Page 36 of Voracious

Dima gently pulls me away from my planning and closes the bathroom door on everyone else outside as he speaks low, so it doesn’t travel through the wood.

“They won’t hurt you. They look after family.” He doesn’t relax and holds my face. “We won’t let anyone hurt you, and I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to. Shall I tell them to fuck off?”

My lips move up, trying to be genuine, but it still feels fake. I can only smile when I hurt someone, it’s fun and this isn’t. I don’t trust my voice and shake my head in answer, so I don’t be sick again.

He curls his hand around my nape and guides me to the sink. All of his movements are careful as though I’m breaking, and he moves my hand out of the way to cup water in his own hand, then brings it to my lips. Opening my mouth to argue that I can do it myself, he makes circles on my skin and the words don’t come out. It should be embarrassing that he’s helping me rinse my mouth and I should definitely stop him when he washes my face for me. But I like it. He’s gentle and pats my face dry with a towel before standing at my side like a guard and walking us out of the bathroom.

Valentin is the first to speak when we go back to the living room and his insult is filled with warmth.

“You take after Vlad’s psychotic ass, makes sense.”

His smile is warm too and Tali is like a kid on Christmas with Vlad being his usual dickhead self.

“Get your things, you’re coming home, pipsqueak.”

I’d rather sleep with a blanket made of fire ants than accept his shitty offer. Dima hardens next to me and his arm brushes mine with him moving closer. He’s dumb if he thinks I’m scared of Vlad, I could kill him if I wanted to. It would be a good fight; I’ve seen him in the cage, and I wouldn’t have to antagonize him like the others.

“I’m not staying with you. I can look after myself.”

I’m not a child is underwritten with each syllable that leaves me. Being a child is the worst thing anyone can be. You’re vulnerable, easy for people to prey on you because you haven’t been taught to fight. Life teaches you that as you grow older. It’s all backwards, you’re born defenseless due to lack of knowledge when you have an abundance of energy, and you die defenseless with knowledge and no energy to fight.

Dima acts like a dumbass and grumbles, “She’ll stay here, I’ll keep her safe.”

Fucking asshole. I can do what I want, go wherever I want. I’m not going to be locked in a room like an animal and relive the 104 days. I can keep myself safe and he can’t lock me away.

FIFTEEN

Dima

Witnessing Ana slowly get more comfortable around her family since she found out about them — excluding Vlad — is like watching one of those videos of a hummingbird sheltering from the rain inside a flower. Her psychotic ways make sense now that I know her parentage, and I’m stopped from my creeping when Vlad calls me into his office to go through whatever plan he has now.

“Why did you kill the suka on the gate?”

Because he was a prick, and I didn’t like what he said.

The cunt deserved a long, drawn-out death, not a bullet to the head. Seeing him grab his dick and tell Ana to prove she’s worth the money boils my piss. I don’t give a fuck that she’s Vlad’s half-sister, she deserves respect without the relation. Giving him his preferred answer for his own actions, I shrug, “Felt like it.”

Everyone’s fearful of the dickhead, the same way they are of Ana. The difference is they undermine her, thinking her size andthe fact she’s a woman makes her any less lethal. No one would pull that shit with Vlad, his brothers, or me, they’d keep their fucking mouths shut.

“You knew, didn’t you?” I ask.

He shrugs as he leans back in his chair. “I’d heard rumors of one the whores carrying his bastard child. But you know what the Vory are like, they run their mouths and when I asked about it they said he beat it out of her.”

I’ve known him too long, it’s why I know that he’s hiding something, so I prod, “Then?”

“Then,” he grits, “that motherfucking suka tried to harm my wife after breaking into my safe that had a list of all of his whores."

“Who’s her mother?”

“Why are you so interested?”

“I’m curious, not interested,” I correct.

“Some dumb bitch that fucked up, probably Yulia from what Ana has said. Len hated his sons, but I never thought we’d be the lucky ones because he kept us.”

With the topic of that toxic cunt now brought up, I give him the details of where Ana wants to visit to look for Nina and he goes through the logistics as he brings up the only person who has power over him.

“Inessa has an event on that day, can she wait twenty-four hours to leave?”

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