10. Ivy
Ivy
I don't have to go far before I bump into someone I was hoping I wouldn't meet until much later, but seeing him now, I’m not surprised at all.
Nor am I shocked by the expression on his face.
He obviously eavesdropped on the little chat I just had with Melissa.
“You’re here,” I say, looking straight at the handsome man I last saw at the charity dinner before all hell broke loose last night. “I was wondering how I was going to hunt you down.”
“I’m touched that you were thinking of me,” Vaughn says with a smile that I can’t quite return.
“You were trying to call me,” I mutter, having seen several missed calls from him. “I was going to call you back but here you are instead.”
“I’m here,” Vaughn mutters, his voice deeper and rougher than the last time I heard it.
We hold each other’s gaze without saying a word.
I see the many questions in his dark eyes, his clenched jaw, and rigid frame towering over me.
“Are you okay?”
“What?” I mutter, looking at him in shock.
Vaughn takes a step closer to me, but he still maintains a small but respectful distance, as if he instinctively knows that I don’t want to be crowded in right now, at odds with the way Emmett completely shattered all thoughts of space earlier.
Personal space? Emmett doesn’t know her.
“How are you? Are you all right?” Vaughn’s voice is soft, still raspy, but the longer I stare at him like a loon, the more I notice the blazing anger barely concealed in his eyes.
“I… I’m okay,” I murmur, not knowing what else to say.
It’s clear that Vaughn knows what happened to me last night. How he knows, I don’t bother asking.
But for some reason, I feel humiliated.
It’s not that I wanted to protect what happened by keeping it hidden, it’s just… someone I don’t really know now knows the most horrible thing that has happened to me.
What am I supposed to do with that?
“I was looking for you everywhere when I found out,” Vaughn continues. “I’m so s?—”
“Please don’t,” I cut him off before he can continue. An awkward silence falls between us, but I’m touched by the genuine concern in his eyes.
He looks like he’s at a loss for words, so I say the only thing I can say now without bursting into flames emotionally.
“Please don’t apologize for something that wasn’t your fault. I was the one who was careless?—”
“Don’t say that!” he immediately cuts in.
I look up, shocked again. “What?”
“You’re smart, Ivy. You know better than to try and justify that vicious crime by nitpicking your actions,” he seethes angrily. “And just so we’re clear, you did nothing wrong! Needing to blow off some steam and have a good time should never be used as a penalty against anyone who faces that crap.”
As Vaughn’s gentle but firm words soak into me, Emmett’s apology from earlier filters in my head. Maybe it’s my imagination but I could’ve sworn he was livid with himself over what happened to me.
But my survival was all thanks to him. Is Emmett really the villain in my story, or am I?
Am I too trusting?
Jesus, I need help. Immediately!
“Well, it’ll take a while before I can shake it off, so if you don’t mind…” I trail off when I spot Senator Hughes and a tall, slightly handsome man come out of Senator Hughes’s office.
They look chummy, with huge smiles on their faces.
“That’s my father,” Vaughn suddenly says, and I glance at him.
“Is your father friends with Senator Hughes?”
Vaughn falls silent, then looks behind him to the two men who spot us at the same time.
“There she is!” Senator Hughes exclaims excitedly. “Ivy, sweetheart, come meet Mr. Easton!”
Dread and something else I can’t quite identify trickle down my spine when my gaze clashes with Vaughn’s father’s gaze.
“This is your daughter, Hughes? She’s stunning!” Vaughn’s father says, looking me up and down. “I’m sure she’s acceptable to my son.”
Acceptable? What in the name…?
“Of course!” Senator Hughes says happily. “They make a great pair, don’t they?”
“They sure do!” Vaughn’s father says, and they chuckle in that rich, entitled way prideful pricks do when they think they have the world in their hands.
“Ivy, why don’t you two get to know each other a bit while Mr. Easton and I finish our chat?”
It’s not a question or a suggestion. Senator Hughes is basically pushing me to Vaughn, once again confirming my theory from before.
I want to refuse him in front of his guest, but Vaughn stops me.
“What are you doing?” I demand as the two men walk away.
“I’m here to support you in any way that you need,” Vaughn says.
I study him. “You want to support me?”
“Yes,” Vaughn says, and then gestures behind him to the double doors at the end of the hallway. “Let’s take a walk.”
I stare at him. Of course he agrees with Senator Hughes. The title for the next boss depends on this.
