Page 22 of Until Death or Defeat

“Yes, she does. So does her father, so does everyone else at this table, and every other fucking Russian family you see here. And now, so do you.”

She stands up, her chair loudly screeching against the slick floor, causing some heads to turn. I see her hesitate with all the eyes on her, and for a moment she calms herself, and sits back down. I shoot her a smug look as she sits back down, and she kicks me with her heel.

“Behave,solnishko,” I say between my closed teeth, overcoming the pain.

“I told you to stop calling me rude shit in Russian.”

Lyra makes a confused face, and then looks at me. I just shake my head, not wanting her to correct it. She doesn’t need to know what the pet name I’ve given her really means.

The air in the car is charged, and I can feel the anger radiating off of her. I don’t really care for her bratty tantrums, and I fucking refuse to entertain it.

I have no idea how I’m going to be able to handle living with this woman, when seeing her once a week is already a handful. I turn my back, and she’s trying to meddle in Lyra’s life without thinking of consequences. And more importantly, how she continues to openly defy and question me in front of others.

She makes everything more difficult than it needs to be.

“You’re awfully quiet,” she says candidly with her arms crossed.

I don’t answer, still reeling in my head over how the fuck I’m going to tame this crazy woman beside me before she does something stupid and gets herself killed one day.

“Oh, I know what it is; you’re brooding because I got the last word in front of your family? Who cares, they don’t seem to mind. Actually, they seemed pretty entertained.”

Her words buzz through my mind again:“I know some decent guys.”As if she has any fucking idea. My grip on the wheel tightens, and the leather groans under the pressure.

“God, you are so predictable. If you have something to say just say it already.”

“You don’t get it, and you never will, because you’re so damn naive and headstrong.”

She scoffs, her hands quickly unwrapping from their position crossed over her chest.

“Why? Because I think Lyra deserves to find love? What isit, Artem? You’ll never find love, so everyone else has to suffer along with you?”

I suddenly hit the brakes, and the car swerves, pulling over with much more force than necessary. She jolts forward before catching herself against the dash and whips her head to me in anger.

“What the fuck? Are you out of your mind?”

“Get out of the car.”

“What? Fuck no, you’re not kicking me out.”

I roll my eyes and take off my seatbelt, looking at her. “I didn’t say I wasn’t taking you back, I said, get the fuck out of the car. Now.”

She must see the dark expression over my face, so she huffs dramatically before undoing her seatbelt and stepping outside, as I do the same.

She stands by the open passenger door, our eyes meeting from across the hood as we both stand at our respective sides.

“I’m out. Now what?” she says sarcastically, and I squeeze my fingers to my palm trying to contain myself.

“Now, you’re going to learn another lesson.”

I storm around the front of the car, but she quickly moves backward, and we go around once before we both stop on opposite sides again.

“What the hell are you talking about, you psycho?”

“Giselle, make this harder than it needs to be and so help me God you won’t sit for fucking days.”

Her eyes widen, and I know her sick mind is racing with ideas.

“That is not ever happening again, you perverted fuck!”