Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
JACE
Goddamn, brothers and their ability to be dickheads without words.
Impatiently, Grant bounces his knee, noisily shifting in his chair, pointedly tapping the airline app on his phone.
He cranes his thick, inked neck, scanning the arrival area for Vivian’s flight, grumbling like I pissed on his gummy bears.
He’s chomping on them so loudly, he’s going to break a tooth.
I grin. “Something you wanna say?”
He grunts.
“I’m not leaving without her.”
He harumphs like I’ve challenged him to a duel. Lifting his phone, he starts banging out a text he won’t let me see.
“Don’t you dare stress out Loch,” I warn. “We’re not late yet.”
“We will be.” He won’t look up from his screen, firing texts back and forth, chiding me, “It’s Alena’s initiation, and you know better; we can’t miss it.”
“She’ll be here soon.”
No, she won’t. The gate sign says differently. A storm has delayed Vivian’s flight for two hours.
We will be late.
I’ve never felt so torn in my life. My priority is my future queen. She texted me from her seat on the plane in Palm B. They’re waiting on the tarmac for the storm to pass.
But it’s nothing to the storm in my heart.
I won’t leave Vivian at the airport, but we can’t do this to Loch and Alena.
If I thought I’d waited long for Vivian—which I have—it’s nothing to the lifetime Loch has waited for Alena. I swear they were born to be together, and they’ve fought through hell to get here. They deserve tonight.
We can’t let them down.
But I won’t leave Vivian unguarded. She’s at risk of retaliation now that we’ve stolen those servers. So I made a deal with the devil to make sure she’d be safe.
“Gotta tell you something.”
“You’re an asshole who’s giving me an ulcer?” Grant grumbles. “I’m well aware.”
“No, it’s about the devil.”
He cocks an angry brow at me. He knows who I’m talking about, how I confronted Ruslan in Palm Beach.
“I made a deal with him. Well, two deals. One, I want him on his knees, saying he’s sorry to Mom and us. And two, I asked him to have a couple of his soldiers grab the scumbro when he landed.”
Grant’s slow nod drips with sarcasm. “Smart. Because dear old Dad has always had our backs.” His face falls. “Stabbing them.”
“He’s changed.”
“That’s what they all say.”
“He’s dying.”
“We all are.”
“But we have the one thing he wants.”
He scoffs darkly. “Our kidneys: good fucking luck with that.”
“No, he wants us. His sons. His daughter. One last time.” I grab his arm.
“Listen to me. This is our way to be free, once and for all. Even if I give him a kidney, he won’t survive another surgery.
Besides, it’s not what he really wants. He wants to see us.
He wants to feel like we remotely give a damn about him. ”
“We don’t. We hate him.” Grant’s not joking.
But I search my brother’s eyes, and I don’t see hatred. Not in him or in any of the kings, including Nash. Not even in our mom’s eyes or in Sasha’s. Not anymore.
The ultimate revenge, the ultimate justice, is letting go of hatred and choosing to love.
Sounds like the most anti-Bratva shit, I know, and that’s the point.
We escaped that life: bodies and souls.
Do we kill bad men? Yes.
But are we bad men?
Only if we’re like our father.
I nod. “We did hate him, and he deserved it. But then something happened; we grew up and found love. Love won, and hatred lost. He lost.”
Grant’s silent. He’s thinking about Delphine, I can see it. It’s what I mean; you have to feel love to find it in another person’s eyes.
“We’re better men than him,” I explain. “What does Mom always say? Hating someone is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
“But you always wanted to kill him,” Grant seethes. “More than any of us. What the fuck happened to you?”
I shrug. “I saw him and realized he’s already dead, inside and out. But I’m not. If we hate, we’re just like him. But if we love, we win. And I’m done. I’m ready to love Vivian. I need her to be free, and I want us to be free.”
Grant narrows his eyes. “You expect me to love him?”
“No. Just love others.”
“So you want me to forgive him?”
“No.”
“To trust him?”
