Blood of My Monster (Monster Trilogy #1 ) by Rina Kent

That’s not really a bodyguard’s job, but I don’t tell her that.

Karina traces the rim of her cup and sighs. “We never had meals as a family, you know.”

“Why not?”

“Mama and Papa didn’t like each other, and they made it their mission that the three of us would be filled with hate, too.” She gulps a mouthful of coffee. “They made us compete against each other all the time.”

I lean over in my seat. “Compete how?”

“Kirill and Konstantin were at it way before I came along. At first, it was childish things like racing and grades, but then it was martial arts, shooting lessons, and how to perform under pressure.”

“Perform under pressure?”

The coffee cup shakes in her hand, some droplets falling all over the table. “Stupid psychological tests about mental endurance.”

“You…did that?”

“I had no choice! It was mandatory because Papa was an asshole.” Her eyes shine with tears. “I was thirteen, Konstantin was nineteen, and Kirill was twenty-one. We were dropped off on an isolated island and had to survive using whatever means necessary. I was glued to Kirill’s side, but I was taken by some scary masked men. Kirill came to save me, but there were too many of them. He was pushed down, beaten, burned, electrocuted, and I had to watch all the torture in real time. I was crying and screaming so loud, I fainted. Konstantin was the only one who passed that test since he found a boat and escaped. Kirill and I failed because we were supposed to be detached and act like Konstantin did. I never left my room after that. Whenever Mama or Papa forced me out, I would vomit, have a seizure, or faint, so they gave up and thought it was better to hide me from the world. A few years later, Kirill left me, too, and went to Russia.”

How…monstrous can a person be to do this to his own children? Karina isn’t this way because she’s mentally unwell. It was caused by trauma. That’s why she’s scared of being outside and is physically unable to handle the exterior world.

If that’s the most traumatic thing that happened to Karina, I wonder how many times Kirill was tested by his father to turn out the way he is.

If he was beaten, burned, and electrocuted at twenty-one, what else did his father do to him prior to that?

“I’m so sorry, Karina.”

She shakes her head and wipes the tears that have escaped from her eyes. “I already lost my parents a long time ago, but I thought I at least had Kirill. But he also left.”

“Is that why you tried to kill him the day he came back?”

She sniffles and glares in the distance. “I will still kill him.”

I smile. She absolutely doesn’t mean that. In fact, I think a part of her is scared he’ll leave again.

“If I kill him, you can be my guard!” She claps her hands as if she’s come up with the most genius plan.

“I’ll be your guard without that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but as I said, you have to go out first.”

“No, thanks.”

“We can just start with the balcony like this.”

“Just the balcony?” she asks with innocent eyes.

“Just the balcony is fine.”

“I don’t hate the balcony.”

“I’m glad you don’t.”

“Thanks, Sasha.” She smiles.

“For what?”

“If you hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have known the balcony isn’t so bad.”

“Anytime.”

She slathers some jam on a piece of toast and offers it to me. “I can’t believe that Anna. She made Kirill’s plate so much better than mine. She’s always had favoritism issues.”

“She seems like she loves him, though.”

“That she does.” She stares off in the distance. “You know, she lost her son who was around the same age as Kirill due to drowning. Her life kinda went off the rails after that, and she was about to jump off a bridge. Viktor said he and Kirill were passing by when they saw her. Kirill caught her at the last second and told her if she had no use for her life, he could give her purpose. That was when he was, like, fifteen. He brought her back here, and neither Papa nor Mama liked her. Mama said he was picking up homeless people off the streets. But do you know how he forced them to accept her? He asked Papa for his prize after finishing one of his missions, and his prize was having and keeping Anna.”

Karina smiles broadly, looking awfully proud of a brother she often threatens to kill. I can’t help but mirror her smile. No wonder Anna is overprotective of Kirill. She must’ve raised him as her own son ever since he brought her here.

“We’re gonna have to steal Kirill’s breakfast every day!” she announces with determination. When she raises her cup of coffee, I clink mine against it.

Even though I want to go find Kirill, I take my time with the breakfast. Karina and I stay on the balcony for over an hour, and not once does she mention the fifteen-minute limit.





25





KIRILL





I shake hands with Igor and his son before they leave my office.

Loud music slips from downstairs in the small time frame all of Igor’s men leave my space.

This was the second night of incessant negotiation. It started last night, and when we didn’t come to a full agreement, Igor didn’t give up.