Page 8 of Viparious

“Get your tantrum over with. I can’t drink yet, so make it short.”

He presses his palm to my ear in warning as I try to hide my laugh. I should have known Vlad would catch me, but there’s no glare staring down as I open one eye.

Turning my head only enough to press my lips to his wrist, a crease forms between his brows. Everything inside of me freezes at Val’s stupid fucking voice.

“She was crying and threatened to kill anyone who said you were dead.”

Fucking prick.

I thought we were friends. He’s a snitch, making me out to be distraught. I was calm and collected, not losing my mind. Tali jumps on the bandwagon, not liking being left out.

“Yeah and?—”

“Shut up, or I won’t give you any more face masks.”

I nearly fall off the sofa as I abruptly turn, and Vlad catches me while I glare at the two pricks.

It’s our thing. Viktor, Tali, and I will spend one day a week pampering ourselves, and he knows it’s not an empty threat. The vain bastard slams his jaw shut, and Vlad tugs on my middle, pulling me away from the edge. The three brothers exchange smirks, and they leave with Vlad gesturing towards Dani in the kitchen.

Trying to sit up once we’re alone, he keeps his arm over me like an iron bar until my head is laid back in his lap. He is a cold-blooded killer, all the humor and jokes can’t disguise it, but right now, he turns into the teddy bear he is deep inside. He rests his injured arm on the back of the sofa as he plays with my hair and sits straighter.

He doesn’t look at me and lowly asks, “Why were you crying?”

I don’t want to admit the truth. The thought of Vlad not coming home isn’t one that would be entertained. He’s too big of an energy to ever be gone forever.Trying to deflect, I pick my head up and follow his line of sight.

“I’ll get up. Your leg is probably hurting. Do you want something to eat?”

He wouldn’t have been fed while being held captive, or he might have forgotten during his killing spree. Even if his eating habits are strange as fuck, he still needs food. I’ve never seen him eat anything more than a few mouthfuls at one time. It doesn’t matter who made it, so it’s not an issue of not trusting the person, and he never eats anything sweet. He didn’t have cake at our wedding, he cut it and completed the task, then walked away before he could try it.

He cups my neck, pulling me up the rest of the way and fits his lips beside my ear.

“Don’t cry over my death, meelaya.”

He says it like the Grim Reaper has already given him the date. That it’s inevitable and soon. Gritting my teeth to stop the emotions coming out, they filter through the crevices.

“Shut the fuck up,” I hiss.

I know he’ll be pissed about my language, but I don’t care.

You don’t just casually tell your wife she’s not allowed to fucking mourn you. That’s too neurotic even for Vlad’s controlling ass. His fingers flex in my hair, and he moves with more power than he should be able to in his injured state. Dragging me up, he marches us towards his office with flaring nostrils. Any anger inside of the dickhead is nothing compared to mine. He promised not to leave me and then to be there when I woke up.

The door slams closed, and he pushes me into the wood to lean over me until we’re nose to nose.

“Why did you cut Vitali off?”

His annoying question isn’t what I expect, and I look over his shoulder like that’s enough to hide the truth. Telling him about my rage won’t help the situation. The bastard will laugh, thinking I wasn’t being serious. Gentle Vlad comes out, stroking my cheek in the wake of my silence.

“Tell me, meely moy1, my brothers don’t keep their mouths shut for long, and I’d prefer to hear it from you.”

I technically give him the truth as I mumble, “I wanted to find you, but they locked me inside.”

I don’t mention that I tried to leave the house or climb out of the window. He’ll just be pissed when he has a safety fixation on them. Every single window in the house is alarmed, and no one even attempts to open them, knowing he’ll probably seal them shut.

The assholes wouldn’t let me leave. I tried pulling the Pakhan card and they both stood there, arms crossed, blocking the door. The only people who were on my side were Dani and Viktor. They agreed we couldn’t just leave Vlad wherever he was. Standing straighter, he looks through the door with his face set in hard lines and violence on his tongue.

“Did they hurt you?”

My laugh is automatic, Val and Tali were herding me. They didn’t even physically restrain me. I couldn’t imagine any of the Vartanovs hurting me. Even the cruel leader in front of me, we’re family. Staring down at me, he smiles softly, making my humor taper off.

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