Page 102 of Little Liar

“This is a lovely reunion.”

I turn, freezing when I see Xander’s cousin. The other Russian who doesn’t really sound Russian. Sebastian Prince stands with his foot against the wall, smoking what I assume is a joint.

“Howdy, little Vize. You look like shit.”

I rub my arms in the bitter cold. “What’s going on?”

He throws his hands out. “Xander arranged with Adryx to get you out here. It’s my job to get you to your father. This one wanted to tag along.” He gestures to Abigail. “A car will be here any moment.”

I want to cry—tears are building behind my eyes, but they don’t fall. I won’t feel safe until I’m in my father’s or Malachi’s arms.

“Is Malachi alive?”

“Kind of.”

My heart crashes. “What does that mean?”

“You’ll know when you see him. Don’t want to traumatize you any further. Did any of my dear family members hurt you?” he asks even though Abbi already did, tipping his head and blowing out poisonous smoke into the air. “You’re a lot thinner than before. Did they not feed you?”

I crush my teeth together, a tear finally slipping free. “Is my brother okay?”

Sebastian flicks the joint away and blows the last cloud of smoke out. “Why do you call him that?”

“Answer the question.”

“It’s likely he’ll live. He’s in a coma.”

I cover my mouth. “Oh my God.”

“Give her more than that, for fuck’s sake, Base.” Abigail shakes her head. “He’s not in critical condition anymore.”

Sebastian glares at her for a long second then shifts his gaze to me. “He punctured a lung when he was stabbed and was shot in the chest. The bullet missed his heart by two inches. But he lost a lot of blood and had some complications.”

Oh God. Malachi.

I swallow hard. “My dad?”

“He hasn’t left Malachi’s side.”

I take a deep breath. “And my sister?”

“Is that the chatty one? She’s fine. She tried to put a damn spider on my face while I was asleep on the sofa. I wanted to beat the shit out of her, but I didn’t think my father-in-law would’ve approved.” He then beams. “I’m trying to convince him I’m enough for his daughter by being a good guy.”

“You’re married to someone else,” Abbi adds.

“That’s irrelevant.”

I’m starting to think he fits in well with how psychotic the Reznikov family are. He’s a bit unhinged, and that’s putting it mildly.

“Is my brother in hospital then?”

“No, we have a safe house with private doctors. And please stop calling him your brother. That’s like my best friend fucking my girlfriend.”

“Are they siblings?”

“Twins,” he confirms.

“Me and Malachi aren’t related. We just grew up together.”