10. Ivy #2
“So what exactly happened to that guy?” I ask hesitantly. I don’t want to know but I really should know these things from now on, as I try to find a way out of all this.
“His vermin family was dealt with.”
I don’t want to know but I know if I don’t ask, I’ll always wonder. “How?”
“Well, like I said, it’s been a very long time since revenge has been declared in the Family.” Vaughn stops walking and turns to look at me fully, his gaze full of meaning. “Not to mention, the order came with a time limit of five hours.”
“Is that normal?”
“No,” Vaughn says unhappily. “It’s a feat that should be almost impossible and unheard of. Usually, my cousin takes his time to break his enemies apart, but this time, he moved swiftly and absolutely.”
For me? I highly doubt that, but I don’t say that to Vaughn.
“That dickhead’s father was some oil tycoon connected to a powerful syndicate. His father had an even bigger file of crimes and corruption, evil beyond what you’d imagine. With the five-hour blackout, the entire Outfit locked in and handled that one singular order.”
“So… he’s… dead?” I croak. “The father, I mean.”
“My cousin usually doesn’t bother letting me know these things, but for some reason, he made sure I was made aware and involved in every step this time.
” I can hear the notes of suspicion in Vaughn’s voice as he explains.
“So, as of six-thirty this morning, all of that bastard’s father’s businesses, ventures, partnerships have been taken over by the Family, and his life, well, it must be nonexistent at this time. ”
I blink several times. “At six this morning?”
“Yes.”
“When were you given the order?”
“At two in the morning.”
I’m stunned into silence.
It’s only a little past noon now and six hours ago these people were done completely obliterating Jackson’s father’s entire life.
Six hours ago I was still in Emmett’s bed, in some state of numbness and unconscious.
Meanwhile, his men were out there, doling out a revenge so brutal and swift, it was done within four of the five hours he ordered.
A flutter of disquieting unease blooms in me with an intense rush that weakens my knees. “You guys did all that in just four hours?” I mutter.
“Actually, it should be three and a half. My cousin’s command over the Family is almost absolute and undeniably firm. No one dares to disobey so, of course, it was done with terrifying speed.”
I stare at Vaughn’s handsome face that could be on the cover of GQ , feeling like I’ve just been run over by a freight train.
“You sound resentful about that.” I whisper conspiratorially.
The annoyance in Vaughn’s dark eyes is unmistakable.
“I won’t hide it from you,” he says seriously. “I grew up in my cousin’s shadow. He was the golden child. The one who everyone feared, respected, and listened to. He even had Grandfather’s full support from the time we were toddlers. How can I not be annoyed?”
“You don’t strike me as the jealous type,” I muse. Vaughn chuckles but it sounds bitter.
“When you’re constantly criticized for being a little slower, a little less capable, or a little less unaccomplished than your brilliant cousin, you naturally grow some resentment in the pit of your consciousness.”
I eye him silently, realizing that Scar was right. This is far bigger than a mere rivalry.
“Like I said that night, there must be something about you that’s worth taking seriously,” I say softly. “Otherwise, why would you be in competition with him?”
Vaughn glances at me.
“Well, I’ve been known to slide in an advantage here and there,” Vaughn says. “Besides, things are no longer how they used to be before.”
“Oh? It sounds like you have an ace up your sleeve?” I pry.
“Of course I do,” he says cheerfully. “I noticed something at dinner last night.”
Masking my discomfort, I ask, “What?”
“My cousin is trying to win you over.”
I whip my head to look at him so fast, I think I almost snap it in two.
“What?”
“From the beginning, when Grandfather made it clear that it was down to my cousin and me to inherit his position in the Family, my cousin has been indifferent toward everything,” Vaughn says with a narrowed gaze.
“It bothered the crap out of me how much he never cared about it at all, but the moment you were introduced as the deciding variable, everything switched, and last night, I finally, after all these years, became someone who bothers him.”
There’s a sense of pride and mirth in Vaughn’s words, as if he’s thoroughly enjoying this development.
“Is being a bother to Emmett that much of a good thing?” I ask silently.
Vaughn’s jaw clenches slightly. “My cousin’s level of detached is impossible to reach. I don’t know how to explain it, but I swear it’s like everything is nothing to him.”
That’s because everything is nothing.
“Take the scope of the topmost people in the world, and then sift that by power, wealth, and ability, you’ll find that Emmett is considered as one of the upper 0.0001%.”
