“Hey, Fallon,” Stefan Seeley greeted me, his voice steely. “I heard you needed my help with disappearing.”
Stefan Seeley. Alive. Stefan Seeley. Not dead.Not fucking dead.
My brain refused to believe it.
“You’re. . . you’re dead,” I finally said as he stepped deeper into the room, his heavy boots thudding on the hardwood.
He nodded. “I am. Heard your girl was too.”
I continued to stare dumbly at him.
“Consider me Charon, the ferryman to the afterlife.”
“But you’re dead,” I repeated. “But. . . you’re alive.”
“Don’t tell anyone. Our secret, Vasiliev.”
“Nattie. . .”
“Is with me.”
“What the fuck?” I repeated, looking over to Drake. He avoided my eyes as he stared out the window.
“You told Natalia to run. She ran. I found her. I was trying to set things up for her and was preparing to retrieve her. Matteo getting a hold of her created some problems. Eventually, things worked out for both of us. She’s safe now.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, confusion still raging through me.
“I faked my death after I teamed up with Nico. I knew I couldn’t do shit under my father’s thumb. He threatened to kill me the last time I saw him. Vowed it, in fact. And he promised he’d take Natalia out too. I knew he was out of control. The entirety of the assholes running both sides were. I decided it was time for a change. A new era. Nico wanted revenge for his sister. I wanted to keep Natalia safe. He offered me certain protections, and since my father hated him, it was a no-brainer. Natalia would never be able to be with me if your father lived. If Ivanov lived. My father would never allow it either. I decided both needed to die. So I’ve been lying low, waiting.”
“Levin,” I started.
“Is strong and would understand,” Stefan said, cutting me off. “I paid a lot of money to disappear. To have a fake autopsy done. To have a lifelike version of me created for burying. Shit was rough. The last fucking thing I wanted to do was hurt Levin, but he’d be with me on this. He hates our old man too.”
“Why didn’t you just tell him what you were doing?”
“Because Levin can’t act for shit. Him and I were close. If our father saw a lack of response, he’d be suspicious. I had to make this work. I had to make sacrifices that killed me inside.”
“So you’re here to take Bianca.”
He nodded. “Drake explained everything to me. My brother in love with her. All of it. I know what happened to her. Nattie will be there too. She’ll have someone with her at all times.”
“I’ll need to be there,” I said. “Off and on while I deal with things.”
He nodded. “I expected. But know this. You may be Nattie’s brother, but if you fucking step out of line, you’re dead. Got it? You don’t lead or bring shit to my doorstep. Ever. As far as anyone knows, I’m dead.”
“I got it. As long as you’re OK with taking the girl Levin loves away from him.”
He stared me down for a moment. “Make a promise to me.”
“I’m listening.”
“When it’s safe for her, you tell my brother. He needs to know. He needs to have a choice.”
I ground my teeth. “Then Dom and Vin get a choice too.”
“If you loveher, then you’ll let her lovethem,” he said simply. “Those are my conditions. They get a choice when it’s time for this shit to air out. I’ll keep you all hidden until then.”
The cat was out of the bag now. If he decided to come out of the shadows, he’d just tell Levin that Bianca was alive. I really had no choice but to agree because I wasn’t sure how long it would be until Dom was beating down my door.