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Dorian's POV

Adri pulled out the bar stool next to me. “Things still tense on the home front?”

That would require being at the mansion long enough to know. We got home late, and I was gone before the sun came up. “I don’t know what you mean.”

He reached over and tapped the side of my glass. “It’s barely noon, and we’re meeting in a bar instead of your office.”

“I wanted a drink.”

“You finished off half a bottle of bourbon from the bar cart last night after we dealt with Leonora. If you were anyone else, you wouldn’t even be standing today.”

“Good thing I’m not anyone else.”

He nodded. “You’re right. You’re my brother. Which is why I’m going to tell you that you can’t drink away the blonde sleeping in your bed.”

“You’re my second, not my fucking sober sponsor,” I snarled.

Adri didn’t even flinch. He just lifted his hand to the bartender, gesturing that he’d have what I was having. “I think you have to be sober to be a sober sponsor.”

The bartender slid a drink to Adri and gave me another. I had told him to make sure my glass was full until I said stop. If I said stop. I didn’t plan on it.

I didn’t actually come here to drink, though. I thought a place with no windows and patrons who knew how to mind their own business was a good choice while there was still a price on my head. The alcohol was just a nice perk.

“Is Leonora still locked in her room?” Adri asked.

“I unlocked it before I left this morning. As long as she doesn’t start screaming again, it will stay unlocked.”

“And Vivian?”

My muscles tensed. Her name was a record scratch in my brain. “What about her?”

Adri shrugged. “I just wondered if you’d talked to her yet about—”

“There’s nothing to talk about. She disobeyed me.”

“I think she paid the price for it, too. That asshole last night really scared her.”

I couldn’t close my eyes without seeing Vivian slumped in my arms, her head lolling against my arm.

“She almost got our sister killed.”

“I mean, yeah, but you have to admit, Leonora would have gotten herself there one way or the other.”

“Not if Vivian had alerted the guards like she should have. Not if she’d called me.”

Not if I had stayed closer to home. Not if I had kept Vivian under constant surveillance.

“Leonora lied to her. She admitted it. Vivian didn’t know—”

“She knew,” I growled. “She knew I wouldn’t have let her leave.”

Adri drew his finger through the condensation around his glass. “You took her on a date. Maybe she thought you trusted her enough to let her go.”

I did. That was my mistake.

“I know what happened last night. I didn’t tell you to meet me here so I could hear Vivian’s side of the story.”

Adri raised both hands. “I’m just checking in.”

“Don’t bother,” I snapped. “Tell me what you’ve found out.”

His jaw worked back and forth. Vivian hadn’t just weaseled her way into my trust; she had infected my entire fucking family. The sooner she was gone, the better.

Finally, Adri sighed. “I’ve got good and bad news. Since last night sucked, I’ll start with the good news first: I finally have a solid contact for Sasuke’s arms dealer. Budimir is ready to meet with you whenever you set the date.”

Finally. Forward momentum. I wasn’t used to spinning my wheels. The last couple of weeks had given me way too much free time. Staying busy was easier. It kept my head clear of distractions.

“We should meet with him as soon as possible. Sasuke has every wannabe assassin in the city gunning for me. Murdering his main source of income feels fair.”

“That’s where the bad news comes in,” Adri winced. “Sasuke called off the greenlight and is planning to take you out himself.”

“Is the bad news that Sasuke is an even bigger idiot than we thought? He can’t kill me.”

“No, but the word is that he’s planning to take you out… when you meet with Budimir.”

There it was.

“How sound is your source this time?”

“Solid as a fucking rock,” he said. “I’ve confirmed it.”

I ground my teeth. “Then we have a leak.”

“Maybe Boris was a double agent, after all. Before he was murdered, obviously,” Adri added.

If Sasuke knew that we were planning to meet with Budimir, then he knew I was going after him financially. He’d prepare for it.

“It doesn’t matter now. The plan is shot to shit.”

