Vik by Belle Aurora

4

Nastasia

As we drove backto my house, I called Mina first.

She answered huffing and puffing, then said, “Hey.”

On speaker, I continued to drive and uttered, “Hey yourself, short stuff. What are you doing?”

“Uh…” She hesitated, then spoke quietly, “Just what you told me to.”

Huh?

Confusion swept through me. What had I told her to do?

“You know,” she prompted with meaning. “I’m—” Her voice was full of inflection. “—enjoying the process.”

Oh.

Oh.

Ew. She was porking my brother.

Gross.

“Right.” The word was drawn out. I made a face. “You think you can pull yourself away long enough to join me and Anika on a girls’ night?”

Bedsheets rustled, and I knew she moved to sit up. Sounding more than a little eager, she immediately said, “Where are we going?”

A scoff shot out of me. “I’m not telling you. You’ll go right ahead and tell Lev, then the guys will mysteriously show up, and our girls’ night will be ruined.”

A sound of indignance left her. “I won’t tell,” she sulked.

Anika smiled, knowing full well Mina couldn’t keep a secret, especially when it came to her husband.

A soft laugh left me. “I’ll tell you when you get here, right after I confiscate your phone.”

She tried to sound pissed. She really did, but I could tell she was excited. “Whatever.”

Sure, it was a Wednesday, but midweek may as well have been a weekend for us.

Anika and I were the best bar bitches on this side of town, and while Cora usually joined our duo behind the bar at Bleeding Hearts, her studies had taken a priority of late. This meant she had to move down to one night a week, usually a Sunday. Mina—our beloved Gypsy—no longer worked for Bleeding Hearts. Having been gifted a hefty share of her father’s inheritance by her brother, she didn’t have to work to live anymore, so she made the plunge into freelance photography. It had always been her passion, and to see her living her dream was nice.

Reallynice, actually.

People still came in asking for “the Gypsy,” and although Mina acted indifferent about it, I know it made her giddy to leave her mark on the place.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were worknights for most of us girls, so we rarely got to go out and let our hair down. We were more likely to end up hungover on hump day than any other day of the week.

“I have to call Cora. Be at my place in an hour, and we’ll all get ready together.”

“Okay,” Mina said, and then there was a slight scuffle. “Lev. No! Give it back.”

And then my brother was talking through the speaker. “Nastasia, where do you plan on taking my wife this evening?”

Anika’s face softened at the sound of his voice, and my gut squeezed. I knew it couldn’t be easy for her. Ani had always loved Lev. I mean, she lost her virginity to him in the hopes that he would fall for her. She fought for him, but in the end, Mina had won his heart.

To her credit, she took it well.

Sometimes, I think she took it a little too well.

My face bunched with indignance. “None of your flipping beeswax, brother.”

“Nastasia,” Lev uttered in warning, and he really should’ve known by now that the tone he was using was not one that worked on me.

I looked to Ani and rolled my eyes, making her laugh. “We’re not doing anything dangerous, Lev. We’re just having a girls’ night out.”

“A girls’ night out,” he said as if he were processing this. “On your own.” He muttered, “Without protection.”

“Yep.”

“No,” he said instantly. “I don’t like that.”

I loved Lev. Loved him so damn much. He was sweet and kind and would do anything for those closest to him. But, yes, he had his quirks. He was also stubborn and set in his ways and overprotective to the point of overstepping.

When he got that way, dealing with him required a level of patience that I oftentimes did not have.

“Lev,” I began calmly. “Are you saying that I would put Mina, my sister-in-law, my family, in a position where something could happen to her?”

“No,” he said immediately, and it doused the wrath threatening to boil over.

“Precisely,” I said, then added, “You know I would only ever take her somewhere I deemed safe, right?”

“Yes.” He sighed, and I smiled, knowing he was giving in. I knew he’d given in completely when he said, “I want her to text me every hour, Nastasia.”

“Okay,” I settled, knowing it was the best I’d get with him.

“Every hour,” Lev repeated.

I spoke through gritted teeth, doing my best to not snap at him. “I heard you, moy brat.”

“I’ll drive you,” he added, and I actually laughed out loud.

God, he was infuriating. But when Ani made a goopy face and placed a hand to her heart, I quickly acknowledged I could have it a lot worse.

My tone light, I told him, “You’ll do no such thing. We’re catching a cab there and back. And Mina will text you every hour to let you know she’s okay. That’s what’s happening, Lev.”

His momentary silence told me he was struggling, but, surprisingly, he let it go. “All right.”

“Perfect.” I grinned widely, then hurried out, “I have to call Cora. Love you. Bye,” before he changed his mind.

The second I dialed Cora, she answered, sounding cheery, “What’s up, bitch?”

