Chapter Sixteen
The sound of glass breaking hits my ears as Mikhail throws his decanter. Shards of crystal clear glass splinter through the air, landing on my arm. I dust the sharp crumbs off my suit jacket and look at my big brother. I’ve never seen him so broken. His face twists with rage and agony.
“I can’t believe she told her those lies,” Dmitri spits. “Katerina was always a bitch, but this is a new low.”
“They’re not lies,” Mikhail replies, his voice hoarse from screaming all night. “Everything Lilianna listed off happened.”
“But you didn’t do them,” I say.
“Lilianna thinks I did.”
Golden rays from the rising sun light up Mikhail’s dark office. The silence between the three of us is tense. All the things Lilianna thinks Mikhail did to her mother were actually our father’s crimes. If we can even call him a father. But even in his death, he taunts us. Even in his death, we pay for his mistakes.
“I understand why she hates me now,” Mikhail says. “Did she tell either of you about this?”
I shake my head. Lilianna has hardly spoken about her mother since she got here. She hasn’t seemed to care much about her death, and I guess now we know why. Katerina was just as terrible to her as she was to my brother.
“No,” Dmitri replies. “I’ve never asked, though. I just figured she”d tell me if she wanted to talk about what happened to her mother. I can’t believe she’d tell Vivienne instead of me.”
Inwardly, I chuckle. Lilianna is as smitten with Vivienne as I am. I can’t blame her. Vivienne is magnetic.
“Are you going to tell her the truth?” I ask.
Mikhail rubs his temples. His shaggy hair is messy from him yanking on it all night. I’m not used to seeing him like this. He normally stands as tall as a titan. Now, he just looks defeated. Exhausted. All of this has been weighing on him. Since the moment Lilianna showed up.
“I don’t know. Would she even believe me? She’s known her mother all her life, and I’m just some stranger she got stuck with.”
“I don’t think lying to her is going to help,” Dmitri replies. “You need to sit down and have a talk with her.”
Mikhail nods, but I don’t think he’s listening. I couldn’t imagine being in his place right now. The three of us never wanted to become fathers. We all share the fear of turning out just like ours. But Mikhail has no choice anymore.
“I’ll figure it out,” Mikhail says. “I have to.”
“I don’t think you should continue to let her spend time with Vivienne. She isn’t a good influence on her.”
“Why? Because she stabbed you?”
“She stabbed you too, Kaz.”
“Yeah, but that just means she likes me.”
Dmitri furrows his eyebrows. “You’re insane, you know that?”
I shrug. If wanting Vivienne is insane, fucking commit me.
Mikhail leans forward, his eyes sobering. “How is your arm, Dmitri?”
“It’s fine. Just a scratch.”
“Somehow, I doubt that,” I reply. “I don’t think Vivienne is a danger to Lilianna. If anything, she’s good for her.”
“Good for her?” Mikhail says. “How?”
“Lilianna trusts her. She tells her things. Maybe if you ask Vivienne real nice, she’ll let you in on those secrets so that you can get to know your daughter.”
Dmitri scoffs. “You can’t trust her. She’s beautiful, but she’s a snake.”
“Shut up,” I snap.
I don’t know if it’s hearing him call my girl beautiful or the way he insinuates she’s something she’s not. Vivienne isn’t mean for the sake of being mean. She’s the way she is because that’s what the world made her. I don’t know what put her on the bloody path she’s on, but I know it was terrible. It had to be to change a girl like Vivienne.
“If I tell Lilianna to stop hanging around Vivienne, it’ll just make her hate me more. I can’t control who she befriends. Otherwise, Arkadi wouldn’t be hanging around.”
“Something isn’t right about that kid.”
“We can all agree on that,” I reply.
“I still think removing Vivienne from the house is best.”
“Have you found something on the Taylor computer you haven’t told me and Kaz about?”
“Not yet,” Dmitri says. “But it’s only a matter of days.”
A vibrating sound interrupts our conversation. It’s coming from Mikhail’s cellphone. With every ring, it spins slightly until my brother picks it up.
“It’s Declan,” he says.
“We knew he’d find out eventually,” I say.
“If you don’t answer, he’s liable to show up here,” Dmitri says.
Mikhail’s face goes blank as he accepts the call and puts it on speaker.
“Volkov.”
“You motherfucker, I’m going to kill you for this.”
“What are you talking about?” Mikhail replies, acting bored.
“Don’t play dumb,” Declan hisses. “I know you have my sister. Give her back.”
“It’s your fault she’s here, McBride. You shouldn’t have sent her after my guy, after my money.”
“What delusion have you made up in your head now?”
“Vivienne took out Thomas Taylor, and mysteriously, five million of my money went missing right after.”
“How do you know it was after? Couldn’t Thomas have moved it before his death?”
“So you admit that your sister killed Thomas?”
“I’m sure my sister told you that herself. She’s not one to keep her achievements quiet.”
“She did,” I interject. “Right after she murdered two of my guards right in front of my eyes.”
Declan chuckles. “It’s a wonder the three of you are even alive. I suggest you get my sister back to Vegas before I come to Russia. If Vivi hasn’t already killed you, I fucking will.”
With that, he hangs up. Declan’s threat hangs in the air between us. If he thinks he’s going to scare us into giving my future wife back to him, he’s got another thing coming. I’m not afraid of him. Neither are my brothers. But if we can stop a war from coming to our doorstep and disrupting our people, we will.
“Find some proof before he comes here and starts a fucking war,” Mikhail barks, his stony eyes on Dmitri.
“My pleasure,” he says before leaving Mikhail’s office.
“You don’t really think she stole from us, do you?”
Mikhail presses his lips into a thin line. “I don’t know, to be honest. I really don’t.”
“I will protect her,” I tell him. “You need to know I won’t let you two hurt her. I’ll die before that happens.”
“I know,” he sighs. “You don’t need to remind me.”
“As long as we understand each other.”
I don’t care if it’s her brother or mine; I will end the life of anyone who tries to take her from me. Speaking of Vivienne, I haven’t seen her in hours. Not since she went to movie night. I was supposed to see her after, but everything went south, and my brother needed me.
“Get some rest. You look like shit.” I tell my brother.
“Thanks, asshole.”
Mikhail flips me off as I slip out of his door. I walk down the hallway, looking for my girl. I’m glad I took a break around four am to get some sleep and grab a shower. Less time away from her. I look in every room down the hallway but don’t find her in any of them. Annoyed, I stomp down the stairs to continue my search. I find Lilianna and Arkadi in the living room, watching a show with Mama.
“Have you seen Vivienne?” I ask them. “I can’t find her.”
“Last time I saw her, she was going to change,” Mama replies. “Someone spilled orange juice all over her.”
“Who?”
“The new guard,” she answers. “Konstantin or whatever his name is.”
“Where is she now?”
“Her room, I assume.”
I head straight there. The whole time, I’m scouring for the new guard. He needs a lesson about respect. When I’m outside of Vivienne’s door, I hear her.
“What are you doing?” she says, a quiver of fear in her voice.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it,” a male says.
“What the fuck,” I mutter.
I twist the doorknob, finding it locked. The stiff brass won’t let me turn it any further.
“Vivienne,” I call, knocking on her door.
There’s no answer. So I knock harder, yelling her name. Slowly, the door opens, and Vivienne comes into view. Her face is wet with tears. She stands before me in nothing but a pencil skirt and a lacy bra. I look behind her to see the new guard, and my vision goes red.
Pulling out my gun, I pull the trigger before he can say anything. Vivienne flinches.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you do that?”
I look down at Vivienne, confused by her question. “Your tears are reason enough.”