Vik (Shot Callers Book 2)

by Belle Aurora

  My eyes went to Lev, who rose from his seat, standing tall, as Mina pulled on his arm, her face pale in panic.

  That was when Sasha arrived, standing in the large open doorway. He took one look at the men and ducked his head a moment before straightening and saying, “Boys.” He advanced, the picture of composure. “If you want a show, you gotta wait in line like everyone else.”

  One of the departed stepped forward. “We’re not here for a show.” He looked to Sasha, lifted his arm, and pointed straight at me. “We’re here for our brother. He pledged himself tonight.” The man looked at me, then uttered a threatening, “And he’s gonna fulfil the obligation.”

  I remained unaffected on the outside. I was glad nobody could see what was going on on the inside. Because it wasn’t good.

  Sasha’s hand balled into a fist. He remained silent before offering, “As you can see, he has other obligations to attend to.”

  The departed smiled, and the paint stretched and pulled in a way that had it cracking. “We’ve been given instructions not to leave unless he leaves with us.”

  “And if he doesn’t go with?” The cool, calm way he spoke gave away nothing, but I knew my brother. It didn’t happen often, but Sasha was about to lose his shit.

  The departed smirked. “Then, we party.”

  Yeah. No.

  Not happening.

  This was my problem, and I was not going to have these thugs tear apart Bleeding Hearts to make a point.

  “I’m coming,” I rumbled, and Sasha’s brows pinched together as he put his arm out to block me. His turbulent eyes met mine, and I clapped him on the shoulder, leaned in, and spoke just loud enough so only he could hear me. “You warned me. I didn’t listen. Dove in headfirst, and now I gotta dig myself out.”

  He could have said a number of things then, but he chose to say nothing, and he would never know how much I appreciated that he didn’t take his chance to say he told me so. Meant a lot. Because no one felt as much like an ass as I did at that moment.

  Feigning an easy smirk, I gripped his shoulder tight, squeezing, hoping it conveyed the humblest of apologies. Sasha was my friend. My brother. My comrade. I didn’t mean to bring this shit onto his doorstep. I planned on the exact opposite. But no matter how hard I tried to keep it simple, somehow, I always managed to fuck up.

  I asked myself why the world was against me. And the answer stung.

  The world didn’t give a flying fuck about a schmuck like me. The sad truth was, I did this. There was nobody else to blame for the position I’d put myself in. Right in the center of Roam’s upturned palm. At any moment, his fingers would curl, crushing me whole. It wasn’t a matter of if but when.

  And so I turned and began to walk toward a fate I no longer wanted but had written myself from my own bleeding fingertips.

  I stalled midstride when I heard Nas call out to me. “Vik.” She looked around to the men surrounding me, then back to my solemn face. Her eyes wide and alarmed, she let out a soft, “Don’t go.”

  My baby was frightened. Words couldn’t express how shitty that made me feel. To cause her fear was the last thing I ever wanted.

  The departed by my side chuckled darkly. “Don’t worry, Mami. We’ll bring your boy home safe and sound.”

  And the inside of my mind turned black. My jaw steeled. A high-pitched whine lit the inside of my ears, and when I turned to the guy with the painted face, I wondered if Roam would miss the cocky fuck when I stuck a blade through his heart.

  My hand rose and fisted as I struggled to keep my anger at bay. But I took in a shallow breath and spoke with deathly calm.

  “You don’t talk to her.” A warning. His first and last.

  The departed’s grin lowered but never left. It was obvious he didn’t give a shit. The guy looked to my woman and repeated himself. “Safe and sound, Mami.”

  He spoke like a man protected. But Roam wasn’t here. My eyes wandered his face as I took in his hidden features and assigned him a new title.

  Dead man walking.

  When the head of the departed made a wide arc with his arm, they began to file out, and I filed out with them with zero reluctance. Out front was a car waiting, and the moment I stepped inside, another man in black handed me a Glock and a ski mask. I took them both without a second thought.

  Not an hour later, the job was done.

