Perfectly Normal (14 page)

*****

“What if we only targeted bad people?” Columbia asked Dimitri as they took advantage of the break in the weather. The sun shone down on them as they cuddled on the large lounge chair next to the pool. Autumn in Hong Kong wasn’t cold compared to Vancouver, but the rains were unrelenting at times.

“How can you be sure they are bad?” he replied, “And how do you define bad?”

“I don’t know, just bad. Criminals. Thieves and rapists and murderers and such,” she said, bristling at his questions. She hadn’t thought things through but she didn’t like to be reminded of such.

“Things aren’t always black and white, little dove,” he said gently and ran his fingers through her tangled hair, “some might call you and I murderers, does that mean we deserve to die?”

“Of course not,” she exclaimed, “but there’s got to be some way to figure out who we can kill without feeling guilty about it. For example, I am going to kill Sergei, and I will feel utterly no remorse about it.” She had been thinking about her reaction to killing her stepfather since the morning it occurred to her that she enjoyed it. For a few days now she had taken the concept of killing for pleasure, rolled it around in her head and examined it from all sides. She was convinced this was the only way she could be successfully rehabilitated from slashing herself. If she could take that poison and direct it at those who deserved it, things would be in balance for her.

“There is no way unless we follow them in the news, and even that’s biased,” he told her and shifted his weight, adjusting the two of them so she fit even further into the crook of his arm. “And if we follow them through the media, they’ve already been arrested and that means
cops, and cops mean you’re in danger of being exposed. I won’t allow it.”

“Sometimes you are so fucking annoying,” she said and pursed her lips together in frustration. “We aren’t going to walk into the court house and shoot them in front of everyone. I’m talking about finding a way to
determine who is guilty before they are caught, so we can deal with them. And with a knife, I don’t think I could shoot somebody, I like stabbing.”

He chuckled and brushed her cheek with the back of his knuckles, “You really are bloodthirsty, aren’t you, little queen? And I see one fatal flaw with your argument right
there; you are not ready to stab, to use a knife. It’s too close contact and I won’t have you risking your life…not for something like this.”

“I need this,” she said and twisted to face him, “I fucking need it, Dimi. I can’t help myself, I cut myself, I look for risky fun, I do stupid things…I have to have an outlet or I will get myself killed one of these days. The next time you aren’t watching me and the pressure has built up, I’ll do something stupid, I just know it.”

“So you need to kill?” he asked, his disbelief apparent on his face. “You’ve killed before, I know this, but I don’t think you know what it is to stand in front of a man and look him in the eye before you take his life.”

“I saw my step
father’s eyes, I saw his face. It didn’t mean anything to me, I still did it and I still liked it,” she argued.

“You did it in the heat of the moment, you were full of years of hatred towards the man. To stalk a man and plan his death is something entirely different. Believe me, I’ve experienced both,” he said and took her hand in his and placed it on his chest. “There must be another way to help you overcome your…frustration.”

“What, more sex with Nico?” she asked and when Dimitri looked as though he might agree, she added, “Until even that's not enough. Then what? What will we do? I’m sorry I don’t know how else to handle this. The cutting has been my only way of alleviating the…fuck, I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s like a gnawing pain in the pit of my stomach, I can’t eat, I can’t drink, I can’t think…I can’t…fuck normally. It’s an all-consuming need to see blood, to feel pain, to let it go. I felt the exact same way after killing my stepfather. It makes sense to me, and I wish you could understand how I feel.”

She felt tears welling up in her eyes and waited for his reaction. “We will see,” he said and brought her to
lie on his chest, in the circle of his arms. “When you are ready, we will see,” he added and kissed the top of her head.

She decided to let it go for the moment and decided to enjoy the simple act o
f loving Dimi. Spending quiet times in his arms, listening to his voice echo in his broad chest as they talked about their future, kept her grounded for the time being. If only she could find a way to be content with what she had, or convince Dimitri that killing was her only option for handling her stress.

Chapter Seven

“You look absolutely ravishing,” Dimitri said and kissed her bare shoulders. They were attending a Halloween event, which meant masks and anonymity.
She was almost shaking while applying make-up; it was a good thing she was seated, her knees were trembling so badly. It had been too long since they last left the penthouse, and she was beginning to hate the space even though she was still nervous about leaving it.

“I hope nobody recognizes me,” she said and fidgeted w
ith her hair, arranging one stubborn curl in a delicate arc across her forehead.

“Nobody will, everyone is in costume,” he replied and kissed the top of her head. “This is a major public event, I bought our tickets the same as everyone else. We’re just another couple tonight, the same as everyone else.”

“Except we’re crazy,” she laughed and put her hand on his. He leaned down and she looked at the two of them in the mirror. With masks, they would be any other attractive couple. An elegant woman and a tall, muscular man standing guard behind her at all times.

