Where Foxes Hunt with Wolves - K.A. Merikan Page 0,15
for mischief hit him in full force. He couldn’t pull pranks on his chronically-ill mother but there was someone else who could bear the weight of Radek’s anger and general disappointment.
“Come down! I’ve got a plan,” he yelled to Jan with a grin, desperate to shake off any resentment toward his mother. He wanted to forget about her for the rest of the day and just throw himself into fun, sex, and greasy food.
Jan frowned, rubbing his head. “Plan? What? I promised my parents I’ll be home in the evening,” he said and tossed what was left of the joint into the snow below before exhaling a huge cloud of smoke.
Radek spread his arms wide. “I lied yesterday. Mirek didn’t save me. I met this forest ranger and he sort of arrested me. He was so full of shit and self-righteous. I want to go home with you, but we need to teach him a lesson first.”
Jan frowned. “What? Radeeek… Why are you always lying about shit?”
Radek spread his arms. “The guy manhandled me and took my rifle. Don’t you wanna avenge me?”
Jan shrugged, his tempting lips crooking. “I don’t know… You kinda deserved it for using a rifle drunk.”
Radek’s brain exploded with fury. “Fuck you! I can’t believe you just said that. You know what? I’m so done with you! I can’t believe you won’t take my side! What kind of boyfriend are you?”
Jan scowled at him from above. “You said you don’t want a boyfriend.”
“Well, now I definitely don’t! We’re done! Don’t call me again!” Radek spun around and started walking. Again.
Why was Jan not apologizing?
Why was the world against him?
He rubbed his eyes because they prickled from the cold and the harsh sunlight. He’d just take Dad’s old car and drive to Cracow on his own.
But first, he would make the forest ranger suffer.
Chapter 5 – Radek
The forester’s lodge was nestled deep in the woods. So deep Yev would have to walk for about ninety minutes in order to reach the village store in Dybukowo on foot, even with those long legs of his. Built in a clearing and surrounded by ancient trees, it was a historic building made almost entirely of dark brown wood, with pale accents of pine. The black slopes of the roof reached below the windows on the second floor, barely covered by snow that must have slid off under its own weight. Radek was surprised to see that the traditional decorative patterns painted around the windows had been retouched since he’d last been here, and there was a fenced-off patch in the back, which would be a herb or vegetable garden in warmer months.
It was almost as if it had been renovated, and when Radek jumped out of the old SUV, he picked up the scent of cooking meat—venison, to be precise—and his mouth watered in anticipation of food he surely wouldn’t be treated to.
Radek had found a dead mouse in a trap at the cabin. He now had it in his jacket pocket, and needed to find a way into Yev’s home so he could plant it in some sneaky place. It would rot and stink up the house until it drove Yev mad, and Radek would be far away, remembering this moment with fondness. He could still not believe that Yev had carried him into the police station like some caveman. Who did he think he was? Yev was a forest ranger in Dybukowo not the Texas Ranger.
He took a deep breath of the cold air and walked straight for the door that had a knocker made of a deer hoof, but it opened before he announced his presence.
Yev seemed taller in daylight, his hair—blacker against his pale complexion, his facial scar—a thick pink line running from his forehead to the cheek. Now that Radek could see him with more clarity, he could place his age somewhere in his late thirties. Not even because of obvious things like wrinkles. There was just something about the way Yev carried himself that told Radek he wasn’t a young man.
Yev raised his thick brows, looking casual in a large green sweater and jeans. Radek didn’t expect the hit of attraction, but it was undeniably there. Which weirded him out, because the oldest guy Radek had ever been with was Emil. And Emil only had his thirtieth birthday two years back.
But there was something about Yev. Something that went beyond masculine features, and the firm arms that had lifted Radek with such ease.