Chase stays quiet and I do as well. It’s past that point. Valerie makes me feel. And she makes me wish I could daydream. It would all be about her. I could relate to those sitcoms where people play things over and over in their heads. It would all be moments of her.
The only one that comes to mind is her fury when we came back injured. There was fear, sure, but the anger, the ownership, the willingness to go to battle just over bruises. She’s not some dainty woman like those Mr. Volkov is talking about.
Every day, she gets better with a knife. She’s managed to kick me hard enough to leave a bruise and fast enough that I couldn’t avoid it.
“Say something!”
“She will be taken care of,” Chase growls.
“Good.”
“I want my boys to be able to focus. And Lief! Your job is to keep them alive. Keep your head out of the clouds.”
As if I could put it there if I wanted to.
“Chase, you have some things to look overnow. Lief, I need you to train Sven’s replacement. Take him out tonight and use a dummy mark. I’d ideally say Hunter, but since he’s missing.”
“Not missing,” Chase assures him. “With our girl.”
Mr. Volkov takes a slow breath. “Terminate the relationship. Each of you having one girl would be worrying enough. Sharing a girl is a recipe for in-fighting. I won’t tolerate it.”
He storms out and Chase leans back. “Able to ignore that order?”
“Wasn’t aimed at me,” I say simply.
“It was meant for both of us and I know you’re aware of that. We’ve had Valerie for nearly three months now. It’s been rocky. The first bit was all about sex, then the two rocky weeks…”
“Are you jealous of Hunter right now?”
Chase blinks a few times. He considers it for a moment. “More frustrated that I can’t be there as well. Being more open about things is helping. I don’tlovethat my dad has been so fucking demanding lately on my time especially, but that’s not her fault.”
“Tell me if it comes up.”
“Are you jealous?”
I shake my head. I don’t think I’ve ever felt jealous. I know what I offer. I know Valerie likes me. There are no other questions to be asked.
“Lucky. It’s that damn one-track mind of yours. No thinking in circles, no worrying, no anxiety. I just keep thinking that I’m not enough for her by myself, that she needs others to be satisfied, but then when it’s just the two of us or all three of us, I can see things clearer. It goes back and forth.”
“If she didn’t want you, she wouldn’t keep you close. She’s not cruel.”
He nods and runs his fingers through his hair before adjusting his glasses. “Yeah. Yeah. I know. It’s logic versus emotion for me. Also, you and I need to have a conversation without Hunter.”
I sit down next to him, a clear view of the door, and the ability to pull him under the table should someone come in. The window in my eye-line so we can get through there if we have to. Not to mention the false bookshelf.
“We’re hitting the month mark soon. V …Shehas been compliant, but she’s not going to miss it.”
“I know.”
“She’s going to want to leave. Stefan is still thinking of her, searching for her. What are we going to do with that? Hunter thinks that he can fuck her into compromising, but we both know that won’t work for more than a night.”
“Not even.”
“Which means, soon enough, we’re going to be in trouble with her. I keep thinking we might be able to talk to Hunter about taking her on dates out. Maybe out of state. The yacht is always an option. We could take her to Alaska or Colorado and go Skiing. Maybe even Mexico, see her in a bikini constantly. It’ll be summer.”
“She works,” I remind him.
“And can do so online. As we’ve proved. But she’s getting restless. I’ve seen it. You have too.”