Page 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Vivian

I wake to the sound of my phone vibrating on the nightstand beside me. I reach for it blindly and hit answer without checking the caller ID.

“Yeah?” I croak out.

“You have a call from an inmate at Rikers penitentiary.” I bolt upright in bed and cringe when Ez grumbles beside me. Alexander’s voice came through the speaker. “Alexander Denver. Do you accept the charges?”

“Yes,” I whisper as I slip out of the bed and snatch one of the guys' discarded hoodies off the floor and quietly slip out of the room just as Alex’s voice comes over the speaker again.

“Vivian.”

“Alex,” I reply, then tug the hoodie over my head and quietly go down the stairs.

“Did I wake you?”

“No. Yes, but don't worry, I had to get up anyway,” I say, then stifle a yawn.

His soft laughter brings a smile to my face as I pad through the kitchen to flick the coffee maker on, then lean against the counter.

“I’m sorry, it’s after nine so I assumed you would be awake.”

“I normally am but… I—uh?—”

“I’m aware of your visitors.”

“Are you having me watched?” I bite out.

“I told you I would keep an eye on you and I meant it.” I inhale and try to relax. “Your lawyers have been in contact. I’ll admit, I didn’t expect for them to move so fast.” Relief washes over me, I thought after my outburst last night I would have lost the support of everyone but it seems some of the members of the Saints do keep their word.

“Vance, Phil and Terry are the best at what they do. I have faith they will prove your innocence of these crimes.”

“Hope is a dangerous thing in a place like this.” I can hear the bitterness that coats his words and I find myself feeling sorry for him.

“Everything they said about you in the press, is that true?” I feel instant regret when those words tumble out of my mouth, but I would be lying if I said I haven’t been thinking about it since I first went to visit him.

“Like I said, not everything you read about me is valid. If these lines weren’t monitored, I might be inclined to tell you.”

“But?” I push.

“But that would mean we would have to trust each other and right now, I don’t think we're there yet.” That brings a smile to my face. I go about pouring myself a cup of coffee and fight not to moan when I take my first sip.

“So, we need to be friends?”

“Believe it or not, Vivian. I already consider you a friend and because of that, you have my word that I will not rest until I discover who the traitor is in your midst.” Call me crazy but I believe him.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, I don’t deserve it. I have to go, be safe.” He ends the call.

“Bye,” I mutter as I drop my phone onto the counter and sigh. It’s nearly nine thirty in the morning and I have to go to Lividica to go over a few things with Tate, then I have a meeting with David at the high school to check on the progress of the expansion.

“Hey.” I snap my head to the side to see Nova coming in from the side door, I frown at the sight of her in a pair of runners and one of Vox’s hoodies that falls to just above her knees. Her hair is piled into a messy bun above her head, but it’s her eyes that have my chest caving in, those green eyes are filled with heartbreak.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

She shrugs as she goes about pouring herself a cup of coffee, then rounds the counter to claim one of the stools opposite me. She nurses the mug between her hands but doesn’t take a sip, she just keeps turning it in her hands.

“I need answers,” she says softly.

“I’m trying, Nova, I swear?—”

“I know. I know everyone is trying but do you know how hard it is to have everyone tell you that your mother is dead but how can I believe that when there is no body.” My face slackens and I begin to feel sick at the thought of having to tell her the truth. “I can’t accept this without seeing… her, you know?” She lifts those broken green eyes to me and I nearly crumble under the pressure of them, but then her eyes drop and she takes in my attire. “Is that my brother’s?” she asks.

A whoosh of air escapes me and I smile sheepishly. “I guess I should be asking you now if you hate me for sleeping with your brother?”

A soft laugh escapes her. “Given the fact I had no idea he was my brother before you two went and fell for each other years ago, I can one hundred percent say no I don’t hate you just… please don’t hurt him.”

I reach across the counter and grab her hand from the mug and hold it in mine. “I promise you, I have no intentions of hurting him or the other two but… this whole thing is so new and fresh and…”

“You guys are all still working out the kinks?”

