Talk nonsense, but talk your own nonsense, and I'll kiss you for it. To go wrong in your own way is better than to go right in someone else's.
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
. . .
Hedeon Kozlov
"You all will be on your best behavior," I ordered, sitting on the edge of my desk. My eyes were on the water outside. The storm was raging, and while I usually didn't mind the storm, I wondered who was driving Dahlia and Lucian. Better not be a dumb bastard. "She is..." I looked at them. There were about fifteen men in the room, the only ones who'd need to interact with her or be nearby. "Ours," I finished. "Her safety is a priority. Above all else. Even...us." I was surprised that I said that.
They agreed, and before long my office was void of any noise except the wall clock ticking. It had been ten minutes since Lucain called, and each one of them felt like an hour. He hadn't explained what happened but I had sent a few men to make sure their journey here would be as smooth as possible.
Whoever was after Dahlia wasn't scared of us. That was a rare thing. I admired people who isn't tremble before me. But he was proving to be a someone who couldn't be allowed to exist for long. I had things in the work to lure him out.
But if he was who I thought he was, this was about to become messeier than desired.
I could feel the ship's motion. It was barely there, as our ship was as stable as it could be. But I could always feel it. I preferred it to the stillness of the ground. I had always been a fan of chaos. Stability meant boring things.
Andros strolled inside and, for a change, he looked troubled. "She is not going to be happy."
"Yes, but she is going to be alive," I replied in russian. Andros didn't like speaking Russian, it reminded him of people he'd rather forget. I didn't put that much meaning in a language. I spoke Russian with him just so I wouldn't forget. We had many Russian associates. "That's better, no?"
"No," he mocked. "She is going to hate me." He sat down on the couch, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Wake me when she is here."
And then he was asleep.
I stared. I could never get used to how quickly he could fall asleep. I had been jealous of that, till his sleepwalking started. He didn't trust himself to sleep around anyone but me and the Monet twins.
We could fight him off.
I spent the next few minutes watching the surveillance cameras and was relieved as I saw Lucian's car driving into the ship. Our ship was a former naval ship, completely transformed except for some rooms. We had spent millions on it and made billions off it.
Right now, there were about a hundred and fifty people aboard. Half of them were here for protection, and the rest worked for us and left from time to time. I was in charge of assigning missions or jobs, Lucain was in charge to make sure people did their job, Andros worked on the ship, adding new machinery and weapons to our arsenal and Alexandre indulged in the...darker part of our business. We all indulged in it, but Alexandre was most involved.
Andros liked it a bit too much, but they fueled his sleep walking so he occupied his mind with the ship.
The door of my office opened and Alexandre walked inside. He took one look at Andros. "How can he sleep?"
"He has a gift." I turned off the monitor which had been showing Lucain and Dahlia arguing about something and then her grudgingly following him with her arms tucked against her chest and eyes glaring everywhere.
"Who is going to explain everything to her?" He asked me.
"You."
"Wrong answer."
"Come on, Alexandre."
He gave me a blank look. I didn't know how he could even do that. Alexandre was one of the few people I knew who could make every emotion escape their face. He looked blank, all the time. You'd never expect any action or word from him. It used to drive me up the wall when I was younger. Now? I was used to it. Because I had mastered it as well.
"Would you rather have Lucain or Andros explain everything to her?" I asked him.
"That would be a disaster."
"Da."
"Let's just keep her here for the night," he said. "Let her sleep. We will tell her what she needs to know in the morning. Together. We owe her that much, do we not?"
"If she stays till the morning and yes, we do."
"There is a lunatic on the loose, ready to strike her down with an axe." A flash of anger. Interesting. "She might be stubborn, but she's not stupid."
She wasn't stupid, but she did allow emotions to regulate her actions. I used to think that was a weakness, but who was I to condemn her when her very being was my Achilles' heel?
. . .
Dahlia
"I want my cats," I said. "I want my cats," I repeated to Lucain as he fussed over the room, looking into the closet and behind the curtains. "I will start screaming."
He closed the door of the bathroom he had been checking. "Will you?"
"Yes. Get Bobby or Vaness. They get worried." I sat down on the bed and then laid down because it was so comfortable. I almost melted into it. The panic of the drive quitened. "They..." I yawned into my hand, eyes closing. "They need their treats." A blanket slid over me. "And..." I yawned again. "Did you put crack in this bed?"
Lips pressed to my forehead. "I'll bring your cats, Dahlia. Hedeon's office is just across the hall. It's the only room with double doors. If you need anything, go there. Okay?"
"Mhm. Get...get my laptop too?"
"I will. Anything else?"
"My blanket. It is white had ducks made on it."
"Anything else?"
"No," I whispered.
"Okay. I'll be back in a bit, hm? Sleep till then."
"I have questions," I reminded him sleepily.
"I know, Dahlia. I'll answer as many as I can."
And then he left and my body succumbed to sleep.
. . .
I woke up to someone gently knocking on my door.
I frowned, turning my head and putting a pillow over it.
Another know after a few moments. Why could they just fucking leave?
I heard the door open. "Dahlia."
I wasn't awake enough to decipher which one of the Kozlov twins it was, but it was one of them.
"I'm sleeping."
"Darling...it's afternoon."
"Sleeping," I insisted. I didn't want to wake up, and more importantly, I didn't want my mind to wake up and start screwing with me. I was happy in bed. Well, I was as close to happiness as I could get.
"Okay. Can I lay with you?"
"Hm."
No, that certainly did not heat me up.
I heard him shuffle around as I tried to hold onto my sleepiness. I felt the blanket move and then I was being pulled over a chest.
"Oh." I said into his chest. "Didn't know this was the plan."
