Page 27 of Born into Sin

“The guys are given way more freedom than we are,” she argues.

“There’s a reason for that, Svetlana. You know this.” I know they don’t know all the details of what happened to their aunt, but they know enough. “You know what your family does for a living, and that puts a target on all your backs. There have been a few attacks lately, so you might want to get used to the bodyguards. I have a feeling they’re going to be tightening things up even more.”

“Great,” she mutters while Natalya turns her face to mine and asks, “What kind of attacks?”

I brush my thumb along her skin in the lightest of touches and say, “Nothing for you to worry about. Come on, it’s time to sneak you two back in.”

Stepping out of the car, I take off my suit jacket and toss it on the now empty passenger seat before shutting the door and looking at the line of trees in front of me. Traipsing through the dark woods isn’t at all what I planned on doing tonight, but life is rarely what you think it’s going to be.

“Which way?”

Svetlana turns her head, eyeing the woods in front of us, and I don’t like the confused look she’s wearing. She points to the right and gives a determined nod of her head. “There. That’s where I hid our boots and flashlight.”

She leads the way with Natalya behind her, and I take the rear. The full moon helps, but it’s still dark without anything else to help illuminate the way. When we reach the trees, Svetlana walks around, searching for her hidden stash, and after several minutes of listening to her thrash around and mutter in Russian, I let out a heavy sigh.

“Can’t find it?”

“I left it right here,” she insists, pointing at the tree she’s been circling like a crazed person.

I push a button on my watch, illuminating the time. It’s after one, and I can’t spend all goddamn night standing here. I need to get back and deal with Angelo, and I’d like to at least get a few hours of sleep.

“We don’t have time to waste looking for it. Can you find the trail from here?”

“Yeah, I think so. It should be straight ahead. It’s going to be a real bitch in heels, though,” she growls.

“Maybe it’ll help teach you a lesson.” I look down at Natalya, who’s still standing next to me. She’s been quiet this whole time, and when she takes a few steps forward and nearly trips on a stick, I reach out to steady her. With my hand securely on her hip and the other one gripping her arm, she looks up at me and sucks in another quick breath.

“Thanks,” she whispers.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll just put all my weight on my toes. I’ll be fine.”

I wait until I’m sure she’s steady before slowly letting go of her. Svetlana is several feet ahead of us, and when she turns back she says, “Found it,” and lets out a relieved sigh. I stay close to Natalya, making sure she doesn’t trip again, until we’re all three standing on the dirt bike path.

“Fuck this,” Svetlana says, pulling her heels off and placing her bare feet on the packed dirt. She looks back at Natalya. “Just take ‘em off. It’s so much easier.”

Natalya looks down at her pink heels and matching painted toes and hesitates. “I’ll be fine,” she insists, and I know she’d rather walk on broken glass than put her bare feet in the dirt. A smile tugs at my mouth, but I refuse to give it free rein.

Svetlana lets out a soft laugh and starts walking. “You’re so going to regret that tomorrow when your feet are covered in blisters.”

“Better blisters than hookworms,” she responds, making me laugh.

“Oh my god,” Svetlana groans like they’ve had this conversation many times. “That’s insanely rare around here.” She looks back at me. “We watched a documentary about parasites one night for reasons I can’t explain, and it seriously screwed with her mind.”

“They were huge,” Natalya tells me, “and you could see them through the bottoms of their feet.”

After about twenty steps where she almost falls three more times, I sigh and scoop her up into my arms bridal style. She lets out a surprised gasp and flings her arms around my neck.

“What are you doing?” she whisper-shouts at me.

Her mouth is dangerously close to mine when I say, “It’s going to take you hours to reach the house at the rate you’re going. This is easier.” I don’t add that the idea of her small feet covered in blisters tomorrow doesn’t sit well with me. “Just relax, principessa, and let me carry you.”

She nods and once I start walking, she slowly begins to relax in my arms, eventually leaning her head against my shoulder.

“I’m really sorry about tonight,” she whispers so only I can hear. “It didn’t go at all like I thought it would.”

“How did you think it would go?”

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