Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
When I step out, I find Viktor and Sasha arguing about something. Or more like, she’s arguing, and he looks like he’s contemplating whether to bury her dead or alive.
“So what if she’s his mother? She has no right to hit him.”
“As I was saying, you don’t get involved in anything that’s related to the boss’s family.”
“Says who? And I didn’t know you were such a domesticated cat, Viktor. You act all tough, but it’s actually all white noise.”
“Watch it, you little disrespectful fucker—”
“Meh. Losing respect for you as we speak.”
Finally, they notice my existence, and their bickering comes to a halt.
I face Viktor, “My father is dead. Announce it, make arrangements, and do whatever it takes to get me the will from the lawyer.”
He pauses for a second before he comes to his senses. “Yes, sir.”
Sasha, however, remains frozen long after Viktor disappears around the corner. Her lips are parted, her stance is stiffened, and she looks like she’s seen her worst nightmare.
“What do you mean dead? He can’t…?”
“He can’t?” I repeat.
She opens her mouth, but it closes again, then opens, like a fish out of water.
“Dieee!” A shrill female shout fills the air as my sister attacks me with a knife.
Like they say, home sweet home.
16
SASHA
I think I don’t like this place.
Scratch that. I’m sure I don’t.
Ever since we got here, it’s been one freak show after another. And that’s saying something, considering all the disasters I left behind in Russia.
First, there’s a woman who fawned over the unfeeling monster Kirill, but called me suspicious. Then, we upgraded to a strange mother who flat out tried to kick her son out the moment he walked in, and then proceeded to slap him.
I wasn’t even through processing all those events when Kirill announced so coldly and emotionlessly that his father had died.
As in, the man I came all the way here for to uncover what happened to my family and the reason they were targeted is gone.
I had all these strategies in mind to get close to him, but none of them will work now for obvious reasons.
I’m still trying to think about this fallout when another crazy woman lunges at Kirill’s back while holding a big kitchen knife.
Usually, people freeze up in situations like these. I certainly did a long time ago when my cousins were slaughtered in front of me.
I couldn’t move and I even considered dying right there and then.
However, that’s not the case right now. I don’t know if it’s the military training, but my reflexes have become sharper, and my response time has gone from average to lightning speed.
In a fraction of a second, I grab Kirill by the shoulder and start to flip him around. I realize too late that if I shove him out of the way, I’ll be the one who’s stabbed—in my still-healing shoulder.
That doesn’t stop me, though. Just when I think I’ve successfully turned Kirill, he effortlessly pushes me away with a strength that throws me against the wall. Pain explodes in my injured shoulder, but my good one takes most of the hit.
The knife slashes the side of his arm, and blood pours out, soaking his white shirt in bright red, then drips onto the floor.
Due to the force of her lunge, the girl, who looks about my age, crashes against the wall next to me. In no time, she stands upright, a shimmering rage shining in her eyes that are a shade darker than Kirill’s. Her hair is blonde, though, and long, stopping at the hem of her silk sleeping shirt and getting tangled with the buttons.
She tightens her hold on the knife that’s dripping with blood and stares pointedly at Kirill.
He doesn’t even pay attention to his wound or show any signs of discomfort.
Sometimes, I wonder if he’s human or, in fact, a robot in the form of a person. The more I see his cold reaction to events, the surer I am that his insides are icier than those frightening eyes.
“Hi, Karina. Does this welcome mean you missed me?”
“I’m going to kill you!” she snarls from between clenched teeth, then runs in his direction again.
This time, I’m quick enough to grab her from behind. I twist her free arm, and when she starts to struggle, I use force to pin it to her back.
She waves the knife blindly in the air and nearly cuts me. Actually, she does, judging by the delayed burn in my neck.
But I manage to twist her other hand and turn it around. She loses her grip on the knife, and it clatters to the ground. The girl still kicks and thrashes against me, her full attention on Kirill.
“Fight me, you fucking coward!” she shrieks. “Fight me!”
Is this tiny girl really asking Kirill to fight her? Even those in the army never did that, knowing full well they would lose.