Hands Stained Red

Four ~ Rya

I dragged the brush through my hair and glared at myself in the mirror. Dad said to look nice as my fiance would be attending dinner tonight.

The temptation to wear sweatpants and a hoodie was definitely there but I managed to fight it and opt for a black backless shape hugging dress with lace detail. It came to about half way down my thigh and back home I would pair it with my heeled boots and a denim jacket but here instead I'm wearing a pair of strappy black stilettos.

I pin my hair back with a gold clasp and swipe on dark lipstick and eyeliner sharp enough to cut a bitch before stepping back to look at myself. In the heels my 5'8 stature becomes nearly 6ft and I have to admit I look good. I'd marry me.

My phone rings and I watch as Quinn's face lights up my screen. A grin is plastered on his flour covered face and my heart flutters as I remember that day. We were baking cookies and ended up having a food fight. He just looked so cute that I ended up kissing him and then things escalated. Next thing we knew the fire alarm was going off, the cookies were burnt to a crisp and we had to rush to find our clothes before either Switch or Artie came in to see what was going on.

I cant bring myself to talk to him yet. I'm terrified that I'll hear his voice and break down. Telling him will make it real. Losing him will make me have to come to terms with the fact that my life has already been planned out and not by me.

The phone rings out and I let out a breath I didnt know I was holding. He knows something is wrong. He always knows when something is wrong.

Someone knocks on the door and then I see in the reflecting my dad's head looking around the door, "I know you hate me but I'm guessing you hate me the least out of everyone here so do you want to join me for dinner?"

He's speaking in Portuguese which makes me smile. When I was little, Portuguese was like our secret language, only the two of us spoke it fluently which meant we could have conversations which no one could understand.

"I dont hate you," I tell him truthfully, still in Portuguese, "I hate what you told me. Dont shoot the messenger and all that."

He laughs and comes into the room, "You look beautiful minha," back to English, "I hate that you have to do this."

I shrug, "Its all just part of the job. I'll get over it." I sigh and he puts a hand on my shoulder, "What's he like? Can I get a bit of warning before I meet him?"

Dad laughs and takes my arm as we walk out of the room, "His name is Kaden Flynn, he's 29, from New York but will move home with you and work in collaboration with his people in New York as you do with the Petrovs in Russia."

I cringe, "29? He's 11 years older than me."

His jaw tightens at this, "Trust me. I'm not happy about it either. It wasnt me who chose, not that there was a choice by the looks of things. His family offered him to us and the Petrovs accepted. As the only unmarried woman in the family it was put to you."

"Are you telling me that I could avoided this shit if I had refrained from beating those Petrov bitches heads in?" I say exasperated. Killing Mika and Ellie had felt good. Mika had killed Alexander and got exactly what she deserved. Ellie had betrayed Quinn and hurt my Mum and it was good to hurt her back.

Dad laughs and squeezes me to his side, "Probably not. If you hadn't killed them then I would've. No one hurts a Guerreiro and gets away with it."

We near the dining room and my heart clenches. Nerves make my body freeze up and I stop walking. I force myself to take deep breaths, to stay focused and calm. I imagine Quinn is with me, squeezing my hand and telling me that everything's okay.