Chapter Thirty
Sitting on my knees, I silently laugh. Watching my girl beat up her bigbrother is the most entertaining show I’ve ever seen. Not to mention her ass looks good in that tight dress of hers.
“You almost killed me,” Vivienne shouts.
“You almost killed you,” Declan retorts. “Who tackles a person holding a fucking gun? Did Dad even raise you?”
“Fuck you.”
“Get off me.”
Vivienne punches him one last time before getting off her brother.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m protecting the men I love,” Vivienne yells back. “Okay? You would do it for Gem.”
The entire world screeches to a halt. Our entire mansion is crumbling around us thanks to the aftershocks of the bomb McBride used, and I barely notice. Vivienne loves us. She really loves us. I look at Kaz; he’s got a look of awe on his face. Small tears shine in his eyes before he blinks them back. Dmitri just looks down at the ground, quietly crying. Like he’s so grateful to even have her attention. He can’t imagine owning a piece of her heart.
“What did you just say?” Declan asks.
He looks just as shocked as us. As a matter of fact, every person who works for their family looks bewildered. The magnitude of this moment is not lost on any of us.
Vivienne meets my eyes. The blue is almost electric under the lights. “I said, I love them.”
“Them?”
“Them,” Vivienne confirms. “Let them go, Declan.”
Declan motions to his head guard. I’ve met him a few times. Dean is his name, I believe. He looks skinnier than he did the last time I saw him. His face is sunken in with over-tiredness.
Dean unties my hands first. I climb to my feet. Fuck waiting for my brothers. I’ve got to get to her now. I take large strides to her, crashing my lips to hers the moment I can. Vivienne moans into my mouth. My cock hardens in my slacks. The stupid organ not giving a fuck that my future brother-in-law is standing three feet from me. Kaz’ grabs my shoulders, pushing me out of the way. He rips my lips from hers, and it hurts like ripping a slab of duct tape off your arm.
I watch him kiss her, wishing it was me. I’m addicted to how she tastes and how her lips feel. Kaz dips Vivienne, making her giggle. His kiss is cut short by Dmitri. Who picks her up and spins her around as she hangs onto his neck.
“I love you,” I say the moment he puts her on her feet again.
“We love you,” Kaz corrects.
“We love you.”
It’s going to take some getting used to. That’s for sure. But for Vivienne, I’ll do anything. Even share her with my brothers. My mother always used to tell me the right girl would make me do crazy things. That was her answer every time I begged her to leave my father. She just never could see it. The danger he was to her. I remember the night she died. Dmitri isn’t the only one to live with that guilt every day. My father killed my mother because I refused to. I tried to stop him. I even shot him. Only I missed it, and he didn’t. That night he shot me, too, and that’s when I saw how heartless he really was.
I shudder to think of it. But if my mother were here, I think she would like Vivienne. She would definitely love how Vivienne keeps us in line.
“Can we put a pin in this?” Vivienne asks. “I have something to handle upstairs.”
“Uh, yeah,” Kaz says. “Okay.”
“Great. Thanks.”
Vivienne rushes off. Her light footsteps pattered up each stair. As always, the three of us trail behind her. Ready to do whatever she needs us to do. She lets out a small scream as we round the corner for Lilianna’s room.
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s gone,” she says, stomping her foot.
Kaz grabs her shoulders. “We’ll find him.”
As I step into the room, I feel gross. Even the air feels filthy, knowing what my cousin, my own flesh and blood, was going to do to my daughter. What type of family does that? Fuck. What type of man does that? To a child? And knowing what he’s done to Vivienne is a different kind of devastation. Lilianna, I could save. We did save her. But it’s too late for Vivienne. She’s been living with her trauma for ten years now. I can’t undo the damage it’s done to her. But I have to do something.
I drop to my knees at Vivienne’s feet. Wrapping my arms around her thighs, I hug her.
“I can’t tell you how sorry I am for what he has done to you. Words can never express it. But maybe my actions can. Let us find him for you.”
“I don’t expect you three to help me murder your own cousin. I can handle it on my own.”
Kaz kneels beside me, Dmitri falling next to him.
“You don’t have to do it,” Kaz tells her. “Let us. We’ll bring him to you.”
Vivienne reaches her hand down. She caresses Kaz’s cheek before spreading her arms to touch Dmitri and me.
“Bring him to me alive.”
“What our queen wants,” Kaz says. “Our queen gets.”
“The hell is going on here?” Declan says, interrupting the moment.
“Fuck off, McBride,” I growl. “We’re talking to our woman.”
“Your woman? Bitch, that’s my sister.”
