Trinity…she hadn’t grown up like that. Maybe she was alive. Nico didn’t think so, but that didn’t mean he was going to tell Xan that.

“Yeah,” Nico said quietly. “I do, frate.”

As he stared across the picnic table at Nico, Xan’s lips began to twitch. “You’re a bad liar,” Xan said. There was no malice in his tone, no anger in his expression. In fact, Xan looked more at peace than he ever had, and Nico felt the stew begin to churn in his belly.