Cezar grabbed his hand, slamming it into the door, as he growled in Armenian, “What the fuck do you think you're doing?”
The driver didn’t balk, just calmly responded. “Orders from the head. The woman was to be sedated before leaving the airport.”
Cezar growled in his face, his body primed to do some damage when Nicu asked Kazia in English. “We need to sedate you before we leave.”
They stared at each other, words being spoken that I didn't understand, and she nodded slowly. “Fine, but Cezar can do it.”
Cezar wrestled the syringe from the driver, shoving him onto the ground, kicking him in the stomach before smoothing out his hair and facing Kazia, smiling like he won the lottery. Cupped the back of her neck, he whispered along her neck, “Thank you. You know I can’t stand it if anyone else tries to touch you.”
She took a breath and closed her eyes, waiting for her fate. His lips brushed up against her skin and she sucked in a breath; then he bit her, and her eyes flew open as she gasped. The fucker timed it perfectly, sinking in the needle as she was preoccupied.
Her eyes fell with her body, Cezar’s arms already around her as he kissed her neck again. “I got you, my Roma.”
Nicu glared at Cezar, eyes flicking to the driver before he held out his hands to help bring her limp body into the car. Once we were all in, Nicu called to the driver, “Give me your phone.”
The driver hesitated, and Nicu’s face fell, his voice going deadly. “Did you not hear me?” The driver looked around the car before reaching into his pocket, handing the phone through the partition.
“Now you can go.” Nicu glared at the driver as he raised the partition and locked it, facing Cezar. “That was very stupid.”
Cezar sat on the long side of the car, Kazia’s head in his lap as he moved her shoulder into a more comfortable spot. At Nicu’s words he clutched at her like an animal against another predator. “I don't care. I wasn't about to have that filthy dog touch her.”
“And now I have to take care of him before he reports this to father.” Nicu sighed like he was aging by the minute as he tapped away on his phone.
We were quite a bit away from the airport, and before long, my leg started to bounce, picking at the skin around my nails as I thought about that dark, depressing house and the monster who ruled it.
As soon as I had money, I made sure to buy a condo in the city that I mainly lived at to escape that house and old memories. My eyes kept going to the bar inside the limo, wanting to take off the edge with a drink, but after what happened with Kazia that night, I reminded myself that I quit that shit. I never wanted to make a mistake like that again.
In that moment, as she looked up and asked me why, pure fear pelted me. My stomach clenched, bile rose in my throat as I realized I was doing what my father did, that I was become the rapist that my mother detested with all of her body and soul. That next morning I told myself no more. I never wanted to be so incoherent, so out of it that I couldn't control myself.
Thinking back to that night, it was only the words that she spoke that snapped me out of it. That reminded me of my mother, of why she chose to swing along the beam, of why she hated her own child.
I never wanted to be that man again; I wanted… I wanted to be better. More. For her.
One way to ensure that was not to participate in extra festivities, including drinking.
“You level?”
Hearing Nicu’s voice, I immediately responded, shaking my gaze away from the bottle at the bar. “Ya. Fine.”
His eyes narrowed, and I lifted my hand in front of him, knowing he had seen it shake when we were at the house in the States. “See? It's not shaking. I think I got through the worst of it.” The withdrawal phase was hard. Always angry, always needing it, your body twitching, itching, feeling the voice of not having it. All of this made it so even if I needed it, I wasn’t able to sleep. If it wasn't for those Benzo Nicu got me, I would’ve had a harder time getting over the hump.
“The worst is yet to come,” Cezar purred, petting Kazia as he gazed down at her, “but she’s worth it.” I hated that he was right. Worse was yet to come, I could feel it in my bones.
“Speaking of Kazia, we need to play this smart,” Nicu reminded us. “Find out what our father wants from her. If it was just a grudge, he could’ve easily had Cezar torture her and send him evidence, especially since this seemed to be a personal grudge between her mother and him. So why would he need her here? Why would he spend the time, money, and manpower to get her?” He stared at her like she could answer his questions, but we all knew she couldn't. She was innocent in all this.
“Even when I called to tell him we needed more time because she got shot, he didn't complain about the week delay...why? He’s the type not to give a fuck about anyone and make them do it anyway. The possibility of her bleeding out in the sky shouldn’t worry him unless he needed her alive forsomething.”
He peered up at Cezar. “Do your voices have anything to add to that?”
Cezar shrugged, holding her close. “They just keep saying the words ‘not good’ and ‘Romani princess’.” Nicu nodded like that made sense. It almost never made sense to me, but I guess that was part of his charm. His annoying, psycho, dickhead charm.
The car rolled to a stop, and Nicu’s fingers flew across his phone, closing it before the driver opened the door. The butler, Gregory, was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. Nicu reached for Kazia, Cezar baring his teeth to him like a dog until Nicu barked out, “Be careful with her shoulder.” Cezar shook his head, looking like a kicked puppy and I helped him lift her limp body carefully towards Nicu.
Once we all climbed out, the butler came forward, smiling at us as he lifted his hands to take Kazia. “I got her,” Nicu continued, “When are we to meet father?”
The butler bowed, his tone shifting along with his feet. “He’s taking care of a skirmish in Amasia. They have been… happening more frequently. He wanted to make a show of this one.”
Nicu pressed his lips into a thin line, hesitating before his shoulders lowered as he exhaled. “Fine. We’ll be in the east wing.”
