Page 44 of Bratva Prince
I looked up at the sky—still a murky gray that left little for comfort. No doubt lightning would illuminate the sky soon. Which was worse, being near trees or water? Neither was ideal.
“Let’s go up the mountain. I’m pretty sure I saw a cave near the stream,” I answered, grabbing the blanket I’d been wrapped up in, and folding it as small as I could to fit under my shirt.
Ivan snickered at the sight and I slapped his arm, my lips a tight line. “Shut up! I know it looks asinine,” I admitted, glancing down at my stomach. It reminded me of when I was a child and I shoved a pillow under my shirt to pretend I was a mommy. “Reallyasinine,” I added. “But if the blanket gets wet, we might be screwed later. Who knows how long it will be before the sun comes back out.”
He raised his arms in surrender. “I didn’t say anything.”
I shook my head, gesturing him forward. “Then let’s go.”
Within minutes, the rain had soaked through our clothes. But we persisted. What else could we do? Wait to be washed away at the bottom?
“We could camp out here,” Ivan said, pointing to a large rock that provided maybe three feet of dry land.
“No, keep going. There should be a cave up ahead.”
“We’ve been looking for this cave for a while now. We followed the stream up the mountain twice already, and didn’t find shit. Why not park here while we have a place. Or would you prefer to walk around the rain for another hour or two?”
I bit my tongue—literally—to keep from saying anything back. Ivan had a way of making me want to pull my hair out in frustration. I’d better leave this island with a full head of hair or I would be coming to kick his ass.
Closing my eyes as I took a deep breath, something I’d been doing a lot around Ivan, I calmed myself. In an even tone, I answered, “Thereisa cave nearby. I’m certain. I just need to find it.”
“Yeah, well we’ve been searching for so long, the storm will be over before we find it.”
By his tone, I could tell he was teetering over the edge of his patience, the same as me. It was something I’d grown accustomed to, something I’d learned as I closely observed his antics.
Usually, he started off making sarcastic comments here and there, possibly even teasing or making jokes. But as we bicker, he grows annoyed, so much so that he gets this crinkle in his forehead and his gritted teeth as he spoke.
Sometimes, his reactions made me want to laugh. Most of the time, they made me want to smack him upside the head. Today, it was the latter.
“For once, can’t you just trust me on this?” My impatience was reflected in my voice, and I didn’t bother to hide it anymore. I simply hiked along the mountain, leaving with or without him.
He let out a dry laugh. “Trust you? Ha!”
And here we go…
“Trust the woman who betrayed me? Who seduced me…”
I walked ahead of him, mouthing the words in silence as he said them. I’d heard him gripe about this very topic so many times, I had the shit memorized. Once or twice, I’d accidentally repeated it aloud, which only pissed him off more for not taking him seriously. I’m sorry, but after hearing it for the fiftieth time, it was hard to take it that way.
Pretty soon, he’ll mention the time I accidentally grabbed a goose egg and we got chased by wild geese, all the way back to the camp. It was an honest mistake—one I’d yet to hear the end of.
And I was so freaking sick of hearing it.
“...And let’s not forget the geese,” he mentioned, like clockwork.
I let out a frustrated scream, turning to face him, my fists clenched at my sides until the knuckles were white. “I knew you’d bring that up! Let it go, already.”
“Hey, you asked why I couldn’t trust you,” he answered, shrugging his shoulders.
I grunted—a sound I’d made more in the past few weeks than I had in my entire life. “No, I told you to trust me. There is a difference.”
He waved off my explanation. “Technicalities… It all means the same thing.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but noticed a movement from behind Ivan. I froze, my eyes wide as I pointed behind him, mouthing, “Something’s there.”
He turned slowly, not making any sound and hardly any movement, as he faced our newest threat.
A wild boar.
