Chapter 19
VAL
“How’re you feeling?”
All things considered? I feel fucking amazing.
Kir seriously did me a solid with the VIP treatment at the hospital.
My room is huge and has a great view, the food is amazing, the bed adjusts five billion different ways, and I’ve got friends like Brooklyn, Naomi, and Evie stopping by to fawn over me and make sure I’m comfortable.
Hell, even Madame Kuzmina called me this morning, saying she hopes I’m back on my feet soon.
Hell hath frozen over, apparently.
So, to answer Brooklyn’s question, I’m great. At least, I should be great. So why do I feel like something is missing?
And why do I already know exactly how that correlates to the fact that Roman hasn’t been back since the night I was admitted, two nights ago?
Normally, I’d have been discharged the next morning. But with my history of memory loss, they’re keeping me under observation for an extra two nights.
Also, I get the impression Kir gives enough money to this place that when he asks them to make accommodations for someone, they roll out the red carpet and go to town.
“Fine,” I shrug as I smile at Brooklyn. “Really.”
“Well, I’m glad they’re keeping you one more night,” Evelina says, taking my hand and squeezing it gently.
“I mean…” I grin as I glance around the opulent room that I swear is bigger than my first apartment. “Can’t really complain.” I nod my chin at Brooklyn. “Please tell Kir thank you again. I seriously owe him.”
She shrugs, waving me off. “Nah, you don’t.”
“You're sure there’s nothing I can do to pay him back?”
“Val, it’s fine.”
“Homemade cookies?”
She laughs, rolling her eyes.
“Signed eight-by-ten glossy?”
Brooklyn snorts loudly.
“Lap dance?”
“Hey. Don’t push it.”
I chuckle at her immediate scowl. “Okay, how about I have you give BDE a lap dance for me.”
Her scowl turns to a grin. “That, I can do.”
“When do you think you’ll be back at the theater?” Evelina says gently, her brow furrowing. “And will you be getting physical therapy?”
Only if it’s your brother giving it…
I shake my head. “Nah. I’ll do some extra weight training on my right leg to strengthen the stabilizers there, since that’s where I got hit. But I should be back in about two weeks.” My brow furrows. “Forget me, though. How’s your father?”
She lifts a shoulder. “He’s…okay, I guess. He wasn’t hurt, thankfully, and neither was Bane’s dad. But…” Her mouth twists. “He’s been extra grouchy and mean lately. And his temper is even worse…”
I put my hand on hers. “Sorry, Evie.”
Brooklyn sighs. “Hey, I’m going to grab a latte. The VIP floor coffee shop is amazing. You guys want anything?”
I shake my head. So does Evie.
“Be right back.”
Evelina watches Brooklyn leave. When the door closes, she turns back to me, her brows knit.
“You okay?” I ask gently.
She hesitates, looking like she’s trying to find the right words, or deciding if she should even speak at all.
“Evie—”
“I heard my father talking with his number two Stepan last night,” she suddenly blurts, still not meeting my eyes. “About the explosion.” Her lip pulls between her teeth. “Your…” She pauses and swallows.
“Hey.” I sit up and take her hand. “You can tell me anything. Seriously.”
“I know there’s something…not great between my father and your brother. Some kind of business thing, I think?”
She means the Sangrini connection, and that Dasha Lukashova was once engaged to Vaughn.
“Yeah, I don’t….” I shake my head. “I try not to get involved with Vaughn’s business stuff. But what’s up?”
She takes a shaky breath and finally drags her worried eyes to mine. “My father… He thinks your brother and the Syndicate are behind the attack.”
A cold chill drags up my spine. Not at the accusation, but because my first reaction isn’t to deny it and say “Vaughn would never do that”.
He one hundred percent would.
I’m still getting to know my older brother, and we have a lifetime of catching up to do.
But I’ve learned a few concrete truths about him these past few months.
One is that the Syndicate comes first. Period.
It and its interests are paramount, and everything else—including a long lost younger brother—is second tier.
But would my brother actually try to assassinate someone if it was in his and the Obsidian Syndicate’s interests?
Magic eight ball says “probably”, which brings me to point number two, with a bullet, that I’ve learned about him in these last few months:
Vaughn might actually be a sociopath.
Like, literally.
He’s not a violent rampaging monster, but that’s the point.
He’s quietly, brilliantly calculating. He knows exactly what to say, how to act, how to appear more forceful or more subservient depending on the situation.
He can feed an ego or cross someone off his hit list without blinking an eye, and I don’t think he loses a wink of sleep over either.
Short answer?
I think Vaughn is perfectly capable of trying to bomb Pavel Nikitin.
“God, I’m sorry.” Evie’s face scrunches up. “That was super rude of me—”
“It’s really not.”
“No, I mean I just came in and started accusing your brother—”
“Hey.” I take her hand in mine and smile. “It’s totally fine. I’m not offended. Let me talk to him, okay?”
She nods slowly. “Okay,” she says quietly. Then her brows pinch again. “But… Do you really think he’s capable of something like that?”
“Who's capable of what, Ms. Nikitin?”
Evelina starts, her spine snapping straight as my gaze darts past her.
Vaughn stands in the doorway. Evie’s throat works as she slowly turns to him.
“I—” The single syllable lodges in her throat as my brother levels a cool, icy, and—yeah, I’ll be honest—slightly unhinged look at her.
“I’m waiting, Evelina,” he says quietly.
“Girl talk,” I grunt. “Evie’s having a fling with this hot fucking guy, and she’s got questions.”
Evie frowns, looking at me in confusion. “I’m not seeing any—”
“Real hot motherfucker,” I enunciate loudly. “Huuuuge dick.”
Evelina turns as pink as her cardigan as her gaze shifts between me and my brother.