“Does that mean we’re backing out?”

I shook my head. “No. I want Sasuke to think he has the upper hand. We need to meet with Budimir so Sasuke thinks he’s one step ahead of us. Then we can catch him off-guard.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Adri grinned. “Are we finally taking out Sasuke Shinomiya?”

I smirked. “Drink up, brother. We’ve got work to do.”

\---

I drove up to the house through the side gate and entered through the patio doors, but Vivian was waiting in the kitchen. It was the first time I’d seen her since the alley. Her hair was tucked behind one ear, the bruise high on her cheekbone blossoming into a nasty purple color. Brennan was dismembered and decomposing in some barrel of acid by now, but my fists still clenched. I should have dragged his death out longer. Made him suffer for everything he did to her. Everything he wanted to do.

Vivian heard me and stood up. “You’re here.”

She was wearing a pair of my sweatpants rolled around her waist and a tank top. I wanted to rip them off of her. But I knew where that would lead. Nowhere good.

“It’s my house.”

“Right, yeah.” She chewed on her full lower lip. “You were gone all day.”

I walked past the island. If she was waiting for an explanation of where I’d been, she’d die waiting. I didn’t owe her anything. I’d given her more than enough already. All I wanted to do was get to my office and sleep for a few hours.

Then her fingers wrapped around my elbow. Her hand was cold, and the first thought in my head was that I should turn up the heat if she was uncomfortable. Fucking hell, what was wrong with me?

I twisted away from her. “Sorry, I—”

She pulled her hand back. “Can we talk? It’ll just take a second.”

“No.”

I was going to end Sasuke, and then Vivian could go back to her life. I didn’t need to talk about that; I just needed to fucking do it. I kept walking, but she reached for me again.

“Dorian, please.”

I snatched her hand off my arm. “No.”

“I know you’re mad at me,” she said anyway. “If you don’t want to talk to me, that’s okay. But I need to tell you—”

I dropped her hand at her side. “I don’t even want to fucking see you right now.”

Hurt lashed across her face. I forced my eyes away from her, mostly because it hurt too bad to leave them there. Every time I looked at her, I saw Brennan standing over her in a dark corner. Every time I looked at her, I felt the hollow ache in my chest that started the moment I came home and realized Vivian and Leonora were gone. Every time I looked at her, all I saw was how fucking stupid I was to let this woman get under my skin, in my head, in my bed, in my heart.

“I want to respect your space,” she whispered, her voice watery. “I just think there’s something you should know.”

Even now, I wanted to still the wobble in her chin. My hands itched to press her against the counter and erase every memory of Brennan’s hands on her.

“I don’t need to know a damn thing about you, Vivian. Nothing about you has anything to do with me.”

Her face went pale. This was the right thing. What I should have done from the start.

“You don’t mean that,” she breathed.

“I don’t have a good reason to lie. Not anymore.”

“When did you lie? You told me there would be secrets, but you swore you wouldn’t lie to me.”

“Everything I did was just to make sure your death wasn’t pinned on me. If we were out at dinner and you turned up dead that night, I would’ve had all eyes on me. But I’ll be able to get rid of you soon.”

“‘Get rid of me’?” she rasped.

“I only kept you around because it was easier this way. I could neutralize the threat and make sure you didn’t get yourself killed. Though you sure tried last night.”

“But you said… We went out on dates. We had sex.”

I pasted a cruel smile on my face. “Who says work can’t be fun sometimes?”

She folded her hands over her stomach. She looked like she was going to be sick.

“I told you I loved you.”

“And I didn’t say it back, did I?”

Her knees wobbled. I had to fight the urge to steady her. Yet another sign that I let myself get drawn in way too fucking deep. I had enough people in my life to take care of. I didn’t need another one.

“Dorian.” My name broke on her lips. “Please. I-"

“Once the threat is gone, I’ll have Lael pack your things.” I turned back to the patio door, leaving the way I came. “It’ll be like this never happened.”