“I found him,” Vivienne states.
“Who?”
“The man from ten years ago. The one dad and I never could find.”
“Who is he?”
“Our cousin,” I admit. “Nikolai Volkov.”
“He’s one of them?”
“Unfortunately,” Dmitri answers. “We had no idea.”
“Convenient,” Declan spits. “You just happen to kidnap my sister and let her end up in the face of a man who raped her? That’s not a fucking coincidence.”
“What are you saying?” Vivienne asks. “You think they knew?”
“You don’t? How can you think you’re in love with men like them, Vivi?”
“I don’t think I’m in love; I know I am. And no, I don’t believe they,” Vivienne pauses to look at me and my brothers. “I don’t believe they had any idea what type of person Nikolai was. There’s no way they could’ve known.”
“He’d be dead already if we had.”
Kaz has never said truer words. We don’t take kindly to men like Nikolai.
Declan purses his lips. His body is rigid. The button-up he’s wearing makes it obvious he’s wearing a vest under it. He came here prepared for war.
“Let’s go,” I reply. “We don’t have time to stand here and debate this bullshit right now.”
“You’re going after him?” Declan asks.
I nod.
“I’m going with you. Me and Dean.”
“Thanks, but we don’t need any help. You’ll only slow us down.”
“I’m sorry. I think you misunderstand me. I’m not fucking asking, Volkov. Dean and I are coming. End of story.”
I look at Vivienne. She shrugs. “I don’t care. Just bring Nikolai to me alive.”
“We will,” I vow.
I can’t guarantee that he won’t be bloody. But he’ll be breathing. I’ll resist my instinct to kill him so Vivienne can have her revenge. She’s long overdue for it.
Declan follows us out to the car. He and Dean climb into the back with Dmitri. I slide into the driver’s seat with Kaz in the passenger.
We’re not even out of the gate yet before Declan opens his stupid mouth.
“You three need to back off my sister.”
Kaz laughs. “And why would we do that?”
“You’re not right for her. My father would never approve.”
“Neither would ours,” I state. “But lucky for us, both of our fathers are dead.”
“Even if they weren’t, we don’t need their permission,” Dmitri adds.
“I can’t believe she didn’t kill you three,” Declan scoffs.
“Disappointed?”
“You have no idea.”
The road is winding as we head towards the city. I have no idea where Nikolai is hiding. But he lives in the city, and I figure his house is just as good as any place to start with.
“Sorry, Declan, but you’re stuck with us.”
“You make it sound permanent.”
“We are,” Kaz replies. “So you might as well accept it, brother.”
“Don’t call me that,” Declan growls.
Laughter erupts between Dmitri and Kaz at Declan’s pouty voice. It dies on our lips when we see a young man cross the road ahead of us.
“Was that one of the boys from Lilianna’s room?” Dmitri asks.
“Yes.”
I press on the gas. The tires squeal against the concrete road, making the kid look up at us. Based on the fear in his eyes, he knows what’s about to happen. The kid takes off, running into the ditch. If he’s not careful, he’s going to end up as wolf food. Once I’m done with him, he might prefer to be.
Hopping out of the car, I chase the kid down. The grass is snowy and slippery as I catch up to him.
“Hey,” I yell, grabbing him by the neck. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“I’m sorry,” he says immediately. “They didn’t tell us.”
“They?”
“Nikolai and Arkadi. We didn’t know it was your daughter.”
“And yet, you showed up to rape her anyway, didn’t you?”
“What?” he asks. “I-it’s her fantasy.”
I scoff. “Are you really that stupid?”
The kid drops his eyes. He starts to fall apart in front of my eyes. Snot and tears fall from his face to the ground.
“Why were you in my daughter’s room?”
“Initiation,” he replies. “I was to help Lilianna live her fantasy if I wanted a spot in the Krysy.”
“The Krysy?”
The kid nods.
“That motherfucker,” I snarl.
“How the hell did we miss that?” Dmitri asks. “Nikolai would’ve bragged if he had started a gang.”
“Unless,” Declan says. “Unless he was planning to use the gang against you.”
“H-he had big plans,” the boy says. “He said if we could infiltrate every big city in the states, we could take over this country too.”
“How is that working out for you?”
The kid cries harder, and I almost feel guilty. He’s young. But I don’t think one can be too young to learn a lesson like this.
“Where is the Krysy hangout?”
“It’s an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of the city. Twenty minutes from here.”
“Let’s go raid a rat’s nest, boys,” Declan says.
I give him a look. “Don’t boss us around. You’re not in charge here.”