Vaughn looks utterly unruffled. “I see.” He turns to Evie. “Ms. Nikitin, I was hoping to have a word in private with my brother.”
I glare at him. “You can wait your fucking turn until—”
“No, I…” Evie smiles weakly, still blushing. “I should be going anyway. Rehearsal,” she explains with a shrug. She smiles at me. “If you need anything—”
“You’ll be the first one I call, promise,” I wink. “Hey, have fun with your hot lover’s huge fucking dong.”
She literally turns crimson, her eyes bulging at me before she sucks in a breath and turns to leave. She smiles weakly at Vaughn and dips her head to him as she starts to walk past.
“Ms. Nikitin.”
Her steps stutter and she comes to a shivering stop by the door.
“I was sorry to hear about your father,” he growls quietly. “I hope he’s doing well after the…unfortunate incident?”
Evelina’s shoulders stiffen, her hands clenching at her sides. She hesitantly starts to turn, her face pale as she glances at me, then at Vaughn.
“Thank you,” she croaks. “He’s—”
“Fine. Just fine,” I growl tightly, looking directly at Vaughn. “Evie has to go now, but thank so much for your concern, brother.”
Vaughn levels a cold smile at Evelina that makes her visibly tremble. She shoots me a furtive look, then quickly leaves the room.
“You motherfucker,” I snarl, springing out of bed.
Fuck my leg. Fuck my cuts and bruises. Fuck my concussion, and fuck the sensors still wired to my chest. I surge at Vaughn, but he meets me halfway, catching me by the shoulder and keeping me at arm's length.
“Relax,” he growls, his face darkening. “You’re going to hurt yourself, idiot.”
“What the fuck was that!” I hiss, jamming my finger in the direction of the door.
He looks at me blankly. “That was politics, brother.”
“No, that was intimidation and you being a fuckhead to my friend,” I seethe.
Vaughn sighs, shaking his head. “Do me a favor and sit, okay?”
He guides me back to the bed and helps me down onto the edge of it.
“There, I’m fucking sitting,” I snap. “Now tell me what the fuck your problem is with Evelina.”
His brows lift. “Nothing.” He shrugs. “With her father, however, it becomes more complicated.”
“Was it you?!” I hiss.
Vaughn's expression is somewhere between bored and amused.
“You mean was I involved in blowing up Pavel Nikitin’s safe house, almost killing him and Nikolai Antonov?”
“I’m not asking if you were involved, fucker,” I snarl. “I’m asking if you did it.”
He’s silent a moment, looking at me curiously, his face utterly blank.
“Do you think I’m capable of that?”
“Yep.”
He stares at me thoughtfully. “Quick answer.”
“It wasn’t the first time I’ve considered the question,” I fire back.
Vaughn smiles, adjusting the lapels of his perfectly tailored dark gray suit.
“The Obsidian Syndicate doesn’t bother itself with petty mafia drama, Val.”
I laugh coldly. “Petty? You almost killed her fucking father.”
“Have you met Pavel Nikitin?”
“Yes,” I growl.
Vaughn chuckles. “Real prince, isn’t he?”
“You don’t get to fucking blow people up because they’re assholes,” I growl. “Unfortunate as that may be.”
“Pavel and I might have our eyes on the same long-term goal. But—”
“Is this about Dasha Lukashova?” I mutter. “That it? What are you, a jilted ex getting all emo about her marrying Roman?”
Vaughn grins widely and starts to chuckle. “Do you think I'm the emo type?”
“You want me to tell you exactly what type I think you are sometimes?”
“Heartless, calculating, driven by a need for control, with Machiavellian and narcissistic tendencies and a possible psychotic resentment of humanity?”
I scowl. Vaughn smiles wider.
“Was that close, Val? Or is there something else you want to add?”
“I think you pretty much covered it,” I growl.
My brother sighs and steps to where I’m sitting on the bed. He bends down, rests his hands on my knees, and looks me in the eye.
“I had nothing to do with what happened at Pavel’s safe house, Val. Firebombing buildings in the middle of densely populated urban areas isn’t my style. Far too messy, to be honest.”
I eye him warily. “Were you a part of it?”
He shakes his head. “No. Nor was anyone else in the Syndicate. Does that address your concerns?”
I glare at him. “So why fuck with Evie, insinuating that you did.”
He smiles quietly. “Because planting little black seeds and watching them grow into nightmares and monsters that jump from the most paranoid parts of your mind is what I do best, Val.”
“Stay the fuck away from Evelina,” I hiss. “She’s not part of whatever game you’re trying to play with Pavel. She’s off fucking limits. All my friends are, but her especially. Got it?”
He tips his head to the side, peering at me closely before he shrugs. “Got it.”
“I’m fucking serious, Vaughn. Evie is not a pawn in whatever chess game you’re playing with Pavel. Is that clear?”
He smiles and pats my knee as he stands. “Understood. You satisfied now?”
I suck on my teeth. “Swear it.”
“On what?”
I frown. “On…I dunno…our childhood.”
He smirks. “Exactly what is sacred about our childhood?”
“You’re asking the wrong guy.”
He laughs. “Fine. I swear on our childhood…swear what, exactly?”
“That neither you nor the Syndicate had anything to do with that bombing.”
Vaughn holds a hand over his heart and raises the other one like he's taking an oath. “Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. I swear, Val.”
I nod curtly. “Well…okay then.”
He smiles appreciatively as he turns to drink in the room. “Nice digs.”
“Thanks. And thanks for coming…finally,” I mutter.
Vaughn's mouth twists as he steps closer to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. “I should have come earlier. I apologize. I’m…new to this sort of thing. I didn’t have a brother for twenty years.”
“Neither did I, jerk,” I grumble, smirking. “How about we don’t forget that?”
“Deal.”