Chapter 30 Willow
WILLOW
I wake up partially draped over Malice, my dreams scattering and slipping away as I come back to consciousness.
Something lingers in my mind, and I realize I was dreaming about the night Ilya abducted me. I had nightmares about it almost every night for the first couple weeks after it happened, dreams of being surrounded by flames and the ominous shadows flickering in the light from the fire.
This time, it was different than it normally is. It wasn’t just Nikolai’s terrifying brother who was trying to kill me. There was a monster in the room with me and Ilya, a creature stalking the shadows.
I shake my head, banishing the last of the dream and focusing on Malice instead.
We’re both naked, and his arm is slung around me, a pleasant, heavy weight that makes me feel tethered and connected to him. My body is sore all over, but in a really good way. I feel cleansed, somehow—lighter than I have in a long time.
This thing between me and the Voronin brothers is still complicated and strange. I’ve fucked two of them, and come as close to fucking Victor as he ever gets, so that in itself is different than a lot of conventional relationships. Not to mention how we met.
I’m pretty sure most people my age are using dating apps or meeting at bars, not winding up in entanglements with men they witnessed murder someone.
But at the same time, it feels like it’s finally starting to make more sense. It’s finally starting to feel real, and less like something that I keep running from and then being pulled back into.
Malice and I both made a choice yesterday. We finally acknowledged this thing between us, admitted that we both feel it—that we both want it—and that feels good.
As if he can sense me thinking about him, Malice stirs against me, waking up. Warm fingers brush my hair back, and he pulls me into a deep, possessive kiss. He doesn’t have to say the word ‘mine’ for me to feel it in the way his arm tightens around me and the way his lips devour me.
“How are you feeling?” he murmurs, his voice rough from sleep.
It sends a little thrill through me to be waking up with him after everything we did last night.
“Sore,” I admit, and he grins, looking pleased.
He uses his hold on me to roll us both over, settling onto his back and pulling me on top of him. We sink into another kiss, and I could easily see myself spending all day like this… but then I hear someone laugh from the other room.
I freeze, my eyes flying open wide.
“What…?”
Malice chuckles. “Come on.”
He gets up, throwing his pants on, and I wrap the bedsheet around myself, letting him go to the bedroom door first and open it.
The smell of cooking food hits me as he does, and I hear Malice snort with amusement, so I peek around him, surprised to see Ransom and Vic in my kitchen.
Victor is at the stove, his attention focused on a pan that he’s prodding with a spatula. Ransom is perched on the island, in my usual spot, and they both look up when we come in.
Ransom’s eyebrow ring glints as he lifts his brow, looking me over slowly. “Well, no need to ask what you two got up to last night,” he drawls. “You look sexed up as hell.”
I’m still blinking in surprise to see them here, and Ransom laughs, coming over and kissing me softly.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, looking from him to Vic.
Ransom shrugs. “Well, since you and Malice made up, we figured we were done trying to pretend to leave you alone.”
I roll my eyes at that but let him kiss me good morning.
I’d go over and kiss Vic if he were anyone else, but instead, I just smile at him, giving him a little wave.
He glances over at me, and our gazes lock for a moment.
Although his expression doesn’t change, there’s a flash of heat in his eyes that makes butterflies erupt in my stomach.
I wasn’t wrong. He definitely saw some or all of what happened last night through the cameras.
“I made eggs,” he says, gesturing at the pan as I try to get the fluttering in my stomach under control. “And toast.”
In classic Vic form, all the eggs are identical, fried to perfection, and each piece of bread is uniformly toasted and buttered evenly. I have to smile when he loads up a plate for me, and we all sit around the table to have breakfast together.
It feels weirdly domestic, even more so than when I was staying with them, but I don’t mind it at all.
“You could have just buzzed to get in, you know,” I comment after swallowing a bite of eggs. “I would’ve let you in.”
Ransom shrugs. “You were sleeping so soundly, we didn’t want to wake you. And besides, Vic likes to practice his skills.”
“What’s the point of even having a door with locks?” I ask, teasing them about their habit of breaking into my apartment whenever they feel like it.
But instead of laughing, Ransom frowns, his expression turning serious. “That’s a good point. We need to get you a better lock.”
My grin fades as my brows furrow. “Why? What’s going on?”
The three brothers share a look, and my stomach clenches a little. This is usually the point where they close me out, giving me some vague answer or half-truth just so they can keep me out of their business. But this time, Malice sighs, turning to face me.
“I already told you that X tried to fuck us with the job he gave us the night of the event,” he tells me. “This most recent job was difficult too. He’s toying with us, and he probably plans to kill us, so we need to find out who he is and kill him first.”
“And you think he might… come after me?” I ask, feeling a chill of fear run down my spine.
“We can’t know for sure.” Malice shakes his head, his expression hard.
“But we need to make sure you’re safe from him either way.
It seems like you’re off his radar for now, like he lost interest in you after we sent the video, but we’ve gotta be safe about it and keep an eye on you.
Because the truth is, we don’t know what he might do. ”
I nod, understanding his point. X sounds powerful, and just because he doesn’t want me for the same reasons he did before, that doesn’t mean he won’t have a change of heart or something.
And I’ve already seen firsthand that the brothers’ enemies won’t hesitate to go after me if they think it’ll get them closer to the three men.
Still, as terrifying as it is to contemplate all of that, it’s nice to know the truth about what’s going on. To not be cut out or held at arm’s length anymore.
