Page 6 of Hating the Bratva

Delaney

Nicolai opens the door for me and offers his hand. Tattoos coat his knuckles. They run up his arms, covered by the dark suit. I ignore his offer and step out onto the fresh grass.

“I'll be back to pick you up at two,” Nicolai says, even though I know he's not leaving. My bodyguard is never far from me. Dad makes sure that Nicolai is always breathing down my neck. I understand the need for a bodyguard. I'm not entirely oblivious to the danger that is always lurking, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

“Two o'clock,” I repeat. Nicolai nods his bald head and gets back into the car, as if I don't know he's just going to circle the block and then park in a shaded area at the back of the student parking lot so he can scan for danger. Danger. That's the world I live in.

I grab the pack out of cigarettes from my bookbag and the lighter that I stuffed into a side pocket. There's no smoking allowed on campus, so I head toward an area behind the science building that's hidden enough so cameras don't reach. As I turn the corner, I see that Robin is already there. She's sitting on the grass with her back pressed against the building.

“Hey,” she says as I sit down next to her on the grass. She's wearing shorts today, and her dark legs rest against the grass.

“You're going to get itchy,” I say, nodding at her legs.

“Yeah, I didn't think about that. I'm just trying to soak up the good weather before winter hits.”

“Touché.” I light my cigarette and inhale.

I've known Robin since middle school, and if there's anyone I can trust in this world, it's her. Although we couldn't look more different with my pale skin next to her dark and my long wavy black hair next to her short curly hair, I still considered her the sister I never had. She knows bits and pieces about my family and the Bratva, but there is only one thing she's fascinated about: Alek.

“So…you're seeing Alek tonight?” She asks. I exhale the smoke I've been holding.

“I'm just going to see his new house. He wants my opinion on a few things."

She raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, he wants your opinion on what room he'll be climbing on top of you every night."

My cheeks flare with heat. “Oh my god, can you not? Now you're making me nervous.”

She lets out a laugh and plucks the cigarette from my hand before taking a drag herself.

“I'm just saying, it sounds to me like he's expecting this marriage to happen soon. I mean, he bought a house!”

I shrug. “Maybe. How's your brother doing?”

She passed the cigarette back to me. “Not good. They removed what they could of the tumor, but his recovery hasn't been easy.”

Robin's brother has been fighting cancer since I've known her. He spent a few years in remission, but it came back worse the second time.

“I'll try to stop by this weekend and visit for a little bit,” I offer. Although I've never been good friends with Joshua, her brother, I'm close to all of Robin's family. Sisters, remember?

“Good. You can keep him entertained for a while. He's been bitching and moaning because Mom's forcing him to take it easy.”

I laugh. "Sounds like Joshua." I glance down at my phone. “Shit, I've got to go. See you at lunch?”

“See ya.”

I stomp out the last of my cigarette and make my way across campus.

*****

“How was class?” Nicolai asks as I get in the car.

“Fine,” I mumble. He acts like I just had my first day at elementary school. He pulls out of the parking lot and onto the street. I look out the window as we drive. I've lived in Boston my whole life, and I've traveled to other parts of the world—Paris for my eighteenth birthday, Italy for a summer vacation—but Boston has always felt like home. There's something about the city that I always take comfort in. It's the reason I didn't fight Dad about going to college locally. Nicolai turns away from the city toward my parent's home.

It's not long before we pull up to our large colonial house located in the suburbs. Mom said that we lived in a townhouse in the city when I was a baby, but once I was old enough to go to school, she demanded that my dad buy something in the suburbs. The house blends in with all the others on the street: large, perfect, looks brand-new—just like a house that a US senator would live in. Nicolai parks and starts to get out of the car to open my door, but I don't wait for him. Butterflies take flight in my stomach as I remember that I have something to get ready for. It's not a date, but it's close enough. I open the front door and immediately go to my bedroom and close the door. I already know my parents aren't home. Dad's always at work, and my mom keeps busy during the day with various fundraising and charity events.

My phone vibrates, and I take it out to look at the screen.

Alek: Done with school?

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