Chapter 102 Chess and Snakes
ALEXANDER POV
I couldn’t focus on my drink.
Somehow I was more interested in my best friend.
Sebastian had been brooding since he called me to Euphoria, one of his most exclusive underground clubs in Manhattan.
He was on his sixth glass of Pappy Van Winkle for the night. That was a red flag-Sebastian usually treated alcohol like a tactical weakness. He wasn't a man who liked to lose control.
"You want to tell me why you're brooding, or are we just going to sit here and watch you drown?" I asked, eyeing him over the mahogany chess table between us in the private booth.
"Nothing. Just tired," he shrugged, his voice like gravel. He downed another shot and moved his Knight forward with a sharp clack against the board.
I didn't push. I knew better than to try and pry words out of Sebastian's throat. He spoke when he was ready or not at all.
I took his knight, he didn’t notice.
“How’s your sister doing?” he asked. Out of nowhere. His eyes still on the board.
I looked at him.
I paused, my hand hovering over my Bishop. I looked up, surprised. The last time he'd mentioned Vivianne was two years ago, right after l'd put a definitive end to the chaos she was stirring up with him.
"Since when did you care about my sister?"
Sebastian didn't meet my eyes. "I don't. Just asking."
"She's... acting out," | admitted, moving my piece. "Ever since she heard about Luke's wedding, she's been on a path of destruction.
I'm starting to worry she's going to lead my wife astray with all those four-hour shopping trips."
He hummed but said nothing. He moved a pawn that made no strategic sense.
Silence for a moment.
"Do you think Luke will go through with it?" Sebastian asked. "What if he pulls out at the last minute?"
I narrowed my eyes. Sebastian was talking too much. He wasn't the type to gossip about my assistant's love life.
"Why wouldn't he? He gave me his word. He knows that as long as he's working for me, he's never going anywhere with Vivianne. My sister doesn't care about a man in her life, only if he has a black card."
I didn't give two shits what my sister did with her life. She could fuck the whole universe for all I cared-it was just her own way of dealing with the world. But I wouldn't let her hurt the people around me. I was just doing them a favor, saving them from my dear little sister.
Sebastian scoffed lightly. “She cares about your assistant. If she didn’t she wouldn’t be sad about her fuck toy getting married.” He mumbled it more to his glass than to me.
I tilted my head. “And what has that got to do with you? Do you perhaps care about her?”
“I don’t.” Cold. Immediate. “I just think she gets attached. Considering the way she was with me.”
Someboy is jelly.
I genuinely had no idea what my sister did to men that had them all wrapped around her fingers long after she was done with them. Including the almighty Sebastian, apparently. She didn’t even try and somehow that was the whole problem.
"My sister is off-limits, Seb," | said calmly, my voice taking on a warning edge. "You know the rules."
He nodded once. "I know."
My phone vibrated in my suit jacket. I pulled it out to see a message from Aurora. There was an image attached of a Dior box and a glimpse of silk.
Dior just delivered the dress. Thank you, even though it's a bit too revealing...😊"
I found myself smiling at the screen, the tension in my shoulders easing just at the thought of her in something l'd picked out.
"Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?" Sebastian snapped, breaking me out of my trance.
"What elephant? This is a private booth, Seb.
No animals allowed."
"You know what I mean. Jarule. It's been two months."
I sighed, putting my phone away. "And? You want me to go resurrect him?"
He shook his head, giving me a look of pure exasperation. "You killed the eldest brother, and yet the Brotherhood hasn't made a move.
Doesn't that strike you as odd?"
"Maybe they're still mourning," | shrugged.
"Or maybe they're re-strategizing," he countered. "They'll attack when you least expect it. When you're distracted by your new domestic bliss."
I bristled. They wouldn't dare. Not after what I did to Jarule. "So what do you want me to do?
Walk into their den?"
"No. Your ego is too big for that. But you need an upper hand. You need to be ten steps ahead of them."
"I hate your riddles, Sebastian. Go straight to the fucking point."
“You need an alliance. Someone with access to the Inner Circle. Someone who knows how they think, how they move, what they’re planning before they plan it.” He met my eyes steadily. “And we both know there’s only one person who could give you that and who actually —”
“Don’t.” I cut him off before the name could leave his mouth. “Don’t say her name.” I gritted it out.
I would rather take my chances alone than go to that woman for anything. Especially after what happened with Ana. Some doors stay closed. That one stays closed permanently.
Sebastian held my gaze for a moment then nodded once and said nothing.
I stood up. “I’m going home to my wife.” He had somehow managed to ruin the entire evening. “I’m done.”
“Fine. But think about it, Alex. You have more to lose now than just yourself."
I glared at him as I buttoned my jacket. "How about you think about how to win my sister back instead of sticking your nose in my business?"
Anything to get him off my back. And I meant it as a deflection.
But his face fell. Just slightly. Just enough that I caught it before he turned back to the board.
“Fine,” he said quietly, moving a chess piece alone.
I walked out of the club, my mind already racing. Sebastian was right—| did have more to lose now. But I wasn't going back to the snake.
Not now. Not ever. Unless she comes to me first.