“So… what are you going to do?” I ask, glancing around the table. “I thought you didn’t know anything about X. How can you get to him if you don’t even know who he is?”
“We’re working on a plan for that,” Vic says, setting down his fork. “I’ve tried to figure out who he could be ever since he got Malice out of jail, but with no luck. So we’re working on a new strategy for that.”
They give me a rundown of their plan, telling me about how they left a camera at the last place they dropped something off after a job they did for him. It sounds like it hasn’t worked so far, but they seem adamant that they’re going to keep trying.
“We don’t have a fucking choice,” Malice growls, curling his fingers around the coffee cup in his hand. “He’s not going to give up, so we can’t either.”
“Be careful,” I tell him. Then I glance around the table, because the sentiment applies to all of them. “This guy sounds really dangerous, and he’s already hurt you once.”
“That’s getting off light compared to what will happen if he gets me thrown back in jail,” Malice replies.
That makes my stomach churn with worry. I don’t even want to think about Malice being sent back to prison, especially knowing what I know now about how horrible it was for him. He’s done some bad stuff, but he doesn’t deserve that.
“It won’t happen,” Ransom says, determination filling his voice. “We’re going to figure this out. We have to.”
Vic nods, and I take a deep breath, trying to take comfort in their certainty. They’re all strong, smart, and resourceful, and they’ve made it this far despite all the obstacles life has thrown at them. So maybe Ransom is right and it’ll work out.
I have to hope so.
After breakfast, I help Vic clean up the kitchen, and we load the dishwasher and wipe everything down. It feels so domestic and more comfortable than I would have expected, having him puttering around in my kitchen.
He keeps his distance, not even letting our shoulders brush when we stand at the sink together, but I still feel closer to him than I used to. I know how to read him better, how to identify the tiny tells that give away how he’s feeling.
Unlike the last time they were here, the guys don’t rush off as soon as they can.
Malice lounges on my couch, and Ransom amuses himself by flipping through the channels on TV, commenting on the shows that flick by.
Vic keeps himself busy on his phone in the armchair I secretly think of as his, even though he’s only sat there a couple of times now.
After a while, I go get dressed and remake my bed, leaving the brothers to their own devices. The door opens as I’m pulling a shirt over my head, and Ransom slips in, closing the door behind him.
“Hey. What’s up?” I ask, glancing at him over my shoulder.
He walks over to me, a warm smile on his face as he reaches up and brushes my hair back. I relax into his touch, a little relieved that I don’t have to keep pretending I don’t want to.
He dips his head, skimming his nose along my neck, and I hum softly, tipping my head to the side to give him the space to do it.
“I’m glad you and Malice worked things out,” he murmurs. “He’s fucking annoying when he’s all up in his feelings but pretending he’s fine.”
I snort softly, biting back a grin. “It’s more like we fucked things out, but yeah. I’m glad too.”
Ransom chuckles, drawing back so he can look me in the eyes. “I like this sassy side of you, pretty girl.”
“You guys have been a bad influence on me. I used to be so sweet and innocent.”
He grins, shaking his head. “Nah, I don’t buy that. You had more strength than most people do from the moment we met you. That hasn’t changed. We’re just helping you bring it out more.”
“Hm, I guess so.”
“See? So maybe we’re a good influence after all.”
“I don’t know if I’d go that far,” I say, teasing him with a smile.
“You’re a good influence on us, at least,” he tells me, dragging his fingertips along the line of my jaw. “Look at how good you are for Malice. I’ve never seen him like this over a girl before. Ever.”
Hearing that makes my heart flutter with some mixture of pride and excitement. It’s not like Malice was keeping his feelings a secret last night, but it’s nice to hear someone who’s known him for almost his whole life confirm it.
“What about Vic?” I ask, biting my lip.
“You’re definitely good for him too. You seem to pull him out of his own head, which isn’t easy to do, believe me. You also don’t treat him like a freak or like someone who’s broken and needs to change.”
That makes me frown. “Do people do that to him?”
Ransom shrugs. “Other than me and Mal, yeah. They assume there’s no way he can be happy the way he is and harp on him about being better and more flexible.
But it’s not like it’s easy for him to do that.
If it was, he’d already be doing it. So it’s good that you meet him where he’s at and let him be himself.
He’s more attached to you than you probably even know.
Vic may not always know how to show it or say it, but he cares about you a whole fucking lot. ”
I smile softly, thinking of the late-night texts between us and how much I liked the sight of Vic making breakfast in my kitchen.
Then I glance up at Ransom, arching an eyebrow. “And what about you?”
“Me?” He chuckles, flashing me his gorgeous grin. “I’m falling head over heels for you, angel.”
My heart stutters in my chest, skipping a beat or two before starting to gallop. That’s a big admission, and the scariest part is that I know how he feels. Because I feel the same way.
I don’t have the words or the courage to say that yet though, so instead, I just pull him closer, kissing him softly.
Ransom kisses me back, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me tighter against his body.
It starts soft and slow, but then our hands start roaming, and when he grips my ass, I moan into his mouth.
His tongue presses in, tangling with mine, leaving me breathless, and I’m panting by the time we separate.
“You know what? We need to celebrate,” he tells me, his blue-green eyes sparkling. “There’s a lot of shit going wrong in our lives these days, but you’re the best thing about any of it. And we need to do something fun. We’re gonna take you out.”
I couldn’t stop the smile that spreads across my face if I tried.