Chapter Twenty
She’s everywhere. All over this damn house, like a pest I can’t get rid of. Her scent clings to the walls. I find her long hair weaved into my clothes. How does that even happen? It’s not like I spend a lot of time with Vivienne. In fact, I spend most of my time in my office just to avoid the crazy woman.
My stomach sours when I hear her fluttery laugh from the dining room. I can’t even get dinner without running into Vivienne. This is ridiculous. This is my house. I should be able to walk into my dining room without worrying about getting stabbed or robbed. The little nick she left on my arm was more than enough for me.
Before I can stop myself, I swing open the dining room doors. The entire room goes quiet. Vivienne sits on one side of the table between my two brothers. Neither of my brothers look comfortable sitting there. I wonder if it’s because they’ve finally realized what I’ve always known. Vivienne is a snake. A beautifully lethal viper of a woman. Across from the three of them, Lilianna is seated next to her boyfriend.
“What is going on here? Forget to invite me to a family dinner?”
“Didn’t think you’d bother coming since Mama is out of town,” Mikhail says.
He’s not wrong. A family dinner with Vivienne is the last thing I want to do. But a guy”s gotta eat. Besides, this is my house. My domain. Not hers.
“You thought wrong,” I tell him before pulling out the chair to the left of Lilianna.
Vivienne barely looks at me as I sit down. A piece of me is relieved. But I still crave those eyes on me. I crave the pain her look gives me. The mournful reminder serves me.
“What did I miss?” My words are so loud in the silent room.
“You mean before you ruined our peaceful dinner with your presence?” Vivienne asks, her blue eyes glancing at me.
There she is in all her venomous glory. But her barbed words don’t deter me.
“Precisely,” I reply. “So, what did I miss?”
“Lilianna was just telling us how she and Arkadi met.”
“Interesting. By all means, don’t let me stop you.”
My niece gives me a nervous glance. “Um, okay. As I was saying, there’s not much to tell. Arkadi and I grew up together. We went to the same school.”
“I was actually her bully,” Arkadi interjects. His chest puffs out in pride. “You know what they say; boys only pick on you if they like you.”
“Yep,” Lilianna says. “Anyways, a few months before my mother’s death, Arkadi confessed how he felt, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.”
“Hmmm,” Vivienne says.
She narrows her eyes at Arkadi. I don’t think she likes him any more than my brother and I. The kid is arrogant and rude. I’ve never liked the way he stares at my niece. It’s like she’s more of a trophy than a human to him.
“It’s bullshit, you know,” Vivienne finally continues.
Arkadi scoffs. I don’t like the malicious glint in his eyes. He leans forward, almost challenging Vivienne. “What’s bullshit, sweetheart?”
My eyes fly to Kaz, expecting to see him grabbing his gun. He’s more than shown how protective he is of Vivienne. I’m surprised to see him sitting back in his chair with a glass of bourbon. He looks calm… on the outside. Inside, he’s a statue of rage. He’s staring at Arkadi; a thousand possible deaths flash in the milky gray of his eyes.
My attention is drawn to Vivienne as she leans forward to match Arkadi. Her black dress dips, showcasing a little more of her cleavage.
“Boys who like you will treat you well,” she says, her gaze stuck on Lilianna for a moment before moving to the stupid jock. “Bullies will just grow older, meaner, and bigger. Until one day, they meet their match and find themselves buried beneath ten feet deep.”
Arkadi shakes his head. “It’s six feet deep. They only dig graves six feet deep.”
A scary smile crosses Vivienne’s face. It’s dark, twisted, and somehow gorgeous all in one.
“You’ll see.”
Chills rise in my arms. Vivienne is terrifying, but that’s not where they come from. My head spins. All my blood has rushed to my cock. It was too much, too fast. I can’t even remember the last time a woman affected me like this. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to fuck someone I hate so badly. She’s threatening my niece’s boyfriend, and here I am, lusting after her. Fuck I’m sick.
The bubble bursts as Claudia swings the kitchen door open. “You better be hungry. This took me all day.”
Clarissa is hot on her heels, wheeling her own tray. “It took us all day, you mean.”
She pauses when she sees me. “I thought Dmitri wasn’t coming.”
“Plans changed,” I reply.
“Mama goes out of town, and you boys start acting up. If you knew your plans changed, you should stick your head through that door and tell me.”
“Sorry, Claudia, it was last minute.”
My dick shrivels as she glares at me. She looks like if she had a hatchet, she would bury it in my skull. Slipping through the kitchen door, she returns a few minutes later with a place setting for me. She doesn’t look at me as she sets it down in front of me. The room is quiet as every plate is passed out. Clarissa turns to glare at me one more time before the kitchen door swings closed. What is with the women around here?
“You pissed her off,” Vivienne mutters.
“Seems so.”
For a moment, the clinks of forks are the only sound in the room. I bite into the duck. The meaty is juicy and tender. It melts in my mouth. I savor every salty bite as we eat in a strange cycle of silence.
Mikhail breaks the silence, his eyes pinned on Arkadi. “What are your plans after graduation?”
“I’ll be going to college in the States, sir. New York, to be exact. I’ve been accepted to Dartmouth.”
I raise an eyebrow. Arkadi Popov is from a well-known family. He is less prominent than us, but his father is filthy rich. An import/export tycoon. He’s also renowned for his hatred towards the United States. I can’t imagine he’d let his son attend a college there.
