Chapter 10
Brax
Several Months Later
By the time I reach Sean's penthouse, I've worked myself into a mood that could crack stone. It's been a shit few months with endless duties. As soon as I finish my O'Malley work, the Underworld gives orders delivered without explanation.
I've been to countless meetings where masks say more than the people wearing them. They give me tasks I don't understand, assignments I can't question, and a brand on my hand that throbs every time one of those silver-skull bastards looks at me for more than a second.
Tonight marks twelve days since I've slept for more than three hours. The last order was two days ago. As soon as I turned my phone on, I saw all the missed messages about where I've been. And Finn sent multiple demands to know why I missed the twins' arrival party.
It all made my frustration worse. It's just like when Zara went into labor.
I should have been waiting outside the delivery room with cold coffee, cigars, and stupid jokes.
Instead, the Omni had me digging holes in the ground.
So I missed the twins' birth and a full-blown interrogation occurred after.
So, even though I'm beyond tired, I get home, shower, and grab the present I'd bought a few weeks ago.
They're already two months old and I haven't even seen them.
I step into Sean's lobby and stop in front of the tree with all the cherry blossoms. I inhale it deeply, then walk into the main room, calling out, "Where are these babies?"
My stomach knots as the world stops. My pulse jerks painfully, like someone grabbed my heart and squeezed.
Valentina sits on the huge corner couch like she belongs there, draped in a short black dress that clings to her curves in a way that should be illegal, hair pinned up, one diamond stud catching the light. But it isn't the dress or the heels or the way her legs cross that hits me.
She has the twins tucked into her arms, tiny heads resting on her chest, while she laughs at something Zara just said.
It's nice. I haven't seen her smile or heard her laugh in months, minus a brief incident at Kirill's penthouse where she gave me shit and I gave it back just as good. But then I had to get lectured by Kirill on "growing up" and "getting to know Valentina."
"Brax," Zara beams.
Valentina pins her gaze on me. Her laugh dies instantly, her spine snapping straight.
My entire bloodstream turns into a shaken can of soda, overflowing everywhere.
"Where've you been?" Sean demands, stepping into view.
I drag my gaze away from Valentina, force my heartbeat down, and shrug off the question. "You know I'm not answering that."
Sean's face turns to guilt and concern. "You alright?"
It's the same thing he always asks.
I assert, "Of course I am."
I drop the gift bag on the sofa table and move to the couch. I dive headfirst into bubbling tension neither Valentina nor I have dealt with since the night everything changed.
Her body goes rigid the moment I sit down beside her. Our thighs brush for a split second. Tension snaps something low in my stomach before she subtly shifts an inch away.
I follow her, leaning closer to the babies, then mutter, "Holy hell."
I've never seen anyone so small. Or so terrifying.
The one on Valentina's left arm sleeps with her fist curled up near her cheek, lips parted in a soft O. The one on her right wiggles, nose scrunching like he's about to make his displeasure known.
Zara beams from across the couch. "Meet Willow and River."
I clear my throat and grin. "Thank God they look like you."
Zara throws her head back and laughs. "Everyone keeps saying that."
"That's the truth," Sean agrees, smiling just as wide.
I run a finger down Willow's cheek, pretending this moment is normal and nothing's fractured between the woman holding the babies and me.
"They're precious, aren't they?" Valentina asks in a soft tone, looking at them lovingly and holding them as if she were built to protect them.
Something unfamiliar twists in me. It's not the sharp, unwanted pull I've felt around her since before the Underworld ripped the ground out from under us.
Nor is it guilt or anger. It's something soft I don't want to acknowledge, and as much as I need to remember she's an Abruzzo, everything's changed since that damn ritual.
I smile at her, enjoying seeing her without her guard up, but it's brief.
Zara chirps, "Do you want to hold one?"
Sean stiffens. "He hasn't washed his hands."
"I'm not filthy," I grumble.
"Go wash them. It's worth the inconvenience," Valentina offers.
I nod and rise. I head to the kitchen sink, scrubbing like I'm preparing for surgery.
I sit back next to Valentina and reach for River.
Sean hovers like I'm holding a bomb, warning, "You have to hold the back of his head."
I cradle River and remind him, "It's not the first baby I've held."
"You've always been good with babies," Zara acknowledges.
"Thanks," I say, then coo, "You're a good-looking O'Malley, aren't you, little guy?"
He stretches slightly in my arms, tiny mouth puckering.