“Suck a dick, Mikhail. Are we going after this guy or not?”
The five of us head towards the car, leaving the kid in the snowy ditch.
“Wait, what about me?”
“Since you were kind enough to help us out, I’ll let you take your chances with the wolves. At least then you have some semblance of survival.”
Driving off, I glance in the rearview mirror just in time to see a wolf pack step out from the trees. So much for his survival.
Twenty minutes later, the guys and I are pulling up to an old, weary home. Nikolai’s car is in the driveway. The tall and decrepit home is the only building around for miles. It’s so worn down that it’s barely standing on its own two feet.
“This is it,” I say, tossing the car into park and getting out.
I don’t waste time waiting for the guys. Walking straight to the front door, I’m like a shark who smells blood. There’s only one track on my mind right now. Violence. I kick the door open, the crash sending wood flying everywhere.
“Mikhail,” Kaz calls out for me, but I don’t listen.
The home is even worse on the inside. Years of dust and clutter lay around. I’m sure this was a beautiful home in its prime. Now, it’s just a forgotten piece of Russian history.
“Nikolai,” I yell out from the foyer.
There’s a clatter to my left, so I follow the sound. The living room is decorated as if a family lives here. As if they’re coming back. There are spider webs covering most of everything.
“Anything?” Kaz asks as the rest of the guys file into the home.
I shake my head and point down the hallway where I heard the sound coming from. “Someone is back there.”
Kaz charges forward toward the only door in the hallway. He kicks the door open before the rest of us are there.
“Found you,” he says, a dark smile on his lips.
“Cousin, what are you doing here?” Nikolai says, his bravado not strong enough to cover the terror in his voice.
My eyes land on him. He’s pale, blood seeps from his shirt. Delight rises in my chest. Our girl got him. Now, I just have to make sure he doesn’t die before I can deliver him to Lady Justice.
Movement from the left of the room catches my eye. Arkadi fucking Popov. I knew something wasn’t right with that boy. He stills as he notices me staring at him. I watch his throat move with dread.
“Arkadi, tell me,” I say, stepping into the room. “Do you know the difference between a boy and a man?”
Every pair of eyes is on us. I can feel my brothers watching me approach the barely legal so-called man.
“N-no, sir.”
“A boy follows. A man leads. Above all, a man protects his woman with his being.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t. Don’t lie,” I say, chuckling. “You know I wanted to kill you before you stepped foot into my daughter’s bedroom. Now, now, I’m going to walk you to the gates of hell personally.”
“Sir, it wasn’t my fault.”
“Another lie,” I reply, stepping forward. “I’m pleased to tell you, Arkadi. You’ll be dying a boy. A loser. A nobody. You will never have a legacy. You will never be a man, Popov.”
He doesn’t get a word out as I pull my gun and fire. I shoot him in the throat. Blood spurts from his wound. He struggles to breathe as he falls to the floor. I relish the way he thrashes, struggling to save his pathetic life. But it’s all for nothing. He dies on the floor of a neglected home.
“I liked him,” Nikolai jokes. “Good boy. He listens well.”
The sound of his nose breaking slices through the air. Kaz stands over him. He and Nikolai were never close. But there’s a blind hatred in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. Kaz punches Nikolai again and again. He rains down several hits before I realize he doesn’t plan to stop.
“Kaz,” I snap. “Keep him alive.”
It’s like he doesn’t hear me. He just keeps hitting Nikolai like he’s a live punching bag. Grabbing his arm, I stop him.
“Vivienne wants him alive.”
Saying her name makes the fog clear immediately. He stands up, shuddering with fury. Kaz takes a sharp breath like it physically hurts him to keep from killing our cousin.
“Let’s get out of here then,” Declan says. “Vivi is waiting.”
Declan and Dean pick Nikolai up. A bottle of brandy rolls out from under him. I pick it up, keeping my eyes on Nikolai. They’re not gentle on his wounds or the blood that’s pouring out of him.
“He might need a doctor first,” Dean quips.
“Save his life, just to kill him. I like it,” Declan replies.
The pungent smell of brandy penetrates my nostrils as I twist the bottle open. As my brothers and I trail after them, I draw a route with a steady stream. I pull a lighter from my pocket. Stopping in the doorway, I pour the rest of the bottle in front of me. The flame is bright in the dim room. It’s a hint of warmth in the cold. It’s also my favorite way of getting rid of bodies. I drop the lighter to the ground, letting it fall into the puddle of alcohol. Flames burst out, following my map. It’s not long before this place will be forgotten. And with it, Arkadi Popov.