Chapter 4 Viking
CHAPTER 4
VIKING
He was a father. Of a teenage girl. Overnight.
Viking tore his gaze off the girl as he walked over to the bar. If this wasn’t the time to break out Kristoff’s expensive vodka, then he didn’t know when was.
He grabbed a bottle and two glasses. After dropping her bomb, the girl hadn’t spoken another word. Still, she seemed to be taking this a lot better than he was. It was going to take him more than a minute to wrap his mind around this.
He took the chair across from her and opened the bottle. Just when he was about to fill her glass, a thought hit him.
“You twenty-one?” She sure didn’t look like it.
She scowled, a gesture that reminded him so much of Sy it hurt. His little brother had just become an uncle and didn’t even know it.
“No.”
She sounded caught. And he knew she’d never had a drink in her life. He was going to make sure it stayed that way.
“Then no drink for you.”
A smile formed on her face. “That’s okay. I didn’t really want one, anyway.”
The little shit was testing him. He could read it on her sweet, angelic face. “What’s your name?”
“Vicky. I think I was named after you.” She sounded hesitant, as if she was afraid he’d reject her and send her away.
He gulped his drink. It was smooth and burned going down his throat. It was nowhere near enough. He poured himself another one.
“Named by who?” That should have probably been his first question. But hell, it wouldn’t make a difference knowing her mom’s name. She was probably a one-night stand he wouldn’t remember, anyway.
She pulled up her knees and cradled them. A weary look entered her eyes.
“By my mom. Elena.”
The glass in his hand shattered. His vision went dark. Arrows of betrayal hit him straight in the gut, making him bleed. A familiar pressure inside him built and built, rising to heights unlike ever before. He allowed the darkness to swallow him whole. Then, the dragon inside him unleashed, flying out of the gates of hell.
There was a scream. Followed by a curse. After that, he didn’t hear or see much. Some words pierced through the fog clouding his vision, but they disappeared as fast as they came.
“Jesus, Viking. You’re scaring the girl.”
More sounds, screams, and pressure against his chest. He had to pull them away. No one could stop his rampage. No one. He was fury. He was hell. He was retribution.
“Yuri, get the girl out. Then get Kristoff.”
There was another scream in the echoes of his mind, this one farther away.
“No! I’m not leaving. Not before he helps me. He has to find my mom.”
A blistering pain wreaked havoc on his mind, as he fought unknown enemies, and tore down brick walls.
“What the hell did you say to him? And who the hell is your mom?”
A deep void was staring Viking right in the face. Old, nasty memories resurfaced from the sewers of his brain, gnawing at his bones like hungry rats. He couldn’t look away from the horrorfest that played out in his mind. The first time he’d caught his mom cheating on his dad. The second time. Then there was that morning when the cops showed up on their doorstep, announcing his father’s car crash. Fast forward to a year later: the time Erika brought over her dealer, Frank, to live with them. Then when he left home, angry. Images of Frank beating Sy. His regret for being a shitty brother to Sy.
He could hear someone crying, but he didn’t recognize the sound. It couldn’t be his mom; she was too cold to ever shed a tear for her boys.
“Elena. My mom’s name is Elena. And you have to find her.”
“Shit. I knew it. Yuri! Take her away.”
More curses followed. Slowly, the images disappeared and the fire blistering his skin turned cold, leaving behind a trail of ash. When his vision cleared, he was leaning against the wall, breathing harshly, hands on his knees. He lifted his head and stared right into Kristoff’s fist.
Stars exploded, and then he was out.
***
Viking woke up with a splitting headache, slumped against a wall. Once again, he stared into Kristoff’s face. This time, however, there was no fist involved.
Kristoff handed him a drink. Viking downed it in one shot, not even bothering to taste the brown liquid.
“You good?”
He grunted. No, he fucking wasn’t good. He looked around, only to discover his living room was wrecked. There was glass scattered across the coffee table, leaving a trail to the corridor. His daughter was nowhere in sight.
He sure fucked up this time.
“Where’s Vicky? Is she okay?” He couldn’t live with himself if he’d hurt her. He hadn’t known her for a day and already felt like he failed her. Just like he’d failed Sy when he’d left him with his mom and her boyfriend.
“At my place. She’ll be safe there, and Katya could use the company. You have a remarkable daughter. She didn’t cry or get hysterical when you went berserk on her.”
Kristoff tapped his fingers together. It was a habit he displayed when he was plotting and planning. The ruthless bastard hadn’t become number one on the West Coast without thinking everything through.
“I have a kid, Kris. How the hell did that happen?” He still couldn’t believe it.
“No one told you about the birds and the bees?”
“I’m serious. Her mother…she…fuck!” He took in a deep breath and tempered down his simmering rage.
“She kept her secret, I know. Deal with it.” There was a look in his eyes Viking couldn’t quite decipher.
“What?”
“Your daughter kept repeating that her mother is missing. The last she heard from her was a text. Some code that told her to run and find you.”
“I’ll find her.” And then he’d make her pay. Banishing her from the continent was no longer a satisfying option.
“You do that, and then get your head together. I don’t care how you handle your personal shit, but take care of it before Sokolov and his nieces arrive. I need you on them.”
“You want me to play house with Sokolov’s girls?”
“I don’t give a shit about them. But I need this deal to work. Sokolov is our key to Europe and beyond. He never leaves without them when he goes abroad; too many people who’d want to take the last remains of his family out when he’s out of the country. Just get it together. Lately, you’ve been unstable. I’ve given this a lot of thought and have come up with a solution.”
Viking scrambled up and cracked his neck. “Yeah, and what’s that? Are you sending me to yoga camp?”
Kristoff’s face darkened. “I’m giving you a week.”
He used his serious voice, the boss of all bosses one. He was for real. Viking dropped onto the couch and closed his eyes. It felt as if there were tiny humans doing construction in his brain.
“A week to do what?”
“To get married.”
“Funny.” When no reaction came, he gave Kristoff a sideways glance. “You’re not joking.”
Kristoff got up and straightened his jacket. “How long have you known me?”
“Too long and not long enough,” he answered honestly.
“What happens when I joke?”
“Someone usually dies.” It was a thing the guys had noticed. They joked about it and even placed bets on it.
“Marriage will give you stability. Even if it doesn’t, it will at least make you look more stable on the outside. I can’t have the Sokolov deal going wrong. Find a woman in seven days, or I’ll find one for you. I heard Sokolov’s looking for high-end Bratva men for his nieces. You’re my second-in-command and fit his profile. Either marry one of his nieces or a woman off the street. Either way, do it within a week.”
“You telling me as my friend or my boss?”
“Both. Just do it.”
“Fine. You choose one of them, I don’t care.” It didn’t matter which of Sokolov’s nieces he ended up marrying; it was all the same to him.
“One Bratva bride, coming up. Consider yourself engaged.”
With those loving words, Kristoff left.
Viking didn’t waste any more time pondering his engagement by proxy. It was just a marriage of convenience to tighten their ties to Sokolov. He’d deal with it later.
Right now he had more pressing issues to deal with. Like finding a venomous snake and cut off her head. He sent a message to Damon to locate her ASAP. There wasn’t anyone their top enforcer couldn’t find.
I’m coming for you, Elena.
And there will be hell to pay.