Page 20 of Devious Truth (Vicious Sinners #3)

“ H ow did you meet Derek?” I put the laundry basket filled with freshly dried towels on the coffee table and grab the top one.

Vee stands on the opposite side of the narrow table folding a pair of socks.

“You want me to tell you about my husband?” She drops the balled-up socks into the basket and pulls out a pair of pink cotton panties.

“We could talk about your choice of panties.” I eye the bikini briefs.

“Are you insulting my underwear?” She holds them against her chest, protectively.

I laugh. “Exactly, those are underwear not panties.”

She fakes a frown then looks them over. “They’re comfortable. Isn’t that why you wear boxers, because briefs are too constricting?”

Thinking it over, I don’t really have an answer for her. “You’re probably right.”

“Besides, no one other than me sees them.” She folds them in thirds and places them on the pile with the others.

“That’s not true anymore,” I say placing a neatly folded towel on my pile.

“So you’re a panty snob?”

“No.” I drop my chin, eyeing her in her leggings and T-shirt. The woman could wear a trash bag, and my cock would harden. “I’d rather you not wear any at all.”

“I bet you would.” She pairs up another set of socks.

“You’re avoiding the question,” I say when she digs around her basket looking for another pair.

“You don’t think it’s weird to ask me about Derek?” she repeats.

“No weirder than standing here folding towels.” I drop a thin purple towel onto the pile and snatch up the last one in my basket.

“You’re right. It probably is weird, you doing a basic human chore.”

“Smartass.” I pick up the pile of towels and put them back into the basket. “I meant instead of doing this, we could be doing something much more fun.”

She rolls her eyes, but it’s all a facade. “I’m not sure my ass can handle any more ‘fun’ today.”

“You’ve done it again.” It’s amazing how easily this woman gets me off track. “I start the conversation in one direction and by the end, you have twisted us around to entirely different subject.”

With a smirk, she lifts her shoulders. “Yeah, sorry. I do that sometimes. Derek said I made him dizzy.”

I have the same problem, but it’s not just the way she navigates conversations.

“How did you meet him?” I ask again.

“He was a mechanic. I was on my way home from college for Thanksgiving, and my car broke down. My dad called Derek’s shop to pick me up and tow me in. They sent Derek.”

“Were you on a highway?”

“Yeah. Good thing I had my cellphone. The nearest town was still ten miles down the road.” She sinks onto the couch, folding her legs beneath her.

“Your father must have been worried. Sending a strange man to pick you up.” An idiot, too.

He should have gone himself to be certain she was safe. Anyone could have picked her up, stolen her. My blood heats thinking of all the things that could have happened to her because of his indifference to her safety.

A sad smile tugs on her lips. “My father was more worried that I’d be late to dinner, thus ruining his new girlfriend’s night. He wasn’t at all concerned about Derek until we started dating.”

I’m not going to like any of this, but I pursue anyway. “Why didn’t he like Derek?”

“Because Derek was a mechanic, and my father worked in finance. He thrived on corporate life.”

“And he didn’t think Derek would be able to make the same sort of life for himself as your father had?” The way she speaks, his dislike for Derek was more than the typical no one is good enough for my daughter.

“He thought anyone beneath him—and he thought most of the world was—wasn’t worth his time, or mine.” She glances away for a moment as a flicker of hurt crosses her features.

Did he feel the same way toward her?

“And when you married Derek?”

The little muscles in her neck work as she swallows, drawing my attention to the delicate dip at the base of her throat. My gaze slides upward to the faint flicker of her pulse just below her jawline, tempting me to press a kiss there, to feel the frantic beat beneath my tongue.

“He cut me off. I mean, I was already on my own, but he sort of just phased me out of his life. Said if I married Derek not to expect an invitation to family dinners.”

Anger fills me, leaving the erotic thoughts of her throat and my kisses in the background. “And when you became pregnant?”

She blows out a breath in a manner that makes her cheeks puff out. It would be cute if the many ways I could kill her father for being such a cold-hearted bastard weren’t blocking my neurowaves.

“You don’t need to be angry on my behalf, Ivan.” She gets up from the couch and picks up the basket. “He was gone from my life the moment I chose Derek. And you can get that vengeful glare off your face, too. You can’t hurt him.”

She wanders to her bedroom, pushing the door open with her foot.

“He died of a brain aneurism a month before I found about being pregnant.” She enters the bedroom. “He left everything to his new wife—who was my age, by the way—and specifically mentioned in his will that I got nothing.”

