Grigori snapped his fingers where the papers were being hoarded. “Give me one. Now.” His tone held complete authority, his lineage peeking out after only being around his dad and granddad for a short time. He didn’t expect to be denied. And he wasn’t.
They were practically thrown at us as they were handed over so quickly.
Zane grunted. “You’ve got them fooled.”
Grigori chuckled evilly; his head turned away from his family. “They know the real deal. And I’m it.”
Zane laughed. “You’re such an arrogant ass.”
Grigori shrugged good-naturedly. “No more than you.” He handed over the extra sheet to his dad.
Daniil took it gladly but still kept his muscled arms around me.
I interrupted their male crap, asking again, “So what song is it?”
Daniil chuckled. “Quit procrastinating, my sweet, and look at your sheet. It’s not bad.”
Grigori glanced down.
Blinked.
Stared.
Blinked again.
And threw his head back, and laughed so damn loud, everyone in the room stopped to stare at him. God, he looked…
Happy. Content. Beautiful.
In the stunned silence that filled the room, I stopped staring and glanced down at my sheet. Oh, my. This will be interesting.
Ember was still gazing at her lover. “I did good?”
He nodded, still laughing. “Yeah. You did good.”
She held up a tiny fist, and he fist-bumped her.
I stopped watching the play-by-play and lifted the paper.
Daniil bent down, his breath rushing across my cheek.
We both muttered at the same time, “Love Shack?”
Ember had chosen ‘Love Shack’ by B-52’s for us to sing together. I knew the beat to the song, but I couldn’t remember the words, so I quickly skimmed them, re-read them, just as Daniil must have been doing because, suddenly, it was as if we got the joke together. Ember was giving the middle finger to those dead men back at the house. Even after death, she was sticking it to them, making a joke of their attempt. And rightly so, because she had taken down all of them by her lonesome. She was pissed they had tried, even though she showed it in the oddest ways.
I turned my head toward Daniil, saying softly, “Seriously twisted mind.”
Daniil nodded, and jerked his head in Grigori’s direction, murmuring against my ear, “That’s why they are perfect for one another.” He paused, his eyes on them as a chuckling Grigori bent down, showing Ember that he was going to record it. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.” Daniil rubbed his whiskers over the exposed flesh on my neck.
I couldn’t say anything, his touch electrifying, setting me on sizzle from that small touch. Though, it didn’t much matter because Ember placed the sheet Grigori was sharing with her in her lap, clapping her hands loudly. “Okay, people! Here’s how the tune goes if you’re unfamiliar. And remember, please don’t laugh, because I swear, I’m not just being polite when I say I suck. I really do.”
She inhaled a huge breath and started humming the tune, which sounded like shit, but gave everyone a decent idea of how it was supposed to go. She stopped and picked the paper up, holding it for her and Grigori since Grigori was too busy making sure he got in a good position to have the majority of the room in the camera, but foremost, making sure his father was dead center in the frame. He nodded, his lips twitching, whispering, “Finish it, my little bitch.”
She turned her head, her smile a little lopsided, and her eyes drooping. “Abso-fucking-lutely.” Then she turned to us, saying, “Three, two, one.”
We all started singing ‘Love Shack.’ Zane sang it at the top of his lungs. The mayor of New York City and his wife sang it with gusto. The Russian Mafia sang it with shouting passion. Grigori kept the camera trained on the group, but his mouth was at Ember’s ear, singing softly, probably, so his voice wasn’t the only one heard on the recording. And the little redhead who had instigated it all sat on the bed, pumping her fists in the air, shouting her portion of the song all by herself.
We sang it three damn times, and by the end, everyone had their fists in the air, all of us very much thrilled to be alive. Shouts and claps and hollers in English and Russian rounded off the entertainment. I whistled loudly, whooping along with everyone else. Daniil’s bellow about pierced my eardrum as he shouted a very ungentlemanly curse against the men who had come into his home, resulting in another round of hooting and hollering, until Dr. Benedict busted up our fun time, Ember’s nurse standing behind her with a definite pleased expression on his face.
