Page 44 of Kadra: The Unfeeling

Walking towards the door, I watch in fascination as the big tattooed Russian points at one of my favorites, the glossy red Ducati Desmosedici, while whispering something to Azariel that makes the boy lean in closer with a calm and curious expression on his face.

A feeling of envy creeps in when I think of how easy it is for Vitali to communicate with Azariel. I noticed it the first time he laid eyes on the kid. The Russian’s interest in Azariel should alarm me yet it doesn’t. Why is it that he gets this tender look on his face every time Azariel is near? Perhaps, the boy reminds him of his brother.

Or maybe he’s acting like any normal human being acts around a young kid. Sweet and all that shit. Ya’ know? Ignoring the tedious and sarcastic little voice, I turn away from them and look at Vernon. “Did you say something?” I was so busy looking at Azariel and Vitali that I didn’t notice Vernon was speaking to me.

His top lip twitches as he sets a phone and a set of keys down on the kitchen counter. “His bike is being fixed like you ordered and these are his.”

Before when the Russian was unconscious I had my men take his phone and keys. I needed to know what his angle was, why suddenly, he appeared in my city, and why he was trailing me. I’m still not sure about his true intentions but I’m willing to entertain this until I get what I want and like it or not Vitali Solonik is the only person aside from my men that is in my corner. I’m not willing to bring the other families into my mess. They’re married and their children depend on them. I can’t ask them to join me and risk their lives and the safety of their families for a war that is not their own.

“Are you sure we can trust him?” Vernon mumbles. Out of all my men I can count on Vernon to speak to me as if he would any other person and not his boss. I tried to discourage both him and Crow from forming any type of bond with me when they first joined the family but they ignored every attempt I made to remind them of their place.

But who am I kidding? I too found a family in them. Just like I did with my Greta.

Now I’m stuck with all of them.

Looking outside I notice both Vitali and Azariel are walking towards the garden. Suddenly the need to follow them takes over me.

Grabbing the phone and the keys I look Vernon straight in the eyes. “You don’t need to worry about him.” Vitali Solonik is a threat, yes, but not to Azariel and not to my men. Only to me. The biggest threat to my heart.

With the phone and keys in hand, I open the glass door but before I step a foot outside, I speak over my shoulder. “We have a guest coming and he’ll be here soon. Make sure to let him in.”

Vernon nods but says nothing.

Once outside, I close the door quietly behind me and make my way towards where they’re at. Walking the stone path that leads to the garden, I keep my eyes trained on them. Azariel doesn’t look uncomfortable but not happy either. Will he ever smile? I wonder. Vitali looks so much better than he did yesterday or the day before. He’s wearing the same dark jeans he had on when I brought him here and black boots. He’s shirtless again. I make a note to ask Vernon to get him all he’ll need while he stays under my roof.

If dressed in black from head to toe makes him look ridiculously threatening then when he’s showcasing his body art he looks even more frightening. I’m still baffled that Azariel is so cool and collected being around Vitali. Most kids would take one look at him and most likely run in the other direction.

My heart does that throbbing thing where it feels like it might blow up from the pressure as I watch them talk quietly as if they are in their own little world. And for the first time, I wish I could be part of their world too.

“I don’t like people.” Azariel suddenly speaks up catching my attention. I zero in on his side profile as he looks up at Vitali. Pride takes over me when I see him hold his head high while speaking to someone four times his size. Atta boy.

“I don’t like people either,” Vitali says seriously, not a trace of humor in his tone.

So they have their dislike for other humans in common. Great.

“You like her,” Azariel says and I instantly frown wondering who he’s talking about. Azariel frowns as if he’s thinking hard about something and then speaks again. “The pretty lady, Kadra.”

The pretty lady, Kadra.

He’s talking about me.

I watch frozen in place with a million thoughts running through my head as a predatory smile takes over Vitali’s face. “Oh, I do.” Is not a condescending smile and not one of those fake ones that irate me so goddamn much. No.

A confident smile.

Thump.

Thump.

I feel it again.

The slow but steady beating of my heart.

Out of everyone in the world who could make me feel things I don’t ever want to feel again, why does it always have to be him?

Don’t be foolish, Kadra… Kill the feeling before it kills you. I remind myself as I watch the two of them interact.

Azariel’s soft-spoken words break through the haze in my head. “It seems to me as if she doesn’t like you very much.”

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