They were happy.
They were together.
Which just reminded me that I was alone.
Sipping crap coffee.
Staring.
“That’s what I said,” Serena agreed.
King strolled out to join us, followed by Maksim and Izzy; I was surprised the bosses let Maksim come since he was double majoring as a sophomore.
“Young one, don’t you have homework?” I pointed out, earning a middle finger from Maksim, who pulled out a chair, lay back, and sighed while Izzy handed him a bottle of water like she was his servant.
I snorted.
Ash stared right through me then suddenly spoke up. “Let’s go for a drive.”
“I don’t want to go for a drive.”
He grinned. “Sure, you do. Did I forget to mention that wasn’t a request?”
“Remind me again why we voted you for our leader?”
Junior stood next to him. “He has dark circles under his eyes.”
“And he’s not smiling. He’s always smiling, even when he’s in trouble, he’s smiling,” Ash agreed.
“Why does this feel like an intervention?” I wanted to kick something, shoot something, do anything except for talk about my feelings.
“It’s about Violet.” Izzy perked up. “She was upset too before she came up here. It doesn’t make sense, she doesn’t even like Seattle.”
I flinched.
Ash caught it.
“Car. Now.” He shoved me toward the sliding glass door.
Just. Great.
I stomped through the house toward the garage, and since he didn’t specify what car, I decided that I needed fast. I climbed into the Lamborghini. If he wanted us to go for a drive, I was going to be the one behind the wheel.
He got in the passenger’s seat.
I hit the button for the garage door.
And then we were off.
I didn’t remember stoplights.
I didn’t remember even getting on the freeway.
And I sure as hell didn’t remember driving toward Alki Beach. Once we were parked, I got out of the car, slammed the door, and walked.
I walked until my feet nearly met the edge of the ocean. Then and only then did I inhale and collapse to my knees.
The world could have burned around me.
I would have let it.
And Ash said nothing, maybe because he didn’t need to ask about my pain; he recognized it too well. Sometimes words can’t describe what we’re feeling; sometimes all we have is silence.
And the slow roll of the waves promising that life continued to go on even when you feel like you’re standing still.
“Have you seen her?” Ash sat down next to me. Just his presence had me ready to sob like a child. He and Junior had been everything to me.
And now.
Now I would betray them.
At least they would see it like that.
I just hoped to God they would understand why.
I looked down. “I’ve seen her.”
“Was she okay?”
Emotion clogged my throat. “She was breathtaking.”
He exhaled like he was relieved. “What did you say to her to make her so upset, Breaker? What did you really do?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “We don’t have the years of therapy needed for me to even start to answer that question, man.”
“Can you try without a doctor present, or should we go get Nikolai to inject some truth serum into you?”
My head shot up as I gave him a fake look of horror. “That’s real?”
He snickered. “Oh, the things I could tell you about that man. You know he’s related to Jack the Ripper, right?”
“THE HELL?” I roared, completely distracted, and trying to pretend like it was new news. “The real Jack the Ripper?”
“Yup, creepy, I know. Ask him to tell you how he and Maya met. It’s some messed up shit. He can also brainwash you to the point where you forget everything or remember it all. He did it to her when she was sixteen. Why else would the Russian Mafia call him The Doctor?” He shuddered. “Thank God he’s on our side.”
“Yeah…” My stomach rolled. “Good thing…”
“So, Violet… is she really here studying under him?”
I snorted out a laugh. “What do you think?”
“I think you know more than you’re saying. I think you slept with my sister and didn’t tell me. I think you guys have been acting weird since last Christmas, and I think you’re heartbroken.”
I was paralyzed in place. “Is this the part where you pull out the needle, inject me with some crazy shit that stops my heart, and say, if I ever touch your sister again, you’re going to rip my dick off?”
Ash barked out a laugh. “I’m not my dad.”
My eyes narrowed up at him. “No, sometimes I think you’re worse.”
“Aw…” He put his hand on his chest. “That came from the heart, man, thanks.”
Shit, he really was going to kill me. “Seriously, Ash—”
“Do you love her?”
“Does it matter anymore?”
“It does to me. Maybe I can talk to them—”
“She belongs to someone else, Ash. Someone, I don’t think you or any of the Family would actually approve of.”
He shot to his feet. “Then let’s kill the bastard! Problem solved!”