All Chapters of SHADOW AND BLOOD: THE PRICE OF LOVING YOU : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

LORENZO GRAYSON\ VADIM KERZHAKOV ©I arrived at Kyle’s house and stepped out of the car right away. I tossed the keys to one of the guards for him to park it and walked inside.“Good day, Sir Enzo. Boss is upstairs,” one of his men said.I gave a small nod and headed to Kyle’s office.He was on a call when I walked in. He turned at once. I dropped my coat on the couch and sat down. “We’ll talk about this later. I need to go,” he said before ending the call.He walked over to me, turned his laptop in my direction, and pressed play.I leaned forward without saying a word. Then the footage started.My mother’s car came into view. A group of men rushed in and blocked the road. Within seconds, they surrounded the car. A gunshot rang out. They shot the driver.My chest tightened as they dragged Mother and Leonid, her bodyguard out of the car. Leonid fought back hard, trying to protect her. Even outnumbered, he did not stop fighting.I sat frozen, my eyes fixed on the screen. Then came a

LORENZO GRAYSON\ VADIM KERZHAKOV ©I slowly finished my drink while Alina kept talking about her time in Russia. I answered when I had to, though most of the time, I just listened. At some point, she found out I was from Russia too, but she still knew nothing about my real background.I glanced toward the bar when I felt someone staring.Nick. The kid quickly looked away the moment our eyes met.Beside me, Alina had already started to get drunk. She rested her elbow on the counter and leaned her cheek against her palm while staring at me.“You know… I like you,” she said with a lazy smile.Nick paused in the middle of what he was doing and looked our way. The second I turned to him, he quickly went back to work.“You’re drunk,” I said with a sigh as I stood up. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”“No, I’m not,” she said, waving a hand. “I’m very much okay.”“And who wouldn’t like you, Enzo? You’re the kind of gentleman every woman wants.” she added as she pointed at my chest.“Gentleman?”

NICK WALKER © I stared at the interactive whiteboard, but my mind was somewhere else.I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier. No matter how hard I tried, it stayed in my head.I did not even have the boldness to ask Enzo why he did it. I felt too embarrassed to bring it up.I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to focus on what the lecturer was teaching.“You sounded jealous.“ I remembered his words, and I scoffed under my breath.Jealous? He clearly did not know what he was talking about.Avery nudged me lightly, her eyes still on the lecturer.“What’s wrong?” she whispered.I shook my head, trying to push my thoughts away.“Nothing,” I said and she lowered her head before looking at me.“You still haven’t told me where you went earlier,” she whispered and I swallowed hard.“Your ears are red, Nick.” I quickly massaged both ears.“What does that have to do with what you’re asking?” I whispered back.“You tell me.“ She said.“Well… I went to the restroom,

NICK WALKER ©The last two days had felt strange. After what I saw in Enzo’s office, I had not seen him again. Only the female professor.And Avery?She had been acting strange too. For the past two days, she had been quieter than usual, and for some reason, it disturbed me.I kept waiting for her to come around, but she did not. She spent more time talking to Mira and only made small talk and short replies with me. Something felt off, and I hated that it got to me this much.I started clearing my throat as we walked home after getting off the bus. She turned to look at me.“Are you okay, Nick?” she asked, worry clear on her face.“Yeah, I’m fine actually,” I said and she let out a small sigh and kept walking.I hurried to catch up with her and lightly bumped her shoulder.“What’s wrong?” I asked. “You seem distant. Did I do something wrong?”She stopped walking and turned to me. “Do you think you’ve done anything wrong, Nick Walker?”I tried to think of what could have gone wrong be

NICK WALKER ©I couldn’t help staring at him as he walked into the hall.He wore the same cold look as always. A stack of papers rested in his hands as he walked to the front. He took off his coat, placed it aside, and rolled up his sleeves.I frowned a little and glanced at the papers on the table.What was all that for?“Attendance first,” he said in a calm voice before starting the roll call.“Nick Walker.” I heard my name a few minutes later. I raised my hand a little.“Present,” I answered but he didn’t even look up.I stared at him for a moment. I stared at the same man who had insulted me and looked down on me. I hated to admit it, but a part of me thought…A part of me thought we were starting to get closer but after hearing his words last evening, all I felt was disappointment.“Nick… are you sure you’re okay?” Avery asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.“Your lip keeps bleeding,” Avery said as she handed me a wipe.I felt a sharp sting the moment I touched my lip and let ou