Page 46 of Destined for the Devil
I gulped the pool of saliva that collected in my mouth. Was I blind? Was I stupid? Was I completely fucking insane? It had been five whole years since my sister was killed. After it happened, I had completely deteriorated as a human being.
The trail had gone cold in the months it took me to drag myself out of bed and put down the bottle. But I revived it. I pieced together everything that happened that evening—to the absolute best of my ability. And I was ninety-nine percent sure.
But not one hundred percent.
"Why would...why would my men do it?" I chuckled, trying my best to seem unbothered.
"Just one man, Roman.” Claudio stared at me, calm, collected, and chills ran down my spine from the look in his eyes. "Sometimes, what is most obvious is right in front of us. But you know, we become so used to the landscape that we don't notice when something’s off." Claudio was basically spelling it out for me, but I didn't understand. I didn't understand what he was trying to tell me.
“Who?” I breathed out, visions of bloody revenge floating in my eyes.
But Claudio shook his head. “I have no evidence, Roman; I told you that. I’ve just been connected the dot—”
"Then tell me about these fuckingdots,Claudio. I have no reason to believe you and more reason to suspect you now." I tried to flip the script, but I knew he was telling me the truth. He was too apprehensive to utter the name.
"As I said, Roman, I have absolutelynoevidence. Only speculations,” he repeated, like that was his disclaimer. “Once we eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. You know that saying, right?” He spoke in circles again. “Your sister was a lovely girl. What if she caught someone's eye? She was alwaysa target, but fuck…no one dared touch her; no one dared to come across your wrath. No one wascrazyenough to do that." I listened to him very carefully, hearing the emphasis he put on that word.
“Only someone who knew they wouldn’t fall under suspicion or someone truly fucked in the head would risk touching her. Or both. Think about who that might have been. Oris." Claudio stopped talking, and deafening silence fell between us again. We stared at each other, my legs numb from his message. "I want those contracts, Roman. Come to me when you’re ready and when you’ve connected the dots yourself."
Claudio had abandoned his drink and, without another sound, lifted off the armchair and walked out, leaving me glued to my seat.
I didn't want to connect the dots. I didn’t want the truth if it was different than what I’d been sure of. I was too petrified of what I would do with myself if I realized I was wrong...all these years.
I watched the clock hands turn as an hour slithered by, but I still sat there silently, going over every single one of his words. He had no evidence, so he didn’t want to outright accuse anyone, but he seemed certain. In my haze of shock, I couldn’t figure out who he had in mind.
Finally, I woke myself up and abandoned work and Claudio’s speculations and headed home.
My whole world took on color again; Isla was there, waiting for me. It was the most wonderful and delicious reality that I had ever lived. I was so in love with that girl.
25
Perfect Little Angel
Isla
BeingbackatRoman'sfelt right. Just like when we first met, it was easy, and I loved living here. I loved living withhim.A few times I tried to convince myself it was wrong and unorthodox. But nothing in our relationship was straightforward. I played with him a bit, not showing him the full extent of my satisfaction.
It was inching closer to dinner time, and I somehow had the day off, so I decided to surprise Roman and make a Russian dish. With him, I was happy, and the truth was that I hadn’t been happy in a very long time. I was free to be silly and knew that if I messed this up, we would both just laugh about it.
I decided to make dumplings, orpelmeni,since it seemed easy enough. So many countries had their variations of dumplings, and even if it was a failure, it would probably still taste decent. With security in tow, I headed to the grocery store to pick up all the ingredients, having perused the recipe online.
I tried my best to fold the dumplings the way the lady on the YouTube video did it, but mine still looked a little wonky. The filling—the easy part—was done, and I was working on my second batch of dough when I heard the front door unlock, all of me bursting with anticipation of seeing Roman.
With floury hands, I ran up to the door and jumped onto him, kissing his delicious lips, which were stretched out in a huge smile. Fuck, I lovedwhen he picked me up. He was so big and strong, and having his arms support me was heaven on earth.
"Hi!" I sang between greedy kisses. I couldn't get enough of him.
"Hi! What—what is happening here?" He looked over me and my white, floury hands.
"Come, I'll show you!" He carried me into the kitchen, me still kissing him in between giggles. I filled my lungs with his intoxicating smell, enjoying his hands on me.
My feet touched the kitchen floor, and he looked down at the counter and the messy kitchen, which was a stark contrast to his usually sterile culinary environment. I waited for him to say something.
"Are you making...dumplings?!" he asked, absolutely astounded.
"I think they're calledpelmeni, Roman," I said sarcastically, as if teaching him the word.
His eyes and smile wide, he exclaimed, "You're making Russian food?! What! I haven't had homemade pelmeni in decades!" The sight was hilarious. He looked like a fucking murderer but acted like a little kid on Christmas morning.
