Chapter 88 Shattered
❄︎ Viktor ❄︎
I stared at the man, unimpressed.
He looked far too calm for someone with guns aimed at him, and that alone irritated me.
Something stirred in my gut as my gaze lingered on his face.
Recognition.
It was blurred and just out of reach. The harder I tried to catch it, the faster it slipped, until a hot stab of pain shot through my skull.
I winced before I could stop myself, my temple throbbing in protest.
The bastard chose that moment to laugh.
“Easy, gentlemen,” he said, spreading his hands as if we were acquaintances. “I’m no threat. Just wanted to check in with the don of New York and his beautiful partner.”
My men didn’t flinch or lower their guns. Good. Let him sweat if he thought he could walk into my sightlines and grin like a clown.
I shifted, turning my attention to Rosa.
Twirling a strand of her beautifully scented hair around my finger, I asked, “Do you know him?”
Her lashes flicked up. She studied him for a beat, then shook her head. “No.”
After another glance in his direction, she dismissed him entirely, lifting her glass and sipping with disinterest.
That was answer enough. One of my soldiers flicked his gun in a silent command for him to get out. The man smirked, tipped his hat, and backed away. His twin shadows trailed after him.
My jaw tightened. “Scope him,” I told Adrian.
Adrian didn’t even need the order, his phone was already out, his fingers flying across the screen. “On it,” he murmured.
I forced myself to look away, dismissing the incessant itch under my skin. He was probably another ghost from the memories I couldn’t grasp, someone I’d crossed paths with in passing back when I was whole. Still, the fact that I couldn’t place him annoyed me, and I hated the helplessness of it.
The music pounded against my skull until I wanted to tear the speakers out with my bare hands.
Enough.
I stood up and reached for Rosa.
Her arm slid into mine, warm and grounding, and her sigh of relief morphed into a giggle when I kissed the back of her hand. “Finally. Let’s go home.”
I was glad she shared the sentiment, meaning I didn’t interrupt her fun.
Her voice soothed me, but the irritation from the stranger’s face still gnawed at the edges of my mind. I clenched my jaw, forced the thought down, and guided her toward the exit.
That was when the screaming started.
Piercing and different from drunken shrieks or the club’s chaos, the sound cut through the music, dragging every pair of eyes in the room to the same point.
Rosa stiffened against me.
My hand found hers and squeezed once in reassurance.
We moved through the sea of bodies, people parting reluctantly, heads craning, hands covering their mouths. By the time we reached the open space, I already knew what we’d find.
One of the blonde women who’d been draped on the stranger’s arm minutes ago lay sprawled on the floor. Blood pooled underneath her from what looked like a knife wound in her chest.
Her bare shoulder bled from a jagged mark, shaped like the open jaws of a snake.
Rosa’s breath caught beside me, and I stepped in front of her, shielding her from the gruesome image.
I felt Adrian come up on my flank silently.
His eyes shifted to the corpse, then to me, and for the first time that night, his mask slipped enough to show what I already felt tightening my chest.
Anger.
This wasn’t random.
It was a message.
❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
❦ Rosalind ❦
Viktor’s hand never left mine as we left the club, the cool night air rushing at us like a blessing.
My stomach churned violently, every breath dragged the memory of that woman’s body back into focus. The way her eyes had been open, glassy, staring at nothing and everything at once. Staring at us. As if accusing us for not stopping it, for walking away still breathing when she wasn’t.
I swallowed hard. How could someone be killed that fast, with half the room watching and yet no sign of the hand that had struck? Whoever had done it was already long gone, and that frightened me more than the blood pooling beneath her.
Viktor opened the car door for me, his manner controlled, and yet I caught the faint grimace tugging at his mouth. He massaged the bridge of his nose as if the pressure there wanted to break loose inside him.
When he entered the car, I turned instantly, my hand resting on his arm.
“Are you okay?” I whispered, searching his face in the dim light.
“I’m fine,” he said, but his voice was low and rough. His arm came around me and he pulled me into his side. His lips brushed against my forehead. “And you, are you okay?”
I nodded, sinking deeper into his warmth.
The man in the hat. That arrogant smirk. I didn’t need anyone to tell me, he had something to do with the woman bleeding out on that floor.
But I knew Adrian was on top of the matter, I didn’t want to think too much about it.
By the time we reached home, my body was aching with exhaustion. Viktor headed straight for the shower without a word, and I let him. He needed it, maybe more than I did.
When the water roared to life behind the door, I sat on the bed and pulled out my phone, going through my messages. Nothing from Juliana.
I refreshed again.
Still nothing.
I huffed, tossed the phone across the covers, and fell back against the pillows.
A sound came suddenly, glass shattering against tiles.
My heart lurched into my throat.
I was on my feet in an instant, rushing toward the bathroom before my mind had caught up with my body, every beat of my heart screaming that something was wrong.