53

Kashton
Ilet out a soundless sigh, not wanting to disturb Raven or Chris-the latter had finally fallen asleep after tossing and turning for a while. I turned onto my side so I could watch Raven sleep. Her golden hair was pulled up into a loose knot on the top of her head. I found it endearing that she insisted on wearing it up to sleep.
“It’s hot and gets all in my mouth,” she commented with a wrinkled nose.
I bit my tongue to keep from snickering at her comment. Caden’s cheeks darkened, and Chris furrowed his brow.
“I think we’d all love to give you something hot in your mouth.” Caden broke first, then groaned. “Now, I’m the one with the brain-to-mouth filter problem.”
A smile spread over my face, as I remembered how Raven had giggled.
Chris had his arm draped over her middle. His face had relaxed in sleep, although there was still a harshness to his features that hadn’t been there before.
I hated my best friend going through this pain. It was all too familiar.
FIFTEEN YEARS EARLIER
I wiped the sweat from my brow with my forearm and sucked in greedy lungfuls of air. The air around me was heavy and stifling. The air conditioning in the small gym hadn’t been able to keep up with the ridiculous heat wave the city had been dealing with this week.
But I didn’t mind. In fact, as long as the bag I was pounding my fists into didn’t break, I was content here.
My mom wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this. It was on the wrong side of town. Too low class. Too many homeless on the streets. Not enough plastic in the people working here or working out.
The moment my twin sisters were born, she thrust them into the arms of the new nanny and went back to her ridiculous lifestyle.
A lifestyle that my father had paid for and was still paying for even from his grave.
With a snarl, I resumed punching the bag, hitting it so hard it rocked back and forth on the hook it was suspended from.
Before I could catch it, a dark-haired man caught the back and braced it in front of me. Without a word, he inclined his head, and I resumed punching the bag. His caramel eyes held as much pain as I felt, and he grunted with the force of my blows.
Panting and breathless, I paused and gestured to the bag, silently offering to hold it for him. With an incline of his head, we switched places.
There was tape wrapped around his knuckles and wrists, much like my own. The man wore a loose-fitting pair of shorts and a tight black shirt. His hair was wild around his head, theloose top knot he’d gathered in it falling loose. A thick beard covered his cheeks, chin, and throat. This man was wild.
The pure agony in his expression and his tense posture told me this man was hurting just as much as I was. We were kindred spirits at that moment. We didn’t need to use words. It was evident in every punch, every move, every grunt.
Hours passed, and we still didn’t utter a word.
I handed him another water bottle, and we both drank as we rested on a bench.
Finally, I broke the silence as I held out a hand, still covered in tape that was stained with sweat and blood. “Kashton Wulf.”
“Chris Volkov.”
“I don’t know about you, but I could use something to eat after a shower.” I let the invitation hang in the air. Something told me this was a man who was destined to be in my life, and I didn’t want to part ways so quickly.
“Meet you back out here in fifteen.” His voice was thick with a Russian accent. Deep and raspy, as if he didn’t speak much.
Fifteen minutes later, we had our backpacks slung over one shoulder as we walked down the street toward my favorite little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. As I stopped in front of it and held the door open for Chris, the first semblance of a smirk played over his lips.
“You like eating here?” He asked as he sat down at one of the small tables.
“Best pierogis in town.”
Chris’s smirk grew as Anya, the owner’s daughter, crossed the space and set two waters in front of us. “Kashton, good to see you.” She nodded at me before turning to Chris. “Long time no see.”
Chris chuckled as she walked away. “I live in the apartment upstairs,” he said at my look of confusion. “Igor andKatya are distant relatives of mine. They gave me a place to stay when I left Russia.”
I watched as his brow furrowed and the smirk faded, replaced by sorrow. “I take it you didn’t leave for good reasons.”
He shook his head as he drained half of the glass of water. “Not at all, but that is a story for another day. One that requires lots of vodka before it comes out.”
“Understood.” I nodded. “Vodka was never my drink. More of a whisky man myself.”
“Figures.” Chris scoffed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Those rich amber eyes saw more than Chris let on. “You may try to hide it, but you come from money. People with money like whiskey or scotch. Simple concept.”
I rolled my eyes as I shook my head. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that watch or necklace you’re wearing. Coming from money, as you say I do, I can notice the difference between real diamonds and fake ones right away. And that’s a vintage Rolex you’re wearing.”
“Touche.” Chris inclined his head in acknowledgment. “Although these are old family heirlooms. I refuse to sell them no matter how desperate I get.”
There was a story there.
Something told me it had a lot to do with how he came to be in an apartment above an Eastern European restaurant in a not-so-great part of town.
I cleared my throat and held out my hand, the thick band on my middle finger flashing in the light. “This was my dad’s, and his dad’s before him. So, I know what you mean about never letting go of those pieces closest to your heart.”
“Somehow, I think we were meant to meet today, Kashton Wulf.”
“I think we were too, Chris Volkov.”
I jerked back to reality as an arm fell across my neck, a palm landing square on my face. Shocked, I looked over to see Raven still fast asleep, her chest rising and falling with deep, even breaths. Even in her sleep, this female could wreak havoc. I barely resisted the urge to let out a snort.
With a deep sigh, I grasped Raven’s wrist and placed her palm over my chest. My eyes fluttered shut, and I let myself fall into a fitful sleep.