Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
S leep refuses to take me into its peaceful state, and I find myself tossing and turning. It’s in the dead of the night that my mind starts to reel, unraveling at super speed. When there’s no distractions, no threats or conflict to divert me, I find myself suffocating in my irritation and anger. There’s a level of hurt that simmers beneath the surface every time I think about Milo and the shit he’s done. I still don’t know if I should be relieved or pissed, but my brain automatically sprints to the latter because that’s easier to handle.
Relief would be such a simple emotion to conquer, because then I’d be able to move on, maybe even accept that what Milo and I have can bloom. Whether I want that or not is still undecided, but I know that me feeling like I am means the fucker has embedded himself beneath my skin, clawed his way into the shadowed muscle in my chest.
Milo’s honesty should’ve been taken as the olive branch I know it was intended to be, but I can’t deny that he’s put us both in turbulent waters. Now he’s left, and I have to decide whether this is the truth that will truly break us. That’s if I let it.
The question is; do I want it to? Milo betrayed my trust, but he also exposed his own secret at the risk of his own life. Because if he was anyone else, he’d have broken kneecaps and a bullet between his eyes.
Heat pours through my body, my rage going to war with the part of me I’ve been trying to ignore for so long. This thing between us has definitely grown into something more; something I’ve never felt before. Hell, I’ve not even come close to this feeling before. It’s alien, invading me without mercy. I hate that I don’t hate this feeling. I hate that despite everything, my thoughts still go to Milo.
My fists bunch and I clench my eyes shut, taking several deep breaths. By the time I’ve calmed down, I’m no longer tired. I’m just staring at my ceiling, willing it to just come down on me so I don’t have to think about this shit anymore.
The shrill ring of my phone pierces the dead of silence, just as I’m rolling over to the cold side of my bed. I reach over, snatching it off the bedside table to find Roman’s name flashing on the screen.
The time reads six-thirty, which means I’ve spent the better part of five hours since coming home simmering in a sleepless rage.
“Yeah?” I grunt, rolling onto my back.
“Vee,” he says, the strain in his tone causing me to shoot out of bed.
“What is it?” I’m already stepping into my slacks when he says the words that cause a shiver to run through me.
“Stay calm.”
The fuck? The last thing he should ever say to me is to stay calm. If he’s calling this early and with that tone, there’s only one way my emotions are heading towards.
With a frustrated sigh, Roman answers. “It’s Lani. She was attacked.”
Without hesitation, I’m darting across my room, shoving on my day old clothes as Roman reels off the events. I grab my keys and glock from the side table before rushing out the door and into the underground parking garage.
“Who? Where? I need to know everything.”
“I’m at your dad’s now,” Roman finally tells me. “I… I handled it, but… you need to come over so we can talk.”
“Is she okay, though?” For some reason, guilt hits me like a ton of bricks. As much as my twin is a strong and independent woman, I still feel protective of her. Anything that happens to her instantly has me prepared for battle, and I know my boys will have my back on that, too.
Sliding into my Mercedes, I hit the ignition button and rev the engine. The sound echoes as I pull out of my parking space and peel out of the concrete structure. It’s a good half an hour to my parents, but with minimal traffic and apparently every stop light on my side, I beat the clock by ten minutes.
Roman is sitting with my mom and dad when I step into the kitchen, all wearing various expressions of concern across their faces. My heart pounds as I take a seat, my mom coming to me in an instant to give me a welcoming hug. As comforting as it should be, I don’t feel very comforted right now.
“What the fuck happened?” I look to Roman, who rubs his hand through his hair. He looks tired, like he hasn’t slept all night.
Same, bro.
My dad looks just as exhausted. The only person who looks even remotely put together is my mom, but I know that’s only because she’s able to compartmentalize better than the rest of us. Internally, she’s probably plotting revenge, but on the outside, she’s calm and collected.
“Prescott attacked Lani tonight,” Roman explains. Anger rolls off him, his words laced with venom.
“What the fuck?” I bark, slamming my fist on the counter. “The fucking Russians have gone too far now!”
“Vee,” Mom warns softly.
