5. Vani
5
VANI
A good fifteen minutes pass before Saint joins us.
I pace anxiously the entire time, ruminating and turning over what Angelica could possibly be saying to him that she doesn’t want us to hear. Is it something about me? I’m worried about Saint’s safety too, though I reason with myself that no one can get into the library without being seen.
Finally, the library doors swing open and Saint steps out. He seems a little harried, but that’s understandable, considering everything.
“What did she say?” I blurt, unable to hold myself back.
“She asked for a favor.”
Zane widens his eyes and gestures as though to ask, ‘ what favor ?’
Saint shakes his head. “Something to do with her family. I’ve been sworn to secrecy. I’m sorry.”
Why would Angelica not want us to know something about her family? I can’t even imagine. And what does Saint have to do with it? I want to press him, but I also know Lex is suffering. Now is not the time.
“Did you get the number?” I ask instead.
“Yeah, I got it.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Should we contact Jarl before or after we get the necklace back?”
Zane types on his cell phone. I think having something in our possession that Jarl wants will give us more power.
Saint’s lips pinch. “But how long is that going to take? What the fuck is going to happen to Lex in that time?”
“That time is going to pass whatever choice we make,” I say.
Saint lets out a growl and drags both hands through his hair. “Fuck this shit. He’s my brother. I should be the one who gets to make the decision on this. I’m the one who got the number, and I want to call now.”
Okay, Zane writes, but we don’t do it here. Not where anyone could be listening. Let’s go to the mansion and call him from there.
It’s clear Saint is itching to make progress, but Zane is right. If we rush into this, we’ll make mistakes. Dealing with someone like Jarl Olsen should be measured and considered.
He says he wants that cross back, but he’s going to want more. If he believes Lex killed his daughter, he has to want him dead. Saint, too. Maybe even Zane. Even if Jarl does give us his location, it’s most likely a trap. He could get us all there and kill every last one of us.
I think about the cross that’s currently around my dad’s neck. What’s he going to say when I turn up with Zane? I haven’t even had time to think about what the hell I’m going to say to Dad. I’ve kept secrets from him, but I believe he’s kept secrets from me too. I don’t think Mom was this innocent person I’ve always thought she was. She had a past that was carefully hidden from me. Maybe, to an extent, from Dad, too. But the more I think about it, the more I realize she wasn’t the angelic figure I’ve made her out to be. She was the Old Lady of one of the most ruthless MC leaders in the nation. No one gets to that position by being all sweetness and light. She had to have a wild and dark streak in her.
Maybe she’s where I get it, and not my dad. The thought makes me smile a little.
We head through the grounds of the college to the Vipers’ hideout. The minute we step foot inside the mansion, memories assault me. Who would have thought when I first came here, and this crazy thing started between me and these three men, that we’d have ended up here?
An hour ago, I’d have thought we were finally coming together, outside events pushing us close, but now there’s a definite barrier between Saint and us. What’s interesting is it includes Zane, too. Saint won’t meet our eyes for any length of time. He’s acting antsy. Like a cat on the proverbial hot roof. It might simply be because he’s itching to call Jarl, but I think it’s deeper than that.
“I should be the one who speaks with Jarl,” I say. “I’ve already talked with him, and he doesn’t hate me the way he does you three.”
Saint whirls on me, naked anger in his gaze. His jaw is set tight, and his forearms bunch as he clenches and unclenches his fists. He’s itching for a fight. I know he won’t hit me, but wow, he’s giving off some majorly pissed-off energy.
“The way you were the best person to talk to Angelica?” he sneers. “I think not.”
He picks up the phone and brings up the number. Zane catches Saint’s wrist in a vise-like hold before he can make the call. He signs something, and Saint holds his gaze. They seem to have an entire battle of wills in a two-second stare, and then Saint sighs and hands me the phone.
“Fine, you can start the conversation, but if I think for one minute it’s going downhill, I’m taking the phone from you and doing it myself.”
I nod. With shaking hands, I hold the cell phone and press ‘call’ on the number Saint has onscreen. It rings, and rings, and rings.
Then Jarl answers.
“Yes?” There is cold curiosity in his voice. No fear. Just that icy interest despite him not knowing who is calling.