“Um, isn’t he too young?” I murmur like a fool.
The look in Vaughn’s eyes grows colder.
“That’s what makes him even more of a mystery,” Vaughn says.
“If there’s someone with more power than him, they don’t have as much influence as him.
Those who have more influence than him don’t have the ability to execute the most insane, shameless strategies that topple them over.
And he doesn’t care at all about these things.
Having a reputation? It’s nothing. Having money or power, they’re just tools to him. He’s different.”
The boy I grew up with flashes in my head.
I see the frozen impassive look on his face, as if everything is meaningless.
Has he always been this… empty?
Vaughn turns to look at him. “Someone like him will never love you.”
And just like that, he gets to the point of what he wanted to say all along.
“Love is a ludicrous, idiotic fantasy to my cousin. He doesn’t do romance.
He doesn’t do feelings. He chews little girls like you for breakfast without batting an eye, so if you think him dropping millions last night to woo you was romantic, think again.
He just wants to manipulate you. If you choose him, you’ll just be ignored, abandoned, and a burden. ”
I stare at Vaughn’s inquisitive face, noticing how he’s studying me, obviously trying to drive a point across.
Evidently, Vaughn strongly dislikes Emmett.
He’s clearly taking this competition seriously and wants to win at all costs. Why would Vaughn waste his time playing at my heartstrings if not because of that?
“I seem to recall you also dropping millions last night,” I say instead, then walk forward, feeling bitter. “Aren’t you also trying to buy me?”
“Would you believe me if I said last night I was testing my cousin to see how far he’d go?”
“Yes, that seems more fitting, but how do you explain this?” I gesture between the two of us. “You? Here? With your father who’s clearly close to Senator Hughes? What do we call that?”
“A handicap?” He says with a smile and a shrug.
He looks cute in this moment, but if it wasn’t for the fact that I feel a certain apprehension toward him, I’d like him a bit more.
“A handicap? Really?” I deadpan.
“Well, you have history with him. If push comes to shove, I also have to play all my cards, pull all my resources to sway you to my side.”
Sway me through Senator Hughes? Seriously?
Meanwhile, Emmett has already made me sign an unbreakable contract and the first thing I have to do is tell his family that I’m choosing Vaughn.
What does that mean?
Should I tell Vaughn about what Emmett wants me to do?
“I’ll take your silence as agreement,” Vaughn says, now looking more serious than before. “My cousin is going all out for you, so I intend to do the same.”
I tilt my head slightly as I look up at him. “What do you intend to do?”
“Win your heart.”
Everything in me screeches to a halt.
With wide eyes and shock moving through me, I stare at Vaughn.
“You want to win my heart?” I laugh awkwardly, walking away as fast as I can.
“Yes,” he says seriously, catching up to me.
I scoff. “Does my heart have anything to do with settling the civil war within your family?”
“I won’t lie, at first, I didn’t think it mattered.” He easily stops me with a hand to my arm. “What I said in the car the night we met, I was half prying but half serious. At first, I was just testing the waters, trying to see how I can manipulate you into choosing me.”
“And now?” I ask nervously.
“Now, I realize that I couldn’t stop thinking about you since that night. I realized that you’re the first person I’ve ever felt the need to want to know, understand, and even please.”
Is this dude serious right now?
“Why?” I demand. “Including today, we’ve only met three times.”
“Which is why I negotiated for more time from Grandfather today by making him an offer he can’t refuse.”
And just like that, everything clicks into place.
“You did all that just to try and win me over?” I ask, completely shocked.
“Actually, I did all that so we can get to know each other better. My cousin has an advantage already in that he has years’ worth of memories with you, while my sole memory is bathed in the warm glow of the night I met you and how stunning you looked last night, as you do in this moment.
I can’t help being selfish and want to fight for more. ”
Holy God. Is this man for real?
“I… I don’t know what to say,” I mutter, feeling a thousand and one emotions that I can’t identify even if a gun was pressed against my temple.
Suspicion being chief among them.
“You don’t have to say anything. I didn’t think I’d run into you today. In fact, I was going to go to my cousin’s building and demand to see you at the risk of losing my life.”
For a moment, I’m moved.
I know what he’s hoping for… the same thing I spent years hoping to get from some boy who turned out to be a monster.
But as I stare at the paved stones below, I can’t help but feel the ache in my chest and the stifling anger trapped there.