"Wait. mob?" Sean asked, but no one responded.
"Why would I be voted out?" Alex asked, offended, making Annya scoff.
"Please." Annya scoffed. "Get your head out of your ass, Alex. You're already shit at your job without the added grief." Annya and Alex were discussing Mafia business like it was nothing, completely forgetting about Sean in the back seat trying to keep up.
"What does that mean?" Alex started to yell, but Annya kept her eyes on the read, again, like it was nothing.
"The way you're running things could use some improvement. " she shrugged and Alex waited for examples.
"You don't listen to your people, for starters."
"What do you mean?"
"Alex, I sent you those songs because I knew they had something to do with all this and you just shut me down, saying I was hearing what I wanted to hear. Well guess what, Alex. I was right. If you had listened to me, no one if this could have happened. Not only are you prideful, but you're not the brightest. The fact that you're really not that observant, you don't know how to take criticism, or anything you don't agree with. , and your moves have essentially no complex strategy. That's the difference between you and dad and. We both know you were promoted because you're older, so don't think you're the boss until you act like one."
"You've been on your own too long." he dismissed, trying to stay calm.
"They were warnings, Alex, and you just brushed them off! Dad would have at least entertained the idea!" They were both fuming at this point, but Annya kept her face composed. The rest of the car ride was silent until they reached a hotel a few hundred miles out. They all got out and walked towards the reception's desk.
"Don't say anything, and keep your head down" Annya said to Sean as they walked in. As soon as a woman who looked to be in her young 30's she noticed Alex and started addressing him in Russian.
"Hi, what can I do for you?" she asked Alex, as she looked up from under her fake lashes. Her blond hair was pulled back, but she tugged on a few strands, trying to make it look messy.
"I would like two rooms please." Alex responded in a soft voice that always gets him what he wants. Annya looked at Sean, rolling her eyes in disgust at what she was seeing, already knowing Alex's plans for the night.
As crazy as everything is, Sean was able to see who Annya really was and if he was honest, he liked her a lot more, seeing her be herself. Obviously he's not okay with how comfortable she was with the killing, but he liked how playful and free she felt, and how hot she was when she took control. Too bad he was too scared of her to admit that last part to anyone. After a while, Alex handed Annya and Sean the keys to their room. After a quick look, Annya was obviously confused. To which Alex explained in English to try to intimidate Sean.
"We all know he can't handle himself if something happens. Someone has to stay with him. You happen to care about who lives and dies, and I don't give two fucks about what happens to the kid." Alex's cool tone creeped out Sean, but he was careful not to show any indication, while Annya huffed in annoyance.
"Well we need new clothes if we're gonna blend in." she said, looking up at her brother. He rolled his eyes as he guided them to the mall section of the hotell and within an hour, they each took about a week's worth of clothes to keep them going. They decided to take everything up to their rooms and freshen up before they regroup in the morning.
As Alex went into the room across the hall, Annya and Sean were finally alone. To avoid having to talk about anything, Annya opened the door to what looked like a small apartment with two separate bedrooms and a dining room and kitchen.
"I'm gonna take a shower. Do you feel safe here?" Annya asked quietly, not willing to look at Sean who took a breath and put both their things on the couch and went to lean on the dining table.
"Come here" his voice was warm with an arm stretched out to her.
"No, I- I think i'll stay here" she joked, unable to keep the nervousness from her voice. He stood up, walking up to her, lifting her head up by her chin.
"We need to talk about this''. His voice wasn't angry or scared. If Anna didn't know any better, she would think she heard understanding in his voice. Still unable to look at him, she backed away from his grasp and took a few breaths before finally being able to look him in the eyes.
"Do we?" she asked in a small voice, and he only gave her a supportive smile. She looked into his eyes, trying to read his emotions, but they were warm, and curious. She took a breath in preparation.
"I'm in the Russian mafia. Actually my family is the head of it. My mother and father died from an attack, leaving me and my brother in charge until our uncle wanted the title. I think he's been planning this since before I was born and my mother knew about it, and the lullaby confirms it. They say I'm the most ruthless in Russia, but the title belonged to my grandfather. I'm sorry you got dragged into this. I tried so hard to keep you out of it." She was able to keep her voice steady despite all the shame she felt as she introduced herself. Sean just nodded his head in thought. Annya was confused by his reaction, especially all he's seen today. After he's seen her kill someone and act like it was a game she won.
"Do you want me to leave you alone to think about it?" she asked quietly.
"Uh, yah. You can go shower. I'll be right here." he said absentmindedly. She timidly nodded in understanding and walked to get herself a change of clothes and closed the door behind her, undressing as she waited for the water to heat up. She was thankful that she didn't have to keep wearing her wig and contacts anymore. Everyone in Russia knows what she looks like, anyway.
