Page 29 of Jace
“What isprickandpussy?”
Sasha, our newly discovered sister, leans over, whispering her innocent question to our mother. Sasha is Russian and trying to learn English, while Mom is trying not to whip ourasses for corrupting our little sister. Sure, Sasha’s an adult, but our sister isn’t ruthless like us.
Yet.
“Penises and vaginas,” Mom answers Sasha, refusing to be ashamed of sex. “Sorry, dear. It’s all your brothers talk about.”
Understanding enough English, Sasha rolls her lips, amused.
“Excuse me?” Axel rules from his first king’s throne, sipping vodka. “We have something far more serious than sex to talk about tonight.”
Our other queens aren’t here. Their white velvet thrones are empty. Not that we exclude them from meetings, it’s just that they have more important work. They’re either home with their babies or doing their jobs like the recon mission I just sent Delphine on.
Grant won’t mind that I asked his wife to start following Vivian’s ex-husband. Once I called Delphine and told her what an abusive piece of shit he is, I couldn’t stop her.
“After we discuss this business”—I plop down on my throne—“I have another mission for us.”
“Two deadly missions at a time, please.” Sire jokes. He knows we can handle it.
“Fine.” Axel waves his inked hand. “Jace has a mission. We’re sure it’s named Vivian, and we’ll do it, but first, let’s discuss Sheremetev. We have intel he’s in town.”
Tension skyrockets in the room. Eyes dart to Sasha, and I don’t mind Axel’s humor about Vivian. He doesn’t know what I’ll tell them later, while we all know exactly what Valentin Sheremetev did to our sister.
“It’s what my torture extracted from our captive,” Loch seethes. “Sheremetev’s little bitch boy, Carter, choked up that Sheremetev bought an island for him and Sasha around here.”
“Henothave me.” Sasha’s furious aqua eyes mirror Loch’s, her twin. “I bite his prick if he touch me again.”
While Sasha’s English isn’t perfect, scratch that not-ruthless part; she’sdefinitelyour sister.
Valentin Sheremetev is our Bratva father’s archenemy. Those two have fought over territory and trade for decades—the immoral human trafficking trade—and that’s why Sheremetev took the one thing our father gave a shit about: his daughter, Sasha.
Don’t ask me why our father, Ruslan Kholodov, cared about his daughter when he abused the fuck out of us, his six sons, and his wife until we escaped.
Maybe it’s because Ruslan knew our mom was in love with her second king, Maxim.
Maxim died helping us escape our father, and of all my mom’s children, whose paternity she can’t be sure of, Ruslan knew Sasha wasdefinitelyhis, by force and by blood, but his.
It’s why Ruslan drugged our mom during childbirth and took one of her twins. He lied to her, telling her that only Loch had survived, when, in fact, Ruslan had hidden their daughter, Sasha, from her.
Maybe it was a matter of pride. When Valentin kidnapped and forced Sasha to marry him, it was the ultimate disgrace for our father.
Ruslan’s sons, his princes, had already escaped him, and now his daughter, his princess, was taken from his palace in Moscow, from right under his nose.
He wouldn’t abide by that.
It’s war.
Or maybe, though it’s as likely as the devil finding redemption, my father found his soul when he finally had a daughter: his lastborn. Of all the suffering he’s put upon women and girls, including our mother, he needed to repent and rescue his daughter?
Not likely.
But I don’t waste mental time on my maybe-father. He’s already scarred my mind enough.
Because of him, I have a crippling fear of small, dark spaces. I was only four when he’d lock me in a wooden trunk in his office. It was my punishment for being “too emotional.”
When really, I was too young to know what a coffin was, but that’s what it felt like. I thought I was dying. I screamed until I lost my voice and mind, and it was my brothers who helped me get them back.
Particularly Grant.
