Page 24

“Stay with me.” Pavel caught his hand and pulled him to a stop outside the warehouse.

Zane had already contacted the trusted cleaning crew the Retinue used whenever one of them took things a little too far, but he didn’t intend to wait around for them to arrive. He was tired and, frankly, mentally drained.

“That’s a good idea,” Aodhan said, stepping out behind them. He ran a hand through his hair and inhaled the cool night air as if he didn’t have a care in the world despite the fact he was still covered in blood. He’d ditched the clothes at least. “This yours?” He pointed toward Zane’s car. “Give me the passcode.”

Zane scowled at him.

“Come on,” he held out his multi-slate, “you’re going home with your boyfriend anyway and he’s got a hole in his gut, so shouldn’t be driving.”

“Last I checked, I’m not the one who shot him.”

“But you are the reason he got shot.” Aodhan gave him a pointed look and shook his wrist, patience wearing thin.

With a heave of frustration, Zane clicked on his own device, transferring the operations for his car over to his brother. “If you wreck that I’ll—”

“Relax, I’m an impeccable driver, baby bro.” He opened the driver's side door and hung an arm over it, turning back. “You should move in with him while you’re at it.”

“What?”

“Get out of the Little Palace,” Aodhan said. “This is the perfect chance. Play it off like you feel responsible for Pavel’s injury so you’re momentarily staying with him to help out. Being in close quarters will also help you decide what you want, trust me. I never would have fallen for Mercy if we hadn’t accidentally got locked in together.”

“Great idea.” Pavel threaded their fingers, tightening his grip and wincing while clutching his side when Zane tried to pull away. “Ow. Be gentle with me, gorgeous, your brother got me good.”

“Oh fuck off,” Zane growled.

“Willingly.” He smirked. “Should we do it together? It’s been a while…”

“I’ll check in with you in a few days, baby brother,” Aodhan waved.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Zane stopped him from leaving. “Just because you’re stuck here longer than you planned doesn’t mean it’s a free pass to go around killing whoever you want. This,” he motioned over his shoulder toward the warehouse, “was already a massive mistake.”

“I got it, relax. Mercy already warned me about making things difficult for you.”

He had? After they’d come to that agreement, Aodhan had gone off to talk to him in private for a bit.

“Pavel,” Aodhan called out, “this might come as a surprise, but I care about my brother, in my own way. If you do anything to him, like try to get him to marry you even if he doesn’t want to, your eyes won’t be the only thing I remove from your body. Understood?”

“Loud and clear.” Despite the threat, Pavel was grinning.

“You’re both twisted.” Zane shook the other member off of him and headed toward Pavel’s car. “Let’s go.”

“Can you help me with this?” Pavel gave him a ridiculous look as he stopped by the passenger side door, clutching his side and giving a performative wince when Zane glared. “You stitched me up without any anesthetic. It stings like a bitch right now. I’m worried I’ll pull—”

“You’re such a fucking drama queen. Now you care about your stitches?” Zane went over and yanked the door open, motioning for him to get in. As soon as Pavel dropped into the seat, he bent over him, securing the seatbelt before the other guy could put on the performance a second time.

“You’re getting to know me, Doctor,” Pavel sounded far too pleased by that.

Zane slammed the door with enough force to rattle the whole vehicle.

“Where are you headed?” Aodhan asked, stopping him before he’d gotten to the driver’s side of the car. “Should I accompany you?”

“Quit acting like you give a shit about me,” Zane demanded.

“Why?” He tilted his head. “Is it getting your hopes up?”

“No, because I don’t give a shit about you either.”

“I don’t recall you ever swearing this much before. You must be really annoyed right now.”

“Aodhan—”

“I do care,” he cut him off, expression enigmatic. “I wasn’t lying. I know I would prefer not to see you hurt, and I don’t hate the idea of you visiting us on Emergence. Isn’t that what caring is?”

Zane didn’t respond because…sort of?

“It’s not what I feel for Mercy,” he continued, “obviously. But you can still matter to me even if there’s no love involved, can’t you?”

“Are you even capable of love? Since when?” He knew his brother had changed since meeting Titus a couple of years ago, but he hadn’t paid close enough attention to all the little differences.

“My own form of love, yeah.” Aodhan shrugged. “You shouldn’t go to the Little Palace alone. I’ll escort you and distract her while you collect your things.”

“I never agreed to that.”

“You’re smart. We both know you’re going to do it.”

Zane opened the car door. “Lyra is out of town on business. I don’t need you to babysit me. Just don’t be here when the cleaning crew arrives. I don’t want anyone seeing you.”

He gave a salute and a wink and then slipped into the car, starting the engine and peeling off before Zane was even settled in Pavel’s vehicle.

“You seem closer than I thought,” Pavel said, resting his head back and openly staring at Zane as he eased them onto the road. “Half the planet isn’t even aware you have any siblings, but he doesn’t seem as uninterested in your life as you make it seem.”