“Mr. Olsen?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Vani. Reagan’s … umm… Reagan’s half-sister.”
There’s a long beat of silence. “Vani. This is unexpected.”
I don’t have him on speaker, as that would be obvious, but I have the volume turned up and the phone held a little way from my ear.
Zane and Saint are crowding me, listening to the conversation. I shiver at their proximity. The heat of Zane’s big body. The gorgeous scent of Saint. I shake all those ideas from my mind. I have a job to do, and I can’t let these men distract me.
“I needed to talk to you.” I pause, and instead of leading with asking about Lex, I say something else entirely. “I think I recall the necklace you were talking about.”
Saint shoots me daggers, but I stare back at him, trying to convey the message to trust me and give me time, with my eyes alone.
“Well, how interesting. What jogged this miraculous recovery of memory?”
I want to tell him to go fuck himself, but that won’t bring Lex back. Instead, I force a smile onto my face, hoping it will reflect in my voice. “I was thinking about my mother, and I remembered something. I used to play dress up with her clothes and jewelry, like all little girls do. One day, I opened a drawer, and she had a box in the back. I took it out and put it on the bed, and there was this necklace in it. Like the one you showed me. There were other things in there, too. Anyway, Mom came into the room, and she was upset. Grabbed it all off me, put it back in the box, and put it away. Mom never minded me playing with her things, so it was strange. I guess I’d forgotten about it, the way a person forgets the bad things when we lose someone close.”
I can tell I’ve got him on the hook when he says, “Do you think that box will still be there, so many years later and with her dead?”
The way he says dead, so cold, so final, makes my heart ache, but I swallow down my sudden sadness. “Dad couldn’t bring himself to get rid of all her stuff. Her dressing table is still there, with a lot of her things in it.”
That bit isn’t a lie.
“I can get you the necklace back. I’m sure of it.”
I hold my breath, and there’s nothing but silence. The longer Jarl doesn’t answer, the harsher Saint’s features grow.
There’s a sigh down the line. “I expect you want something in return?”
“I want to know that Lex is okay. To hear him speak, and for you to promise not to hurt him.”
He laughs softly. “Why do you care?”
I wonder how much Jarl knows about my connection with Lex—about my connection with each of the Vipers. Jarl is a man who can get whatever information he wants, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he knows exactly what’s been going on between us all.
“I just do. Please, can I speak with him?” My heart is pounding, my breath coming in short, choppy little inhales and exhales.
Jarl sounds hesitant. “You’ll go and fetch me the chain and cross?”
“Yes, I swear it. I wouldn’t risk you hurting Lex … he’s, er, he’s a good friend.”
“Vani, I know you’re screwing with him and those other two boys.” His words are dripping in disdain.
I wasn’t wrong, then. “You do?”
He laughs. “I’m not an idiot. I have eyes and ears in that college.”
I wonder who is feeding him information. It must be Angelica. Who else? I don’t want to believe that she’d do that, but after her need to speak to Saint alone, I can’t help but wonder what other things she’s hiding. She clearly hates the Vipers, so I think she would. The sting of betrayal is sharp. Still, she’s always been the one out of the three girls I’m the least comfortable with. Faith is the one I like the most, and the one I feel the most relaxed around. I wish it had been her we’d needed to ask for the number.
Angelica , Zane clearly mouths to Saint. Saint doesn’t react at all, which is weird.
“Either way, those are my terms,” I state, trying to sound strong.
“You want to hear your little bitch boyfriend talk?” He laughs darkly. “Fine, but I don’t think the necklace is enough for me to let him go. It will keep him alive. How about that?”
My heart sinks. Saint tries to grab the phone, but I hold it up and back away from him, and Zane steps in to block him from snatching the cell.
“You can’t keep Lex a prisoner forever.” Where the hell is he going with this?
“There’s something else I want,” he says.
“What? Name it.”
He sighs. “Lex claims you were investigating what happened to my Reagan. That you care about her a whole lot. From our short meeting the other day, I’m inclined to believe you do.”