I pin her with a look. “Pun intended, huh?”

She laughs and nods. “Oh yeah, pun definitely intended.” Nova and I keep our conversation light and I invite her to tag along with me for the day just as Archer and Ez stroll into the kitchen. Both of them have showered given their wet hair, fuck. They look edible. “Eww, Vivian!” I snap my head toward Nova and frown at the disgusted look on her face. Before I can ask what she meant, Archer comes and places a kiss to the top of my head. Ez is next, but unlike Archer, he grabs my chin and forces me to turn to him. In the next second his lips are on mine. I don’t even get to process the kiss before he’s pulling back and winking at me, then steals my coffee and rounds the counter to sit next to Nova, who looks like she ate a lemon. “I get why Vox is pissed.”

“What, why?” I ask as I’m tugged backward by the hood of my jumper. I land between Archer’s legs who is sitting on the opposite counter, drinking his coffee.

“Seeing my brother do… that is disgusting.” Ez shoots her a smile while I laugh. Archer is shaking with silent laughter behind me but doesn’t comment.

“And seeing Vox go all Bam Bam on your ass isn’t fucking gross?” Ez fires back.

Nova scrunches her face. “That’s different, Vox is…”

“Vox,” Ez, Archer and me all say at the same time. The four of us all laugh and it feels good to laugh after so long, but it dies off when my phone rings. Everyone goes silent as I answer the call.

“Hey Tate, I was coming by this morning?—”

“Kim never turned up for her shift last night. I went by her place first thing this morning and her neighbor said she hasn’t seen her since the night before last.”

“Calm down, I’m sure she is fine. Let me get showered and I’ll head over, then we can search for her and ask the other girls,” I say.

“Yeah, okay, call me when you're here and I’ll let you in through the back.”

“Okay.” I end the call just as Vox walks in, trailed by Hayze. Unlike my brother and the others who have showered, Hayze is still in his sweats and has the cutest bed hair. He yawns and stretches his arms above his head, knocking into my brother as he brushes past. Hayze comes straight for me and the sexy smile on his face makes me want to spend the day wrapped up in him. When he comes to a stop before me I wait for him to kiss me.

“Do it you cocksucker and I’ll break your fucking jaw,” Vox promises. Hayze rolls his eyes playfully and leans in, ignoring Vox’s growl as he places a kiss on my cheek.

“I bet you wish Nova didn’t come find him now, huh?” he whispers in my ear and without consent boisterous laughter breaks free of me. Hayze the dirty troublemaker shifts and pours himself a cup of coffee while everyone else looks at me expectantly. I begin to fidget under the pressure of my brother's gaze but Archer saves me when he leans down and wraps his arms around me.

“Don’t fucking push me, Malik!” Vox growls.

I lean back against Archer and smile up at him. Hayze stands beside me looking directly at my brother in a challenge. “Get the fuck over it, Hatchett. You stamped your claim on your girl and this is us doing the same. Don’t like it? Get a fucking hotel because Vivian is over biting her pillow.” My jaw unhinges at Archer’s taunts. Vox’s face morphs into pure murder. Before my brother can take a single step, Nova is in front of him with her hands on his chest. Instantly Vox’s attention is captured by the raven haired beauty before him.

“Come help me get ready. I’m spending the day with your sister,” Nova says.

Vox’s brows draw in. “No fucking way, you are not?—”

“Tell me I can’t go again and see what happens, dickbag,” Nova snaps.

Vox snakes his arm around her waist and pulls her against him. “You really want to fight with me right now, witch?”

“Baby, I’m your only friend in this house, so don’t piss me off or you’ll really be on your own. Now, come help me change and if you're a good boy I might let two horns play with me tonight.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Nova!” Ezekiel bellows. Nova laughs as she drags my brother out of the room. I shoot Vox a smile before he disappears up the stairs. As gross as hearing that was, it makes me happy to know my brother finally found his soulmate. “I’m going to murder your brother,” Ez vows.

