Chapter 44
NICHOLAS
Watching Xan and Imogen play chess together is a bittersweet moment for me. I can’t deny the bite of envy circling my gut at how in love they are, how they’re laughing and teasing one another. But I made my decision, and I’m comfortable with it. Elizabeth will make a fine wife and a good mother. She’s the easy choice, and I’m all for easy.
Imogen has too much fire in her belly. She’s too combative for someone like me with a dominant streak a mile wide. I’d have said Xan was similar, and before he married Imogen, he’d have agreed with me. But she spun her magic and toppled the king.
Elizabeth won’t topple me. She isn’t even interested in trying.
That’s why she’s my perfect match. Why, when my father gave me the choice between the two Montague sisters, I didn’t hesitate. Victoria is far too much like Imogen. She has a malevolent look in her eye. A kind of “come at me and see what happens.”
I could tame her, I just don’t want to. I’d rather put my energies into my business interests and come home at the end of the day to a compliant wife who knows when to keep her mouth shut and her legs open.
“Oh, so close!” Imogen exclaims.
“Too close for comfort,” Xan replies. “I taught you too well.”
“Pfft.” Imogen flicks her wrist in a dismissive gesture. “I worked my ass off studying. One of these days, my beloved husband, you’re going down.”
“Isn’t that every day?” He winks at her, and I groan.
“Please, spare me the sexual innuendos.”
Xan chuckles. My brother is almost unrecognizable from the brooding, surly man who hardly ever smiled. I’m happy for him. He, more than most, suffered when we lost Annabel. For me, losing my mother was the real kicker, especially as I was the one who found her beneath the water, her eyes flared wide as though she regretted her choice to take an overdose but realized her mistake too late.
Those eyes have haunted me ever since. It’s why I’ll never allow myself to love someone. As much as my adversaries wouldn’t believe it, I was a mummy’s boy back in the day. I preferred spending time with her more than with anyone, yet she chose to leave me because she couldn’t live without Annabel. She picked a side, and it wasn’t me or her other living, breathing children. She chose to follow my sister to the grave rather than stay with us. Stay with me.
I’ve never forgiven her for that decision, and I never will.
To hate one’s mother when she’s in the ground and untouchable is the worst kind of torture. I can’t speak to my siblings about her. They’ve put her on a pedestal, and nothing will ever knock her off that lofty perch. Not now she’s dead. So, I let it fester within me, like a boil I can’t bring myself to lance.
“I don’t suppose you guys feel up to going out.” I’m fidgety and bored, and the discovery of a key my mother hid has brought back memories I’d rather not dwell on.
We’ve gone through about half her stuff so far, but haven’t found anything the key might fit. For all of us, riffling through her things isn’t easy, so we’re taking it in stages. That key has been in the snow globe for over nineteen years. Another few weeks won’t make a difference, one way or the other.
“Where were you thinking?” Xan asks.
I shrug. “Noir?”
“Is that a club?” Imogen asks.
I nod. Noir is one of a string of nightclubs owned by my family, but it’s my favorite. I like the vibe, the music, the pretty girls who tend to the VIP area. The whole enchilada.
“I’m in. I feel like dancing.” She gets up and does a little shimmy. “Before I grow to the size of a house and can’t get through the door.”
Xan grins. “How big do you think this baby is going to be?”
“Who knows? I mean”—she looks him up and down—“you’re pretty big.”
“Don’t fucking say it,” I cut in before my brother can respond.
“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“Liar.” I jab a finger at him. “You forget I know you. Inside and out.”
“I’m aware. It’s rather inconvenient.”
I get to my feet and grab my jacket off the back of the couch. “I’ll call Elizabeth and tell her we’ll pick her up on the way.”
“Oh, can Vicky come, too?” Imogen asks.
The words “No fucking way” race to the tip of my tongue, but Xan gets there first.
“I don’t see why not.”
I fucking do.
“Sure she’ll want to play gooseberry?”