  Surrounded by psychopaths, they egged me on, urged me to pull the trigger, pressed me, yelled and shouted reinforcement that overlapped as I lifted my piece at the old, frightened man sitting in the armchair of his quiet home.

  I held my gun with steady hands.

  After a moment, the target’s shoulders relaxed as he awaited death.

  “Fucking hell, what are you waiting for? Do it already,” came the enraged reaction from the departed who ran this group of feral dogs.

  My arm lowered, and the calls ceased.

  My decision was final.

  I wasn’t doing this.

  Without a care for my safety, I turned to look the leader in the eye and pressed my Glock into his hands, my position clear.

  With fury in his hard gaze, he didn’t hesitate. He took my gun, lifted it, and shot the elderly man three times in the chest. And when his eyes met mine once more, he shook his head, almost disappointed. “He’s gonna kill you.”

  There was no inflection in his tone, no emotion at all. It wasn’t a threat. It was a simple fact.

  Roam was going to tear me apart.

  An evening wasted. My social standing in disrepair. A madman breathing down my neck.

  I didn’t know how much farther I had to fall to reach the bottom of this hole I had dug myself into.

  23

  Nastasia

  Anika sat cross-legged and motionless between my knees. I took the plastic bottle and squeezed more of the chemical-scented cream onto the hair before giving it a light brush and saying, “There.” But one alarming look at the comb had my stomach in knots.

  It was clean a moment ago, now full of clumps of her hair. The long copper strands tangled around it defiantly.

  Her soft, “Thanks,” sounded almost child-like, and when she brought her knees up and lowered her cheek to them, folding in on herself, my stomach knotted at the way her shoulders stuck out in the sharp, pointy way they were.

  My dear friend. Why do you suffer so?

  “Thirty minutes and we’ll rinse, okay?”

  She blinked at me without seeming to really see me at all, and I smiled tenderly, reaching down to run the backs of my fingers gently down her cheek.

  When I left her room, my expression fell, and as I made my way to the kitchen to put the trash away, I found Doroteya in the kitchen.

  Nerves bundled in my gut. I hadn’t seen her in a little over a week. Not since I’d royally screwed over Vik in a hugely unintentional way. But the moment the older woman saw me, she came forward and took my hands in her warm, aging ones, wearing a motherly smile.

  “Nastasia.” She looked me over in a maternal way. “You will eat with us, no?”

  And just like that, just as family did, the bedlam I caused was forgotten.

  My heart lightened its load as I returned her sweet smile.

  “Of course,” I told her, because I never felt happier than when I was at her dinner table, being taken care of in a way my brothers could never replicate.

  The love they gave was wonderful but different. It was a harsher style of love. The kind that hurt as much as it nourished. They were hard men, and soft love from hard people was an anomaly.

  Doroteya may not have been my blood, but she was my chosen mother figure, and somehow, I felt that meant more. Stuck in my own thoughts, I almost forgot to listen when she spoke. “You wake him up.” My eyes widened as I sluggishly understood what she meant, and just as I began to protest, she spun me around, surged me forward, and patted my bottom dotingly. “Lunch is soon ready.”

  With a light push, my feet staggered in the direction of his private quarters, an
d when I stood stationary at the closed door, I turned my head to see Doroteya nodding. She waved her arms out and said, “You wake him.” She looked down at the small gold watch on her wrist and exclaimed somewhat dramatically, “Is almost middle of day!”

  Right. Yeah. Okay.

  What was wrong with me? Why was I suddenly nervous?

  It was just Vik’s room. At one point, I practically lived in it. God. We spent so many hours together that, at times, Doroteya would call Vik on his cell to beg us to come up and eat.

  Those were the days. We were inseparable. Two hearts beating in time.

  Regrettably, I turned my back on him when he needed me the most. To be fair, he wasn’t exactly forthcoming with his circumstances. Regardless, I should have known something drastic happened for Vik’s behavior to have changed the way it did.

