“I haven’t lost my memories.”
“What?” He stares at me for a second, as if I’ve completely lost my mind.
I slide to a sitting position and yank the IV needle from my arm, then throw it away.
“Are you going to explain what’s going on? Was the fall also false?”
“That part was real, though I don’t remember how I ended up there. I believe someone pushed me.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know. They had no accent and sounded male.”
“That doesn't help. There are a hundred men in the mansion, but they wouldn’t dare to touch you.”
I know exactly who dared to do that, but I don’t say his name aloud. If I do, Vlad will go straight to action and kill Kyle.
He can’t die. Not yet.
Not only did he cut me open and stab me countless times, he also used me to ruin my whole damn family.
If he dies now, I won’t be able to know how deep his plan goes and how far ahead he planted his destructive seeds.
When I was grabbed by that shadow, I thought my life ended, and foolishly, the last taste on my tongue was that of bitter betrayal. A tear escaped my lid, too, because the man I’d slowly been giving my trust to had been plotting my fall.
And in that moment, all I wanted to ask him was why. Why would he do that to me?
Those idiotic thoughts disappeared as soon as I woke up in the hospital. I have another chance, and I won’t use it to ask why. I’ll use it to make him pay.
Finishing Kyle isn’t that hard. The moment I tell anyone in the brotherhood about what I heard, he’ll be dead. I could tell Damien since he’s been eyeing him unfavorably for some time, or even Vlad, but that isn’t the best way to hurt him.
Since his sole purpose has been to ruin us and the Irish, the perfect method to ruin him is to abort his plan. Only then can he die. Only then can he pay for his sin.
“Rai?” Vlad calls my name.
I consider my words before I speak. “I’ll find out. They will eventually try to get me again.”
“That’s dangerous as fuck.”
“No accomplishments have ever been made without taking risks, my dear Vlad.”
He grunts. “It’s not Vlad.”
“It’ll always be Vlad for me, so you might as well save your breath.”
“Back to the topic at hand—why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Make everyone believe you lost your memories. Do you realize the amount of stress you have caused the boss?”
“I need the perpetrator fooled, and for that, everyone had to stay in the dark. Only the doctor, Ruslan, and Katia know.”
“How did you come up with this plan in the first place?”
“My twin sister, Reina, had amnesia once, and I just copied what she told me had happened to her.”
“And now what?” he grumbles, running his hand over his beard. I can sense him losing his patience.
“I think I know an in with the Irish.”
“I already have a spy.”
“No. This one is more in a leading position.”
“Yes?”
I nod.
“And you have to act like you lost your memories for that?”
I pick my words carefully to not mention Kyle’s name. Vlad can’t know about that yet. “Yes, because the one I got this information from thinks I heard him. If he believes I lost my memories, his guard will be down and he’ll feel like he got away with it.”
He narrows his eyes. “Who is he?”
“I’ll tell you when it’s time.”
“Or you can tell me now.”
“That’s not the point, Vlad.”
“And what is?”
“That I need him to think I have amnesia.”
“But he will keep his eyes on you, and when he figures out you’re lying, he’ll come back for you.”
“By then, I will have finished my mission.”
“You’ll still be gambling.”
“If a gamble is what it takes, then I’m all in.”
He grunts. “That’s dangerous.”
“Danger is only an obstacle. I vowed to give back to the brotherhood as much as I took, and I’ll not allow anyone to take that away. I just need you to have my back, Vlad. You and my guards are the only people who know my condition.”
He gives a grumbling yes before he asks, “How did you convince the doctor to lie on your behalf? Did you bribe him?”
“Sort of. His wife works for V Corp, and I promised him shares.” I smile. “And Ruslan threatened to knock his teeth out if he as much as gets out word about it.”
That’s so Ruslan. If I didn’t have him, Katia, and Vlad in these circumstances, I don’t know how I would react.
Vlad watches me peculiarly for a second too long, as if he’s trying to solve one of his puzzles. He has a lot of those—huge puzzles he spends weeks solving. It’s a weird quirk of his, but it speaks of his personality. While Vlad’s appearance and general attitude peg him as a muscle man like Damien, he’s not. Vlad would never barge in like a crazy bull. He calculates first, and then when he attacks, he can be as violent as Damien, if not more.