“Pot meet kettle, brother,” Hayze says, earning a snort from Archer and a glare from Ezekiel. Before they can all begin bickering, I excuse myself to shower and change. I barely make it a single step before the three of them are at my back. “What are you doing?” I ask.

“Helping you change,” Archer says it like I’m an idiot for not knowing that.

“I can change on my own,” I reply.

“But I haven’t showered either and I volunteer to help you wash,” Hayze adds with a wicked smile.

“I suppose I can be persuaded to dry you off,” Ez tacks on.

I shake my head. “The three of you are going to be so bad for my calendar and appointments,” I mutter as I climb the stairs.

“Never said we were angels but you already knew that,” Hayze calls out.

“She’d rather be fucked by the devils anyway,” Archer replies. As crass as their words are, I couldn’t agree with them more, no one wants sweet sex. We all want to be fucked like we mean nothing then treated like a queen outside of the bedroom.

Nova hasn’t been able to stop gawking and pointing since we entered Lividica. Tate keeps shooting her looks of concern so I wave her off, we both need this time out from the guys. The four of them were broody bastards and were not above using sex to try and manipulate us into staying with them.

They all looked murderous when Nova reminded them that she wasn’t formally banished, only they were so they had to remain indoors. Vox promised to destroy my town tonight as his alter ego if I didn’t find a way to remove the banishment.

“I’ve tried calling her next of kin but they said they haven’t spoken to her either.”

I mull over Tate’s words, I hate to admit it but I don’t know much about these girls. Yes I was the one who hired them but aside from that I have had limited interactions with them.

“Let me call a friend. I’ll see if he can help us locate her.” I can see this situation is really worrying Tate. “I’m sure she’s okay,” I say trying to ease some of her worries but she just shakes her head.

“No. I can feel it, something is wrong.” Bitterness coats her words and guilt begins to gnaw at me.

“These girls are lucky to have someone like you, Tate. I recall a few of them from the interviews. Some of them have no one who cares about them and knowing they have you would mean a lot.”

“Yeah, a fat lot of good having me has done Kim,” she snaps before stalking behind the bar to do lord knows what. I pull my phone from my pocket and move into the hallway, leaving Nova to continue inspecting the place. I dial David and wait for him to answer.

“Lordess.”

“David, I need you to get our guys to search for one of the girls from Lividica.”

“Send me her name and a picture if you have it and I’ll send it to our guys in the police and get them to start searching.”

“Thank you. I’ll send it over now.”

“What time should I expect you here?”

I check my watch, then answer, “I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”

“See you then,” he says, then I end the call and send him through the information he requested. David and a few other men are good guys and will be taken care of when everything is revealed. I pocket my phone and meet Tate at the bar. Her eyes are filled with terror for her friend and it pains me to see that look in her eyes.

“I have my guys looking for Kim now, they won’t stop until she is found. In the meantime, I will have more security stationed around the hotel. I won’t allow any of them inside here.” She nods firmly.

“Thank you. I would like it if after the girls shift they could walk them to their cars as well.”

“Of course. I’ll send you Ray’s number, he’s the head of the security team that will be here tonight. Let him know what you want and he will answer directly to you.” Her eyes widen in surprise.

“Oh, okay.”

I smile reassuringly at her. “You have done more than I could have hoped for, Tate. I owe the success of Lividica to you and I promise you, I will never forget what you have done for me.” Tate just stares at me with a doe eyed look for a second before it quickly vanishes and is replaced with her normal don’t fuck with me one.

I practically have to drag Nova out of there. The entire ride back to our old high school is filled with her asking me hundreds of questions about Lividica. She was stunned to learn the sex club was my father and Edmund’s idea. I just adapted their idea and made it my own, like opening a women’s side of the hotel where they can live out their fantasies with men who will treat them right. The eight guys we have working that side are booked out fully for the next six months straight. We have no choice but to hire at least four more guys, which is what Tate will be focusing on.

