Page 23 of Scarred (Russian Sinners 2)

“It was the only thing that worked for me,” she replied softly, gazing out the car window. “I hated math and science. I love reading but that’s about it. When I paint though, it is as if the whole world disappears. I disappear, and I like it.”

As soon as the last words left her lips, she shifted uncomfortably, realizing she unintentionally just revealed something about herself.

I realized she poured her feelings into her paintings. It made sense now that she let that little piece of her slip through her lips. Her paintings portrayed loneliness but also hope for warmth and inclusion. Each one of her paintings struck a note within me, the longings I usually tamped down with my reason. Those dreams were unobtainable by the likes of us. Her longing resonated with me, reflecting my own. And now that I knew Olivia’s emotions were painted in her works, I wanted to buy any and all paintings or drawings she had ever put on the market. I would certainly attempt to procure as many as I could.

She was beautiful and I didn’t think she realized how much. When Sergei sent the footage from the club, my brother kept staring at Anastasia. But my eyes kept wandering back to Olivia. Now, I knew why.

She danced smoothly next to her friend, her appearance gentle and soft. In person, it was even more evident. It was her calmness and softness that captured me immediately. But there was fire within her too.

“When we get to St. Petersburg, I’ll introduce you to Tasha and the staff,” I told her, moving the subject away from her. “You’ll be safe with them. I will have to leave shortly afterwards to catch a plane back to the States.”

There was surprise in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. She just nodded, and said, “Sounds good.”

Chapter Seven

Olivia

Somewhere between Moscow and St. Petersburg, I fell asleep in the car, lulled by the steady speed on the highway. Nikolai’s hand gently nudged me awake, and when I opened my eyes, the sun was already high in the sky.

As soon as we exited the car, a little girl with light blonde hair ran out of the house squealing. It made me wonder how she even spotted us so quickly. She must have been fond of him because she ran towards us before we even entered the house and threw herself into his arms.

Her dark eyes, so unlike her uncles, turned to gaze at me curiously.

“Hello.” I felt a bit like an intruder on their moment of reunion. It was quite clear they loved each other very much. “I’m Olivia. And you must be Tasha, right?”

As soon as I spoke the last word, it dawned on me that the little girl might not speak English. Well, that might be a problem since I didn’t speak a lick of Russian.

I met Nikolai’s eyes, and I swore a shiver ran down my spine noting his gaze on me.

“I didn’t even think to ask,” I started. “Does Tasha speak English? Cause I don’t speak Russian. I could learn but it might be a lengthy process, and in the meantime not sure how we’ll communicate.”

The laughter bubbled out of the little girl's throat. “I can understand.”

“Thank God,” I muttered as soon as I heard her broken English. Then I smiled at her. “I’m not best with foreign languages. My best friend Anastasia is excellent with learning a language. I barely get away with English.”

We both chuckled at that. “I’ll teach you Russian, and you teach me better English.”

“I bet you’ll learn English better than I will Russian, but you got yourself a deal.” I liked the little girl already.

She reached out her little hand and I took it in mine. “Nice to meet you, Tasha,” I spoke softly. “I’m Olivia.”

“What happened to your face?” she asked.

I forgot about my bruise. My hand reached to my cheek, brushing against it.

“I wasn’t paying attention and ran into a door,” I told her. “Does it look really bad?”

“No,” she replied. “It’s not permanent like Uncle Nikolai’s scar. That would be bad.”

My eyes darted to her uncle’s scar. I didn’t think it was that bad; it actually made him even more attractive to me. It gave him the allure of danger and made him extra mysterious. But also it made me think he was fiercely protective. I had no basis for thinking it but deep down I truly believed it.

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” I commented softly, returning my eyes to Tasha. She watched me with a serious look in her eyes, as if she was trying to understand something. She was a peculiar little girl.

“Olivia will be staying here for a while,” Nikolai interrupted the discussion. “Tasha, you will help her around here, won’t you?”

The girl’s eyes literally lit up and she grabbed my hand, dragging both Nikolai and me into the house. “Yes, I can help. Finally another girl.”

I had to chuckle again. She acted like she just found out her best girlfriend would be staying with her indefinitely. She beamed as she dragged us both through the house, announcing left and right I would be staying with her forever.

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