And me?
I was told to stay away; I didn’t have a plausible connection to Alena until I became a forest ranger. A stranger to her until today.
But I think Axel, a.k.a. Michael can be a goddamn pit bull about protecting Alena’s innocence. Sometimes he’s worse than Nash. Axel’s always had a special bond with her.
For years, I was jealous of it. I wanted Alena to knowme. I wanted to go with Axel to her birthday parties and holiday celebrations at Nash’s house.
But the rest of us brothers had to hide in the background. Hell, our names aren’t even real.
I wasn’t born Loch Waring.
My mom chose that name.
I was born Lyov Kholodov. The youngest son of Ruslan Kholodov, the head of the Russian Bratva, who named me “lion.”
And now our father lives like an evil villain, in my mind, conjured by my brothers’ stories. I have no memory of him, and that makes him worse because the scars he left on my brothers are very real and so is the guilt I have for bearing none.
“I got you, brother,” I assure Nash. “I know my job. I’m guarding her.”
“I want daily updates.”
“Copy.”
I turn toward the fridge for a beer, ready for Nash to end the call, but he adds solemnly, “And thanks, man.”
For all the shit we give each other, like with most men, it masks a deep love. It’s why we do this.
“You’re welcome, man.” I don’t need to say more and end our call.
Nash loves his daughter.
But…
So do I.
Sipping a beer, I watch Alena clean her dishes and turn off her kitchen lights before disappearing inside her bathroom.
Darkness falls over her studio cabin.
It matches mine.
It’s an open room with a kitchen and dining table on one side, and a bed, chair, and a flatscreen on the other. A wall of windows opens onto the covered porch outside, while a fewwindows offer light and side views in the modern design. That’s how I can see into her place. Only the bathroom and blinds provide full privacy.
Alena made it sound cute today, and I didn’t lie to her.
I am her stalker.
But I’m more.
With my binoculars, I turn on their night vision, the screen filling with shades of green as I scan the perimeter of her cabin, down the steep slope, and up the verdant ridge.
While Alena was at work today, I installed trail cameras around her cabin. Hunters use them to track game. If she finds them, she won’t be alarmed.
But if I find a human, not a bear, tripping their motion sensors, I’ve identified two spots on this mountain perfect for graves or an accidental fall over the rocks. Depends on whether I want to hear them scream.
I also let myself inside her cabin and installed a listening device under her nightstand. If she wakes up to an intruder, I’ll hear it.
I turned it off for my chat with Nash though.