As we pull into the school parking lot, I see Nova grow tense at the sight of our old high school. This place doesn’t hold any good memories for her. I feel bad that they weren’t able to graduate with the rest of us but I don’t regret banishing my brother and the others. I just wish The Brotherhood would hurry up and locate Thomas. I know the dirty fuck is long gone by now but just knowing he is still breathing keeps me looking over my shoulder.

“I never thought I would be back here,” Nova says as we come to a stop on the opposite side of the main building, where the expansion is happening. As I step out of the car I’m happy to see there has been a lot more progress than when I was last here. They have clearly pulled their fingers out of their ass since we brought in the other company to help speed the process up.

“Vivian.” I turn to the side to see David waving me over, it still sounds weird hearing him call me by my name. I know he doesn’t like using my name but when in public he has no choice. Nova walks beside me. David takes one look at her and his eyes widen at the sight of her. We come to a stop beside a table that has papers, blueprints, and numerous other items scattered on it.

“Mrs. Tempest.” I smile at Brodie, he’s the owner of the construction company I hired to build Lividica.

“How are you?” I ask him.

He smiles. “Busy at work and at home since my wife just gave birth to our third daughter.”

“Oh my gosh, congratulations, Brodie.” He smiles proudly and it warms my heart to see a man so proud that he is the father to another beautiful little girl. “Brodie, this my friend Nova Quinlin.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” he says.

“Likewise,” Nova counters.

“Vivian, I was just speaking with Brodie and Ford in regard to the extra space you requested for dorm rooms to be added,” David says in a tired tone.

“And?” I push.

“In order to accommodate the dormitories we would need to purchase the surrounding land. I did some digging and found that the land was recently purchased by the company Ezy A .” I roll my lips over my teeth, I can feel Nova’s gaze searing into the side of my head and I know it is only a matter of time before the name sinks in.

3…

2…

1…

“Oh my God!” she shrieks, garnering everyone's attention. I whirl around and widen my eyes, telling her without words to keep her mouth shut. She listens to my silent demand but it doesn’t stop the laughter from bursting out of her.

“Please, ignore my friend.” Both guys nod but still shoot Nova a puzzled look as she keels over gasping for breath.

“So, in order for this to happen, we would need to acquire the land from that company,” Brodie adds.

“No problem, leave it with me and I will have an answer for you by the end of the week.” He looks surprised by my answer and a little stunned.

“I’ll walk you back to your car,” David says. I shake Brodie’s hand and wish him well before following after David. “Why do I feel like I am being kept in the dark here, Lordess?” David asks quietly when we are away from prying ears.

“Because you are and trust me, it's better this way.” He doesn’t pry or try to push, he just nods and hands me a file filled with papers that need my signature and then runs me through the remainder of my tasks for the day. “Okay, I’ll get onto all of that as soon as I get home. Is there an update on the situation ?” I ask.

David sighs, reaches into his pocket and pulls out another pink envelope. I stare at it with wide eyes not wanting to touch the fucking thing. “This was delivered to the town hall this morning.”

I flick my gaze back to him in shock. “What?”

“I believe whoever is sending these and doing that , knows more than we are giving them credit for.”

“David, if they know about me, where I live and The Brotherhood that means it is one of the brothers!”

His lips thin and a murderous look flickers in his eyes. “I know.” I’ve never heard David sound blood thirsty. “I will weed out the bastard myself, Lordess. Until that time, I would like it if you would remain at your home. I will have Tatum come to you. I have doubled your guards as well.”

“Do you think they are going to come after me?”

The uncertainty in his eyes answers my question before he does. “Yes. I believe you are the grand prize and until The Night Of Saints we need to make sure you are protected and kept safe.”

“You think whoever it is, is waiting for them to make their move and take me out.”

“Yes, I believe that is the goal. Whoever is doing this wants you dethroned and out of The Brotherhood.”