Page 68 of Lord of Vice
“He was just a mistake, a man I thought I could trust and he took that away from me the first time he hit me. Of course as you might imagine, he told me he was sorry and I was naïve and gullible enough to believe him. How very stupid of me. Right? Then he bought me flowers and things were even better than before. But the next time he was angry, he smashed my head into the wall, also giving me a black eye.”
She laughed bitterly while I almost crushed the glass between my fingers.
“But as before, he took care of me, kissing me and crying his eyes out for what he’d done. And I believed him when he said he’d get help. He lied by telling me he was going to an anger management counselor. You see, he had a stressful job as a stockbroker. I thought that’s what was wrong and I took his abuse, maybebecause my mother had slipped from remission, only given three months to live. I was an emotional wreck, obviously not thinking clearly. My mother and I were like sisters, doing so many things together. She had me at a very young age.”
I allowed her to talk but would find the fucker who’d damaged her.
“When I finally realized Jake was abusive, I just didn’t know what to do, especially since my mother thought the world of him. She was certain I’d found Prince Charming, a man who’d protect me against all the evils in the world. He sucked up to her and my father, forcing me to hide the bruises at first but when that couldn’t happen any longer, he forbid me to see her. My own dying mother. I allowed that to happen. Do you know how terrible that makes me?”
Exhaling, I moved closer, careful not to touch her. I sensed she wasn’t ready to be comforted over the heavy burden of guilt. “Abusers have a special place in hell.”
“They do. I almost missed my beautiful mother taking her last breaths. And I’ll never forget when she saw the black eye I forgot I’d had when I went into her bedroom. She started crying. My mother slipped into unconsciousness and died less than eight hours later. I’m a horrible person. That night, Jake almost beat me to death and I allowed it to happen. I think I wanted it to happen. When I woke up in the hospital, my father by my side, I finally confessed. My father tried to have him arrested but he was a powerful judge’s son out of DC.”
“That’s when you started cutting yourself?”
“Before. When I couldn’t take the pain and had no clue what to do. You see, I do understand monsters, Kraven. Better thanmost. I promised myself I would never find myself in any kind of situation like that again. But what is the saying? What goes around, comes around. Maybe I deserve to be hunted down.”
When she tried to walk away, I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing her arm, jerking her closer. “Don’t you dare say that kind of shit. What that fuck did to you he should be killed for. You did nothing wrong, baby. Nothing. I promise you no one is ever going to hurt you again.”
“Don’t make promises you know you can’t keep.”
As soon as I pulled her against me, I heard a noise and Vissarian stormed into the room. When he saw me holding her, he scoffed.
“I was fucking escorted back to the house like some criminal. I thought something might be wrong. But you’re just with your latest squeeze. Let me guess. You’re going to tell me you’re getting married. I’m not staying here. I fucking refuse.” His accusatory tone and the flash of his eyes almost pushed me to the breaking point.
“We have a guest, Vissarian. Cut the attitude.”
He snorted and glared at her. “You can’t tell me what to do. Remember? And so what? Is this just another round of playtime for you while you’re doing everything you can to destroy my life?”
I found myself moving toward him without thinking, my anger bridging the surface. I snapped my hand around his throat, shoving him against the wall without a second thought. While I could see the anger and hatred in his eyes, there was also fear. My own fucking brother was terrified of me.
“Hey,” Penny snapped as she grabbed my arm. “You’re brothers. What is wrong with both of you?”
I took a deep breath, relieving the pressure.
She crowded beside us, the spitfire in her returning with a vengeance as she addressed my brother. “I don’t know you, Vissarian, but this man was almost killed today. He saved my life. My guess is he’s done that for you more than once. Give him a break. Give us both a break. God knows I could use one after the shitty last couple of days I’ve had.”
My brother was never shocked into silence, especially by a woman, but this time, he was. Yet I could read his mind, the hatred he had for me.
I backed away and he rubbed his throat. Yes, I was furious with myself for overreacting but at this point, what little I had left inside of me was rage. I was surprised he remained quiet.
“To answer your question, Viss. I’m protecting the woman who saved my life a couple nights ago, a random assassin sent to kill me. Without knowing me, she jumped in front of the guy when she could easily have been killed. And if you’re curious why I’m covered in blood, it’s because someone sent an entire army of men into my suite to end not only my life, but that of this perfectly innocent woman only a couple hours ago. So I brought her to the one place I knew I could keep her safe. The same place that I’ve tried to keep a nice home for you while you were growing up. One you don’t give a shit about. Someone is trying to kill us, brother. And they’re dead set on doing so. That could include getting to you, and I refuse to allow the people I care about to be hurt. So, you’re staying in this house until further fucking notice. Get it? I can’t lose you too. I won’t.”
As usual, the tension was insurmountable.
After giving me a hateful look, he shook his head and stormed out.
“Fuck,” I hissed, hating everything about trying to be a parent. I sucked at it. Once again, I yanked her into my arms, trying to rid the horrors, even if I knew that was impossible.
She allowed me to hold her for a few more seconds before pushing away.
“I’m sorry about that. You didn’t deserve to hear that or have him talk about you that way.”
“That’s your brother,” she said as if she didn’t believe it was possible.
“Yes. And as you can see, he hates me. He thinks I’ve destroyed his life by not allowing him to run the city streets free and wild.”
“You care about him. That’s an admirable trait. He’ll come around, Kraven. Give him time. Kid brothers are always trying to live up to their big brother’s standards. You know?”