  My biggest problem was pushing people away and then loathing them for leaving. But Vik fought. He made his intentions clear, that he wasn’t going anywhere. That he’d wait for me. And now, I worried I pushed too hard and sent him hurtling in the opposite direction when all I ever wanted was to be his person.

  The one he came to with his problems. The one he loved.

  The one.

  He doesn’t want you, my mother whispered from the depths of hell, and weary as a person hearing voices could be, I closed my eyes a moment, willing her away.

  I was getting better at disregarding the intrusions but would be lying if I said the words didn’t hit their mark once in a while. Now being one of those times.

  Standing perfectly still, I rubbed absently at the spot above my heart, petting away the dull ache that persisted.

  My hand went to the knob, and I turned it slowly, a soft creak sounding as the door extended all the way. I held onto the rail, taking the stairs down. It was dim. I had to squint in order to see. Luckily, the light streaming in from the hall provided a little luminescence, and I managed to make my way down without breaking my neck.

  The moment I stepped onto the plush carpet with my bare feet, it hit me right in the solar plexus. I closed my eyes and lifted my nose, the scent of him surrounding me. I took in a deep, satisfying breath, absorbing it to memory.

  Sure, it was delicious but nothing like getting it directly from the source. I’d spent many nights with my nose buried deeply into the crook of his neck, pressing light kisses to his pulse, feeling his abs tighten with each delicate peck.

  My soft footfalls brought me closer to him, and when I got near enough, I saw him sprawled out in the middle of the bed, his comforter barely covering him at all. He lay on his stomach, breathing evenly, and a wistful smile tipped my lips.

  His hair was a mess. His strong arms hugged a pillow tightly. One leg straight, the other bent at a ninety-degree angle.

  It was just the way he slept. Always had been, for as long as I’d had the pleasure of sharing his bed. And I found it utterly adorable. My stupid heart found comfort in the fact that while some things had changed, others hadn’t. They might not have been important things, but they were important to me.

  Quietly, I lowered myself to the edge of the bed and peered down at his still form. I just wanted to sit there a while. To be near him without argument or jealousy or pride casting a wall between us.

  It was always a battle with Vik, even when we were on the same side.

  We were explosive, volatile. But when we came together and the fuse lit, the flames spreading, Vik held me just out of reach of the firestorm, protectively, with the assurance I was never to be burned.

  And now?

  He insisted on being engulfed in the blaze when I had the ability to put the fire out completely.

  It was maddening.

  My loving gaze rested on his furrowed brow, and on a slow exhale, my expression turned blue. Even in slumber, he couldn’t rest peacefully.

  It wasn’t a choice but a compulsion. My hand stretched, and I gently ran my fingers through his hair, hoping to offer some comfort to a man who needlessly wore the weight of the world on his shoulders.

  A soft, sleepy sound escaped him. My heart ached, and I pulled back, deciding not to wake him after all. It was clear he needed the rest.

  With a quiet sigh, I stood, and at the very moment I moved to walk away, I heard the covers lift. Strong arms rounded my waist, and I yelped as I was dragged down into the warm bed, under the comforter, my back held flush against the wall of muscle that was his chest.

  And abruptly, all was right in my world.

  After all, being in the arms of the right person could never feel wrong.

  Call it a lifetime of growth and love and trust, but immediately, my body submitted to his, soft and compliant.

  And then he spoke, his voice rough and sleep-worn. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  My smile was small, secret, and when he moved my hair to the side and put his lips to the spot just behind my ear, it felt like it used to feel. Like we were us again. And for a single moment, my heart soared.

  I never even tried to fight it. I loved Viktor.

  I loved him more than my need to protect myself. I loved him more than any of his issues. I loved him in a way that caused my heart and head to riot. To the point of foolishness. But I didn’t care.

  He owned me, heart and soul.

  Every road I walked led to him. He was my only path.

  Too engrossed by the feel of him, words failed me, and he rumbled, “I was just thinking of you, and now you’re here. Looks like dreams really do come true.”

  Oh, come on. Now that was just corny.

  I rolled my eyes and scoffed, feeling his warm breath at my nape as he snuffled out a quiet laugh.