She undressed and walked into the shower, making sure she can hear outside the bathroom for anything suspicious. Within five minutes, she was clean and out of the shower and dressed. As she walked out, combing her long black hair, Sean looked at her with his mouth slightly open. She looked around confused until she looked back in the mirror to see if something was wrong with her. Come to find out, she forgot Sean hasn't seen her with her natural black hair and grey eyes.
"Close your mouth" she said as she lifted his chin with the tips of her fingers to close it for him.
"S-sorry, you just look so different." she stuttered.
"That was the point." she joked with a small laugh as she threw the towel she used in the hamper by the bathroom door. "well, the shower's ready for you." she mumbled, still refusing to look him in the eye. Sean nodded, and stood up, taking a towel with him before he closed the bathroom door behind him. When she heard the shower turn on, she took her phone and a notepad and pen, and listened to the songs through her headphones, taking notes that might help her figure something out. After a few replays, she saw scarred knuckles tap the table in front of her. Looking up, she was frozen just like the first time she saw him with his shirt off, but this time he was wearing sweats rather than his normal basketball shorts
"See something you like?" he asked, referring to their previous conversations.
"Nothing to complain about, but certainly not worth bad decisions." she repeated, making him smile. She was glad to see it. At least he wasn't too traumatized. He took a seat in front of her, turning it around so would straddle it, with his arms leaning on the back of it, waiting for her to notice that he was waiting for her attention.
"It's not that I can't see you, it's just that I don't care to address the reasoning behind it." she said, without looking up from her scratchings.
"Your handwriting is atrocious" he noted staring at what she was writing, unable to read any of it.
"Because I know how nosey you are" Again, without looking up at him to keep her from seeing her smile.
"You're listening to the songs again" his voice was a lot more serious now.
"Am i?" she mumbled.
"Yah. you have the same expression you did in class" Annya finally looked up at him in confusion
"You looked like you were gonna slaughter everyone in there" he laughed
"Did i?" Annya put down her pen and headphones as she leaned in the back of her chair, crossing her arms.
"You were holding your pencil like you were ready to stab someone." Annya decided against lying to him since he already knew everything.
"That's because I was. I was sure someone had found me and I was ready to take charge."
"Kill them, you mean" It wasn't a question. She could see he was hoping she would disagree, but she couldn't. So all she could say was "let's not ask questions we don't want the answers to, okay?" he nodded solemnly and they sat in the quiet for a few minutes, each in their own thoughts. "I get it." she mused. "Every time you did it, i get why you did, and although i hate the idea, i think it was warranted."
"I had to protect us." she whispered, and he nodded. "If they knew you escaped, they would tell the rest of the clan, and then we'd have to be fighting a whole army,"
"I'm worried about you," Sean quietly admitted. Annya looked up at him to see that he was already staring at her, concern evident in his eyes.
"I think it's time we go to sleep. We have to be up by six tomorrow." Sean was starting to notice every time Annya would change the topic during their conversations, her eyes would soften a little beforehand. She was trying to hide her emotions and he couldn't help but feel like she cared about him too.
As they both got up to leave their rooms, Sean acted without giving himself time to think. He grabbed her arm, twisting her to him and crashed his mouth to hers. She was hesitant for the first second, before deepening the kiss, with as much urgency as he displayed, but broke it off too soon. They looked in each other's eyes before Annya backed out to her room without another word.
The next morning, Sean woke up, unable to stop thinking about the night before. He expected to see an empty Hotel room as he went to brush his teeth, but Annya was already flying around the room, packing things she will need for the day. Hearing him walk out, she looked up at him, letting out a small breath she didn't know he noticed. The same way he noticed her eyes softening just a bit before she looked back to rummaging looking for her weapons.
"About time. I thought you would have already been up by now" she said with a small smile. Sean wasn't able to respond, taking in the woman in front of him. Her hair was long and styled, her makeup was done and her clothes were form fitting but stretchy, probably so it wouldn't slow her down if she needed to fight.
"And I thought it would have taken you a couple hours to wake up yourself." he responded just as sarcastically once he was able to speak again. His voice was raspy from sleep, but he was satisfied with how it came out by the way her face reddened and she bit her lips before suddenly turning away.
"Alright, well we have twenty minutes to move out. Are you gonna be done in time?" she asked, evaluating his messy hair and dark eyes. He noticed how her eyes slowed down when they reached his chest and arms before he spoke up again.
"With time to spare," he joked. As he went to the bathroom, he quickly kissed her cheek and ran before she would hit him. Five minutes later, he was finally dressed and his hair was styled like it always is. As he looked up at Annya, she was looking furiously at him.
"What's wrong?" he knew exactly what was wrong, but still asked if it was something else that had bothered her.
"What happened last night will never happen again. There was nothing but adrenalin behind it and we will never even speak about it, otherwise you'll be going home without a tongue. Got it?" she seethed.
"Come on, Annya, you can't say there was nothing behind it for you." She could see his eyes were pleading and tried to make her face as stern as she could, while her heart broke as she said her next words.
