Valerian
I’d been back at the house for a few hours, wondering what the hell was so important that I had to fly back ahead of schedule. I’d sent out a text to Violet, but it wasn’t the same, and it got me thinking, this was why I needed to be in Seattle and yet another reason the men were probably angry that Andrei had been in Chicago.
They needed leadership here.
At their home base.
In their city.
I sighed and looked around my empty office, the couch where Violet had kissed me might as well burn a hole into my skull as memories washed over me.
I had been so afraid that first day when I walked in here, afraid that the memories would be too much. But I should have known Violet would be like a breath of fresh air, and she had been. Every room she walked into, even when she hated me, even when she was scared, it was like she’d been helping me build new memories without even realizing it.
I tapped my cell against my thigh and then tossed it on my desk, next to the picture of my mom that was staring back at me.
I picked it up, my fingers dancing along the front of it like I could still touch her soft face, smell the berry shampoo she used on her bright blond hair. Her smile was huge in the picture like she knew one day I’d need that smile to remind me why I was doing what I was doing.
Because she’d died.
And I’d lived.
“That’s my favorite picture of her,” Sancto said, walking into my office with two glasses of whiskey. He set one in front of me and took his, throwing it back in one full swallow.
Still holding the picture, I looked up. “She was beautiful.”
“She was.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “It’s such a shame when such beauty gets stolen.”
He stilled. “Why don’t you have a drink? You look stressed.”
I set down the picture and leaned back in my chair, my shoulders tense. “I’m stressed because my wife isn’t going to be here for three full days, and I miss her, so what’s so important that you needed to speak to me in person?”
He eyed my whiskey and then me. “There’s a reason for the alcohol.”
“Perfect.” I gritted my teeth and reached for the glass, downing it just like he did and then wondering why I felt the need to chug it like him, remembering my early training about mimicking others when you’re tired.
Shit.
Something was off with him. His eyes were suddenly wild as he got up and started to pace.
“I always knew you would be loyal, I just never realized how easy all of this would be when the time came.” His smile was sad, and then something flickered in his gaze over my head, the other picture of my mom. “Too bad that loyalty will kill you.” He pressed his hands against my desk and leaned over it as my vision blurred. “You couldn’t just stay hidden with the Italians; no, you had to rise up and take everything from me! The minute the men knew you were alive, they cheered, they celebrated like you came back to life! Like you deserve this!” He pounded his fist against the desk baring his teeth.
I tried to stand and fell back down into my chair, panic rising in my chest as I realized I really was going to lose this one.
I had left early.
Violet wasn’t coming for three more days.
Why the hell didn’t I bring backup?
Nobody expected me back for hours.
My men weren’t here because they thought I was still in Chicago.
Nobody was here but me and Sancto.
Sancto and the ghosts of my mom, my dad, my childhood.
My eyes felt heavy.
He’d drugged me.
I shoved the glass away from me, but my eyes blurred again as whatever he’d given me coursed through my system. The more erratic my heartbeat, the more the drug spread. The more I panicked, the less time I had.
I had to focus.
“Why?” I ground out with difficulty. “Why do this?”
“You killed her!” He roared. “And I loved her! You were a spoiled little shit who couldn’t live without his horse blanket. You made her go back in that house! She would still be alive if it weren’t for you! And then, you come back from the fucking dead and take over the Family when I was this close to stealing the crown from Andrei! I had loyal followers. Loyal men who are now taking your side! The great Valerian Petrov! Back from the dead!”
“Thought you… wanted… this.” Keep him talking, find a way out. But I was starting to see spots in my line of vision; it was like taking a billion Benadryl and then losing all function of my arms and legs.