Imogen frowns. “What’s playing gooseberry?”
“When there’s an odd one out,” Xan explains. “Two couples, plus Victoria.”
Imogen turns her green eyes on me, and I don’t know why, but what I see in them makes me uncomfortable.
“We’ll all have to make sure she doesn’t feel like that, then, won’t we?”
I shrug. “Fine. She can come, but she’s your problem. Don’t expect me to go out of my way to stroke her hair and tell her she’s pretty.”
While stuffing my arms into my jacket, I beeline for the door. With any luck, Victoria will refuse the invite, but either way, my mood has already taken a nosedive, and I’m half tempted not to go. But as I was the one to suggest it, I’ll look like a dick if I back out thirty seconds after bringing it up.
I don’t have to speak to Victoria. Hell, I don’t even have to look at her. It’s three weeks until my wedding day. Once Elizabeth and I are married, I’ll slowly unpeel her sister’s fingers from her coattails and cut the elder Montague loose.
Imogen will have to find another best friend.
Unfortunately for me tonight, though, Victoria does tag along.
We enter the VIP area, and I make sure I’m as far away from her as I can get. She’s already given me several hard looks, and I’m not in the mood for another one of her “You’d better treat my sister like the princess she is” fireside chats.
As luck would have it, Imogen drags Victoria onto the dance floor, although Elizabeth refuses to go. She looks paler than usual, and while she’s not the vocal kind, she’s even quieter, too.
“Are you all right?” I ask.
A ghost of a smile touches her lips. “I’m fine. A little tired, that’s all. There’s a lot to organize.”
“It’ll soon be over,” I say. “Then you can relax and breathe.”
She nods. “Yes. Breathe. That’ll be nice.”
Our brief conversation lapses into silence. I figure she’s overwhelmed with wedding arrangements, even though the wedding planner has taken most of the burden. There are still things for her to agree to, decide, or try on. All I have to do is wear my suit and turn up on time.
Leaving her to her thoughts, I shift closer to Xan and, as it often is with us, we dive into work discussions. I suggest a mark I’ve been researching, and he gets all animated, which, I have to say, is something of a relief. I’d wondered whether, now that Imogen knows everything, he’d have slayed his demons. But he’s as excited as ever at the chance to erase another scumbag and make the world that little bit safer.
When we finish our discussion, I turn around to check on Elizabeth, but she isn’t there. I scan the dance floor, but I can only see Imogen and Victoria.
“Did you see where Elizabeth went?”
“No.” Xan scans the dance floor, too. “Maybe she’s gone to the bathroom.”
“Yeah, perhaps.” I wait a few minutes, but when she doesn’t return, I make my way onto the dance floor, with Xan right behind me. I tap Imogen on the shoulder. She’s the lesser of two evils. “Have you seen Elizabeth?” I shout in her ear.
She shakes her head, then leans in and says something to Victoria—presumably asking her the same thing. Victoria glances over to our booth, then her eyes flit to mine.
“What did you say to her?”
I hold up my hands. “Nothing. She said she was a little tired, what with the wedding and all, and that was it. I chatted to Xan, and when I next turned around, she’d gone.”
“I’ll check the restrooms,” Imogen says.
“I’ll come with you.”
Victoria follows Imogen, but the two women return without Elizabeth. I weave through the crowds to a quieter part of the club and take out my cell.
“Voicemail.” Maybe I should have chipped her like Xan chipped Imogen, then I’d be able to pinpoint her location. Except it never occurred to me. Xan’s always been far more security conscious, no doubt because of his personal experiences. My view is we have enough security dogging our every move that it’s unnecessary. Plus, Elizabeth isn’t like Imogen. She’d never dare sneak off without having her security detail with her.
“Let me try,” Victoria snaps. “You’ve probably upset her, but are too wrapped up in your ego to realize.”
“I did not upset her.”
She flicks her wrist, and I want to snap it. “Whatever.” Pressing her phone to her ear, she waits a few seconds, then shakes her head. “She’s not answering.”
