in the side and I swear I feel something crack. Fuck, I think he broke a rib. I swipe his legs from under him, and he goes down. He might be big, but I spent years fighting on the streets. I raise my leg to aim a kick at him, but I stop when I see Cassie running toward us, her face horrified.
I look down at K and realize I was about to kick the man I fucking hero-worship as he lay on the ground. Fuck. I’ve lost it. Dasha has made me lose it completely. Maybe she ought to go?
Not able to look at K another minute, and not sure what I can say, I turn and walk into the house, slamming the door behind me. I hear the car a few minutes later, so he must be okay enough to drive.
Shit, it hurts to breathe.
The door bursts open, and Andrius storms in like a tornado. He stares at me. “What the fuck? I’ve got Cassie in hysterics saying you and K have just gone at it.”
“He’s driving Dasha to the airport,” I explain.
“So? She asked him to, said she’d take a cab otherwise. Wouldn’t you rather her go with him?”
“No, I’d rather he didn’t betray me by driving her away from me.”
“Bohdan.” Andrius sits at the table and sighs. “You can’t make her stay or keep her here like some pet if she doesn’t want to be here.”
“Oh, fuck right off, Andrius.” His face hardens, but I don’t back down. “You’re one to talk. You got given your woman, and K? He never gave Cassie a fucking chance. Girl might wake up from her Stockholm Syndrome one day, but I doubt it.” I laugh and then wince.
“You want me to break your other ribs for you?” Andrius deadpans. “Because I gladly will if you keep this shit up.”
“Don’t really give a flying fuck.”
“Listen.”
Oh God, he’s going to do the sage Andrius schtick, which frankly is a joke. The man is a killer, not a relationship counsellor. He ought to stick with what he knows. What he says next surprises me.
“I’ve asked Amber to befriend Dasha.”
“Amber? Ilya’s woman?”
“Yeah. I think Dasha will come around, but she needs time and space. I don’t think she’s safe with her mother. That woman is a fucking viper.”
“Yes, she is.”
Andrius nods. “Evil bitch if you ask me.”
I nod again, because yes, she is.
“So here’s the plan. Give Dasha some space and a bit of time. Let Amber and Ilya befriend her, make sure the mother doesn’t get her head all messed up, and make doubly sure that cunt Jasper doesn’t come sniffing around. In the meantime, build that school for her, because the way she looks at you, she’ll be back. Know what I think?”
I shake my head. “I think she’s ashamed more than anything. Ashamed you saw her the way you did. Shame is a fucking powerful emotion, so you need to overcome that in her.”
Okay, so maybe he’s not all bad at this shit. “How the fuck do I do that?”
“I don’t know. Call her. Write to her. Talk about the past. Talk about your hopes for the future. Don’t bring up the shit in Paris. Leave it there.”
I look into his freaky eyes and sigh. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think it’s insane that I made those threats up and pretended someone was after her?”
He considers me for a moment, then smiles. “It’s not the most well-adjusted thing I’ve ever seen anyone do, but I’ve had a baby with the daughter of the man who helped kill my family, and if you ask me, that might just be a little more fucked up.”
I burst out laughing. “You want to drink a beer with me? Don’t fancy sitting here alone, nursing my ribs.”
“Yeah, we can drink a beer.”
He goes to the fridge, pops the door open, and takes out two beers. “You probably need another trip to that clinic.”
“Nah. Ribs heal.”
“Yeah, they can also give you pneumonia if they’re broken.”
“I’ll be careful,” I say.
The door bursts open again, and Cassie storms at me, her small fists raised as she starts to beat on me. What the hell?
“How dare you beat K like that? He loves you, and you hurt him.”
Andrius is out of his chair and hauling her off me in a heartbeat. She struggles for a moment, then stops. She’s crying, and suddenly I feel like shit. Damn, I wonder if K will forgive me.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her.