Chapter 15Ivan

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Ivan

" I don't like this," Sascha moaned, wringing his hands like some despairing maiden. "I do not like this."

When Kai glared at Ivan with glowing blue eyes, Ivan shrugged. "It wasn't my doing. You have Alexei to blame."

Their group—including the two newcomers—was gathered in the living room, which was feeling quite crowded with the three couples, even with Matteo hiding upstairs.

There'd been quite a bit of hubbub initially when Kai had realized a duo of vampires had arrived. It had involved Kai transitioning into his demon form and letting his wings out, a sight Ivan had already had burned into his brain from his last visit to Maine. Nix had transformed as well, seemingly out of a desire to disrupt more than some instinct to protect, since he'd already decided the two were friends rather than foe. Wolfe had told them all matter-of-factly that he and Eric meant no harm but that if either of the demons disturbed even a hair on Eric's head, he'd rip off the wings and the tail and stuff them down their throats .

It had calmed down a bit after that.

Although, Ivan noticed Nix still had a wary eye on the vampire Wolfe, even now. And he'd been unusually quiet during the whole exchange, considering his usual mouthy demeanor.

In some fit of mass paranoia, everyone was standing—Kai and Sascha in the back corner, with Kai's arm wrapped around the front of Sascha's shoulders; Ivan and Nix behind the couch, Nix cocking a hip up against the upholstery; and Eric and Wolfe closest to the door, Wolfe's hand on Eric's shoulder.

Ivan hadn't missed the way Wolfe had assessed the room and quickly placed Eric and himself where they could escape easiest.

Eric, for his part, seemed to be doing his best not to gawk at Kai in his demon form, but his best was…horrendous. His eyes kept darting over to the massive blue demon and lingering on his shoulders, as if he was expecting the wings to make another appearance.

Sascha stuck his tongue out at Ivan, presumably for shifting the blame to their brother, then faced Wolfe and Eric with a considerably more polite expression. "Did Alexei really send you?"

It was a question worth asking, as overall it seemed unlikely. Besides the fact that Alexei would be hesitant to spit on Ivan if he was on fire, as the saying went, it was also that Eric and Wolfe were a strange duo. Eric seemed like nothing more than a regular man, one raised in the suburbs rather than dingy basements and docks, and Wolfe seemed…oddly blank. Like he was uninterested in these proceedings, even if he'd been the one to initiate them.

Eric drew his gaze off Kai with a noticeable effort, making an awkward face at Sascha. "Well, it was more like he and Jay were complaining about Ivan asking for help after…everything." His cheeks flushed pink, and he gave Ivan an apologetic shrug before continuing. "And we were already in the area… "

"My pet wanted to play at mobsters," Wolfe drawled, running a possessive hand over Eric's shoulder.

"Hey!" Eric's flush deepened, even as he leaned back into Wolfe, not seeming to notice Wolfe wrapping an arm around Eric's middle, or the pleased smirk Wolfe made when he did so. "I just thought it'd be interesting. And we've helped, right?"

"How did you find him anyway?" Sascha asked.

"He was at the gas station here," Eric said, almost sheepish. "Jay had snapped a photo of him last time he came to town, so we knew to run him off if we ever saw him. We just…took the opportunity presented to us."

"And yet Alexei should be under the impression that Sergei still works for me," Ivan pointed out.

"I told him about the betrayal," Sascha said, a defiant tilt to his chin. He frowned. "But now I have a mobster tied up in my basement, and I was really trying to avoid that kind of thing here."

"He won't be here for long," Ivan muttered darkly.

Sascha scowled at him. "You are not killing a man in my basement!"

If only that were the plan. Ivan would like nothing more than to put an end to this here. But he still needed Sergei to be useful one last time, so the execution would have to wait.

He was supposed to be learning to act without anger getting the better of him, after all.

And then he wouldn't have Sascha sulking at him for the next three months.

"I'm not killing anyone in your basement," he conceded, pleased when Sascha's mouth clamped shut abruptly, as if he hadn't been expecting Ivan to agree. "We'll be taking him back to New York with us."

"Is that wise?" Kai asked. "He's a known enemy. Wouldn't it be better to end it now?"

Ivan sneered at him. "Worried for our safety, are you? "

"I don't wish for Sascha to be inconvenienced more than he already has."

Before Sascha could add his two cents—whether to confirm his inconvenienced state or deny it—Wolfe interrupted. "Are we done here, then?" he asked in a flat tone, as if the conversation was boring him beyond belief.

