The Code To A Don's Heart

e i g h t e e n

There was a knot around my heart, squeezing slowly with every passing second of consciousness. I was in the living room, scrolling through the TV. Viktor's friend Sunshine was supposed to be here any minute. I was just waiting. He too had gone out so I was left alone, comfortable enough to occasionally make frustrated groans.

Viktor hadn't brought up his offer when I saw him last. In fact, he hadn't even hinted that he'd made it or that he expected an answer. He was giving me the time and space that I needed, waiting patiently like the good guy he portrayed to be.

I knew better but it didn't stop my heart from wanting to reach out and hug him. The fact that we were two different people made it all the more weird. I wanted to throw myself over something and just scream because of the feelings that run through me. I hadn't even picked up my laptop to hack something. That's how bad it was.

I decided being a human burrito and scrolling through channels was my best course of action. It hadn't stopped snowing since yesterday and I was pissed. The snowflakes fell slow and few in number, nothing close to a blizzard or a storm. I just really didn't like the cold.

The channel shifted to some news and I decided to know what was going on. A robbery not far from here, a man dying on his way to hospital, a car crash and... something that surprised me, an abandoned meth lab was discovered. The place hadn't been cleared out, everything was still in place.

What idiots. I thought. Who leaves good money like that?

The front door opened and I knew it was Viktor without having to turn. There was a certain shift in the air when he was around, I realised. My hair stood on end and my mind screamed for me to run from a danger unseen. He walked towards me and reached down from the back of the couch to take the remote from my hands and turn off the TV.

"Hey," I protested, leaning my head back to look at the underside of his strong shin and long throat. "I was watching that."

"Not anymore. Sunshine is downstairs. He'll be here in a few minutes."

I noticed then the stuff he carried in one hand. He rounded the couch and put them on the short table in front of me. It was a couple of bags and a large metallic box. The front door opened again and this time I turned to see who Sunshine was.

He did not at all match his name. A thick jacket covered his form but it was still large, larger than Viktor. Taller too. A gnarly white beard fell to his chest and hid half his face. His footsteps echoed like thunder, his boots making a crunch as they stepped over the floor. This guy was no Sunshine.

He entered the room either way and set the things in his hands on the table. Three hangers draped in black polythene to cover whatever clothes were inside and a large black box. Sunshine took off his gloves, showing his tattooed hands and then the beanie that covered his head showing his bald scalp. This man screamed biker in every sense of the word.

"Hello miss," he greeted in a deep grave tone extending his hand. "My name is Sunshine."

I shook his hand. Strong, large and manly. "Um... hello. My name is Peach."

"Sunshine is part of a biker gang my Bratva owns," Viktor explained. Inside, I celebrated. I knew he was a biker. "He's here on hair and make-up duty."

"Huh?" I asked confused.

"I have a plan to get you and I talking to Markov but you need something to cover up your bruises," he continued, his voice going as cold as his expression.

"Sunshine's going to do my hair and make-up?" I asked the large burly man who nodded. "But what exactly is your plan Viktor?"

"We can go meet Markov together if you're arm candy," he stated.