Page 65 of Viparious

Len follows my line of sight and tuts before he dramatically lowers voice with a wide smile.

“He doesn’t speak when he loses his weakness.” His eyes widen freakishly, and he says with more pride, “He becomes deadly.”

Bile burns a path up my throat, counteracting the liquor as it attempts to remove it from my body. He doesn’t give a fuck, and the psychotic cunt takes out a lighter. There is accelerant everywhere. One spark and I’ll burn, we’ll burn.

No, she has to live.

My voice comes out strong as I remain on my knees, hoping it convinces him to stop.

“What do you want?”

He doesn’t look at me as he turns and grabs a large pillar candle that wasn’t here before. I didn’t buy it and he turns back to me, assessing the bottom. My shoulders flinch as he runs his thumb on the metal bearing of the lighter and holds it to the bottom of the wax. It doesn’t drip on the floor as he moves his arm to the side. He fixes the candle to the bar, and there’s no splash as he presses it down.

“What I want is my name to be strong. Not that weak pendik.”

I try to hide my disgust, but there’s only so much I can take when he uses the slur for a child that was fucking raped.

The door opens and there’s only one pair of shoes hitting the puddles on the floor. They don’t thunder towards me; Vlad walks in like this is nothing. Like I am nothing, and he doesn’t even fucking look at me. Staring at his father, his voice is bored, but the tap on his thigh is faster than ever before.

“You always were a sloppy drunk.”

I focus on his finger and the familiarity of the movement — his only tell. Which doesn’t stop after the repetition of three, three, and four but restarts again and the change stops me noticing Len moving closer to me.

His leg touches my shoulder, and I flinch, getting Vlad’s attention. The nonchalance disappears for a second, and his anger is ablaze until he blinks it away and walks to the bar. He’s a calculating ruthless monster, and Len is too fucking stupid to see that Vlad will always win.

“You left your position because of this whore?!”

His roar is nothing when all I can see is Vlad. His shoulders tense before he forces them to relax as a lighter cap clicks behind me.

The dickhead is getting off on this, having control for once in his pathetic fucking life and I bite my lip to stop the sob from leaving. Icy blank eyes land on me, and my heart cracks despite knowing it’s fake.

“Do it. Maximoff and Dmitri will have no argument over your death when you kill their blood.”

The click stops, and I close my eyes in relief.

It doesn’t last when Len stays behind me like a coward, using me as a shield. His voice is full of disgust, and I don’t dare open my eyes.

“She’s your weakness, fucking pathetic. I made you strong!”

Vlad’s bitter laugh is too good to be fake, but he was raised around the cunt behind me and had to bury his goodness.

“She is nothing. And you are a fucking nobody.Igave your name meaning where you never could.”

My head is dragged back as Len fists my hair.Something warm ghosts near my skin and a whimper escapes through my teeth. I squeeze my eyes shut tighter and wrap my arms around my middle. If he punches me in the face, my daughter will be okay. She’ll survive. As long as she survives, it will be okay.But the lighter is there, the flame flirting with the small amount of space between the alcohol coating my skin in a room filled with fucking flammable liquid.

Vlad’s voice is cold, counteracting the dangerous heat in front of me.

“That flame touches her, and what will be done to you will be a hundred times worse. She is the granddaughter of the East Coast Pakhan, niece of Moscow’s Pakhan, and the wife of a Vor.”

It is removed instantly, and I can breathe. The lighter cap clicks by my ear, and I turn away from it as though there’s a flame or it could possibly help. Len is vibrating with cruelty, repeating his earlier question.

“Has he told you about Vanya?”

The name has my eyes opening, and Vlad can’t stop his rage showing.

“Her name does not belong on your dirty fucking tongue!”

Ignoring his son, he continues and whoever she is, has my deepest sympathies at whatever this sick cunt did to her.

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