Ivan would have been more than happy to let the two go, but it would be stupid of him to turn down the opportunity of two vampires when they were already here.

"I could use you—use your help ," Ivan amended, when Wolfe's eyes flashed dangerously, "one more time, if you will. A meeting in New York. Since Alexei won't come himself."

Wolfe tutted. "We're on a fishing trip." He drew his blond mate closer. "For Eric. And I don't believe there's any fishing for him in New York."

Eric tilted his head back to murmur, "I've never been to the city though."

Wolfe eyed him thoughtfully, then pursed his lips into a small smile. "We'll stay at the most expensive hotel I can find," he said as if in warning.

Eric grinned at him. "You think I'm going to argue?"

Feeling oddly like a voyeur, Ivan cleared his throat, gaining their attention again. "The meeting won't be for another two days," he told them. "That gives you more time to…fish."

"Very well." Wolfe unwrapped from around Eric, taking his hand instead. "We'll be going now. This has already taken up too much of our time."

He led Eric to the front door without further ado, leaving it to the blond to turn and give them all an apologetic wave.

"I'd be careful there," Nix murmured after they'd left.

Ivan glanced at him in surprise. Nix had been quiet, yes, but Ivan wouldn't have thought two vampires would be enough to give the two demons in the room any trouble. "Why? "

Nix's brow furrowed. "The bloodsucker Wolfe. There's not much there, emotions-wise. Other than some pretty obsessive adoration for his mate. It's the one overpowering scent he gives off." He wrinkled his nose. "Psychopath, I think."

Ivan shrugged. "I don't really care one way or another, if they can do what we need them to do."

"Great," Sascha groaned. "Mobsters and psychopath vampires."

"Again," Ivan hissed. "He is Alexei's friend."

Sascha pouted, seeming put out that he couldn't throw the blame on Ivan, then pulled his phone from his pocket. "I'm calling him." He rushed out of the room, already holding the phone to his ear.

Ivan had to bite back the immense surge of bitterness—Alexei would answer Sascha, no doubt. They would probably have a long, lovely conversation. Perhaps make Christmas plans together.

Nix's hand fell, hot against the back of Ivan's neck. "Are you spiraling?"

"No," Ivan sighed. Not spiraling, exactly. But he did need to focus.

He had a meeting to attend, after all.

He glanced at Kai, who was already watching Ivan intently. "Would you care to be a tool for intimidation?"

"This Sergei is the reason Sascha was stabbed."

Ivan wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement, but he answered either way. "Yes."

Kai grinned at him with a mouth full of sharp teeth. "Then I would. With pleasure."

The basement was dimly lit, the overhead light ancient and dusted over. There were boxes shoved in different corners—some had brighter, fresher cardboard, possibly odd bits from Sascha's move, and some clearly had been there for quite a while, remnants from the old owner.

It smelled musty and damp, in the way the warehouse Ivan's father had operated in had always smelled.

Maybe Ivan was destined to always be finding himself in dark, dank places.

He entered with Kai at his back. The demon had chosen his human form for the moment, for whatever reason. He was still intimidating enough, six and a half feet of pure muscle, with a belt full of daggers he'd brought out for the occasion.

Sergei was as they'd left him—tied to a small wooden chair they'd found, the white paint on it cracked and peeling—although he'd woken up at some point while they'd been inside discussing, and his eyes were open. The vampires hadn't been too rough with him—more was the pity—but he had a split lip and some impressive bruising. To his credit, whatever he might have been feeling at finding himself tied up at Ivan's mercy, there was no telling just by looking at him. His roughhewn features were blank.

But Kai sniffed the air as he leaned against the wall by the basement door, directly in Sergei's line of sight. "He reeks of fear," he rumbled.

"Is that right, Sergei?" Ivan murmured, approaching the man who'd helped raise him. "And what would you have to fear from me? Your family ?"

Sergei didn't answer. Of course, he couldn't, not with that duct tape slapped across his mouth. Ivan walked over and ripped it off, wincing in a show of sympathy as he did so. "My apologies. Our new compatriots seem to be a fan of doing things the old-fashioned way."

Sergei looked at Ivan as if he were an unruly child. "Untie me, Vanya."

"No."

Ivan could imagine the calculations going on in that thick head, even if he couldn't see them in Sergei's expression. To continue to pretend or to beg for mercy? To plead complete ignorance or to plead for his life?

