Like the coward I was, I fled. I didn’t know where the bathroom was, and I didn’t care. Any excuse to get as far away from that man as humanly possible. Was itthatbad for him? My first time was that bad for him that he pretended I didn’t exist? That had to be it, and here I was spiraling about my father, and all I could think about was that night. At least it was a distraction, something to keep my brain busy from revisiting my father’s dead body.
Amelia was right on my heels as I beelined for the hallway. There had to be a bathroom around here somewhere. “What the hell was that?”
I shook my head. I couldn’t tell her because I didn’t even know. All I could think was that it was awful for him, so he wanted to forget. But also… He was a fucking Cristof?! I’d thought he was a local. I pressed my fingers into my hairline as the spiraling only got worse.
What did any of this mean? Finally, at the end of the long hall was a door to a bathroom. I shoved it open, and Amelia watched me in the mirror with just as tired eyes.
“That hottie from the lodge was a Cristof? How did we miss that?”
I was wondering the same thing. At least Jade would have known, right? She was here somewhere, so if she didn’t know, she knew now. I would never escape this, but at least my mother would be happy when the news made it to her. It would be the highlight of this weekend, finding out that her daughter could potentially lock down one of the Cristofs. She would try to ensure that I did too. This was a mess— a disaster.
“I don’t know,” I whispered to my hands.
“He must be one of the younger ones. They didn’t go to the same schools as we did because of their older brothers' reputations. They also don’t have many appearances. I think Griffin was there when Dimitri was sworn in, but I’ve never seen Ivan around. I only recognize him from the lodge. This is… delicious.”
Delicious was the last word I would use to describethis.That night, on the other hand… It could be described that way, at least to me. But the more I thought about it, and his reaction to me today, I doubted it all. Had I dreamed it all up? Was he even the Ivan from the lodge? What were the odds?
Could this weekend get any worse?
Chapter Twelve
Ivan
When a man’sbacked into a corner, he either fights or folds.
I’d done both. Too many times.
That’s how I felt as my brother introduced me to the light that was Poppy Fairchild. She looked like the shell of the woman I met at the lodge in the mountains months ago. It didn’t feel so much like a lie when I said I hadn’t met her because I had no idea she was a Fairchild.
Would that have changed things for me when I took the job to put a hit on her dad? No. But I probably wouldn’t have been so vindictive about it, especially considering she was the one who found him.
Or maybe I would have waited to know that his wife was coming home to find him. She was grating on my last nerve. Her obnoxious laugh carried over all other conversations. No one would have known they were a grieving family if not for Poppy. Jade, her older sister, whom I was introduced to ashort while later, had red-rimmed eyes but that was the only giveaway that she was sad.
It wasn’t a secret that James liked affairs, and apparently, it wasn’t a secret that his wife did too. In fact, according to Alexei, there were questions on whether or not the youngest daughter was even James’s, but she was absent from today’s festivities, as well as the brothers. There were enough rumors rolling around and whispers happening surrounding the Fairchilds. I was sure my mother was having a mental breakdown behind her polished smile. The last thing she wanted was the attention taken from her son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law.
When Audrey finally untangled herself from all of the guests, she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. “You didn’t have to stay.”
Carina, Ace’s wife, took her place with smiles and laughter as she rubbed her round, pregnant belly. I blinked. I hadn’t even known she was pregnant. I guessed that was what I deserved for not answering calls or texts for two years. I hoped I hadn’t missed another birth.
I pulled my gaze away from my sister-in-law. “I thought there would be more fanfare and dramatics with me showing up again.”
Her laugh was soft and sad. “We don’t want to scare you off.”
My chest tightened, and I rolled my lips.
“I mean, I’m sure Alexei wouldn’t mind scaring you a little bit; he’s such a psycho and wanted to fly out to your secluded home many times, but I held him back. I knewwhen the time was right, you would come back.” She reached forward and rubbed her hand on my shoulder.
“I’ve been busy with work,” It was the only excuse I had, and it wasn’t a very good one at that. Though it was true. I was traveling, hunting down people on the list I had, or I was hunting animals to keep my freezer stocked. Now that I’d taken care of the granny’s problem, I didn’t have another hit for… well, a while. This was the first time I’d had a real break in a long time.
“You should go on a date,” She beamed up at me. Her big eyes shone as she batted her lashes at me.
The only kind of date I was interested in going on was with Poppy, and I’d just murdered her shitty ass dad. Odds weren’t exactly in my favor there. Oh, and then I’d pretended I didn’t know her. Inwardly, I winced. I was fucked.
“I’m not interested in settling down,” It was also partly true. I wanted nothing more than to find someone, someday, but I knew it would be unlikely. What kind of good woman would want such a monster, such as myself?
“Enough hogging the beautiful future, Mrs,” My mother wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and I sunk into her embrace. The familiar floral scent of her perfume wrapped around me, and it was like I was five again, watching her get ready for a gala, rolling around on the rug in her room. I blinked out of the haze and gave her a small peck on the cheek. I hadn’t realized just how much I missed her until I was in her arms.
Audrey squeezed my mother’s hand before she walked back into the fray of insanity that was elite society. Carinabeamed at her, and they both picked up as if she hadn’t disappeared for a moment.