“Maybe you’re the one who’s upset her.”
“Oh, fuck all the way off, Nicholas.”
If anyone other than my soon-to-be sister-in-law spoke to me like that, they’d be turning blue by now, with my hands wrapped around their neck. My fingers prickle with the urge to do the same to Victoria, but as much as Elizabeth is a quiet little mouse, I think offing her sister is where even she would draw the line.
“Maybe she felt queasy and went outside for some fresh air,” Imogen says.
“Good point.” Victoria is off before I have chance to blink. The three of us go after her, and we exit the club a second or two later.
“I can’t see her.” Victoria scans the street.
I do the same. “There she is.” She’s getting into a cab a short way down the street. I take off sprinting, with Victoria breathing down my neck. I don’t have a clue what the fuck is happening, but I need answers.
The cab door closes a second before I get there. I slam my hand on the window, startling Elizabeth.
I grab the handle. It’s locked. “Elizabeth open the door.”
The window rolls down. “I didn’t want to ruin your night. I’m not feeling well.”
“That’s okay.” I soften my tone. “Get out of the cab. I’ll take you home right now.”
“I can take her,” Victoria interjects.
“No,” I snap. “She’s my fiancée. I’ll take her.”
“Neither of you are taking me!” The yell is quite out of character, and both Victoria and I quieten. “Go back inside. Enjoy your night. I’ll be fine after some sleep.”
“Please, let me come with you,” Victoria implores. “You’re my sister. If you’re unwell, I want to take care of you.”
“Vicky, it’s okay. I’m fine on my own. I’ll see you tomorrow. Nicholas will make sure you get home okay, won’t you? ”
I nod begrudgingly. “Yes.” When Elizabeth closes the window, I motion to one of the bodyguards who’d followed us outside. “Follow the cab. Make sure she gets home safely.”
He nods and heads to a blacked-out SUV parked a short distance away.
Frowning, I watch as the cab turns the corner at the end of the street. I’ve never once, in the entire time I’ve known Elizabeth, heard her raise her voice. Not only to me, but to anyone. Perhaps she’s having doubts about the wedding. If anyone knows whether that’s the reason she’s behaving so out of character, it’s Victoria.
“Has Elizabeth sai?—?”
The blast knocks me off my feet. Pain explodes in my head, a blinding burst of agony that steals the breath from my lungs. Stars dance in my vision as I lie there, gasping for air. A high-pitched ringing echoes through my ears. Time passes in blocky sections. Somehow, I scramble to my feet. The world pitches and whirls, and I grip onto a nearby lamppost for support.
“Nicholas.” Xan grips my shoulder, shaking me. “Are you okay?”
I touch the back of my head. My fingers come back red. “Think so. What happened?”
“Don’t know. Something exploded.”
“Is Imogen okay?”
“She’s fine. We were farther away than you and Victoria.”
“God, Victoria.” She’s face down on the pavement, and I let go of the lamppost and stagger over to her. “Victoria.” I shake her gently, but she doesn’t respond. “Call an ambulance.”
“Already done,” Xan says. “Steven’s on it.”
“Stay with her.” I sway and rock, stumbling down the street to where Elizabeth’s cab went. As I turn the corner, a gut-wrenching horror congeals in my chest.
“No! Elizabeth!”
I race toward the flaming cab, but the heat of the fire beats me back. Sirens sound in the distance, but they’re too far away to save her.
My fiancée is dead…
A second explosion sends me flying through the air. Time slows to a crawl, the deafening roar of the second blast drowning out any other sounds. Fragments of debris rain down on me, singeing my clothes, my hair, my skin. With a sickening thud, I hit the ground a second time. As consciousness slips through my fingers like grains of sand, I detach from reality.
Then the world fades from gray to black until there’s nothing but the echo of my heartbeat, and a ferocious desire for vengeance .
Thank you so much for reading The Devil’s Pawn.