I don’t have to force the wobble into my voice, the thickness that sits at the base of my throat when I think about Reagan and what happened to her. “He’s right. I do care. Between you and me, Mr. Olsen, it’s the entire reason I came to Verona Falls. I wanted to find her. I didn’t know what had happened to her. When I found out, I was utterly devastated. I thought I’d been an only child my whole life, and learning I had a sister was a dream come true. Then I found out she was already dead—that she’d died before I’d even learned of her existence.” My eyes fill with tears, and I blink them away. Maybe I’m doing the wrong thing opening myself up to a man like Jarl Olsen, but I’m telling the truth. “I made it my mission to find out who did it to her.”
“And have you?” he asks bluntly.
“No, but I believe one hundred percent that it wasn’t the Vipers.”
“Of course you do,” he says, disgust in his tone. “You’re screwing them, and like all women, you have to romanticize sex into something more so you don’t feel like a whore. You make them the good guys they are not. Lex dropped you in it to save his skin. Asked why I didn’t take you instead of him. How do you feel now?”
The words are like a slap to the face, even though I don’t believe them. I ignore his goading and focus on what he wants.
“I will find out about Reagan,” I repeat. “If we … if we worked together … there are things I need. Records. Of hers. I think they were wiped, or some of them were. I had her file but …”
“How did you get her file?” he asks.
“I broke into the dean’s office.”
“Risky,” he says.
“Like I said, Mr. Olsen, I want to find out who did this to her. I lost my mother, and now my sister. It matters to me.”
There’s a long pause. “Bring me my cross, and find out who killed my daughter, and I’ll let you have your precious boy toy back.”
I stare at Saint, my eyes wide. This is more than we could have hoped for, but it’s also bad. Really bad. I’m nowhere near finding out what happened to her. If I don’t figure it out, will he harm Lex? There’s also another huge hurdle we have to jump over—getting the cross back from my dad. Mom had warned me before she died that if my dad ever found out about what Jarl Olsen did to her, there would be a war. I can’t see how the hell I’m going to get what I need without my dad finding out.
Maybe it would be a good thing. Maybe what Jarl has done by taking Lex should be enough to start a war? My dad and his men are tough and scary as hell. They know how to handle themselves. But if that happens, people are going to get hurt. Maybe I shouldn’t give a shit about Jarl—and I don’t, really—but I also understand his pain and anger, and I don’t want to see anyone else dead.
“Can I speak to him,” I hesitate and then add, “please?”
There’s a long pause, hollow footsteps sound, and then Jarl’s voice distantly says, “Your girlfriend is on the line. Tell her you’re alive and well.”
The cell phone must be passed over to Lex, because the next voice I hear is his.
“Vani?”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Lex, my God, are you okay?”
Saint leans his hands on the table in front of him, eyes closed at the sound of his brother’s voice.
“I’m fine, bit bruised, but I’ll live. Is everyone else safe?”
“That’s enough. This isn’t a chit chat,” Jarl growls down the line, clearly having yanked the cell back from Lex. “Get me my cross and give me someone to fucking pay for what happened to my daughter, and I’ll give you this piece of shit back.”
“I will. Just don’t hurt him any more.”
“You don’t make the rules. Remember that. You’ve got forty-eight hours.”
He ends the call.
I turn to the two men, and I smile.
“What the fuck are you grinning at?” Saint demands. “We’ve got to figure out who killed Reagan in forty-eight hours. That’s impossible. You just made shit worse.”
I want to slap him for being such an asshole. “I bought us time,” I point out calmly.
Zane nods and mouths she’s right at Saint.
Saint blows out a long breath. “Fine. You two get ready to go to the club. I’ll find out what I can here, while you’re gone. Try to find out where the fuck my brother is. The longer this goes on, the harder it will be to hide it from people and my father.”
Then he stalks into the kitchen, opens the fridge, takes out a bottle of vodka, and downs some directly from the bottle.
“You’re welcome, asshole,” I mutter under my breath.
Zane glances at me, and a small smile curves his lips.
“You ready to step into the lion’s den?” I ask.
He nods.
“I mean, my father warned you off me.”
He types something. Only makes it more exciting .
I stare at his words and then back at his face and shake my head. Zane is crazy, but I guess that’s what it takes to walk into an MC’s lair with the leader’s daughter on his arm.