“Girls’ night out” was all I said.

She let out a little whoop. “Fuck yeah. I need to get my head out of these books. I’ll be over soon.” Then she hung up.

Well, that was easy.

I breathed deeply, feeling light and happy. Turning to face Anika, I put my hand on hers and squeezed. “We’re gonna have fun tonight.”

“I know,” she responded with a delicate smile.

* * *

Dinner was nice.Nicer than I expected.

I wondered how things between Mina and Anika would be, but I shouldn’t have worried. When Mina arrived at my place, she took one look at Anika’s sorry state, came forward, and hugged her, taking all the care in the world.

“Are you okay?” Mina asked, gently rubbing her back, and I was quietly reminded that Mina was a beautiful person.

Anika looked a little awkward, but it was clear she appreciated the gesture, because when she pulled back, she pasted on a grateful smile. “I’ll be better when we’re all drinking.”

Not a minute later, my front door shot open. I threw my hands up and groused, “Does everyone have a key to my house?” while a tiny Cora stood there, her blonde hair tied up into a high ponytail, holding a bottle of tequila.

“Did someone order a night of getting fucked up?”

“So, no one’s listening to me?” I added, annoyed. “Nice.”

“Perfect timing.” Mina took the bottle out of her hands and shook it at Anika. “Pre-dinner drinks, coming right up.” Then disappeared into the kitchen.

Cora approached Anika, standing in front of her a long moment, her smile lessened, and she asked quietly, “You all right, kukla?”

Anika thought about it. “I am, actually. Just being away from home….” She shivered, hugging herself. Her expression solemn, the response was whisper-quiet. “I needed a night away.”

The way she said it made my heart pause, a big red flag waving frantically behind my eyes.

My brow lowered. “You know, you can stay here with me,” I proposed. “I kind of got used to having company, and with Cora gone, I hate to admit it, but I get lonely sometimes.”

Cora slapped a hand to her chest and let out a long, “Aww,” and I flipped her the bird.

Asshole.

Anika paused a moment, and I knew she wasn’t sure whether my offer was sincere.

I put my arms out, gesturing at my enormous home. “This is a big house for one person. It’s big enough for ten people.” I then pursed my lips and conceded, “Hell, it’s big enough for a small cult.”

Anika remained quiet, but I could see she was considering it. I could almost see her brain doing the calculations. Finally, she said softly, “I’ll think about it. Thanks, Nas.”

I hadn’t offered out of pity. I wasn’t lying. I really would’ve loved to have her.

Satisfied, I replied, “You’re welcome.”

At that moment, Mina came out of the kitchen with a tray of prefilled shot glasses, sliced lime, and salt, then singsonged, “Let’s do this.” She handed us each a shot with a wedge of lime. We all took turns licking our hands and applying the salt. “And no better way to get a party started than to dirty up some nice girls with tequila slammers.”

What I said was, “Hell yeah,” but the second I smelled the tequila, my mouth watered, and not in a good way.

Like most idiot teenagers, I once got blind drunk on it, and now tequila tasted like the time I almost perished in a field with a bunch of jocks laughing at me.

However, my father did not raise no weak-ass bitch. No. When they took a shot, I took a shot. It felt like battery acid simmering in my stomach, but my smile remained unwavering. And seeing Anika giggle behind her hand made it worth it.

I went upstairs and drew a nice, hot bath for her in the en suite attached to my room. The vanilla-lavender-scented bubbles smelled divine and sweet. I put towels within reach, lowered the lights, and turned on the jets.

When I spotted Anika hesitating in the open doorway, I said, “Take your time, okay? We’re in no rush.”

Her slight nod was enough. I left her to it. But just as I went to exit the bathroom, she called out to me. I turned, and what Anika said broke my heart. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Nas.” She looked devastated, as if she already lost me. Her voice shook. “You’re my best friend.”

I stepped back into the room and took both her hands in mine, dipping slightly to look her dead in the eyes. “Forever and always, babe.”

Anika shook her head—and was she hyperventilating? “Maybe.”

Huh? Was she crazy?

“Ani,” I started. “You’d have to do something pretty freaking bad to lose me as a friend.”

“I know” was her hushed reply, eyes bright with unshed tears.

Wow. She really was a mess.

“Exactly,” I offered reassuringly with a squeeze to her fingers. I held such confidence in her that I added, “Never gonna happen.” Releasing her hands, I pointed at her ominously and ordered, “Do not get out of there until you’re nicely wrinkled. You hear me?”

Ani’s lip tugged up into a strained smile. “Yes, ma’am.”

I joined Mina and Cora, who were in the process of getting ready. Mina slid her yoga pants down before pulling on dark jeans. “Nas, what happened? Is she okay?”