Zara informs, "He's been screaming at everyone else. Looks like he likes you."
We stay in that strange bubble for a while, talking about feedings and diapers and how Sean nearly passed out in the delivery room. Nothing deep. Nothing dangerous. Just small talk that feels like a borrowed piece of history with Valentina and me sneaking glances at each other between new topics.
Zara eventually stands. "Valentina, come help me put the babies down?"
She nods, rises from the couch with River, her dress sliding over her thighs in a way I try not to track.
Zara takes Willow from me and leads them into the babies' bedroom.
"How's it feel?" I ask him.
He arches his eyebrows. "Being a father?"
"Yeah."
"It's scary as fuck," he admits.
I chuckle. "I can imagine."
Sean exhales and rubs his face. "You know what would make it less scary? If I could figure out how to change the Omnis' minds about Fiona."
My gut drops. "I can't believe they're going to make her marry Kirill."
He shakes his head, eyes tight. "Zara and I have tried everything. They won't budge. They want my sister as queen and tied to Kirill."
Kirill's scarred face appears. I wrinkle my nose. "He's not her type at all."
Sean paces a few steps, his jaw clenched. "If I push any harder, they'll think I'm questioning the table. I can't afford that now that the babies are here."
I lean forward, forearms on my knees, adding, "Imagine how Fiona's going to feel when she finds out you promised her to him."
He stops dead, then snaps, "Don't say it like that."
"How else am I supposed to say it? You agreed to it," I remind him.
His nostrils flare. "I didn't have a choice, Brax. They were going to kill Zara. What the fuck was I supposed to do?"
"Yeah, yeah," I mutter, cracking a knuckle. "I know. Doesn't change the fact Fiona's going to lose her mind when she finds out."
He grimaces. "That's why I need your help keeping her calm."
I grunt. "I don't know how to do that."
"Do what?" Zara asks, and the women appear without the babies.
"Help Fiona stay calm," Sean states, with fresh guilt on his expression.
Zara's quickly matches his. She pins her eyebrows together, biting her lip.
Valentina's phone twists on the table, rattling against the wood. She grabs it. Her happy expression disappears.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Time to go," she informs.
I groan. "I just got back in town."
She shrugs. "I don't make the agenda."
"So I'm told," I mutter, and head toward the door, calling back, "You two make beautiful babies."
"Thanks," Zara says.
"Stay safe," Sean adds in a warning tone.
I glance back. "Later."
Valentina and I step into the hallway. Brutal silence forms, but it's nothing new. It's been months of silencing, distancing, and avoiding anything that breaks open the cracks between us.
She keeps her gaze fixed ahead. Her heels click softly on the marble.
I shove my hands in my pockets, my pulse hammering harder than it should. There's so much to say, but I don't know how to bring any of it up without her shutting down. And as much as she wants to pretend things are fine, I know they aren't.
They can't be. I was there, witnessing the punishment they were too eager to bestow upon her.
The elevator doors slide shut behind us, sealing in a silence that's thicker than concrete. Valentina stares forward, pretending like she hasn't been ripped open and stitched back together by people who think pain is devotion.
The elevator hums, descending to the ground. The doors open in the lobby, and we exit the building.
Vito waits by the passenger door. He scowls at me.
I return the expression and slide next to Valentina. I ask, "Want to tell me where we're going?"
She shrugs. "Like I know."
I dramatically sigh, then sit back in the car. Ten minutes later, we're at the private airport. The SUV pulls up to the staircase attached to a black jet. We say nothing and board.
Inside the plane, dim lights glow. There's a stewardess who doesn't look at us. The sealed captain's chamber provides no indication of whether the pilot is inside.
Valentina sits by the window, pulls her seat belt tight, and angles her body away.
"Message received, Minx," I mumble and take the seat across from her, then lean my head back. "It would be nice to know if it's something dangerous we're walking into."
She snaps her gaze toward me, then just as quickly diverts it. "It's always dangerous."
The engines roar. The staircase moves away from the jet and the cabin vibrates.
I try again. "Val—"
"Don't," she warns quietly in a defeated voice.
So I shut up.
Eventually, exhaustion wins, and I drift off, lulled into a shallow, uneasy sleep filled with flashes of her muffled screams as they branded her. I wake with my jaw clenched so hard my teeth ache, and the wheels hitting the ground.
Valentina unbuckles her belt and rises.
I follow.