“You keep these,” he said and handed her the tickets, “I will most likely lose them. You can put them in
one of your hundred or so handbags.”

“It’s a woman thing,” she said with a smile, “I never had the money to get these things before. I do like spending your money.”

“Spend as much as you’d like,” he said and brought her hand up to his lips to kiss it, “anything to make you happy.”

“You do know the way to a woman’s heart,” she laughed, “I swear before I met you I wasn’t materialistic though.”
She felt the need to clarify that, she would hate for him to think she was after his money. It was nice though, to have spent her entire life worrying about every penny and end up in this opulent, self-indulgent lifestyle. She tucked the tickets in her clutch and looked up at Dimi, “Wait, there’s three? Is Nico joining us?”

“Y
es, of course,” he replied, “an extra set of eyes, all the better to watch you with, my sweet.” He winked and pantomimed a snarl at her in the mirror.

She
faked a little shriek, snapped the clutch shut and said, “I suppose an extra set of eyes isn’t a bad thing, as long as he knows how to dance.”

“Are you afraid your beast of a man can’t move on the dance floor?” he asked her.

“No,” she said quickly, “I have seen your moves, remember? You knock me on my ass several times a day. I mean I hope he doesn’t stand out by lurking in a corner watching everyone live their lives.”

“He does make that a habit, and he’s quite good at it,” he replied, “but I’ll remind him to fit in, ok?”

“It’s fine,” she said, “I’m looking out for him, is all.” She was also looking out for herself. She was in a mood tonight and worried she’d want to ramp things up to take the edge off. Dimitri would indulge her a little playtime with Nico, but she still didn’t know how to take the first time. She thought about it from time to time, and had enjoyed it beyond measure, but still felt a little spasm of guilt in the pit of her stomach when she allowed herself to enjoy the thought. It was such a contradiction in terms that she filed it away in order to address it to herself when she was ready.

Dimitri
leaned down and gave her a kiss on the back of her neck. She shivered at the touch of his lips on her skin. He mistook it for a chill and pulled her beautiful Chanel mink stole around her shoulders. She sighed when she saw herself, the buttery soft deep brown fur gave her the appearance that she knew what she was doing, that she was confident enough to be out and about tonight among everyone else.

He left the room and she finished getting ready. Her long gown was by a small designer in
Belgium; she had stumbled across the design online and managed to hunt one down. She wasn’t used to such luxurious things, but the silk dress clung to her like a second skin and made the most incredible patterns of swirling colour as she walked. She’d stuck to earth tones, light browns and greys, not wanting to be too bright and call attention to herself.

The thing
Dimi had loved about the dress was that her scars were visible against the thin material. Her abdomen and thighs were criss crossed with fine lines through the silk, barely noticeable but enough to please him.

Both men were waiting at the front entrance,
Dimitri held out his arm for her when she arrived and said, “Shall we?”

She suppressed the urge to run back to the bedroom and crawl under the covers. She’d wanted
this, to leave, and this was the perfect opportunity.

She just hoped her impulsive insistence that they have a night on the town before they left for Malta wouldn’t end in a bad way.

*****

The car pulled up in front of a sprawling mansion perched on the side of the mountain just off Severn Road. She recognized the area from her on
line research; it was in the neighbourhood on the way to The Peak, the top of the mountain overlooking the city. The most expensive real estate in Hong Kong was all concentrated along this strip; she wondered how such a place had been chosen for a public event.

“Are you sure this is it?” she whispered to Dimitri as they waited to exit the car.

“Yes, I assure you, this is the place,” he replied, “I’ve been here before.”

“You have? Alone?”

“No, not alone. It was years ago, the same masquerade party.”

“But you said it’s a public event.”

“It is, and it isn’t. There is a private function taking place on the top floor, the public access is limited to the main floor. Tell me, little dove, why so many questions?”

Nico was listening with a bemused look on his face. Columbia didn’t appreciate him following along to begin with, for some reason he bothered her when she was wound up. Him looking like a smug prig while she tried to communicate her fears to Dimitri wasn’t helping. “No reason, I’m just confused by the private location hosting a public function. I was expecting a warehouse or ballroom…or something that made more sense. Do you know the owners?”

“I did,” he replied.

“Are they friends of Sergei?”

“They were. I’ve heard through my networks that they’ve had a major falling out recently. It interests me, if this powerful man could be an ally and tell me more about Sergei’s current status.”

“Are you meeting with him tonight?”

“No, I am simply checking around while we enjoy ourselves. I want to see if anyone from Sergei’s
bratva
is around, if they are then the rumours are false. None of them would want to miss this event.”

“But they’ll be on the top floor.”

“Their bodyguards and associated entourage won’t be, and I will recognize some of them.”

