Nikolai Dimitri Leonov

"I'm going to murder you."

"Nice to see you too, Ximena," I say with a sarcastic smile. "Although your welcoming committee could be a bit better."

Those forest green eyes of hers drill into me with the very familiar glare that I know is reserved just for me, how special. If Livia was a cartoon then there would be steam coming out of her ears right now.

Her eyes flick over to her father who stood with my parents, chatting happily but there was a tightness to his shoulder I had never seen before. Angelo Di Vittorio was a remarkably good boss, man and overall human. He didn't have many enemies because of that fact but there was something wrong.

Livia sees the same thing I do in her father, the only difference between us is she knows what caused it, I can tell. And that causes her to deflate.

There was something wrong, first her not knowing what was going on right under her nose when she normally knew everything, two when she wanted to postpone our meeting instead of dealing with it straight away and now she was backing away from a fight instead of provoking me like she normally did.

This wasn't normal.

I didn't like it.

My favourite part about coming here was getting to fight with Livia, it was like the highlight of my year, and if she wasn't acting like the rabid animal she normally was then it will be very disappointing.

"Well, you aren't welcome, if you were then there would be a difference." She comments, glancing at her nails to avoid looking at me. "You made me wake up at six in the morning for this."

"Well, you wouldn't have had to if you had agreed to us coming over last night as I had wanted."

My mother cuts us off. "Will you two just shut up, you haven't seen each other for a while now, shouldn't you be excited?"

"Ew." Livia grimaces at the same time as I reply. "Gross."

My mother sighed in exasperation, I have no idea why she thought this trip would be any better, Livia and I had been like this for as long as I can remember. "You two exhaust me."

"Guys why didn't you go start sorting out what you need to, Liv fill in Nikolai please," Angelo asks and Livia nods. She walks up to her wing in the house where I have a room reserved especially for my visits.

The estate felt different, there was a certain buzz around here that I had never felt before. "Do you have more people than normal on the property?"

I watch as her facial expressions shift, they are barely noticeable but I have studied Livia's emotions for years. So I see her press her lips together for a brief second and then clench her jaw but she doesn't answer me, she instead keeps leading me through the property.

Just before we reached her rooms we were stopped by someone I don't know. My stance tightens as I prepare for him to be a threat but since Livia doesn't return the movement I follow her lead and force myself to relax. I turn to look at Livia waiting for her to give me some sort of clue about what is going on, she ignored me looking at the man in front of her.

"Are you okay, Matteo?"

Matteo?

I rack my brain trying to figure out why that name sounds familiar, it was a common name but I know there is someone important with that name.

"Umm." Instead of answering her his eyes were on me. He was hesitant, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

Seeing this Livia introduces us. "Matteo, this is an... acquaintance and business colleague of mine, Nikolai I would like to introduce you formally to my brother."

"What the..." I don't finish my sentence because of the sharp look Livia sends me with a warning I know to take very seriously. She might make idle threats from across the country but when I'm a mere meter away from here they don't count as just threats anymore, they're promises, and Livia Ximena is a frightening woman.

The brothers were back, and that would mean her mother was back.

She wouldn't have just shown up here after so long without something driving her back.

And what are the odds that there are a series of attacks happening at the same time?

Secrets, secrets, secrets.

Where was the truth

"Nikolai Leonov." I hold my hand out to him which he takes and shakes.

"Matteo Vars." I glance over to Livia for her response to the different surname but she doesn't look affected.

"Um, is Luca home?" Matteo asks his sister, Liv glances at her watch to check the time.

"Uh no, he's gone to football practice, he should be back in like an hour or so. But he also might stay out with his friends, I'm not sure."

"Oh, okay." Matteo nods. "Thanks anyway."

"You're welcome."

We wait until he had disappeared at the end of the hallway, wait until we know he was out of earshot and then we face each other.

"Not here." She orders, her eyes flicking behind me to where Matteo had gone. One might have left but there were still three more of them. The cream walls turned to black the moment we enter the wing of the house that housed Livia and Vincenzo, the obsidian tiles were streaked with gold making it feel even more opulent, and paintings made mainly by the inhabiters of the wing lined the wall. The siblings had started going to art class when they were young as a way to bond and neither of them grew out of the hobby. The bottom floor was a common area for the two, a space for both of them. Normally I stayed with Livia on this floor, she had an office, and conference room but my bedroom was upstairs where her's was so I wasn't shocked when she led me up the stairs, past Vincenzo's space and up to her wing.

She didn't let people up here, and for good reason. This was her space, the space where she could just be herself, where she wasn't watched by everyone trying to figure out her weaknesses so they could take her down.

This space wasn't black like downstairs, it was white.

White and gold.

Her favourite colours.

The space was mainly white, and golden lights fitted in most spaces in the room. This room had air, you were able to breathe here and that's what Livia needed.

It's what I needed.

Without asking I flop back on her white couch which she glares at me for. Unlike everyone else, I had been here, numerous times. Not even her siblings were normally invited up here but Livia and I had a unique relationship.

"You are going to dirty my couch and my rugs." She murmurs in annoyance but doesn't ask me to move, instead, she takes a seat, getting comfortable on the very large white bean bag in the corner of the room right by the row of windows.

It was still very early so the bright morning light shone, illuminating her. She sinks into the bean bag and I see all the weight sink in with her, it was drowning her alive.

"It's your fault for having white things." I tease her earning a glare in reward. There was a reason I always wore new clothes and made sure I was clean before I entered her house. "What's going on, princess?"

"Don't call me that." The fire in her was returning making me smirk, she hadn't realised it but she was looking so defeated. And nothing annoyed her more than that nickname. It brought back the fire Livia had been harbouring her whole life.

"Alright, princess."

"I'm going to strangle you." She mutters but then thinks better of it. "You know what, never mind, you would probably be into that."

All I do is shoot her another smirk, neither confirming nor denying that statement. I remember we have to talk and sit taller, unconsciously she mirrors my actions her mask that had slowly slipped away started rebuilding in place.

"So how long?" I ask, knowing instantly what I was talking about she thinks back.

"I think it was Wednesday, maybe Tuesday, honestly Kai I have no concept of time at this point in my life."

"When was the last time you slept?" I study her, and one thing she was good at was faking it.

"I crashed for like an hour on Rico's couch in his office, then I got another two hours in bed before I was called out to the base, got in an hour before you got here." I hold back a comment, my sleep schedule was just as messed up so I couldn't comment. Her phone chimes and I recognise the sigh she lets out, the sigh that means work so I stand up before she can even say something and hold my hand out to her, she takes my hand with uncertainty, like I was offering her a spider. I quirk an eyebrow at her, urging her to take my hand and slowly she does and I help her rise to her feet.

"Now was that so hard Ximena," I ask, I never moved away when I pulled her up so we were close, too close. I towered over her frame looking down at her. Her eyes weren't soft, her eyes were never soft. They were filled with fire.

There's my girl.

Her eyes burn into me and she rises on her toes so we are face to face, mere inches apart. "Get out of my room, Leonov."

All I do is laugh.

Merry Christmas my lovely readers!!! My present to you is an early chapter.

This is actually my favourite chapter out of all the ones I've written so far. For some reason writing Nikolai's POV brings me great joy.

Please vote and comment and I will see you Thursday

Happy reading

Ara <3