After a long moment, Sergei let out a sigh, clucking his tongue. "You already know, hm? I thought as much."

"Yes," Ivan confirmed. "I know."

He thought it would be more climactic, the moment where the lies were over, but Sergei only let out a harsh breath. "Then time to kill me." His gaze darted to Kai. "Is that what the brute is for?" Sergei bared his teeth in a false smile. "New hire?"

"You're not already familiar?" Ivan asked, shaking his head. "You should get better intel. That's Sascha's new…partner."

Sergei sneered. "Partner," he muttered, and spat on the basement floor.

That earned a low, rumbling growl from Kai, although he still didn't shift into his demon form.

"Watch it, Sergei," Ivan said lightly. "He's testy."

He stood there for a moment, considering Sergei. The best thing to do—for himself if not his plans—would have been to end it right away. To remove any temptation to give in to wondering. To questioning. But still he found himself asking, "Why did you do it? Why change loyalties?"

Sergei gave him a scathing look. "What does it matter?"

"It matters," Ivan told him through clenched teeth.

A gleam entered Sergei's eyes, and he let out a bitter laugh. "Always so angry, Vanya," he taunted. "That's your problem, you know. Too emotional. After Alexei left?" He clucked his tongue again. "A disaster. You think Sascha is the liability in the family, but it's you. You let Alexei leave. You let Sascha run wild. No control of yourself, no control of them."

Never mind that Sergei had been the one to return from Colorado without Alexei, scared off by him and his vampire. But Ivan supposed enough time had passed that Sergei had conveniently forgotten that fact. Maybe he'd convinced himself monsters didn't exist after all.

And maybe Sergei was right about some things, because Ivan was angry. So angry it burned, itching under his skin and pulsing in his chest. "You didn't think to tell me any of that before stepping straight to betrayal?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice from cracking with rage. "You were supposed to guide me."

"There was no need. You're unfit, Vanya. You always have been." Sergei narrowed his eyes, and there was finally a flash of real hatred there, some hint of his true feelings. "Given long enough, your father would have passed the family onto me. The Carusos were happy to right his mistake."

"You really think that?" Ivan laughed, disbelief momentarily taking over his rage. "Now who's the one letting his emotions get the best of him?" He leaned in, the scent of copper from Sergei's split lip filling his nostrils. "My father may have hated me, but I was still his blood. And that narcissistic bastard cared more about that than anything as ephemeral as your fucking loyalty. If he was here, he'd shoot you himself."

Ivan's gaze roamed over Sergei's too-familiar face. "How many times did you beat me, do you think, under my father's orders?" Ivan paused, but the old mobster didn't take the bait. "I always considered it water under the bridge," he continued. "You were only following orders, hm? But whose orders are you following now? Because they sure as fuck aren't mine."

Sergei stayed silent.

Ivan shook his head. "I should be grateful you beat the sentimental side right out of me. Otherwise, I might even regret killing you. But I'm not shooting you tonight, anyway." He stepped back from the chair. "We're making changes, Sergei. Big changes." He flashed his teeth. "The kind that make the men restless . So bear this a little longer, hm?" He headed toward the door leading into the house, ready to be out of this room and away from…all of it .

"Water," Sergei said quickly, a bit of panic in his tone.

Ivan waved his hand without looking back at him. "In the morning, if I'm feeling generous. In the meantime, Kai here has some emotions about the knife that got stuck in Sascha's arm, thanks to your betrayal. So I'm thinking I'll let him repay the favor." He tossed a glance to the demon. "Does that sound like something you're interested in, or are those daggers ceremonial?"

Kai's grin was the broadest Ivan had ever seen on him. "I'm very interested."

Ivan paused at the door, turning back to Sergei. "That's the thing about the Carusos. You thought they were the bigger power in town, but they were only little fish in a very big pond. My brothers and I have some new allies. You remember how Alexei changed, the last time you saw him?" There was a flash of fear in Sergei's eyes, there and gone. He did remember, no matter what denial he'd put in place since then. "The eyes, you kept saying." Ivan cocked his head. "I wonder which part of Kai will stick with you the most. Other than his knife, that is."

Ivan didn't have to look at Kai to know he'd changed forms. The high keen of fear from Sergei was sign enough.

"Try to avoid any major arteries," Ivan said as he walked through the door. "I don't want him bleeding out just yet. And put the tape back on his mouth, will you? Sascha wouldn't want to hear the screaming."