Page 25 of Forever Filthy

“She’s dead.” My declaration is met with silence. I pull my phone away from my ear to check the call didn’t get disconnected.

“Hold on,” he grits out then I hear movement and a door closing before he speaks again. “Lock down those emotions Vivian and tell me how you know.”

I inhale and swipe my tears away and lock my pain away as I compose myself. “A package was delivered to me this morning, David just let me know that the box contained Kelly Valerian’s head.”

“Fuccccckk!” he roars. I can picture him ripping at his hair and pacing as he tries to think about his next move. “Why you?”

“What?”

“Why the fuck would you be sent her head?” I can feel his anger through the phone and my heart aches for him, I know this loss is going to shatter Nova. She went through hell trying to get her mom back when Thomas held her captive and now this.

“I don’t know, Vox, but I plan to find out,” I vow.

“How the fuck do I tell her, Vi?” he asks brokenly. Vox has always been my pillar of strength, he was my rock growing up and always protected me as best he could and it seems now is the time to repay him.

“You hold her through this. You make sure she knows she always has you by her side and she isn’t alone in this. I know you don’t like it, but you need to let Ezekiel comfort her as well. He is her only family left. She knows Olivia is there but its Ezekiel she will cling to and you need to let her.”

“I can’t break her heart.”

“I’m so sorry, Vox.” I mean it, I wish there was another way for this to play out. “What do you need from me?”

“Remove the banishment, Vivian. She is going to want blood and I won’t deny her.”

“A favor asked is a debt owed,” I volley back.

“Grant me this favor sister and the Filthy Few will be in your debt.”

“I’ll see what I can do but in the meantime, all I can offer is a ceasefire until the culprit is caught. I’ll have The Brotherhood track down who the fuck is behind this, you have my word.”

“Vivian?”

“Yeah?”

“Tomorrow, when I call you make sure you answer my fucking call because I know you are keeping shit from me and I want answers, real answers.”

My lungs deflate. “I can’t promise you anything. Tell Nova I’m sorry.” Then I end the call. My hand itches to call my own mom and tell her I love her, but I can’t put her at risk. Whoever is behind this is clearly watching me and I have already put my brother and the guys in danger by being around them while I was at CHU. I get so lost in my own thoughts, I don’t realize we have arrived at my house until the driver opens the door for me. I gather my purse and climb out, then stare at my large home.

It’s stunning and everything I thought I would ever want in a home, but what I didn’t bank on was how lonely it would feel to live here on my own. There is no warmth inside its walls. I don’t have friends, so other than David and the guards, no one ever visits me. I suck in a large breath, then stalk inside. I lock down all my emotions and head into the dining room where I can hear voices.

“I want men stationed around the house, someone is targeting the lordess and our main focus is her safety. Am I clear?” David’s devotion to my wellbeing means a lot, he has been a rock for me through this whole thing. When I enter the room, everyone turns to me. I nod hello and David quickly dismisses them but the second I spot the pink cardboard box at the end of the table, I stop breathing. I can see that blood has seeped through it. I move toward it on shaky legs, noticing a pinkribbon on the floor near it. This sick fuck wrapped up the head of my best friend’s mom like it was a fucking gift!

I reach out to push the lid off but David grips my wrist. “I need to see,” I say quietly.

“Lordess, it’s not a sight you want to see. It will haunt you.” I turn to David and whatever he sees in my eyes has him sighing and dropping his hold on my wrist. “As you wish,” he says, then steps back. I gather all my courage and push the lid off the box. The sight instantly robs me of air and I start hyperventilating. Kelly’s head sits there, perched on a bed of roses, her skin pale white with a strange purple hue to it. The smell is overwhelming. I fight not to gag. When I look into her eyes, tears cascade down my cheeks. The look of utter fear in her soulless eyes will be what keeps me awake at night.

“Where are the letters?”

“I placed them on your desk,” David answers.

“Get the men to take Kelly to the morgue and preserve her as best they can until I decide what to do with her.” I leave the room and swipe away my tears, now is not the time for me to break and give into my girlish emotions. I’m the fucking leader of a brotherhood filled with ruthless men and they can’t see me as weak. I find the two sealed letters on my desk. I drop my purse to the floor, then sit down behind my desk. I stare at the letters for so long my vision turns hazy. “Woman up, Vivian!” I chastise myself.

I reach for the first letter and tear it open.

Masks may hide the truth.

They may keep you hidden but I see beneath yours.

Oh, what a sight it is.

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