“This wasn’t the Russians. Not this time.” My father links his fingers together, resting them on the island in front of him as he regards me. “This is a vendetta that stretches decades ago.”
Confusion wars with my own anger. Somebody needs to explain, and fast, because I’m about ten seconds from blowing up and chasing down the fucker myself. “What vendetta?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“Years ago, before you were born, your mom was attacked.” Just as my dad starts the story, Mom comes to his side, curling under his arm. If there’s one thing my mom isn’t, it’s weak, but I see the vulnerability, the sliver of trauma that flashes across her face. “I handled it, like we all do,” he says, nodding to Roman. “But it seems this guy had a brother. Someone who’s been holding onto vengeance.”
“Prescott?” I ask, though it’s more a statement.
“We think he’s been using the Russians to help take us down, but since it’s not happening as fast as we think he’d like, he decided to take matters into his own hands.” Roman chews his lip as he waits for my reaction. I don’t give it right away because I’m still piecing everything together.
Prescott’s sole goal was to hurt us. He’s been trying to take us down for months, probably using the Federovs as the power behind his punches, but he failed. Coming after family only makes this shit more personal, and I’ll die on the hill of protecting my sister before I ever let anything happen to her.
My blood freezes in my veins as I look at Roman. I failed.
Sensing my turmoil, Roman offers me a nod. “I handled it, bro. He’s not going to be a problem anymore.”
Now more than ever, I’m grateful that he’s involved with my sister. I’ve never had a problem with it before because they’re their own people, but they like to rile each other up. I’ve never needed to get involved in that drama, but right now, I value my best friend more than I ever have. He’s just lucky he was there at the right time to intervene.
“So she’s okay?” I finally ask.
“She’s okay, sleeping, but I think she’ll be okay, sweetheart.” Mom comes to my side, cupping my cheek. “And before you start thinking that you should have done more, there’s nothing either of you could’ve done. You couldn’t have known that man was going to come after our family. You didn’t know he was related to someone from my past. We’re all innocent in this,” she turns her attention to my dad, casting him an amused smile. “Well… some of us are.”
Dad doesn’t respond to her, but I can tell there’s a mutual appreciation exchanged between them. With the limited information I’ve got, I know that Mom is glad my dad was in her life back then, and Dad is equally relieved. We might run illegal businesses, do questionably ethical things for the sake of our families, but you can never question our loyalty and morality when it comes to this family.
“You boys can stay here tonight,” my dad orders, standing up from his chair. “We all need a good few hours of sleep before we decide what we’re going to do next.”
Nodding in agreement, I watch as Mom and Dad make their way upstairs. Things have obviously been hard on us all, Alanis mostly, but he’s right. We need to get some sleep before we have to handle the Prescott matter.
When the closing of the door upstairs finally signals that my parents are out of earshot, I turn to Roman. “Where is he?” I ask.
“Dead,” he shrugs.
“Cleaners?”
He shakes his head in response. “Didn’t get that far, but we can deal with that in the morning.”
“It is morning,” I snort.
“You know what I mean. I’ll get Gracie on the case to wipe any evidence of him being at Lani’s apartment. We’ll get rid of the body, and it’ll be like it never happened.”
I sigh, rubbing a hand over my tired features. “But it did happen, Ro. And we need to be prepared for more of this, because it’s going to come. We can’t let my sister be a part of this.”
Roman agrees with a subtle nod. It’s not often the guy is this quiet, but I can tell this has affected him on a deeper level than normal. It only shows how much he’s grown as a person.
“You know she won’t want to go back there.”
“I know,” he huffs. “Which is why I’ve already asked Haldon to look for a place for me,” he clears his throat before looking at me. “For us .”
“Well, shit,” I whistle. “Are you asking my permission?”
He knocks me with his shoulder playfully. “I don’t need your permission for shit.” He stands up from his chair and makes his way towards the hallway. At the last minute, he turns to face me. “But it wouldn’t hurt to have your blessing.”
I can’t fight the smile that lifts my lips. Living with my twin is going to be a handful, but honestly, I couldn’t imagine a better person to protect my sister than my best friend right now. “Hey, if she says yes, then you don’t need shit from me.”