With her being tucked safely in the other room, I’m comfortable letting the murderous rage bubbling in my chest show on my expression.

“You haven’t asked about my mom.” She appears in the doorway again, leaning against the frame and crossing her arms. “Did your little file on me tell you about her?”

My jaw tightens. This woman has had nothing but heartache when it comes to the people she loved and those that should have loved her beyond words.

“It did. She died in a boating accident while on vacation with your father when you were three.”

“So you get it now? I don’t need you to swoop in and protect me from everything. I’ve been doing this a long time.”

“Just because you’ve had to, doesn’t mean you need to anymore.”

There’s a fast knock on the door, and then the doorhandles jiggles like someone’s trying to open it.

“Vee?” More knocking.

“It’s just Max.” She waves her hand at me. “I guess it’s good you took off your gun last night.”

She’s right. I left it on the nightstand in the bedroom.

“Your door’s locked. Everything okay?” Max asks, her gaze sweeping past Vee and landing on me. “Oh. You have company.”

“Why do you say that like it’s not usually locked?” I move to the door. “Is it often left unlocked?”

Max looks at Vee as though she just stepped into a minefield and isn’t sure if she should keep going or retreat.

“Ignore him.” Vee sidesteps putting herself between me and Max, who apparently has free range to enter the apartment whenever she wants because Vee doesn’t it keep it locked during the day.

“I’m going to double the men outside.” I mutter.

“There’s men outside?” Max’s eyes widen behind thick plastic-rimmed glasses.

“I told you, ignore him.” Vee laughs. “What’s up?”

“Nicolette is coming over soon. We’re going to head uptown to do some shopping—well, she’s actually shopping. I’m living vicariously through her. And later we’re going out. I wanted to see if you weren’t working if you wanted to join.” She tilts her head toward me. “If you aren’t, you know, busy.”

“I heard my name. I’m here!” The sweet, singsong voice is heard just before she appears in the doorway, and she squeezes Max.

“Oh! You’re early!” Max twists. “I’m not even dressed to go yet.”

“I know, sorry, but my brother being the overbearing ass he is, heard I was coming over, and he decided to join me. Which meant we had to come early. Anyway, no hurry.”

Lev appears in the doorway next. It’s turned into a whole fucking surprise party.

“I heard you were still here. I have information you’re going to want, so I figured I’d just come over.” Lev glances down at Max, and his expression hardens.

“I’ll go change then.” Max turns to Vee. “So? Are you working tonight?”

“Actually no. So, yeah, I can go with you.”

“Where are you going?” I step up to behind Vee, placing my hands on her shoulders.

“I forget the name of the club. She can text you later.” Nicolette grabs Max’s hand. “Let’s go to your apartment. They’re about to kick us out of the room anyway.”

“I’ll have one of my men with them all day.” Lev assures me as soon as he’s inside the apartment and has shut the door.

“The last thing we need is more men with guns following us around.” Vee argues.

“You could not go at all.” I suggest casually, which ignites a visible ember of annoyance. “Your choice.”

“That’s right. I do have a choice.” She stands her ground with her hands balled at her sides.

“You do.” I agree with a slow nod, hooking my thumb on my belt. The little splotch of red blooms at the base of her throat.

“My men are discreet.” Lev gives her an exit from the road she’s speeding down. “Nicolette hates having them with her, too. They stay out of her way. You won’t notice their presence.”

She swings her gaze up from my hip. “And yours?”

“I could go with you. Maybe that’s a good idea.”

Lev clears his throat, giving me a small shake of his head. Leaning closer to me he says in Russian, “You can’t. Not tonight. The girls will be safe. I give you my word.”

“You won’t be bothered by security,” I tell her.

She eyes us warily, but keeps whatever questions are swirling around her mind to herself.

“I’ll go get ready.” She picks up the basket of folded towels. “Thank you for helping with the towels.”

Lev lifts an eyebrow. “You did laundry?”

“Shut up.” I move to the window, checking on the street. “Since when do you escort Nicolette to a friend’s house? Whatever you’re going to tell me could have been a phone call.”

“It’s nothing.” He rolls his shoulders.

“Could it be the girl with the glasses?”

“There’s trouble there I think.” His voice dips.

“The brothers?”

“I’m not sure. It’s just a feeling.”

“You have a feeling the girl next door is in trouble, is going to make trouble for your sister, or is causing you to have trouble sleeping?”

His jaw tightens, and he looks away. “It will pass.”

Poor sap. It won’t.

