Page 45 of Wreaking Havoc
Sascha’s cheeks heated as Alexei narrowed his eyes. “It’s fine, Kai.”
Jay cut in then. “I think we should get Sascha some food. A human body needs food for healing. That’s what Danny says, and he’s a nurse. Why don’t I make syrniki?”
Sascha blinked in surprise. “You know how to make syrniki?” It was a Russian pancake dish their grandmother had made them, when they’d visited her in Russia. Sascha could barely remember; he’d been so young the last time. He wasn’t actually sure he remembered at all or if he’d just heard Alexei tell the story so many times he’d convinced himself he did.
Jay smiled proudly. “Alexei taught me.”
For the first time, Kai showed interest in their guests beyond suspicion and anger. “You know how to make human food?” he asked Jay. “Show me.”
Sascha scoffed. “Why? You don’t eat.”
“But you do.” Kai met his eye, something in his gaze Sascha couldn’t quite read. Something heavy and…important.
Oh God, Sascha’s cheeks were on fire. Maybe his fever was back. He could feel his brother’s questioning gaze on him. But when he looked over, Alexei’s expression was unreadable.
“You should have tea too, zaychik,” Alexei told him. And him using the pet name Kai had taken over didn’t do much for Sascha’s blush. “Do you have any raspberry jam?”
Another of their grandmother’s legacies. “No,” Sascha said. “But I have some dusty chamomile bags from the previous owner in one of the cupboards.”
Alexei nodded. “That’ll have to do.”
Jay patted Alexei’s arm, planting a kiss on his shoulder. “Kai and I will cook. You two talk.” He gave Sascha another one of his earnest looks. “Talking can be very helpful.”
But Alexei grabbed Jay’s hand when he tried to walk away. “Jay…”
“I’ll be fine.” Jay grinned up at Kai, who loomed a foot and a half above him, not including the horns. “You won’t hurt me, will you, demon?”
Alexei’s expression softened, and Sascha realized then how incredibly, deeply in love Alexei was. He would die for Jay, Sascha was certain of it.
A deep loneliness stabbed at Sascha’s gut.
And then Kai’s hand was in his hair again, brushing softly at the strands. “Talk with your brother. I’m only a room away.”
Only a room away. That was a nice thought. Sascha wasn’t alone, not yet. He still had someone in his corner.
The only question was, For how long?
Sascha and Alexeiended up talking late into the night.
Sascha wasn’t sure what Jay and Kai got up to after cooking—Jay had handed Sascha a plate of pancakes with such sincere enthusiasm Sascha had worried for a minute he was going to watch him eat every bite, and then Jay had wandered off with three pancakes in each fist—but he could tell Alexei had an ear out for Jay and Kai. Every now and then, a bright laugh would erupt from elsewhere in the house, and a small smile would grace Alexei’s lips.
So Sascha drank his tea and ate his pancakes, and they talked. Sascha told him all about the mess Ivan had created, and Alexei caught Sascha up more fully on what had happened to him in Hyde Park, and the life he’d made for himself there. It all might have stretched the limits of Sascha’s credulity, if not for the fact that he’d summoned a literal demon into his living room just a few days before.
Eventually they were all up to speed—no more missed months to account for, no more easy (if unbelievable) topics to cover. An uncomfortable silence filled the room, full of too many things still left unspoken.
Alexei rubbed at the back of his neck, not quite meeting Sascha’s eye. “So. Our childhood messed you up too, huh?”
Was Sascha really almost thirty and they’d never had this discussion? But it wasn’t like their family was known for its heart-to-hearts. Even the two of them, in all their previous closeness, had been more action than talk—spending time together but not exactly plumbing the depths of their psyches. Sascha knew Alexei loved him, but he also knew Alexei thought of him as…careless. Carefree.
Sascha hunched his shoulders up, fiddling with the tassels of the cushion in his lap. “I know what it was like for you. I—I remember Sergei breaking your finger that one time. For flinching.” He winced. “You weren’t even a teenager yet.”
“Flinching.” Alexei hummed. “Was that what it was for? I’d forgotten the reason.”
Sascha gave a clipped nod. “So I know you had it worse. But just because I was sent away doesn’t mean I wasn’tawareof it. The danger. The violence. God, the way Papa’s goons would look at me if I didn’t act just right.” Sascha shuddered, his stomach twisting.
“Our father wouldn’t have let them hurt you. He was an asshole, but you were still his baby.”
“I’m glad you’re so certain.” Sascha met Alexei’s gaze resolutely. “Iwasn’t.”