  Wiggling around, I heard his low groan as my bottom brushed against the hardness of his growing erection, and I realized a second too late that he was naked. Deliciously nude.

  It shouldn’t have surprised me. Vik hated restrictive clothing.

  Restrictive being all of them.

  I twisted in his hold, and then I was facing him. Vik blinked through one drowsy eye, the other refusing to open as he continued to fight off sleep. His hands went to my hips, then slid back and lower still until one rested on the curve of my ass, the other unabashedly kneading one round cheek.

  My lips parted, and a breathy sigh escaped me. Lord, he made me feel things. The urge to wrap my legs around him was strong, but I fought it with everything I had.

  Instead, I took in his face with my attentive gaze, and my brow dipped at his busted lip. I clicked my tongue, and without a second thought, I put tender fingers to the wound and spoke softly, “You’re hurt. Why are you always hurt?”

  He hauled me close until our bodies touched. “I’m always hurting somewhere, baby. My head, my heart—” My small breasts pressed to his solid chest, he ground his hips into me, and my lips parted at the delicious feeling of his hard length against my stomach. “—my cock. It’s all relative.”

  But I focused on the broken skin at his mouth. “That looks sore.”

  “It is. Will you kiss it better?” He leaned in, pursuing my mouth with his pouting lips. “I’ll bet you taste like cherries, or berries, or something sweet.”

  I squirmed, put a soft hand to his mouth, and chuckled. “Let me up.”

  His brows drew to the middle, and he lifted one large hand to capture my small one. I tried not to writhe, but the feeling of his lips as he brought my knuckle to them and nibbled was almost too much. My nipples beaded. He made a deep, satisfied sound in his chest. “Now, why would I do that, when you feel so good right where you are?”

  I don’t know why I said what I said, but I suddenly felt so heartsore that I murmured solemnly, “The last time you were in my bed, you said you missed me.” Vik stilled, motionless, seeming to know more was coming. My tone was butter-soft. The words barely perceptible. “I should have told you I missed you too. Because I do. All the time. I’m sick with it.”

  He blinked, his eyes flashing as they roamed my face. I saw a plethora of emotions as
his breathing turned heavy. His rumbling voice was unusually soft and did not match the intensity of his gaze. “Gimme that mouth.”

  Was it a good idea?

  Probably not.

  Did I care?

  My nether region said no.

  I lowered my lashes and teased, “One kiss and you’ll let me up?”

  His lusty gaze locked me in place. “If after that kiss you wanna be let up,” he said, sobering, his hooded eyes sweeping my face, “I’m not doing it right.”

  Sweet Lord. That sounded like a promise.

  My kitty purred.

  For a moment, all we could do was stare into each other’s eyes. In his, I saw longing. I wondered what he saw in mine.

  Love? Despair? Grief?

  Perhaps all three?

  The pull of him was too great. I couldn’t help but sway in his direction. And when he met me partway and my lips throbbed with the need to be kissed, I stopped breathing all together. He licked his lips, lifted his hand, and carefully ran his thumb over my pulsing lips in the tender way he always had.

  My body warmed and trembled, and he hadn’t even kissed me yet.

  Vik gently but firmly grasped my chin between his thumb and forefinger, and I allowed myself to be moved, and then he closed the distance between us, letting his mouth settle over mine.

  My heart cried out in joy of meeting its mate.

  The kiss was soft and sweet and had my hands sliding up the wall of his chest to snake around his neck. He tilted his head and deepened the connection, the warmth of his mouth consuming me. Using his shoulders as leverage, I pulled myself impossibly close and moaned lightly into his mouth, delighting in the way he surrounded me completely, locking me in, fastening me in place.

  Vik’s arms wound around my back, holding firmly as he pressed his hips deeper into mine. Slowly, he moved against me, and the restlessness inside me grew. The feel of his hard length grinding at me had my brows bunching. I couldn’t help the moan that escaped me, and the moment I did, he took the opportunity to run his tongue lightly against mine and thrust harder.