“What’s the problem happening tonight?” Taking pity on him, I switch topics.

“Vasily Leonov is having a meeting tonight with Jacob Stenson.”

“He’s the head of the gaming board; what does Leonov want with him? Kaz has him on a lock.”

“The Volkov’s don’t have full control over the gaming in the city; he could be making a move. Maybe he wants to start something on the southside.”

“Did you tell Alexander this yet?” I check my phone; it’s nearly four in the afternoon, and multiple notifications and missed messages litter my home screen.

“He’s waiting to hear from you. Since I was coming this way anyway, I told him I’d talk to you.”

“You know where this meeting is going to take place?”

“Nine o’clock at Volya. I can make a call if you need things to be more private.”

I shake my head. “No. There won’t be a need. I need to swing by to see Kaz, he’ll have a good head for how to deal with Jacob. He’s still at Alexander’s. I’ll talk with them both.”

Lev nods and looks off to the closed bedroom door. “She’ll be safe tonight.”

“What club is your sister taking them to?”

“Nicolette is unpredictable.” He frowns. “But I have two men on her all night. One she’s aware of, the other she won’t know of. That way she can’t give him the slip.”

“She does that often?”

“She tries.” He shakes his head. “I was cursed with a little sister.”

I laugh. “I understand the feeling, and it only gets worse when you find a woman who you love almost as much, and she makes you want to pull your hair out.”

He cocks an eyebrow. “Another Volkov wedding?”

“Ivan.” The bedroom door flies open and Vee storms back into the living room, shaking her phone at me. “Why did Mr. Banderas call to tell me he’s returning my rent check?”

“I should go.” Lev slithers to the front door. “Let me know if you need me tonight. I have a thing but can cancel.”

“I’m not sure he’s going to be alive tonight for a playdate, Lev.” She shoots a hot glare across the room, which—if she could manage it—would set the place on fire.

“I’ll let you know.” I walk Lev out and bolt the door once he’s gone to keep anyone else from interrupting.

“Ivan.” She huffs. “You can’t pay my rent.”

“You’ll find I’m capable of doing a lot more than you think.” I grab my suit jacket from the kitchen chair and slide it on.

“But you gave me the money, you can’t…” She sighs. “You can’t just pay for everything .”

“I can.” I take her phone from her and drop it on the table before capturing her face between my palms. “And I will. Now, remind me, what was the first rule I gave you?”

“The first rule?” Her brow pulls together in the most adorable knit of confusion.

“The other night, when I picked you up for the charity dinner. I gave you the first rule, what was it?” I remind her, running my thumb along her bottom lip. “Or do you need a reminder?”

“You said something about not returning gifts, but that’s not what this is.”

“It is.” I brush my mouth across hers. “Now, here’s more rules for tonight. No drinking too much. When you find out where you’ll be going, text me. I also want a text when you get there, while you’re there, and when you leave.”

“Why don’t you just put one of those little tracker things on me like people do with their pets in case they run away?”

I drop my hands to her hips, squeezing. “You know, that’s not a bad idea.”

There’s already a tracking application on her phone, but I won’t bother telling her about it. If I know her, she’ll figure out how to find it and will tamper with it.

“But until I can get the doctor to come over and put the chip in, you’ll just have to be my good girl and obey my rules.” Her pupils expand, and a soft blush brushes her skin.

“Can you do that? Can you be my good girl tonight?” I run the back of my knuckles across her cheekbone, leaning into her until my mouth is a breath away from touching hers.

“Yes, sir,” she whispers.

I reward my girl with a kiss meant to remind her who she belongs to but end up leaving myself winded when I break away. Her tongue runs along her lip, chasing the taste of me lingering on her skin.

“Have fun tonight.” I touch the tip of her nose. “But not too much fun, yes?”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t you have a meeting or something?”

My mood sours. Having Leonov meeting with head of the gaming board after he just met with us looks bad. He’ll get a chance to explain, but I have very little doubts about what he’s going to say. And how many lies he’s going to tell.

“I do.” I kiss her once more, just to keep the feel of her on me for a few more moments.

I stop at the car across the street from the building to let my men know the plans for the evening. As I walk down to where I parked last night, I get a call from Alexander.

“I just talked to Lev. I’m on my way.”

“I’m not calling about that. It’s Vee. I found out a few things you need to know.”

I freeze, turn to look up at her window. She’s watching me, gives a little wave then lets the curtain fall in front of herself.

“You at home or Obsidian?”

“Home.”

“I’m on my way.”