Page 36 of Darling Wildfire
“Does this have to do with Vetticus?” Graham asked.
I could feel his eyes drilling into the side of my face as I watched Kaelin leave.
“No,” I said shortly. “It doesn’t.”
15
KAELIN
I drove the entire way home in silence.
This should have been one of the best nights of my life having accomplished something I’d never dared hope for until recently. But instead it was overshadowed by seeinghimagain.
Greg.
Remembering how Theron had shared me at the lounge that night, allowing Greg to have his way with me, made my face heat even now. And to find out Theron wasfriendswith him!
I waspissed.
I pulled up to my house, bent on tearing off my dress and digging into some pity party ice cream, when I immediately knew something wasn’t right. Usually Viktor or Kon met me in the driveway but it was eerily empty. Even though I questioned why Viktor and Kon were still watching over me, I’d gotten attached to the twins when Theron had left them behind on the Red Rabbit op as my bodyguards. They’d been like my two identical shadows ever since and despite the annoyance of not having my home to myself, I’d gotten used to them being around.
I didn’t pull into the garage but parked in the driveway and grabbed my gun from the glove compartment. When I’d left this morning, Kon had been there so I knew it would be Viktor tonight. I unlocked my front door and stepped inside. There was a light on in the kitchen, but that was normal. I checked the room near the door and then advanced my way into the house.
I made it around to the kitchen where the french doors to the patio were wide open and Viktor was lying just outside bleeding from a gunshot wound to his shoulder and a nasty gash on his temple.
“Viktor!” I rushed over to him and knelt by his side.
Before I could do anything, I heard the gate slam on my side yard and heavy footsteps. I pulled my gun and leveled it at the corner, only for Konto sprint into view. He held up his hands at the sight of me but I’d already lowered the weapon.
“Hurry!” I said as Kon rushed over. “I just got home and found him like this.”
“He was on the phone with me when it happened,” Kon said. “I called Nyx already.”
He quickly cut Viktor’s shirt off, making sure that was the only gunshot wound and did a quick field dressing. By the time he was done, I heard my front door open and Nyx was there, his gun also drawn as he quickly took in the scene.
“Are you okay, baby girl?” He asked.
I nodded, holding Viktor’s hand as Kon dressed the cut on Viktor’s head. I was nauseous thinking about anything happening to Viktor. My thoughts strayed back to when I’d first met him and Kon and how over the month they were my bodyguards, I’d slowly broken down their tough outer walls.
“Tell me about yourself, Viktor,” I said.
I hated the silence as we drove to my therapy appointment. He never let me take my car and always made me sit in the back of the blacked out SUV.
“Not much to tell, ma’am,” he said gruffly.
“I told you—it’s Kaelin,” I said automatically.
Theron had been gone for two weeks, and I’d been trying to get through the wall of Russian muscle. All I knew was that he was a twin—something I discovered by accident I might add—and Russian. In two weeks, I’d only heard them speak a handful of words and two complete sentences. One sentence had been when he’d introduced said twin—Konstantine—and the other sentence was the one he’d just said.
“Were you born in Russia then?” I pressed.
Silence. I couldn’t tell him apart from his brother unless I was staring at their faces and then I could see the different scars they had. Even some of their tattoos were identical although I could only see the ones on their hands and occasionally forearms.
“What brought you to the states?”
Silence. That was how all my questions were usually answered. Even if I asked him something as mundane as what he preferred on his pizza—silence. So naturally I’d made it my goal to get him to crack. It was something to keep my mind off the fact my men were about to go after Cooper and put themselves in danger.
“Do you have any other siblings?”
