Page 75 of Born into Madness
Sasha laughs and looks across the table at his cousin. “That sounds about right, doesn’t it, Niki?”
Niki groans, mutters something in Russian and then tells Sav, “Did you by any chance bring your laptop with you tonight?”
“No, it’s charging in my room. It doesn’t seem to want to hold a charge anymore. I think it’s mad at me.” She looks up from her menu to meet his eyes. “That doesn’t mean anything bad, does it?”
“I think you need to let me look at your computer,” he says. “It’ll probably give me a heart attack to see what you’ve done to it, but I can check it out if you want.”
She flashes him a smile that’s big enough to show her dimple. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. George can be very temperamental, though, and he might not like you manhandling him.”
Niki raises a brow. “George?”
Sav shrugs and brushes her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. “I named my laptop. I needed a name to scream whenhe pisses me off and does stupid things like freezes or the screen goes black.”
“Jesus,” Niki whispers, clearly haunted by the knowledge that Sav’s computer is most likely riddled with viruses and who the hell knows what else.
She grins and says, “George and I have grown very close.”
“Well, I’ll give George a very gentle touch if you ever allow me to poke around.” Niki looks over at me, and I think it’s only because he’s desperate to change the topic away from abused and neglected computers. “I have no idea what to order.”
“Don’t worry. Sav and I are on it.” I scoot out of the booth and wait for her to join me. “We’ll go up and order. I promise you won’t regret it,” I tell him.
Sasha’s hand is firmly planted on my ass, and before I walk away, he gives it a squeeze. I’m still grinning about it when Sav hooks her arm through mine and says, “Oh my god, Cindy.”
I look over at her and laugh. “The lines are looking a little blurred now, aren’t they?”
Her blue eyes quickly dart back to where Niki is sitting. “Yes, they are.” After a few seconds, she whispers to herself, “Murder is wrong. Murder is wrong.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure Niki spends most of his time doing illegal hacking things instead of going out there and killing people.”
She shakes her head and gives a soft laugh. “I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. God, he is gorgeous, though, and I love a man with a brain.” After a few seconds, she nudges my arm. “Your guy looks pretty good without a mask and knife in his hand.”
“He does,” I agree. I don’t add that he also looks pretty good with those things, because that’s a truth I’m still struggling with.
Sav’s been here enough times with me, so when it’s our turn to order, she already has her favorites in mind. Between the twoof us, we place a massive order that will ensure we all leave here stuffed, and when I reach for my debit card, I’m stopped by a large hand covering mine, pinning it gently in place as Sasha hands over his own card instead.
Looking down, he squeezes my wrist and then kisses my forehead. “You’ll learn one day, Cyn.”
“What will I learn?” I ask, breathing in the familiar scent of him while enjoying the feel of his long fingers wrapped around me, the way it’s both gentle and firm.
His lips brush my skin when he says, “That you’re mine, and I take care of what’s mine,krovinka.”
He pulls me under his spell so easily, and when he hears my shaky exhale, he gives my hair a gentle tug while letting out a soft huff of a laugh. Keeping his arm around me, he takes back his card and then Niki saunters over to help us carry back the embarrassing amount of food we’d ordered.
“Wow, you girls went all out,” he says as he sets a couple of trays down and scoots into the booth with Sav. He looks down at the array of tacos and dips and then turns to my friend. “Okay, help me out here. What should I try, and what should I avoid?”
He glances over at me and grins. “No offense, but you love this stuff, so I can’t trust your opinion. You’re biased as a vegetarian. I need a meat-eater’s point of view.”
“No offense taken,” I tell him. “No one who eats here hates it, so I’m confident it’s going to become your new favorite place.”
Niki laughs, clearly not believing me, but he’s kind enough to say, “Maybe. It would be handy since it’s so close to the club.”
“What club?” Sav asks.
Niki looks over at Sasha and says something in Russian. Whatever Sasha says has Niki nodding before he says, “The Red Room. Our family owns it.”
“Wow, really?” Sav asks the question while also nudging a plate of black bean tacos and the Galactic Guac dip and homemade chips, letting him know that’s where he should start.
I don’t miss the smile he flashes her before grabbing one of the tacos. He takes a bite, and we all watch to see if he’ll like it. With his mouth stuffed, he looks around at us and groans. “Seriously?” The question is muffled because his mouth is so full, but when we all keep staring, he just groans again and keeps chewing.