“It’s an act,” Zane told him. “He needs something from me, you heard him. He wants to present the perfect family on his planet so his coworkers continue to buy the caring, angelic doctor spiel. If either of our parents would make better candidates, he would have gone to them instead.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t know anything.”

They settled into a quiet for a bit as Zane drove them in the direction of the Little Palace, but it didn’t last long.

“Ask me,” Pavel’s voice was husky in the partial darkness of the car, his eyes never leaving Zane’s face despite the fact the other man was actively ignoring him.

“Ask you what?”

“I know you’re curious about what Aodhan said back there. When he recognized me.”

“About how you supposedly chased after their car after my adoption?” Zane clicked his tongue. “Why would I be curious about that? Did it even happen?” Of course it had. Aodhan had an impeccable memory.

“You weren’t crying,” Pavel told him. “You refused to even look my way. Sat with your back straight and your gaze ahead right up until I lost you. The hovercar was too fast.”

That must be why he’d been so angry when Zane had brought up how he often walked away without looking back. It was a sore spot from their past, something else that he couldn’t remember.

“How old were you?” Zane asked.

“We’re the same age.”

“We aren’t.”

Pavel smiled. “I’m around nine months older. At the time, I was eleven. A week after you were adopted, the Undergroves found me.”

“Found you?” Zane frowned, hating that he was invested in this but unable to stop the questions from pouring out of his mouth.

Pavel nodded. “I ran away from the orphanage that same day you left. I was trying to find you, but I was young and na?ve. When they found me, I was already dehydrated and starving. They took me in, went to the orphanage and filled out the paperwork to make it official, and that was that.”

“Did you…” Zane shook his head. “Never mind.”

“Of course I did,” Pavel answered anyway, knowing what he’d been about to ask. “I looked for you everywhere, but I didn’t know the name of the family who’d adopted you, or where they were going. I’d actually just about given up when we moved here. Imagine my shock when I walked into the ballroom and saw you standing there. I still remember it. You were wearing a rose-colored three-piece suit over a navy dress shirt, and you were talking to Madden with confidence. Laughing at his jokes. You were so different from the kid I remembered, I almost thought I was seeing things.”

“How was I when I was younger?”

“Shy,” Pavel said. “But calculating.”

He hummed. “Not much different after all then.”

“You’re so far from shy now, gorgeous. I almost wish you still were. Then I wouldn’t be so jealous all the time.”

“Whether or not I’m shy, I’m definitely not that kid, Pavel.”

“I wasn’t in love with that kid,” he stated. “I was a kid myself, I didn’t even know what love was. I was protective of you, and I had a sense of duty toward you, but that was all. When I found you again…I wanted to approach you, but it was clear you didn’t recognize me. Later, when I heard you’d lost your memories, I thought perhaps it was for the best. Those weren’t exactly pleasant days, they didn’t mistreat us at the orphanage, but we had the bare minimum and you were constantly picked on for being a runt.”

Zane had seen family photos from his adoption and knew he’d been on the smaller side back then. “Puberty hit me hard at sixteen.”

“It did.” Pavel reached out and traced the curve of Zane’s ear, smiling some when he didn’t pull away from the contact. He dropped his hand. “Tell me you aren’t mad, gorgeous.”

He thought it over, trying to feel himself out but… “I’m not mad. I’m…”

“Uncertain?” Pavel pulled away. “I understand.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.” His eyes began to glow slightly. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you.”

“What does that even mean?”

“You’ll find out.”

“Pavel, I saved your life back there, I think you owe me more than cryptic threats.”

“It wasn’t a threat,” he corrected sweetly, “it was a promise. But you’re right. You could have let Aodhan take me out. It would have solved your stalker problem. So, why didn’t you?”

Zane could tell him it was because he was Retinue, but they were past the point of lies like that working. “You followed me.”

“You’re just taking responsibility, that it?”

“No, I mean, you still chose to come after me, even when—”

“Are you talking about Great, gorgeous?” Pavel’s tone darkened. “Don’t think I’m not going to punish you for that, or for the stunt you pulled with Kazimir Ambrose at the Velvet Brew. Was it fun at least, teasing me? Making me go crazy for you?”

“Clearly not crazy enough,” he mumbled, not really meaning to. He grimaced as soon as the words were out, realizing Pavel would have definitely heard him.

Sure enough, the man at his side perked up.

“You are mad,” Pavel surmised.

“No, I—”

“Were you trying to force me to break my end of the deal?” Pavel chuckled. “I would never do that. I gave you my word. I respect you too much to go back on it.”

“Respect?” This time it was Zane’s turn to laugh. “Please. Where was that respect when you were forcing yourself on me?”

“I never told you I wouldn’t do those things,” he replied. “In fact, I distinctly recall the opposite. I’ve always been true to my word when it comes to you. That’s respect in my book. That’s why I won’t ever make you promises I don’t think I’ll be able to keep. Hunting you through the woods? Forcing your head underwater while you take my cock? Those things will most likely happen again. And you’ll enjoy them every bit as much as you did the first time.”

