Page 18 of Born into Sin

“The men in our family have always protected the women,” Val says. Yelena sneaks him a quick smile before she takes another bite.

They’ve always been close, but you’d have to be blind to not notice that they don’t look at each other like the rest of us do. So far our parents have continued an admirable sort of stubborn denial to see anything, and the rest of us aren’t about to burst their bubble.

“Maybe we don’t need protecting,” Svetlana counters.

That makes them all laugh.

“Are you kidding me?” Sasha says, joining in now that he’s finished drinking his float. “Do you have any idea how many fights I got into because you pissed someone off at school?”

“Me?” Svetlana’s feigned innocence has me snorting out a laugh.

“Yes, you.” Sasha points his finger at her. “You like to piss people off, especially people who are way bigger and stronger than you.”

Svetlana looks over at me. “Your brother’s been hit in the head one too many times. He’s clearly confusing me with someone else.”

When my brother just shakes his head at her, she gets up and walks over to him, wrapping her arms around him in a big hug. Svetlana’s taller than me, but he still towers over her.

“I’m sorry, cuz. Thanks for watching out for me.”

“It’s a full-time job,” he mutters.

“Ain’t that the truth,” she says, not even bothering to deny it.

He laughs and kisses the top of her head. “Now that you’ve graduated, maybe my knuckles won’t be bloody all the time.”

“Yeah right. We all know you love to fight.”

This time it’s his turn to not bother denying it. “Like father, like son, I guess.”

We don’t leave the kitchen until we’re all so stuffed we can barely move, and then it’s only so we can go change into pajamas and meet back up in the room that we converted into our own mini movie theater. Our other cousins eventually join us. Damien, Luka’s little brother comes in, taking a seat next to Evgeny and Sasha on one of the couches while everyone else sprawls out on either the leather recliners or the giant beanbags. Svetlana and I share one of the extra large beanbags while Yelena and Val take the one next to us. We pull a few buttery-soft blankets over us while Luka scrolls through the movie options.

Once the movie starts, my mind drifts to Dominic. I’m curious about him, way more than I should be, but no matter how hard I try to focus on the movie and shove him out of my mind, he keeps coming back. I swear I can still feel the heat of his skin beneath my fingertips and smell the spicy, woodsy, panty-melting scent of his cologne that’s best described as sexy as fuck.

I finally drift off to sleep at some point during the second movie, but when I wake, I’m still haunted by thoughts of Dominic, and the next week is one of the longest of my life. Svetlana has been tight-lipped about her plans, and the only hint she gives me is on Saturday morning when she sends me a simple text.

Tell your parents you want to sleep at the farmhouse tonight with me. Val, Luka, and Max are staying out there. We can hang out and watch girlie movies upstairs.

I know she has more planned than just a movie marathon, but I also know the less I know the better. I don’t want to lie to my parents. I’ve never had to before, and it makes me feel guilty just thinking about it. Before I lose my nerve, I find my mom in the kitchen. She’s chopping vegetables, so I grab an extra cutting board and several of the carrots she’s working on.

“Thanks, honey. These things are taking me forever.”

I smile over at her before I start cutting. “Hey, Mom, do you mind if I stay over at the farmhouse tonight. Sveta and Val are going over there with Max and Luka.”

Even though I’m eighteen, there’s no way in hell I’m going to be given the freedom that other adults have. Our world is just too dangerous for that. My mom thinks while she tosses all the cut-up carrots into the slow cooker with the roast.

“I don’t see why not. Your dad is out with your uncles, but I can send a text to Grigori and Feliks. They can stay in one of the guest rooms.”

“Mom, that’s really not necessary.”

She raises a brow at me. “I’m going to stop you right there so you don’t waste any more seconds of your precious life. You know this is nonnegotiable and that your dad will drive out there himself if he finds out I let you two go without any bodyguards.”

I know she’s right, and there’s no way in hell I want my dad driving out there, so I quickly say, “Okay. I just feel bad that they have to follow us around all the time. They must get so sick of it.”

My mom smiles at me and shakes her head. “They get paid a lot of money to watch over you all, and they know what an honor it is. Your dad and uncles would never trust an idiot to watch over you guys.”

I smile back at her, but I can’t help wishing we did have a couple of dumbasses watching over us tonight. I still have no idea what Svetlana is planning or how she thinks we’re going to get past two well-trained Bratva members and three of our male cousins, and I don’t want to. I’m more than happy to go into this blind, because I’m guessing the truth of what we’re about to do would scare me into keeping my ass inside tonight. You can’t fear what you don’t know, right?

After helping my mom cut up a few more vegetables, I give her a hug and then go to pack my bag. At the last minute, I throw in a sequined dress in a light shade of pink that I bought on a whim but have yet to work up the courage to wear. It’s way tinier than anything I’d usually pick out, but I love the way it sparkles, and the new pink heels I bought last week will go perfectly with it.

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