“You might not believe me, but I came here to inform the senator that the date for the decision has been moved,” Vaughn says sincerely.
“It was moved?”
“Yes,” he says. “Instead of tonight, it’ll be two weeks from now.”
Two weeks… is this the unexpected change of plans that happened today?
“When was this decided?”
“I, uh, I asked Grandfather this morning. I just thought you’d need some time, after last night…”
Almost instantly, a ripple of chills slithers down my back.
“Did you tell him?” I demand, glaring at Vaughn. “Did you tell Senator Hughes about last night?”
“No, I didn’t,” Vaughn quickly reassures, his voice low. “I just said some private matters need to be handled within our family. I didn’t tell him anything about you.”
A wretched breath escapes my lips.
All my family reunion fantasies came crashing down hard when the reality of who my parents really are and why they abandoned me became apparent.
I’d hate it if they find out what happened to me simply because I know their reaction won’t be concern or worry.
“You were with him?” Vaughn suddenly asks. I can feel his searching gaze on me, studying every minute expression on my face.
“Yes,” I mutter . I was with your rival.
“Can’t say I’m surprised. We were in the middle of an incredibly high-stakes meeting when he suddenly got up and left in that cold, detached, nonchalant way of his.
At first, I didn’t think much of it. He tends to do bizarre things like that, but later when I found out, I…
” He trails off. “Anyway, I’m sure that bastard who dared to harm you has been dealt with. The next phase was also handled.”
“The next phase? What do you mean?”
“He didn’t tell you?” I can only stare at him like an idiot.
“Well, firstly you should know that by now you’re already considered an Easton.
What happened to you is seen as a threat to the entire Family, so the next phase is obviously that fuckhead’s family, friends, and instigators being dealt with too. ”
My jaw almost drops to the floor. “What?”
Vaughn smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
“My cousin should’ve told you, but I’m also not surprised that he didn’t. He’s not in the habit of explaining anything to anyone, though it’s been noted with the speed of things that you’re an exception.”
I’m even more confused now, and my head is starting to spin.
“Hold on,” I mutter, trying to wrap my mind around all this. “What are you talking about? Not everyone’s in the Mafia, you know!”
Vaughn chuckles this time, and then he gestures toward the open doors that lead to the backyard of the senator’s house.
“In our family, revenge is not something trivial or something to be done on a whim,” Vaughn starts, looking ahead with his hands behind his back, but walking close to my side. “Revenge must always be absolute, profound, and thoroughly dealt out.”
“What does that entail?” I ask. Apparently even something as sinister as revenge is a meticulous activity in Emmett’s world.
“The wiping out of an enemy’s entire family tree, among other things.”
I stop in my tracks and look at him.
“Is it that deep?” I choke, thinking about my brother and Grammy.
Vaughn chuckles again, the rich baritone of his voice warming up the somewhat chilly breeze blowing in the garden. I almost smile.
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?” he says jokingly when we resume walking down the path across the well-maintained backyard. “We don’t take revenge lightly. It’s not a chore to tick off the to-do list. It’s more like lex talionis but on steroids.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end at the sinister feeling around Vaughn’s meaning.
“ Lex talionis … the law of retaliation,” I mumble.
“You’ve heard of it?” Vaughn’s eyebrow rises just slightly, looking impressed.
“I read.” And I have a brother who does really impressive dark ops shit, but no one needs to know that.
“A bookworm, huh?” he says with a smile. “But back to this. Because it’s retaliation or retribution, however you want to frame it, and because we are the Easton Family, we never do it as other people think.”
“For example?” I ask, digging for more information.
Grammy’s and Samuel’s lives are at stake and I won’t let them end up like Gramps.
I’m going to equip myself with the armor I need to pierce Emmett’s seemingly impenetrable shields.
“In as much as revenge needs to be both unforgettable and profound, its uniqueness mean it won’t ever match the level of the offense,” Vaughn explains. “While tooth for tooth is equal, we go for the whole head and that makes it a serious matter.”
Another shiver goes down my spine.
As Vaughn was talking, the cheery note that was in his voice before completely dissolves, leaving only a cold, detached tone that I’m sure is his default.
Clearly, he’s completely immersed in this dark, underbelly world.
While Vaughn is slightly lighter, a bit animated, and intentionally puts in an effort to make someone like me feel more at ease, the boy with the cold, steely green eyes that I grew up with doesn’t bother lowering himself like that.
With Emmett, what you see is what you get… that is, of course, when he wants you to be near him.