“Oh, I see…why didn’t you tell me this? I would have worn something less…revealing,” she said and pulled the stole tighter. She hadn’t thought about the gown being strapless, exposing her shoulders and arms. She hadn’t worried about such things when purchasing gorgeous clothing because she hadn’t imagined she would be wearing them outside of the apartment. As long as she kept the stole around her shoulders and upper arms, she would slip through the crowds unnoticed.

“It’s time,” Nico said and handed each of them a mask. Dimitri wore a black leather stag that covered the top half of his face and extended a few inches above his head in formidable and exquisite horns. Columbia’s mask was bright red, a bird of some kind with an elaborately beaded and carved leather headdress that ended in magnificent feathers that poured down her shoulders. She put it on and looked out at the world from the eyeholes.

There was something magical about being covered
, as though she had been transformed into a beautiful creature with perfect skin and a perfect life. For the first time that entire day she felt a jolt of excitement. She wanted to drink and dance and laugh with Dimitri while the entire world stood by and didn’t notice them. “I’m ready,” she said and took Dimitri’s hand. She hesitated momentarily before she hit the pavement with her utterly divine Miu Miu heels feeling like she could move the earth with a flick of her finger. Anonymity was a powerful thing indeed.

She turned back and saw Nico coming close behind her, edging across the seat of the limousine. She gave a small gasp when she saw his mask, he was w
earing what looked like a wolf, also leather and very menacing. She’d always thought of her stepfather as the wolf in her story, and it took a moment for her to realize it was just Nico.

She got out and looked at the line up of cars behind them, moving slowly and dropping off passengers in front of the sprawling home. Lush greenery flanked the mansion on either side, and the age of the place gave an overall feeling of decadent decay. She looked at Nico again and realized the mask wasn’t as frightening as she’d first thought, more a Coyote than a Wolf, but she couldn’t shake the feeling she was in danger all the same.

She shivered as they made their way up the grand stairs to the entryway, Dimitri mistook it for chills again and pulled her stole up gently and placed his arm around her shoulders. The feeling dissipated but lingered in the back of her head. Out here they were exposed, out here they were vulnerable. She understood why those years of being alone and afraid had driven Dimitri to madness before she came along; she gave his hand a squeeze. At least through all of this, she wasn’t alone.

He bent to kiss her, their masks almost getting tangled
as he brushed her lips with his. She giggled, they pulled apart and Nico held the door open. Inside hundreds of people were packed into an impossibly open space. Everywhere she looked there were glamourous, masked couples dancing and drinking as the lights flashed and the music pulsed. She leaned into Dimitri and grinned, the energy of the space catching her up in a wave of excitement. This was going to be a good night.

*****

Just after midnight Columbia stumbled down a short set of stairs leading to an outside patio. “Careful,” Dimitri said and caught her as she almost fell. She was intoxicated, not just from the glass after glass of champagne she’d been drinking, but from the freedom she felt here, among the crowds of faceless, nameless people.

“I am being careful,” she giggled and leaned on him. He picked her up to carry her the rest of the way to a little copse of trees at the edge of the garden space just beyond the patio. “I’m being so careful I
haven’t even taken my mask off all night,” she whispered in loud conspirator tones. “Nobody would ever suspect a thing, nobody would ever guess who we are.”

“Columbia,” he replied, “watch what you say.” He set her down on a garden bench with a view of the city lights. He rarely used her name, so she knew he was serious. She just didn’t know why.

“It’s not a big deal,” she said, waved her hand back towards the house and slid her mask up off her face, “there are probably more than a few killers in there at this very minute!”

“Seriously,” he whispered
and moved his own mask up, “keep your voice down!”

“I don’t know why you’re freaking out,” she replied, “It’s just-“

Dimitri cut her off with a kiss. She immediately forgot what she was talking about and kissed him back. His mouth tasted of champagne, sweet and slightly bitter. She loved the feel of his tongue wrapping around hers in her drunken state, it made everything feel softer, brighter around the edge.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Nico said from behind them, “but you seem to have dropped this.” He held out her stole and she only then realized it was gone. Her shoulders and arms had been bare for who knows how long, and she didn’t care.

“That’s ok,” she said, “it’s really fucking hard to make out with these masks on anyways.”

“She’s a chatty drunk,” Dimitri said and reached for the stole, “so you weren’t interrupting much, my friend.”

“I was in trouble,” Columbia whispered and once again it sounded a little louder than she’d intended. “Save me, come sit,” she added and patted the seat next to her.

Nico looked at Dimitri and Dimitri nodded his consent. Columbia loved that Dimitri controlled everything, including Nico’s moves. She didn’t know why it was so fucking hot to see her man order everyone around, but it was. “It’s even hot when you tell me what to do,” she said, “I might act like I don’t like it, but I fucking love it, Dimi, it makes me so wet.”

Both men were looking at her like she was an idiot. What did she just say? “Oh shit, did I say that out loud?” she giggled and put her hand to her mouth, “Oh I don’t feel so good.”