“How does your father feel about that?” I ask.
Arkadi swallows. “I don’t see why that matters. Where I attend college is my choice.”
“So he’s not happy with your decision,” Mikhail says. “That must be hard. How will you be paying for college without his help?”
“I have a sponsor in America.”
“In New York?”
“No.”
“That’s odd,” Kaz says. “Why would your sponsor not be in New York?”
Lilianna chuckles, clearly trying to pacify the situation. “Is this an interrogation or a dinner?”
“We’re just curious,” Mikhail says. “We want to get to know Arkadi.”
“I think I’m going to go,” Arkadi says.
“No, stay,” Lilianna “It’s fine.”
Arkadi pushes her hand off him and stands. “I don’t feel welcome, Lilianna. Maybe I’ll see you at your party.”
It all unfolds like a scene from a soap opera. Arkadi storms from the room. I’m not even really sure what he’s so mad about. It just makes him look guilty. Lilianna stands up.
“Thanks a lot,” she spits.
“What the hell did we do?” I ask. “He was the one who got so defensive. Ask him what he’s been doing.”
“Fuck you, Dmitri.”
“Lilianna-“
“No. Leave me alone.” She scans the room. “All of you.”
She runs from the room just as dramatically as Arkadi did.
“I might come to your party,” Vivienne mocks Arkadi. “Did you hear him? He just gaslit her. I don’t like that kid, Mikhail.”
“Join the club,” I mutter. “None of us like him. But what do you think we can do about it?”
“Have you just tried talking to her? I don’t think she likes him as much as she pretends to.”
Mikhail’s ears perk up. “Why do you say that? Did she say something? Is he hurting her?”
Vivienne puts her hand on my big brother’s leg. A torrent of jealousy tears through me. She should never be touching anyone but me. I have got to get ahold of myself, but I can’t. Kaz notices Vivienne’s hand and goes rigid. My body goes on alert. Kaz has already called dibs on Vivienne. He’s going to beat the shit out of Mikhail. This won’t be pretty. I tense as I watch Kaz. His attention is on Vivienne’s hand. He zeroes in on it as she rubs it over Mikhail’s thigh.
“Calm down,” Vivienne soothes. “It was in her body language earlier. I don’t think she’s being hurt. I think she’s being lied to.”
“You don’t think Arkadi really likes Lilianna?” I ask, finding myself curious about her opinion. The way she stands up for my niece makes me soften towards her just a bit.
“No. I think he’s got ulterior motives. Something isn’t right about him.”
“Lilianna won’t listen,” Mikhail says.
Vivienne shrugs. “Give her some space and time. She’ll come around. Teenage girls can be fickle.”
“You’re probably right, princess,” Kaz coos, grabbing the hand not on Mikhail’s thigh and pulling it to him.
He kisses the back of her hand. There’s a little jealousy in Kaz’s eyes as he looks at Mikhail. Kaz places Vivienne’s hand on his own thigh, covering it with his.
“Don’t princess me,” Vivienne snaps. “I’m still mad at you.”
Kaz just smiles. He fucking smiles. I’ve seen that man murder a priest. A dirty, no-good priest. But still a priest. Kaz is heartless, but Vivienne is turning him into a docile teddy bear. Docile is not what this family needs.
She’s changing too much. I might appreciate the way she cares for Lilianna, but is it worth the destruction of my brothers? The urge to make her leave overtakes every one of my emotions. Forget the attraction I feel towards her. It’s nothing but a distraction. An obstacle keeping me from my main goal. Ridding my family of Vivienne McBride.
“I was working, princess. That’s all. I should’ve left a note, but in all honesty, I didn’t think you would care.”
“I don’t,” Vivienne replies before turning to Mikhail. “You told me you didn’t know where he was.”
Mikhail shrugs. “Is it wrong for me to want you to myself for a few hours? He’s always hogging you.”
My head spins as I watch the three of them argue. How the fuck did we get here? It’s like I stepped into an alternate universe where the three of us brothers don’t get along. It’s all because of her. This is what she wants. She wants us to fight over her. It’s her goal to tear us apart. To keep us distracted so she can pull whatever scheme she’s playing at. I won’t fall for it. Maybe I want her like my brothers, but unlike them, I’m stronger than my attraction for her. I have to be to bring her down.
Silently, I push my chair back and exit the room before fists start being thrown. If my brothers are stupid enough to fall for her tricks, they can deal with the consequences of it themselves. That’s one mess I won’t be cleaning up.
I get back to work once I’m tucked away in my office, safe from all the drama. I scroll through my emails until I find the one I’m looking for. It’s from my cousin, Nikolai. He and I have been emailing about Thomas. He’s been the only helpful Volkov besides me in this investigation. And like me, he’s convinced Thomas and Vivienne did this together. If he had actually met Vivienne, I bet he’d be just as pussy whipped as my brothers, but thankfully, he hasn’t. His latest email doesn’t have anything new in it. Just him asking about the laptop again.
I don’t know how long I lose myself in my work when knuckles rasp against my office door.
“Enter.”
“Got something for you, boss,” Alek says as he steps into the room.
He balances his shiny laptop in his hand as he walks towards my desk.
“Let me see.”
I take the laptop from him, pushing mine out of the way to make room on my desk. Sifting through the data on the screen, I find it. I find the proof I’ve been looking for. Vivienne McBride is guilty, after all.