Chapter Fourteen
Seventy-two hours. That’s how long Vivienne has been in my house.How long she’s been using her charms to turn my brothers into lovesick puppy dogs. Kaz is more than Mikhail, but Mikhail is going to crack. I know he is. I can see it in the way he looks at her. It’s as if every second he spends with her, he falls under her spell more and more. Does he not see the danger she poses to us?
You look at her the same way.
I shake my head, clearing that thought away. I’m not going down that road. Someone around here has to stay levelheaded.
Rubbing my temples, I focus back on the busted laptop in front of me. I haven’t been able to get a damn thing off it yet, even after replacing the screen and rigging the motherboard up enough to run. Clearly, this is outside my wheelhouse.
I pull my phone out and make a call. The line rings twice before he picks up.
“Alek.”
“Come to my office, please,” I say. “I’ve got a project for you.”
It’s only minutes before Alek walks through my door. His weary eyes meet mine.
“You needed me, boss?”
I hold up the computer. Wires are hanging down from it. The keyboard is moments away from separating itself from the screen. If I’m honest, I doubt I’ll get anything useful out of it. It’s too fucked up. I still have to try, though. If for no other reason than proving Vivienne’s guilt. My brothers will see her for who she is. A snake. Then, they won’t object to me torturing the life out of her anymore. My stomach rolls with that thought, but I push it down. I’ll do what needs to be done. I always have.
Alek’s eyes are wide as he takes the laptop from me. “This is shot.”
“Just try to get what you can off of it.”
“Anything specific I should be looking for?”
“No,” I lie.
I’d love to tell him to look for the missing five million. But Mikhail would have my ass if I divulged family business to one of our guards. Alek has been with us since I was a boy, but that doesn’t mean we trust him any more than we trust a stranger. The three of us have always known not to trust anyone but each other. I hope Kaz and Mikhail remember that while dealing with Vivienne.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Alek replies.
“Thank you. Let me know the second you find anything at all.”
Alek nods. He slips out of my office without a word, taking my only hope of proving Vivienne’s guilt with him. This better work. It has to. But what if it doesn’t? Or worse, what if I’m wrong? If I’m wrong, Vivienne might kill me, and my brothers might let her. So, I’ll just have to make sure I’m not wrong.
Turning my attention to my computer, I started working on plan B. If the laptop is too corrupted to be useful, I’ll have to go back to Vegas. I’ll have to tear Thomas’ house apart until I find something. Anything that can prove the McBrides stole from us. Declan thought sending his hot-as-hell sister would distract us. But he’s wrong. About me, at least.
A knock at my door drags me from the web of deceit I find myself tangled in. Before I can say anything, Mikhail pushes the door open and steps in.
“Sure, just come right in,” I scoff.
“Mama wants you at dinner.”
“No.”
“It’s been three days, Dmitri. You haven’t even seen Lilianna. Get out of your office and come have dinner with your family.”
A pang of guilt hits me. I miss my niece. She’s not been here long, but she and I are close. Well, closer than she is with my brothers. Probably because I’m the only one who knows how to smile. Not that I’ve been doing a lot of that lately.
“What is it about her that bothers you so damn much?” Mikhail asks when I don’t reply.
Is he serious right now?
“How about the fact that she stole five million from us?”
“You don’t know that Dmitri.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t. I don’t know why you care so much, though. You know five million is nothing to us. Why are you pushing this?”
“People will see us as weak if we don’t.”
“I don’t think that’s it.”
Mikhail stares at me. His stony-gray eyes narrowing. “She remind you of—?”
“Don’t,” I interrupt. “Don’t talk about her.”
Mikhail sighs. “D, you have to forgive yourself. It’s been twenty years.”
“Time changes nothing. Everyone knows that.”
“You didn’t have a choice. He didn’t give you one.”
A searing pain goes through me as I remember that night. I can never forget it. The look in her blue eyes is something I see every time I close my eyes. My mother haunts me. My crime haunts me.
“If I come down to dinner, will you shut the fuck up?”
“Yeah.”
“Fine,” I reply, standing from my chair. My body aches as I stretch my stiff muscles. “I have to warn you, though,” I tell Mikhail. “I’m not that hungry, so I might not stay long.”
“Just get your ass to dinner, Dmitri,” Mikhail growls, growing sick of my shit. “Now.”
He turns and stalks out, leaving the door open for me to follow him. And like a good little brother, I do. I trudge down the stairs, resenting every single step I take toward the dining room.
