VLAD (The V Games #1)(60)

Vika would die before she would let Niko sleep around on their marriage with her twin. By getting Niko out of the picture, she got revenge on Viktor. My sister destroys everything she touches.

Irina gasps and her pretty mouth pops open. “Viktor and Niko?” she breathes.

“You know how that would go down in our world, Irina.”

I play a clip of Vika revealing Viktor’s bisexuality to our father. Father went ballistic, even going as far as to strike my sister in a fit of rage before destroying everything in his office. There are more clips of her meeting with the razor twins and paying them money. No doubt her insurance policy if Niko didn’t do her bidding properly. By the time all the clips have ended, I’m furious all over again.

“So, Vika ordered Niko to kill Viktor, but he failed and was ordered to be killed because of it,” she mutters, pointing at the first clip. “But if he failed, how did Viktor die?”

I take her hand and kiss her knuckles. “You take this to your grave, Shadow.”

Her blue eyes become as wide as saucers. “He’s not dead.”

My heart thumps in my chest. Father has planted him right smack dab in the US in a state called Arkansas. Right in the middle of nowhere. Punishment for his spoiled prince. To be a nobody. To have to blend in with normal people.

“He’s very much alive,” I assure her as I open another folder. Inside is information about my brother’s location. “If anything ever happens to me, it is your duty as my wife to make sure he continues to be taken care of.”

She nods emphatically. “Without a doubt, Vlad.”

“Diana can never know this. I know you love her, but nobody knows he is okay. Father faked his death for a reason—to force my brother to live in shame and be alone for the rest of his life.” A growl rumbles through me, hate for my father and Vika brimming to the surface. “But mark my words, Irina, I will bring him back home to me one day. I’ll find a way. I’ll watch and plot and play this fucking game. And one day, when the time is right…” I trail off.

“You’ll go get your brother,” she replies, her blue eyes flaring with ferocity.

“Damn right I will.”

She smiles as she plucks the laptop from my grip and sets it on the table. Then, she straddles my lap with her poufy dress smashed between us. Her brows furrow and an evil glint dances in her gaze. “And Vika?”

“V is for vengeance,” I mutter. “V is for Vetrov.”

She laughs and kisses me quickly. “What did poor Ruslan Vetrov ever do to you to deserve that?”

“Not my problem.”

“Someone ought to send her into The Games,” she grumbles. “She’s horrid. I hate her for what she’s done to your heart.”

That makes two of us.

“With Yegor as a father-in-law, I imagine every day is like The Games with her. Yegor is known for backhanding a viper for talking back. And that’s all Vika knows how to do. Assuredly, her life is hell there, especially now that she has been wed to Ruslan. That kid is a prick like his dad.”

“Good.” Her nostrils flare.

Neither of us speak about the fact that Diana will have the same fate. But unlike my sister, Diana is a much better player. Landing with the Vetrovs, assumedly Ven, unless Yegor decides otherwise, was her best possible outcome. The alternative would have been meeting the same fate as Anton.

Diana was given a pardon because I love her sister.

“These games,” Irina says, frowning. “We’re always playing them.”

I tangle my fingers in her hair and draw her to my mouth. Running my tongue along her pouty bottom lip, I relish in the harsh intake of her breath. “But now we play for the same team.”

“The best team,” she agrees, her hands sliding to my shoulders.

I growl, “The only team.”

We kiss hard and deep, sealing yet another vow.

Irina and I are an unstoppable pair.

Vile.

Vicious.

Villainous.

Vasiliev.





Five months later…



We’ve been married for five months, yet it still feels like yesterday. The honeymoon period my father assured me would fizzle out within weeks of being a husband, is, in fact, still in full swing. My father has never loved a woman the way I do Irina. If he had, he would have never allowed her to escape his clutches.

I turn toward her and rub a hand over her ass, which is fuller than it used to be. She likes her food, and I like the new curves it’s given her body. I could sail the waves of her body forever and never get sick. She’s my light—she illuminates my sky. My world. When we’re together, sparks fly, igniting us both, and no one could dull our shine.

“I love how round your rump is these days, solntce moyo,” I tell her before biting into it like it’s a peach.

She giggles and swats me off her. “My clothes have gotten a little snug.”

“You like your food,” I tease.

“I’m carrying your child.”

Her words dance around in my mind, but I can’t quite grasp them. “My child?” I utter, searching her face for truth. “Irina.”

She bites her lip, her eyes dancing with love. This must be what true happiness feels like.

“Say it again,” I command.