Page 103 of Cruel Knots

“Come on, then.” She gestures at me and walks out of the room.

Grabbing my boots, I pull them on and hurry after her.

“Mikhail and I have a surprise for you today,” she says as we walk down the hallway.

“Has he brought all the stuff from the fair we went to yesterday?”

“You call that bullshit biker camp a fair?” she asks with a snort. “Remind me to take you to a real one sometime.”

“What about Damien? He looked so mad last night. Is everything okay between you guys?”

“I told you not to worry,” Lilja says, throwing an arm around my shoulder and pulling me close. “My big brother’s all bark and no bite.”

He’s bitten me so many times though, I think silently as my fingers touch the light scars adorning my neck.

Still, it lifts my heart to know Damien is unchanged despite the pain and trauma he went through. He might be an ass to me but he’s still the same protective older brother to his siblings.

We follow the familiar path to the kitchen on the ground floor.

The smell of frying bacon hits me the moment I get closer. My groaning stomach makes me hurry toward the kitchen.

Dora is at the stove, stirring a smoking pot. Lilja moves ahead and goes to sit at the table. Michael is already seated there, smoking what is unmistakably a joint.

A haze of smelly smoke lingers over the table. Lilja swipes at the swirls of smoke Mikhail blows in her direction.

Mikhail’s teasing and Lilja’s annoyance make me smile. The day barely got started and they’re already fighting.

“Quit it!” Lilja hisses. “I don’t want my eggs smelling like pot.”

“Leave me alone,” Mikhail says, stuffing a couple of bacon strips into his mouth. “Damien was pissed last night. On top of that, I had to get up early to get Princess’s stuff from Ryder’s place.”

“So, that’s where you picked up this disgusting shit,” Lilja says, scrunching her nose. With a sudden move, she grabs the joint that Mikhail set down to help himself to some toast. He doesn’t even get the chance to protest before she steps on the smoking roll and stamps it out.

A frustrated growl escapes him. Picking up a fried egg, he throws it at her. The egg hits her squarely in the face.

A deep frown comes over her pretty face as she glares at her brother.

“Stop your fuckery right this instant!” Dora barks. The elderly lady’s frown makes both siblings quiet down at once. She slaps a dish of fried bacon with a huff and stomps away.

Taking a plate, I load it up with some bacon and eggs before they can start arguing and throwing things at each other again.

“Can you tell me about the surprise now?” I ask, hoping to distract them both.

“It’s more about showing you than telling you,” says Mikhail. He takes the whole dish of bacon that Dora left a minute ago and starts munching on them.

“Will Damien and Leon join us?” I ask.

“Damien’s not around,” Mikhail answers with a mouthful of bacon.

“And Leon’s still locked up with those bastards,” Lilja says with a dark expression.

Dora’s cooking is so amazing, that we fall quiet and devour our breakfast eagerly.

“Let’s show her now,” Mikhail says when I’m taking the last sip of my coffee. “Damien’s given me a job, so I can’t hang around for much longer.”

Dora comes to the table and joins us.

“Thanks for the breakfast, Dora,” I tell her. “Everything was delicious.”

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