The quiet, curious questions were ones I didn’t have an answer to. I pulled my tee up and over my head as I raided my walk-in closet for something to wear. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

Cora, in her panties and bra, slipped into a pretty black-and-white mini-dress. It showed a lot of skin, coming midthigh. “Poor thing. She looks shaken up.”

She did. I’d never seen her act like this before, as though she was scared of her own shadow.

I was not an optimist. I tried to be—I really did—but more than anything, I was a realist. I’d learned that when something smelled like shit, there was shit nearby. So, when I entered the bathroom without warning, uttering, “Sorry, babe. I just need to grab my—” my heart stopped with my words.

The sight of Anika’s back had my feet glued to the spot.

Unable to speak, my eyes took it all in. Mottled bruises lined her spine and shoulders. The marks on her upper arms had faded to a greenish-yellow color, telling me they had been there a while.

“What the fuck?” was all I managed to get out.

Anika’s face dipped, and she exhaled quietly, “It’s nothing.”

Come again? I beg your pardon?

The sounds of Cora and Mina talking told me they hadn’t heard my exclamation.

My legs began to work again, and then I was moving. With an air of determination, she sat up straight in the bath and spoke. “Really. It’s nothing.” I couldn’t help but notice the way she was avoiding my disturbed gaze. “I, uh, started dancing again.”

“What?” I frowned skeptically.

“I’m dancing again,” she repeated.

My eyes narrowed. “You never said anything.”

“Well—” Irritated, she retorted a little sharply. “—you haven’t really been around, Nas.”

Her shot met its target, and my gut sank.

She was right. I hadn’t been.

Pushing down the sudden guilt I felt, I slowly let out a doubtful, “You’re telling me you look like this from… dance?”

There was no light in her eyes. “Yes.” She licked her lips and laughed humorlessly. “You’d be surprised how hard it is to get back into it when you’ve taken seven years off. My body isn’t as flexible as it used to be. I’ve fallen down over and over again. I twisted my ankle last week. It was the reason I wore flats to work.”

Yeah, I wondered about that.

The red flag in my mind continued to wave. But I had no real reason to doubt her.

My cynical nature had me asking, “You’d tell me if you were in trouble, right?”

Anika blinked a moment before she looked up at me without an ounce of emotion and said, “You’re the only person I trust.”

My bullshit meter went off when I noticed she didn’t quite answer my question. My love for my friend, however, told me that Anika wouldn’t keep secrets. Not from me.

Calming slightly, I took another look at her back, and out came a brutally honest, “You look like shit, babe.”

Anika laughed then. A real laugh. Musical, tinkling laughter. And the longer it went on, the tightness in my stomach loosened. Even more so when she looked at me and the warmth had returned to her eyes. “I know.”

I loved Anika. She wasn’t just a friend. She was family. And I protected my family.

If anyone even attempted to hurt her, I would kill them without hesitation.

“I worry about you,” I disclosed grudgingly.

Immediately, she returned, “I worry about you,” a sharp brow rising with meaning.

Yeah, okay. I got the point. We had to communicate better.

I blew out a long breath. “I’ve been a shitty friend.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I should’ve pushed harder. Made you talk to me.”

So, I guess I wasn’t the only one feeling lacking and guilt-ridden.

When Anika was finished with her bath, I helped her into a high-necked, tight black dress with long sleeves that hid her bruises. My every instinct yelled at me to keep a closer eye on my friend. And if I found something was wrong, not even God could stop me from getting answers.

Anika exited the bathroom, and while Mina whooped, Cora let out a loud wolf whistle. Like the awesome people they were, they hyped Anika up until she was laughing awkwardly, completely red in the face at the nonstop compliments.

Once I outfitted myself in the little dusty-rose dress that came off the shoulders and into long sleeves, I slipped into nude peep-toe heels and grabbed my matching nude clutch. With a final look in the mirror, I fluffed my hair, the long, dark tresses falling down my back in waves, then applied a mauve-pink lipstick, and we were good to go.

It was 8:00 p.m. when we arrived at a little Italian place none of us had been to before, and one look at the menu had me salivating. It held all my favorites.

Carbs, carbs, and more carbs.

Our food arrived, and we ate enthusiastically. We talked loudly to be heard over the dinner crowd, laughing with each other. The going consensus was that we all officially loved this restaurant. Another few drinks and easy conversation followed. When I got up to use the restroom, I sneakily took care of the check, much to the annoyance of the girls.

Whatever. They’d get over it.

Close to 10:00 p.m., we all hopped in a cab and arrived at our destination soon after.

My stomach clenched in excitement as we skipped the line and headed on in. It was the hottest nightclub in New York, and, lucky for us, my cousins owned it.

Smiling, laughing, and chatting away, we eagerly entered The White Rabbit.