He chuckled. "You looked too cute." Andros. "Sleep, baby."
"I'm not your baby," I mumbled into his chest.
"No?"
"No."
"Then, what are you to me?"
"Dahlia."
"Dahlia?"
"Yes." I sighed. "Just Dahlia."
That's all I could afford to be to him - to them. Just Dahlia.
. . .
I curled into a ball beside Vaness, petting her little head as Bobby sniffled around. Vaness and I watched the water through the window.
I hadn't left my room for a while. Andros wasn't there when I woke. But my kittens were.
I didn't want to leave the room. I didn't want to come to terms with the fact that a man might be out there, trying to cut my head off with a fucking axe. An axe.
I didn't want to think about the fact that this was a very...big ship and I could hear people walking in the hallway from time to time. Did they own this? How the hell?
This seemed shady.
There was a knock on the door. The three of us froze and then looked at each other.
I dug my face into a pillow. "Come in."
Hedeon, because he wore a different suit that what Andros had been wearing, stepped inside. "Hello, Dahlia." There was a serving tray loaded with food in his hands. "I cooked for you."
I sat up. "You did?"
He nodded and stepped closer, setting it down. Bobby and Vaness watched him curiously.
"Hello." He slowly extended his hand towards Vaness. She watched his tatted hands, slowly moving her head back. Then, seeming to change her mind, snuggled her head against his hand, closing her eyes.
I watched. She was high on something.
Bobby zoomed around the room, seeming to want to play with Vaness. Vaness joined him and then they were fighting.
"Eat." Hedeon sat down in front of me. "And then, we will talk."
"We can talk while I eat."
"Bad manners, Dahlia."
"And who's telling my mom?"
His lips twitched. "What do you want to know?"
"How about you tell me everything?" I said. "I'm not good with questioning."
"I'll tell you what's relevant for you," he said. "Before all, you need to know, you're life is in danger."
"Okay."
He paused momentarily. "Is that all the reaction you have to that?"
"I'll cry tonight because of it, don't worry," I said. "Why are you in town? Who did you come here for?"
"I can't tell you that."
"I thought you were going to tell me what's 'relevant for me'?" Yes, I made air quotes.
He watched me. "I'll tell you. But you have to promise me to not do something reckless like leaving without hearing me out. And, I'd like to tell you with others around. Is that okay, Dahlia?"
I nodded. "Yep."
He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Can I kiss you?"
"I just woke up."
"Irrelevant."
"...okay."
He pressed his lips to mine in a gentle kiss. It made me feel all warm but not in a dirty way. Bobby and Vaness stopped their fighting and watched. "Eat. Then we'll go to my office, da?"
"Da."
. . .
Hedeon held my hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and I couldn't find it in me to pull away. We walked to his office.
Hedeon paused, his hand tensing around mine. "Dahlia."
"Hm?"
"Can I kiss you again?"
"You..." I looked up at him. "You don't have to ask."
The tiny smile on his lips did big things to my heart. His head dipped and pressed that smile against my lips. He kissed me gently as if savoring it. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me deeper against him and pulling my feet off the ground.
"Let's go."
I was still a bit hazy when he pulled me into the office. The Monet twins were settled on a couch, and Andros was sitting on the edge of a desk. The office was small, with no windows and elegant furniture. The walls were almost completely covered with books and boxes.
Hedeon directed me to a chair near Monets and sat down at his desk. I could see all of them. The desk was on the right, and the Monets were on the left.
I heard a soft meow. I looked down at Vaness and pulled her on my lap, letting her curl against my stomach.
"So," I said. "Tell me."
"Can I have you on my lap?"
I froze at Andros' question. He walked towards me. "Hm?"
"Um...yeah. okay."
I stood up with Vaness in my arms. Andros sat down and pulled me down, cuddling me against his chest as I cuddled Vaness against mine.
Now, I didn't want to talk. I just wanted to melt against him and have him talk to me in that Russian accent.
"It's think Dahlia would prefer my lap, I am the one who got he put before the lunatic could hurt her."
"I think Dahlia would prefer you to shut the fuck up." Andros' arm wrapped around me.
Lucain glared daggers at Andros while Andros rubbed Vaness' stomach. I almost smiled at how adorable Lucain looked.
"Thank you for getting me out," I told Lucain.
He nodded. "You don't need to thank me, Dahlia."
I felt like I did.
"Now," Hedeon said, tapping his pen on the table. "Let's get this conversation over with. We were summoned here for a job, yes. The job was to provide protection to your family."
I paused. "My family?"
Hedeon nodded. "Yes. Someone close to you had a good reason for thinking you and your family is in danger. Because of the axe lunatic, he is proven right. You're safe here, with us, and are our priority. Your family is safe wherever they are with our bodyguards. No one in your family, except for you, knows that we are keeping you safe."
"Who is the axe lunatic?"
"Just a man," Andros said, tapping Vaness' nose. "A man sent by another organization. That organization is notorious for killing."
"And who appointed you guys?"
"Noah," Lucian said. "Your Uncle. He was a wise man."
I stared at him. "How the fuck do you know about him?"
He shrugged. "He knew our father. They were friends, back in the day. They worked together for an organization, but Noah was thrown out after he lost his hearing and voice in an...accident."
I was at a loss for words. "Uncle...Uncle just managed a bookstore-"
"No, Dahlia," Hedeon said. "Your uncle used to be in the very organization that intends to slaughter your family."
. . .
I'm so excited about how this book is going to proceed. I intend to finish this before October or at least halfway through it.
So, thots?
Btw guess whose photo I used for Hedeon? He is so hot hehehe (and a gazillion years older but who cares)