“No, but trust me. I’m giving him what he wants. I’m letting him help me. I’m roping him in to make sure he’ll meet with us. It’ll give Mom the closure she deserves, and us the justice we want: Sheremetev’s head for what he did to Sasha, and a deal with the new Pakhan, ending Ruslan’s reign.”
He shakes his head. “You’re fucking delusional if you think it’ll work.” His phone buzzes. Glancing down, he smirks. “Speaking of unhinged, I’ve got Vivian covered.”
My nostrils flare. “What did you do?”
“Called for backup. All the kings will be at Alena’s initiation, so we need a killer joker to guard a queen.”
Oh fuck.
I clench my teeth. “No. Fucking. Way. He’s a loose cannon with a mouth to match.”
Grant tsks. “We trusted him to guard Alena when Loch couldn’t.”
I snarl, “The only thing you can trust about Wilder Lawless is that you can’t trust Wilder Lawless.”
“Welp, he’s on his way.”
“On a fucking Harley to pick up Vivian from the airport? How’s that gonna work?”
“It’s not, dumbass. I told him to borrow my Tahoe.”
Do I trust Wilder Lawless to fire a bullet at anyone if I pay him enough? Yes. Do I trust he’ll do it for free if the person makes him wait too long in the drive-thru?
He’s done it before.
He shot out the tires of a bunch of rowdy, rude teenagers, holding up the line. They were being dicks to the young woman taking their order, acting as if they’d never seen a drive-thru menu before.
“It’s burgers and fries, you dipshits.” The surveillance video of Wilder went viral. “It ain’t your mama’s custom kitchen.” He laughed, strolling past their deflated truck and sauntering right up to the girl in the window to politely place his order with his pistol reholstered.
He’s been wanted ever since.
Grant backslaps my arm. “Think of it this way—you’re trusting the devil to secure the scumbro so you can beat him for intel.
You want to make sure there are no more videos of Vivian.
And I’m trusting a contract killer to secure her.
The only video they’ll make is of him, not willing to wait for his apple pie in a drive-thru. ”
Now, I’m the one scanning the arrival area, grumbling like he pissed on my ice cream.
“Or…” he taunts. “You can explain to The Queen why we missed an initiation that’s been years in the making.” He laughs. “I won’t know who to fear more: Mom or Alena.”
I roll my eyes, not fearing Alena. I respect her. I care for all of our queens. I’ve never let them down.
“Fine, you fucker,” I mumble, texting Vivian. Hoping she hasn’t put her phone in airplane mode yet.
You there?
Smokeshow
Yes. Sorry I’m delayed
It’s okay. Not your fault but change of plan
I have a meeting with the kings I can’t miss
I’m sending a trusted friend to pick you up
Is Wilder my friend? I did take his sister to her prom when no one else would. I’m close with his cousin, Bishop. We share a love of photography. I steer clear of his cousin, Remi, though I’m a fan of his dark ale at their brewery.
Alright, fine. Grant’s right. It’s our best option.
Smokeshow
Thank you but I can get a ride
Please don’t worry about me
I feel way more than worry for you Viv
You’re everything to me
I’ll never leave you unprotected
Fuck, I could text everything I’m holding in. I’m bursting at the goddamn seams for this woman, but I’m a grown man. I don’t text. I’ll swear it to her beautiful eyes when I see her.
Smokeshow
You’re everything to me too
I’ll never leave you Jace
Just tell me what to do
“Goddamn,” Grant mutters, “you two are gonna fuck like rabid rabbits in heat when you finally get the chance.”
He wants to die tonight. He’s being nosy and reading over my shoulder.
I huff. “Says the man who wears a cock cage for his queen.”
“Hey,” Grant boasts as I text Vivian, “don’t knock a caged cock ’til you’ve tried it.”
My friend will be waiting outside in a black Tahoe
You can’t miss him
He looks like Brad Pitt
Only younger and without morals
Vivian replies with a laughing emoji. She thinks I’m joking.
I wish.
As soon as I’m free I’ll meet you
He’ll keep you safe until then
And
Fuck, how do I say this without making her want to run away from me like her hair is on fire?
Ignore every fucking word he says