His limp body disappears into the darkness, falling to be torn to pieces by the rocks and the ocean.
“Come back over here,” Tati whispers, “the guards could be by any minute.” Once we’re past the library, I take her hand, my finger stroking her rabbiting pulse in her wrist.
“We’re going to meet up with Konstantin and Mariya in front of the fireplace downstairs by the entryway,” I said quietly. “We’re going to make sure we’re visible for the next hour. Do you both understand?”
Aleks shrugs, he’s much more at ease than I expected him to be. Tati’s eyes are huge, but she nods firmly.
When we step into the warmth of the student housing building, Konstantin and Mariya are lounging in front of the fire, sipping wine, and singing some Russian song that I’m fairly certain - knowing Kon - is filthy.
“There you are!” Mariya calls, “Come over and have some wine before this disreputable drunk finishes all three bottles.”
We get comfortable, and Tatiana translates the lyrics to the song for me. Which are impressively filthy, just as I expected. The wind outside rises to a howl.
Camilla, who’s just joined us, cocks her head, listening as it rips around the building. “That sounds like one hell of a storm brewing,” she says.
“Winter storms on the island are vicious,” I shrug, “the waves cover everything in a coat of ice.”
She shivers, rubbing her arms. “One of you big, strong men go throw a couple of those logs on the fire, s'il vous plaît.”
We sit around the fire till midnight, drinking and swapping stories with the others, and then I pull Tatiana to her feet. “Goodnight all,” I say, sweeping her up in my arms. She rolls her eyes elaborately, waving goodnight to the rest over my shoulder.
Safely inside my room, she turns on me, eyes blazing. “You killed him! I thought we were just stealing his phone,” she hissed.
“Mateo was never going to stop,” I said. “It doesn’t matter whether Aleks’ father believed him or not, there would always be something. He had to die. Are you forgetting his threats to you tonight?”
She shook her head.
“Are you afraid of me?” I ask slowly.
“How could I be? You did what you did to protect Aleks and me,” she said. “How can… that was seconds, a blink of my eyes. How do you learn…?”
“Are you forgetting who I come from?” I said, walking toward her, backing her into the bed. She gives a little yelp when her knees hit the mattress and she sits down abruptly. “The Toscanos are assassins. We can pretend we own real estate, clubs, restaurants. But we’re killers. No amount of legitimate business will ever wipe our hands clean.”
“You killed for me,” she said sadly.
Kneeling in front of her, I stroke her legs. “That’s not the first life I’ve taken. It won’t be the last.”
Resting her hands on my cheeks, Tatiana kisses me. “I hope that’s the last one you ever have to take to protect me.”
Pulling off my sweater, I lean over her, pressing her back against the bed as I unbutton her shirt.
I don’t know why I woke up, only that a quick glance at my watch tells me it’s 3:48 a.m. and the space next to me is empty.
“Tati, are you okay?” I rub my face, rising and heading to the bathroom. She’s not there. Ripping open the door, I search the main room. “Baby?”
Tatiana is gone.
Chapter Thirty-One
In which Dean Christie really has had enough.
The Interrupters - She's Kerosene
Tatiana…
Waking with a jolt, I look at my phone, already knowing the time will be 3:36 a.m.
Lucca’s lying next to me, his blankets kicked off, as usual. His body gleams in the moonlight, outlining his amazing musculature and those wicked tattoos. How does he sleep so soundly after having killed a man tonight?
His casual lethality was shocking at first, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Lucca is the most lethal man on campus, and there’s been a barely controlled savagery roiling under his harsh expression since the day I met him. He’s used that strength to protect me, time and time again. He asked if I was afraid of him tonight. How could I possibly be, after everything he’s done for me?
Slipping out of bed, I stretched, smiling at the ache between my thighs. Thinking about the day ahead, I realize that my meager stash of clothes here at Lucca’s are all filthy. Pulling on my jeans and one of his sweaters, I quietly leave his suite. I’ll just head over to my place and grab some clean clothes; I’ll be back before he wakes up.
I’m just descending the stairs to the main entrance when Camilla races across the floor. “Oh, dieu merci, thank god, there you are! There’s something wrong with Mariya, I think she is very ill, help me!”
“Where is she?” I gasped, following her outside.
“At the doctor’s, hurry!” Her grip on my hand is surprisingly strong.
A man’s arm wraps around my waist from behind and his hand over my mouth. Instinctively, I throw my head back, trying to break his nose. It might have worked on that interrogator, but this guy is prepared, moving his head out of the way. I see the cloth, sickly-smelling, slam down over my mouth. I fight against it, bucking and kicking violently, but the lethargy spreads through me, feeling too heavy to fight. Before my eyes droop shut, I realize Camilla’s the one holding it.
Lucca…
“Kon, wake up! Tatiana’s gone.”
He bolts upright in bed, instantly awake. “What do you mean? She’s been with you.” He’s already yanking on his clothes and I feel a surge of gratitude. “How long has she been missing?”
“I woke up three minutes ago, she wasn’t here,” I said. “I’m going to check her room, wake up Aleks and Mariya, and start looking outside.”
Racing out the door, I take the stairs down two at a time, calling her number. When it picks up, my heart leaps, but it’s Konstantin’s voice. “Her phone is still here in your room.”
“Fuck!” I shove my phone in my pocket and race up the stairs to the women’s side of the building. Athena answers as I’m pounding on the door.
“What the hell?” she snaps, “Do you know what time it is?”
I push past her, “Is Tatiana here?”
“No…” she watches me search Tatiana’s bedroom. “She hasn’t been here since you brought her back from the clinic.”
“She was in bed with me, I just woke up and she’s gone,” I said.
“I’ll help you look,” she said, pulling on her trainers. “What direction?”
“I’m going to head for the front gate,” I said, running my hands through my hair and heading for the door. “Will you check the medical clinic?”
“On it,” Athena says, racing down the stairs behind me.
There are lights blazing in the main building as I run past it, and one of the guards steps out to block me as I near the gate. “Dean Christie would like to speak with you.”
“Not now,” I said, “I’m looking-”
“She knows that Miss Aslanova is missing,” he interrupts me. “Come with me.”
Grinding my teeth, I follow him.
Dean Christie is unapologetically wearing cow-print pajamas with a matching robe, sitting behind her massive desk. “Mr. Toscano, do come in. We’re just rounding up Mr. Turgenev and Mr. Rostov now. I have sent Miss Dukakis back to her room.”