Everyone is seated when Mikhail and I arrive. Mama Volkov is in her usual spot, next to Kaz, who sits next to Mikhail. Lilliana is sitting directly across from Vivienne, whom I refuse to look at. My nieces’ eyes sparkle as they talk about God knows what. Jesus. Vivienne got to her, too? What the fuck? Can no one else remember why she’s here?
Mama smiles at me as I sit down. “Nice of you to join us, Dmitri.”
“Hello,” I murmur like an idiot.
“What have you been doing in that big office of yours?”
“Working.”
“On what? A new deal I don’t know about?”
“Something like that.”
My stepmother tsks at me. I’m saved from a lecture when our staff walks in with plates. Claudia and Clarissa are precise and quick as they pass out all the porcelain plates. I look down at my plate, confused. Chicken Parmesan is not a regular on the menu here.
I open my mouth to ask about it when Mama beats me to it.
“Vivienne cooked dinner for us tonight. Isn’t that sweet of her?”
My eyes nearly bug out of my head. Vivienne cooked this? And we’re just going to eat it?
“Are you serious?”
“Yes,” Mama Volkov hisses. “Eat.”
“You’re insane,” I reply. “She could’ve poisoned this so damn easily. What the hell is wrong with all of you?”
“Dmitri,” Mikhail barks. “Enough.”
I look at him in bewilderment. He looks less and less like my brother with every passing hour that Vivienne stays here. Her presence in our home is a poison. It seeps into every corner, tainting my brothers and me. Tainting our bond. Our brotherhood. She’s wreaking havoc on our lives, and I have to stop it.
“Do what you want,” I say, pushing my chair back. “I’m not eating this.”
Ignoring their gripes, I walk through the doors, heading back to my office. I wasn’t that fucking hungry anyway.
“What is your problem with me?” A voice says behind me just as I reach the first step of the stairs.
I spin around to see Vivienne behind me. “My problem is that you’re a thief. A fucking con woman too. You’ve already got the four of them eating out of the palm of your hand.”
“I’m not,” Vivienne argues, stepping closer to me. Her long dark ponytail swings as she moves.
My hands itch to wrap it around my wrist and yank it. But I hold myself back.
“You are, Vivienne. Just give it up already. You know I’m going to find proof eventually.”
Another step towards me. Her cherry-sweet scent surrounds me. She laughs, her white teeth showing.
“You’re not going to find anything, Dmitri. You’re wasting your time.”
“I will find something,” I repeat.
I have to.
She gets as close as she can without touching me, her gaze shining with the need for a challenge. She won’t back down; I can see it in her eyes. Her beautiful eyes. Eyes I hate to see staring up at me. Eyes that never let me find peace.
Vivienne pokes me in the chest. “There’s nothing to find.”
That’s exactly what someone who had something to hide would say.
Her touch burns me through my shirt, setting my veins on fire. My nostrils are filled with nothing but her scent. It’s driving me insane. From need or hatred, I’m not sure. But I’m going to find out. Before I can stop myself, I grab her hand, pulling her close to me. The feel of her warm body against mine only adds to what can only be described as a manic episode. I’m losing my mind.
I wrap my hand around her throat and squeeze. Her eyes don’t fill with fear like I expect. No, not Vivienne. The little minx looks up at me with lust.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asks.
My only response is to squeeze tighter. A smile graces her lips. One that promises sin. My heart pounds in my chest as I look down at those goddamn eyes. I want her but hate her.
“I fucking hate you,” I spit.
Her reaction is exactly what I should have expected from her. A loud pain shoots down my arm. I release her immediately and look down. There’s a steak knife sticking out of my bicep. She got me just like she got Kaz.
I look up at her, half surprised and half impressed. She pushes up on her tippy toes and kisses my cheek. My skin tingles beneath her red lipstick stain.
“The feeling is mutual,” she whispers before slipping away like a shadow.
I’m almost grateful to her. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pissed. But grateful. What just happened proved I’m not strong enough to back away from her. So she did it for me.
“Good girl,” I murmur to myself.
“Boss?”
Alek’s dark eyes are wide as he stares at my arm. My heart twists, sore from all the action tonight. I need some good news right now.
“You have something for me?”
“Um, do you want me to call Doc?”
“Just tell me what you have!”
“Okay. Okay. I managed to salvage some of the data, not all but some. It’s all encrypted, but it will only take me a few days to crack it.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Good work. Let me know when it’s done.”
“Yes, sir.”
He exits the room, leaving me with my thoughts. If Alek can uncover evidence of the McBrides’ betrayal, I can finally convince my brothers to get rid of Vivienne. Hopefully. If not, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.