Valon: What Once Was (Volkov Bratva Novella)(20)

Back up again, he grabbed one of his old T-shirts and a pair of shorts that were probably too big for her, but it was the best he could do for now.

Tossing them to her, he pointed to the bathroom. “You can change in there.”

She disappeared through the door, leaving the light off, but when she emerged, he actually felt better.

“Thank you.”

Her gratitude made him uncomfortable, and even she looked uncomfortable. Her because she probably thought he wanted something from her now. Him because he didn’t want anything from her. Especially her gratitude. He might be a killer, but he wasn’t so bad that he was going to use a ruse to get something from her.

Again, they both fell silent, but it took every ounce of self-control for Valon not to ask her questions. Where was she from…did she have any family…was anyone looking for her, or had she chosen to come here expecting something different… But he couldn’t bring himself to ask because not only was he afraid of the answer, but what else could he do about it anyway?

Sure, there was a train station a few miles from here, but the likelihood of them reaching that place before anyone noticed they were gone was unlikely.

Valon didn’t know how long they sat there, his thoughts wandering when she finally spoke.

“You’re really not like them, are you?”

He wanted to agree with that assertion with every fiber of his being, but he had never been much of a liar, and he wasn’t going to start now.

“I’m worse.”





-





10




Fatos was waiting for him in the kitchen a few days later, smirking when he noticed Valon’s entry. He’d been around far more often now that he was working his way into the Organization. When he’d first shown up, Valon thought he would be glad for his company, but now he had grown tired of his former friend.

Not because he did anything in particular, but it was just the smaller acts that annoyed Valon now that he was around Fatos far more than when they’d been children.

One trait about Fatos was becoming abundantly clear. He hated to lose. Whether it was a mere game being played between friends, or if he lost a bet, he did not handle it well, and Valon was seeing a side of him that he never thought he would. But more curious was that he never lost his temper with Valon, not once.

Even when Bastian asked something of Valon that Fatos wanted, he took it in stride. But let it be anyone else, and Fatos made them pay.

But because Valon was loyal to those he considered his friends, he turned his back on Fatos’ actions. After all, he had someone to look after.

Since the night of her waking him up, things hadn’t changed much between them, but she did, at least, make eye contact with him, and spoke to him, even if it was to only say ‘thanks’ for the food he brought her.

“What are you doing, brother?” Fatos asked as he watched Valon pull a plate down from the cabinets, pulling the contents out of the refrigerator to make a sandwich.

Valon just glanced at him, letting his actions do all the speaking.

“Is that for the girl?”

“If it is?”

He frowned. “Since when did you start caring about the girl?”

Valon, still focused on his task, said, “I never said I cared.”

Fatos held his hands up. “I merely ask…if you are too busy, I won’t bother you.”

Irritated, he finally gave in, knowing that Fatos would keep bothering him until he had a conversation with him. Sometimes he forgot how needy he could be. “What’s doing, Fatos?”

“Xavien is gone.”

Valon racked his brain, trying to remember where he had heard that name, and then it clicked. Since he had grown so used to think of Xavien as Gjarper, he had actually forgotten the man’s real name.

“Oh? Where is he? For a moment, he feared the worst, thinking his mentor had been killed for a transgression that he didn’t know about.

“On assignment with my father. It’s doubtful he’ll be coming back for a while.”

At least one of them could get out of this shithole, Valon thought. While he wasn’t sure what the assignment was exactly, it had to be better than waiting on Bastian hand and foot. Good for him.

“Okay.”

Slapping some meat between the bread, Valon took it and a bottle of water, leaving Fatos staring after him. He didn’t notice the way Fatos’ eyes lit with a dangerous fire.

Elena was just exiting the bathroom as Valon reentered. She hesitated a moment, and then gave him a small smile that made him look away. It wasn’t embarrassment that made him do it.

At least that was what he told himself.

“Thought you might be hungry.”

“What about you?”

He blinked, looking back at her as she crossed the floor to sit beside him. “What about me?”

“Well, aren’t you going to eat, too?”

He forced the plate into her hands, dropping the bottle of water onto her lap. “I’m not hungry.”

He didn’t know what to make of her. Besides her first few nights, she didn’t seem to fear him, not even when he’d come into the room covered in blood, or like the other night when he’d nearly choked her to death. She just seemed to take it all in stride.

“If you say so.”