The problem was, he had enjoyed them. He’d enjoyed this game of theirs this past month as well. He’d liked trying to push Pavel past his limits, but he had also been testing him in a way. Trying to get the other man to snap and prove how badly he supposedly wanted him.

“If you have that much self-control, enough to watch me have coffee with my ex and go on a romantic dinner date, I don’t think you like me nearly as much as you claim.” It was a stupid thing to say, a challenging thing, but Zane said it anyway, keeping his eyes on the road and his hands steady on the wheel as though he wasn’t affected.

As though he wasn’t currently holding his breath, waiting for Pavel’s response.

“You were needy as a child too,” Pavel drawled. “Always so greedy for my affection. Clingy. I didn’t mind though, back then we’d agreed to be each other’s family in a world where no one else wanted us. You could still remember your birth mother’s face, recall the day she left you at the orphanage. All you’ve ever wanted was for someone to need you badly enough they couldn’t leave you, ever. If not for Aodhan, you wouldn’t be struggling now. You would know that that’s me.”

That last statement was too heavy to touch, so he focused on the other important part instead.

“Don’t go after my brother,” Zane warned.

“Because you’re worried I’ll hurt him, or because you’re worried he’ll hurt me?” When he didn’t get a response, Pavel sighed. “Or are you just afraid of disappointing Mr. and Mrs. Solace?”

“Hart,” he’d seemed to like being called that back at the warehouse, and Zane wasn’t above using it now to glean favorable results, “Promise me.”

Pavel considered it and then offered, “I’ll trade you.”

“What do you want?”

“Don’t go to the Little Palace.” Pavel eased closer, dropping his head to Zane’s shoulder. “I want to go home.”

It wouldn’t be too big of a deal to skip it, but… “My things.”

“I have everything you need.”

Zane didn’t really see a reason to argue. “All right.”

He passed the exit that would have taken them to the Little Palace and headed for Concealed instead. It felt strange, driving the other man’s car, taking him home. It would have been funny if not for the circumstances.

“You can’t tell anyone what you saw tonight,” he ordered. “That’s non-negotiable.”

“Sounded like she’s part of the problem Baikal’s people are looking into,” Pavel said, not sounding all that interested. “Are you planning on keeping it from him as well?”

“I’m going to ask Madden to figure out a way to deal with it.” Madden was better with the others. He’d be able to cover Aodhan’s tracks and still get the right information to the Brumal.

“You trust him, but not me?”

“The night Kazimir snuck Lyra into my apartment on campus, Aodhan was visiting. He’s usually in control of his urges, but that night…I don’t know. Something happened and he slipped up. It was messy. He’s not as skilled as he is now.” Zane had never told anyone this story before, and even though he’d started it without any prompting, he hesitated.

“He called you?” Pavel frowned. “His younger brother? He called you to come clean up his mess?”

“Not exactly.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It was at a bar. A guy wouldn’t take no for an answer and Aodhan lost his cool. They were in the back area, so it wasn’t super noticeable, but Madden happened to be there drinking with some racer friends. He sent them away and had them cordon off the area. He was the one who called me.”

Only, Lyra had been the one to pick up the phone, because Zane had been seeing Kazimir out. He’d wasted time trying to explain to Kaz that it wasn’t okay for him to bring other people into the bedroom like that without discussing it first. It’d been a waste of breath, the same way most words spoken with the Brumal member were.

Kazimir had spouted some nonsense about how Zane and Lyra were already fucking anyway—which they had not been—so it shouldn’t have been a big deal. At that point, he may have been living at the Little Palace, but he wasn’t spending any sort of time in Lyra’s bed.

That had all changed after that night largely thanks to Kaz and his misunderstanding. If only he’d asked about it beforehand, Zane could have set him straight and the whole thing could have been avoided. But no. Kazimir only ever put himself first and rarely thought things through.

“Aodhan had smashed a guy’s skull in, and it turned out he was a Royal. It was too big of a mess for Madden to handle on his own at the time. We were young, stupid and reckless, but no one had really killed anyone yet.”

“Can’t believe that was only four years ago,” Pavel let out a whistle. “How times have changed.”

“Yes, well.” He turned onto the street and headed toward the underground parking garage to the club. “Lyra got involved. She fixed the problem. I’d rather her have nothing to do with it this time, so Madden will have to do.”

Pavel waited until they’d parked and Zane had turned the car off before reaching over to lightly grasp his nape. “What’s this about an organ trafficking ring, Doctor? Lyra’s behind that as well, right? Is this also where that all began?”

He licked his lips. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’ve already said too much.”

“This is how we get to know one another. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it? You wanted us to talk more.” Pavel pulled away and opened his door. “Come on. Let’s finish this inside.”

With no other choice but to follow, Zane rolled his eyes and exited the vehicle.