The Heirs: Cold-Hearted

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Zane Sokolov, Age 20

Ah. Tatiana Yenin.

She looks just as perfect as I remember. Nineteen years I've known this girl and she still looks at me like I'm scum beneath her shoe. It makes me fucking smile, her disdain of me. It fuels me.

Things were getting a little dull around here.

I watch as Tate dances with her cousins on the dance floor. You'd never know she was so full of hatred – my Tatiana. I know her better than she thinks. I know she uses that tough exterior as a shell to protect herself in our harsh world.

I've seen flickers of the real Tate.

Her concern for her brother, her love for her cousins, the way she's smiling and laughing as she sings along with the music.

I remember summers in Moscow. I remember childhood with Tate and Chase Yenin. We were all friends. But she was never just a friend in my eyes. As we got older, Tate pulled away from me. When we'd visit Chicago, she'd find reasons to avoid me.

The only logical reason is that she's equally attracted to me.

I mean, who the fuck wouldn't be?

I know I'm good-looking. I know I'm funny and charismatic and shit. I've perfected it over the years.

Her fake-loathing of me does keep things interesting though.

"What the fuck are you doing, Zane?" Aleks asks me in Russian.

"Not sure what you mean, brother."

"Why did you invite Eva here?" he asks.

Oh. He's still pissed about that?

I clap my hand on my older brother's shoulder. "Lighten up. The shorter you make her leash, the greater she'll lash out. You know Eva."

Aleks frowns deeply. "I don't like it. Those girls..."

I roll my eyes, "You know them. Dad trusts the Donnellys like they're his own kin."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it. I don't like the way that tall one with the glasses spoke to me." Aleks takes a long sip of his drink, eyes studying Imogen Donnelly where she stands uncomfortably off to the side of where her cousins dance freely. "And the loud one is a bad influence," he nods towards Sophie Donnelly.

I laugh a bit. "Lighten up, Aleks. Get that stick out of your ass. Eva's a good girl. Let her live."

Aleks gives me a knowing look, his eyes that are so similar to mine darken.

"What are you up to, Z?"

"Nothing," I smile innocently. "The night is young!" I finish off my drink and place it on the banister. "If you'll excuse me..."

Aleks doesn't look pleased, but I've never cared much for listening to my brother. It's funnier when he gets mad, anyway.

I make my way towards the back patio after I watch Tatiana storm off after her cousins. I stand in the shadows as I watch her scramble to look for where Imogen ran after Sophie and those two dudes. Tate rounds the corner and I stand in her pathway. She runs right into my chest, as expected.

Tate looks surprised for the briefest of moments. I like seeing her a bit off-kilter. She's always so tough, my Tatiana. It's refreshing to see her show her true self.