Page 19 of Depraved Royals
My father narrows his eyes but says nothing. The light of the fire bathes them both in a demonic reddish glow, and for a moment Kal looks like Lucifer, beseeching God for mercy.
Kal shows Papa his hands. “I come to you with nothing. No one else is here. I hoped to see you at the exhibition and was here early, that’s all.”
My father nods at Brutus, and he lowers his gun to his side but doesn’t holster it.
“Fine,” Papa says. “Go.” He turns away, reaching for my hand.
“You don’t understand, Fyodor,” Kal says. “I know you always thought it’d be me who would start a fight. But my family will remain dangerous. Idina will never stop trying to get to you. Losing me won’t deter her for long.”
Kal moves quickly and grabs my outstretched hand before Papa does. He pulls me to my feet, and I yank my hand away, glad to retreat to my mother’s arms.
“I want to work for you,” Kal says. “I want to earn my place in this family. We were all Pushkins once.”
“Youweren’t,” Mel says. “You weren’t born of this family. You’re not a Pushkin by blood.”
Just as well, after what we did in London…
“Exactly correct, Melania,” Kal continues. “None of you actually know me. We have no personal quarrels. So why should I be punished for the sins of the Antonovs whenIcommitted no crime against you?”
Mama and Mel both look at Papa. He’s glaring at Kal, his nostrils flaring with rage at his impudence.
“Get away from us,” Papa says. “We want nothing to do with you, and you can be a lone wolf or die in the gutter for all I care.”
My mother is speaking.
“Fyodor,” she says, releasing me from her embrace and taking a step towards my father, “he saved Dani’s life. He came to us with empty hands, no tricky deals, nothing. We have a code of honor, do we not?”
My father closes his eyes and exhales long and slow. “Marta. This isMikhail Antonov. What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You owe him a blood debt. Your youngest child survived because this man risked his own life saving hers.” Mama touches my father’s arm. “Fyodor. Let’s all go home and look after Dani. We should take Kal with us, and you need to hold your judgment.” Mama nods at Kal. “The boy makes a good point about the danger his family represents. When they realize he’s with us, they may be minded to retaliate, and we need him to keep them at bay.”
Mama knows that my father is a stickler for doing the ‘right’ thing and upholding the standards and traditions that mean so much to him.
Papa gives her a hard look, but she’s got the upper hand.
“Brutus, it’s all right,tovarishch,” he says.
Brutus holsters his gun, and there’s an uneasy silence. Kal offers my father a handshake.
Papa looks at Kal’s hand for a long moment before turning away and striding towards the cars, Brutus falling into step beside him. Kal shrugs and looks at me, and despite the situation, a broad grin lights up his face as he speaks.
“I think he likes me.”
8
Kal
All I want to do is look at Dani, but I don’t want to get caught staring. The situation is febrile enough with us all in the limo together. But the occasional glance is better than nothing, and I try to drink her in.
Her face is smudged with greasy black marks from the smoke, and she has a graze on her cheek. The black shift dress is still intact, but her pantyhose are shredded, runs laddering up her legs. She lost both shoes along the way, too.
Her hair is a rat’s nest, and I’m reminded of the last time I saw it looking like that. When she was coming on my cock.
We arrive, and everyone ignores me as we go into the house. I stand awkwardly in the hallway as Marta Pushkin leads Dani upstairs.
“Bed for you,” she says. “The doctor will come and see you as soon as we can get him here.”
I watch Dani’s pert ass as she climbs the stairs, her legs faltering beneath her. She’s arguing in a weak, strained voice.