He actually bared his teeth.
I mumbled, “Wrinkles, Daniil.”
His mouth snapped shut, and his face cleared. “So, when this asshole is brought to me tomorrow, what would you plan to do with him?”
My thoughts emptied. “I honestly have no clue.” I didn’t. What did someone do to someone else who threatened them obscenely, but knew they were probably capable of more?
He nodded. “You really don’t know what you’re asking for, Beth. You’ve never had to deal with this.” He stated softly, “Just let me take care of these issues.”
I shook my head. “No. They’ll all end up dead if I do that.”
His soft expression disappeared and turned fierce again, as he slashed a hand through the air, and he hissed furiously. “That fucker should be dead after I question him. Would you want to meet him in a back alley? Be drugged and raped? Have him choke you to death while he’s doing it?” He took a step forward. “Because that’s what he will do to you if he got you alone. What he said to you wasn’t nearly as sick as what he said to me. He has plans for you. And it won’t just stop with him now that the world knows about you.” He then shouted, “Just let me handle these things! Without argument!”
I stood my ground. Barely. “When it comes to people coming after me, I want a say. I don’t know what the hell I’m really doing, and you know this, but I want to try. Not everyone deserves to die.”
He shouted, throwing his hands in the air, and resumed his pacing. I hoped he didn’t get this angry with everyone. It couldn’t be good for his heart.
“Fine!” he continued shouting. “I will let you in on those issues as long as you’re not in immediate danger. But if you are, I have the right to blow the fucker’s head off!” He glanced at me, utterly pissed. “Are we done here, my sweet?” Again with the endearment being used not so…sweetly.
“Yes, my dear,” I stated back just as pissy as he had. Heh. Now he had an endearment I could use against him when I was mad. “That works for me.” Hell, it wasn’t really any different from a cop using lethal force when needed. Just not exactly legal…but better than the alternative…which would be everyone dead who looked at me crossways.
“Wonderful,” he shouted, banging the door open and storming out of the room.
“Perfect,” I hollered after him, quickly following on his heels.
Both of us erupted back into the dining room, practically banging shoulders as we went through the archway to see who got in the room first. Pretty childish really, but it was our first real argument where actual communication was used, neither one of us completely satisfied with the outcome.
Everyone kept talking, but covert glances were pointed our way, and Daniil growled a little at me, scowling before walking away, and I whispered after him, “Wrinkles.” It was low enough where I was certain only he had heard, but I could have sworn Carl choked on his drink, staring at us.
He stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder at me. Yeah, I was seeing some kind of threat there, but I pointed to my forehead and eyes, and gave him a saucy wink before I turned my back on him and marched stiffly over to my parents…and stole my dad’s bread.
Mom’s eyebrows rose as she sat back relaxed even knowing she was going to be fired. “First fight?”
I growled, sounding a lot like Daniil, and stayed mute chewing my bread and glaring at him across the room where he glared right back even as he talked to Grigori and Roman.
Mom chuckled. “Well, you’re still breathing so he must have shown some restraint,” I grunted, knowing he had, but not appreciating Mom’s joke. “May I ask what it was about since there are so many things to choose from?”
I hissed, “Not funny.”
“But no less true.”
I chomped into the bread again, talking around it, “I had to put my foot down. He just can’t assume I’m going to do what he says all the time.” Mom nodded and Dad looked amused. “And there’s the issue of him wanting to kill everyone who insults me. I don’t want everyone with a bullet in their head.”
Dad looked positively entertained, glancing quickly at Daniil and back to me. “How did that go over?”
“As long as I’m not inimmediatedanger, he won’t blow,” I used finger quotes, “thefuckers head off,” I bit into the bread again, “and he’ll talk to me to decide how I would like to handle it. If I am in immediate danger…well…I compromised and there might be some unattached heads.”
My dad paused and turned and walked out of the room…and then I heard him start laughing out in the hallway.
Mom’s lips twitched. “Well, that’s a start, I guess.”
“A biggie, really,” Ember stated from where she was eavesdropping next to us, leaning against the table next to Zane.
“Butt out,” I griped and went to bite into my bread…and saw it was missing a large section that I hadn’t put there. I glared at the wicked redheaded bitch next to me. “I’m pregnant! With triplets! Quit stealing my food!”
She popped the bread into her mouth and grinned. God, I realized I was going to have to be around her even more often, too, since she had been staying over here, her children separating their time between here and Cole and Brent’s house. I groaned, and she patted my cheek, grinning even more and then cheerfully saying, “Welcome to the family.It’ll be an experience unlike any you’ve ever known.” She chuckled deep like Count Dracula.
“You’re not funny,” I stated bluntly, finishing off my bread before she could.
