Crave (Beneath The Secrets #3)

4. Alexei

CHAPTER 4

ALEXEI

“Mikhail, your plane needs internet.” Waving my useless cell above my head doesn’t make a signal magically appear.

He and Nikolai are like two giant boulders that have been deep in conversation for most of the flight home. I’ve heard it all, but don’t care.

None of it really pertains to me. Or Lara.

Those are my only concerns. Well, and my pet flamingo, Sheila. But the neighbor is taking care of her while I’m gone.

I hope she’s eaten her fish. It’s good for her, keeps her strong and pink.

“Alexei, we’re touching down soon. You can go back to searching porn,” Nikolai grumbles as he steps past me, heading towards the rear of the jet.

“I’m not!” I protest. I’m checking my house camera to make sure Sheila is safe.

Mila stands up to greet him, and he gives her a kiss before they sit.

I noticed they did the same when they were rescued from Ivan.

As soon as the plane touches down, I watch the little waves on my phone screen until they show a connection.

Me

We’re back

Lara

I’m glad. Everyone okay?

Me

I guess. Niki and Miki just talked. Don’t tell Miki I called him that.

Lara

I never do.

My black BMW is still sitting where I parked it in Mikhail’s casino garage. I’m itching to get away from everyone else and feel the wind on my face again.

When Lara gets done dropping off Elena, I’ll need to see her.

She gets stressed when things change. Having Elena is one, and sending her home is another.

Yes. I’ll check on her next.

Fuck, this feels good to ride. My toes slide to the tips of the pegs and I wedge the gas can between my knees so I can stand and stretch, throwing my arms out as I weave between the traffic with no hands.

Seeing their faces is the best part.

It’s easy to tell their emotions when they’re mouths are hanging open and their eyebrows are raised to their hair.

Except that one. Why is that girl smiling and curling her finger at me like that?

When I wave, it throws me off balance enough that the tires wobble beneath me and I swerve in front of a big truck.

He slams on his brakes, but I move out of his path.

The sound of steel crunching follows me.

Too bad I’m already gone.

I don’t see anyone else making strange expressions.

Hitting the garage opener, I motor in and park my bike just as my phone pings.

Accident on the Vegas strip.

Hmm. Glad I missed that, I was just there.

Peeling my helmet off, I toss it on the table by the door and work my way through the house until I hit the back veranda.

Sheila stands there, gorgeous against the hot afternoon sun.

The pink shade has deepened, so at least I know she’s eating.

“Hello, beautiful.” I saunter closer, but she startles and moves away.

“Oh, being shy today? Fine, I’ll stare from over here.” Digging into my stash, I pull out a root beer flavored sucker and peel the wrapper.

Cherry is my second favorite. It reminds me of Lara’s lips when she purses them at me.

Well, she usually does that right before she snaps at me for something. But I like them anyway.

“I’m going to fill up your pool. Are you going to be a good girl and stay here? No more escaping. I’ll have to chase you down again.” Unwinding the hose, the water scorches me when it comes out.

It’s so hot here, all of the time. Do I like it more than Russia?

Yes. Less clothes, more motorcycle time.

There are many months of ice and slick roads in Russia. Not so much here.

And, my Sheila is here.

“There. I need to make sure Lara is okay now. Do you need more shrimpies?” The small feeding aquarium is set up in the shade, and is full of the tiny creatures.

I pull out a hefty scoop and dump it into her pool.

“Pretty bird, I have to leave. I’ll be late, don’t stay up.” I give her a wave like the one I gave to the woman in the car before going inside.

It makes my stomach hurt to go too long without seeing Lara. Like when someone eats the last piece of pizza.

I wish I could have more.

Just because we were thrown together as kids, doesn’t mean I’d have to enjoy my time with her like I do.

She’s my person. Easy to be around. She doesn’t judge me.

I can be myself.

The others, they expect me to act like them. That’s hard.

When I have a thought, I want to say it.

I shouldn’t have to hold it back, but they expect me to. Or look at me strangely when I tell them something that is so obvious to me.

I’m not weird, they are. But I have to hide what’s in me.

Not with Lara.

She opens the door before I can knock, then simply lets it hang as she continues into the kitchen.

“So fill me in on the trip. Mikhail didn’t tell me much.” She pours herself a glass of water, then hands me a soda from the stash she keeps for me in the fridge.

I shrug, and toss myself onto the couch. “She stabbed him again. I think they’re in love. It’s what Nikolai said.” I can feel my face twist. “Is that what people in love do?”

“No, Alexei. That isn’t normal. Remember when Nikolai was married? They didn’t stab each other. That’s what it’s supposed to be like.” Lara pushes her long blond braid over her shoulder and sits next to me, tucking her toes under my thigh.

I like it when she does that. It usually means she’s not mad at me.

She flicks her hand. “Okay, so they’re fucked up together. What else happened?”

“They got taken by Ivan. He fucked them up. I bet it takes Nikolai weeks to heal from being turned into a pot cushion.” When I shift the candy to the other side of my mouth, it makes my cheek pucker.

She has an eyebrow raised and her lips are crooked. “Pin.”

“Pin what? You want me to write it down for you?”

Her blue eyes close and she shakes her head. “No, it’s ‘pincushion’. Like for sewing. Never mind.

What did Ivan want? He never does anything without a reason.”

My feet prop up onto the coffee table, then I push the buttons on the remote to turn on the TV. “I dunno. He was asking about someone named Zoya. I don’t know her so I stopped listening.”

Cartoons. Horse racing. Shampoo commercial.

Nothing’s on.

“Can we watch Yellowstone?” We started it before I left.

I want to see what happens next. Those cowboys are just as ruthless as we are.

Bigger hats, though.

Lara lets out a long sigh. “Sure.” She fidgets with her phone while I bring up the show.

I can feel her big blue eyes on me.

“What?” I click the candy over to the other side of my mouth.

“So, there’s this guy…” She trails off.

Ugh. I hate it when she does this. “Okay? Is he trouble? I can take care of him.” I have before, I can do it again.

Her eyebrows drop.

I must have said something wrong.

“No, he isn’t trouble, Alexei. I am supposed to meet him for dinner tomorrow.” Her thumbs type into the screen. “So, if everything goes well…” Her voice fades.

I hate it when she does that.

“And? What? Use your words. I suck at reading your thoughts,” I grumble, turning back to the television.

“If all goes well, we might come back here.” Her lower lip curls between her teeth.

I shrug. “He can watch Yellowstone with us.” The sucker crumbles when I bite it as I turn to her. Using the wet stick, I point to emphasize myself. “We are not rewatching episodes to get caught up though.”

There’s still too many left to backtrack.

Her toes disappear from under my thigh and she crosses her legs.

Is she mad? I think she is.

Pausing the show, I look at her. “What do you want me to do?”

She narrows her eyes and stares at me for a long time. “You might have to try spending an evening in your own house.”

“Oh. Is that all? Why didn’t you just say that?” My palm lands on her knee. “You don’t have to be subtle. I don’t understand that well.”

Her breath hitches as she looks at the back of my hand. “Okay.”

“See? Easy.” Threading my fingers behind my head, I kick back into the heavy cushions to continue watching the show.