"There was nothing behind it for me."
"Annya" his voice was stern, and she hated how easily he was starting to be able to read her.
"It's dangerous. What don't you understand about that? Children could easily take you down, and considering how many people are after me, they could take you to get to me, making it dangerous for the both of us. I can't be out there while worrying about how badly you're holding out in a fight."
"Annya, i could handle-" Sean started, but Annya finished the conversation.
"We will have a flight ready for you by the end of the day" and with that, she left the room to go to the lobby for breakfast.
As they reached the dining hall, Alex was already seated and ready for them when they arrived. "Anya", he greeted warmly, taking her in for a tight hug. Sean noticed his eyes softened up just like hers do, when she got emotional. And then it hit Sean. Annya wasn't worried about self preservation. She was worried about her brother. He remembered the conversation they had last night. Both their parents were dead and they were all they had left. He thought back to how she was in America compared to how she is now, not knowing if she was the same person because he knew her better now, or because she let her guard down around Alex.
"Sean" Alex addressed coldly with a curt nod, which Sean responded with.
"I listened to the songs last night" Annya started quietly. Sean internally smiled at how he was able to tell on the first try the night before. She slid her scribbled paper to her brother which he took. Sean looked at the siblings, surprised at how her brother was able to read her writing so easily before he flipped it over, placing it on the table.
"Yah" he sighed. "As did i. You were right. It was a threat and I think mom and dad knew about it. Mom didn't sing the lullaby to me, which means uncle didn't start planning until before you were born." he paused in thought. "So what now?" he asked. Sean noticed that although Alex was the face of the operation, he would go to Annya for plans and maybe guidance for other things. Annya looked at Sean, with pain deep in her eyes. He was able to see it, but Alex didn't notice.
"We'll take Sean back to the states and start gathering members to see what they know, starting with people on the same ranking as Bruno, then work our way up." Sean knew she was downplaying her tactic for his sake. She was going to torture them for information. Alex looked Sean up and down, coming to his own conclusion. You're a fighter. He stated.
"Yes, sir. i grew up street fighting then went on to boxing" he said, keeping eye contact.
"How good are you?" Sean can see her eyes on him, anxious about how this conversation would end.
"Not as good as your sister, but I can fight." she said in a strong, even tone.
"That doesn't tell me anything" Alex said after a few seconds waiting for Sean to continue.
"He takes less than a minute against someone that fights like......Alester." she said after a second of thought, and although Alex's expression didn't change, he was easier to read than Annya, and sean tried not to smirk at the don's surprise. "He's extremely smart and puts puzzles together fairly well. Not as well as you, but he can be useful" Annya interjected and Alex raised his brows, showing more of his surprise, but she wasn't finished. "We have been training together, and i've shown him how to fight like we do. He's able to last about five minutes with me on average" Annya's voice was stern and matter of fact. Sean could tell Alex didn't like her answer, but based on how Annya was talking about him the day before, he was sure it was because Alex was hoping for a different answer, as he only nodded slowly.
After they all got up to get their breakfast, and start eating, Annya and Alex Talked about tactics and how things have changed since she was gone. Annya was making a mental list of people they would start talking to, with the easiest ones first, leaving the ones that would be harder to crack last to avoid suspicion. Sean noticed that the conversation this time was completely in English rather than their more comfortable Russian, meaning that they planned on keeping him in the loop, and although she had her mask on, Sean knew she was furious about it.
Once they were done, they walked into an empty ballroom as Alex closed the door, making Sean anxious.
"Fight her" Alex instructed, his tone didn't show any emotion.
"What?" Sean asked, but before he could respond, Annya threw a punch at him that he ducked and threw a swing right back that she slid out of the way from, barely missing contact, instantly snapping into training mode. He could see a small smile on her face and although, he wasn't sure if it was praise, or if she was just having fun, he liked that it was there. After a while of neither landing any hits, Alex slowly approached them shaking his head at Sean.
"No. You're holding back"
"What?" Annya asked, surprised
"I don't want to hurt her." Annya looked insulted and Alex raised his brows in surprise.
"WHAT?" she asked, her eyes filled with white rage."Because i'm a woman?"
"Because you don't intend to actually hurt me." Sean corrected, and Alex tried not to laugh
"What makes you so sure?" She asked, getting angrier by the second. Her brother stepped in between them to take over for Annya, who backed off, still furious.
"Here's the deal, Sean. I don't know you, I don't trust you, I don't like you. But Annya says you're useful and I trust her judgement. I'd appreciate it if you don't waste any more of our very precious time." to which Sean nodded, getting into his fighting stance.
Just like Annya, Alex threw the first swing and just like before, Sean dodged, grabbing Alex's extended arm, and twisting it behind his back, and kicking him in his tailbone, watching him stumble forward. He knew Alex was as dangerous as Annya, but he had to prove he could keep her safe. When Alex turned around, there was a smile in approval across his face.
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