Chapter Four
I”m ready to leave as soon as we pull into the driveway. Thomas Taylor”sneighborhood reeks of old money and pompous dicks. I”d wonder how a weasel like Thomas was able to buy the biggest house in this development. But I already know it”s his daddy”s house. If the information I dug up is accurate, Thomas inherited it after a plane crash claimed both his parents.
”Fuck,” Kaz says as he opens the front door. ”His place is destroyed.”
Shards of broken glass crunch beneath our feet as we move deeper into the house. It”s completely ruined. As if someone had captured an F-5 tornado and set it loose right in the living room. There are holes in the walls and broken pictures lying around everywhere.
”Someone really hated Taylor,” Kaz says. ”This is worse than we thought.”
I”ll give him that. Mikhail”s two goons he sent down here earlier this week failed to mention just how bad the destruction was.
”Or,” I reply, picking up a shattered wedding picture of Thomas and his wife. ”Thomas did all this himself, and he”s on the run.”
”You really think he”d be stupid enough to steal five million from us and run?”
Tossing the picture on the ripped-up couch, I shrug. It doesn”t matter what Thomas would or wouldn”t do. He”s not the issue here. He”s a minor problem that can and will be easily solved with a bullet to the brain. The big issue is the five million missing. That”s what matters. I need to get that money back. Not because we”re hurting for cash. The five million won”t even break us. Ever since my brothers and I took over the family, we”ve more than tripled our net worth. It wasn”t hard once we cut off all the whores and shitty investments our father was paying for. But this is about the principle. What would our enemies think if we just allowed someone to make off with our money? We need to send a message. You don”t fuck with the Volkovs.
”I”m going to start talking to some neighbors. You sift through this and see what you can find. We need a lead to where he may have gone.” I tell Kaz.
”I doubt I”ll find anything but okay.”
I slip out of the monstrosity Thomas Taylor calls a house and head straight for the house across the street. There”s a woman in the front yard, watering her plants. I can tell she”s pretending not to notice me as I walk up. But those side-eye glances aren”t as sly as she thinks they are.
”Ma”am?” I ask as I approach her.
She fakes a startle, tossing her straw hat off her head. ”Oh, dear. You scared me. Didn”t your mother ever teach you not to sneak up on a lady?”
That question hits me right in the gut. My mother is a sore subject for me. The memories of her, of what I did to her, assault me. But now is not the time to get wrapped up in guilt.
I grit my teeth through the pain, forcing myself to form a charming smile. ”I apologize. My name is Dmitri.”
She takes my hand. Her dark eyes run over my body in a way that makes me feel cheap. Not many women possess the skill to make a man feel like a slab of meat, but this one clearly does.
”Sabrina Hills. A pleasure to meet you.”
Taking advantage of her attraction to me, I lean down and press a light kiss to her knuckles. ”The pleasure is all mine.”
Sabrina smiles, pulling her hand from mine. ”Well, aren”t you a gentleman?”
”Yes, ma”am.”
”That accent you have is gorgeous.”
”Thank you,” I reply. ”I”m hoping you can help me. I”m looking for your neighbor, Thomas Taylor. Have you seen him?”
”I”ve seen a lot of that boy, let me tell you. He”s something else.”
My face furrows. ”I”m not following…”
”Let”s just say he enjoyed our afternoons together.”
A flirty smile appears on her face, and the meaning of her words clicks into place. She and Thomas were banging. There”s a giant rock on her hand, which means they were both having an affair. Disgust curls my gut. Cheating is unforgivable.
”Okay, when was the last time you had one of these ”afternoon visits”?”
”About two weeks ago. He was pretty upset. Said something about having to go out to some flower club and find a girl named Vivienne.”
Yeah, that doesn”t help me at all. Does she know how many clubs are in Vegas? I”m sure there are just as many Viviennes in Vegas, too.
”Does Vivienne have a last name?”
”I”m sure she does, but I don”t know it. Thomas and I agreed to not speak about our other conquests too much. It was disrespectful to this beautiful thing we have.”
This lady is delusional. What she and Thomas had was disrespectful to their marriages, but whatever. I”m not here to argue morals.
”I understand,” I say with a smile. ”Thank you so much for your help.”
Sabrina runs a hand over my bicep. ”Would you like to come in for some afternoon tea? I made plenty.”
”No, thank you. My brother is waiting for me, so I should be going.”
”Your brother is more than welcome to join us.”
My brothers and I share a lot of things. A name, the responsibilities of the family, a home, but we have never shared a woman. I don”t think we ever will.
”Thank you, Sabrina, but I really must go. Have a wonderful afternoon.”
She releases me with a sigh. ”Too bad.”
I turn back towards the Taylor”s house and practically run out of her yard. Bursting through the front door, I almost collide with Kaz.
”What the hell is wrong with you?”
”Nothing,” I reply. ”The neighbor wasn”t much help. She just saw him two weeks ago, and he told her he needed to see a woman at a flower club. Whatever the hell that”s supposed to mean.”
Kaz pulls a black card from his pocket. ”Maybe this will help?”
I take it out of his hands. The shiny silver letters read Club Wildflower.
”Where did you find this?”
”Upstairs. In Thomas” bedroom. I looked it up. Belongs to Declan McBride.”
That”s when it clicks.
”Declan has a sister named Vivienne,” I say.
When we worked with Declan, I did my homework on the man. I know he”s got four siblings. Three sisters and a brother. But they aren”t actively involved in the business. I didn”t see it necessary to learn about them beyond their names. Fuck. This just got a lot more complicated. Declan McBride runs this city. Nothing happens here that he doesn”t know about. Well, almost nothing. He hasn”t figured out we”re in town. Yet. We can”t let him either. If he figures out we”re on his turf and sniffing around his club to find Thomas, who knows what he”ll do. But I can”t let this deter me from the goal of finding our money. We”re just going to have to take the risk.
”Up for a drink, brother?”
Kaz gives me a smile. ”Always. Maybe they”ll have a decent vodka.”
”Somehow, I doubt that.”
***
I”m not sure what I expected of Club Wildflower, but this… isn”t it. The nightlife in Vegas is very, very different from what we have back home. Everywhere I look, someone is grinding on another. I”m pretty sure the couple on the bench seat are actually having sex. This place is insane. Or better yet. It makes me feel old, and I”m thirty-five. Too old to be in a place this wild. Jesus. How does Declan handle this? He”s not that much younger than me. Granted, his wife is a decade younger than him. So maybe it”s more her scene than his.
Kaz and I shoulder our way through the crowd, heading for the bar. Hopefully, the bartender will know where Vivienne is, and we can get the fuck out of this place. The bar is crowded, but that makes little difference to us. Kaz pushes some people out of the way so we can step up to the bartender.
”What can I get for you?”
I lean my elbows on the sticky bar. ”Vivienne McBride, she here?”
The woman raises an eyebrow. Her eyes flick to the club”s second floor before she looks back at us. ”Who is asking?”
”Dmitri.”
The redhead eyes me and Kaz for a second before speaking. ”I”ll let her know.”
”That was easy,” Kaz says as the woman slips into a door behind the bar.
”Maybe too easy,” I reply.
A few moments later, the bartender returns alone. ”If you give her a few moments, she”ll be right here.”
”Thank you,” Kaz replies. ”Could we get some vodka shots?”
”Sure thing.”
Before she can deliver the alcohol, the door behind the bar opens, and a man steps through. His light brown eyes are focused on me and Kaz. I”m about to ask him what the hell his problem is when he moves out of the way, revealing a stunning woman behind him. I nearly choke on my tongue when her bright blue eyes meet mine. It’s a sucker punch to my gut. How can such a gorgeous woman be our enemy?
”Holy shit,” Kaz whispers. ”Is that Vivienne?”
A surge of jealousy goes through me. He shouldn”t be looking at her. None of the men in this place should be. My hands curl into fists. What the hell is wrong with me?
”Dmitri, I presume?” the man in front of Vivienne asks. ”And you?”
”Kaz,” my brother croaks, his eyes never straying from the goddess incarnate.
He looks like he”s falling under her spell. That”s not good. She”s an enemy, not an ally.
”The Volkov brothers,” Vivienne purrs.
Her voice is a beautiful melody, wrapping around me like a warm blanket. Fucking hell. I”m losing my mind.
”You”ve heard of us,” I say, trying to screw my head on right. ”Good.”
”Only in passing,” Vivienne says. ”What can I do for you boys?”
She smiles innocently at me. As if I”m supposed to believe that she”s anything of the sort. I can see the wheels in her head turning. She”s playing a game. The longer I stare at her, the more I see it. She”s dangerous. Beautiful but lethal. Like a viper.
”We”re looking for Thomas Taylor. His neighbor told us he was last seen here with you. Do you know where he is?”
”Sorry, friend. I haven”t seen him in weeks. I”m not sure where he is.”
There”s something about the smirk on her face that makes me think she”s lying. However, her eyes only shine with the truth. She doesn”t know where he is.
”The last time you saw him, what happened?” Kaz asks.
”He came into the club and wanted some information on my sister. I refused and asked him politely to leave. He left.”
Yeah, she”s definitely lying. But why? Is she protecting Thomas? That thought makes me feel feral. I shake my head clear, but it does little to help. What if she helped him steal our money?
”What about you?” I ask her male companion.
He looks up from his phone. ”What about me?”
”Have you seen Thomas?”
”Nope. Don”t know him.”
His face is stoic and cold, but there”s a little quiver beneath his eye. He”s lying, too. Vivienne and whatever-the-fuck-this-guy”s-name-is know something.
”I”m sorry we couldn”t do more to help,” Vivienne says in a sugary-sweet voice. ”Leland and I need to be going. We”ve got a busy night ahead. I hope you find your friend.”
With that, she and Leland push past the bar. Her cherry scent envelopes me as she passes me. She gives me a wink and a flirty smile. I don”t know what game she”s playing, but she won”t win.
I wait until they”re out of earshot before turning to my brother. ”Follow her.”