Page 84 of Corruption

I’m already headed downstairs before Alik can finish. Maybe if I had waited, I’d be better prepared for what I find. Then again, I don’t know that anything could have prepared me for the sight of Isaak all beat up with his hair in disarray, his lip busted, bruises all over his face, his left eye swollen, and his right arm hanging uselessly at his side while one of the maids try to tend to him as best they can while waiting on a doctor.

“Isaak,” I say, rushing to him.

“I tried, Auntie. I really did. I—” He hisses, cutting off whatever else he was going to say.

“Hush, my love. An explanation can wait until—”

“But it—” Isaak curses as he lifts his good arm to cup his mouth. Then, “It can’t wait. Dad-Father—”

“He did this to you?” I demand.

Fuck a war. I’m going to openly kill Vaughn Vorobev like I should have years ago. Long before he betrayed me. But when he killed Isaak’s mother and was going to kill him to cover up his transgressions and not have to tell his father about his supposed bastard child. That’s when I should have shot him dead and taken Isaak to his grandfather and asked him to let me raise him myself.

“That doesn’t matter, Auntie—”

“The fuck it doesn’t.”

“He has Kiya!”

“What do you mean he has Kiya?” Alik asks, stepping in.

“He found her mother.”

“Her mother’s dead.”

“She’s not. Dad found her. And her mother’s here. Dad’s men are driving them out the city to kill them both. Auntie. Uncle. You can’t let him—”

Alik is immediately back on the phone with his security.

“Tell security to pull up all the trackers I have on her and see which one is on the move,” I add.

“What do you meanallthe trackers?”

“I put one in all her hair barrettes. She has a whole box of them that she uses to clip her hair back and keep it out her face.”

“When did you do this?”

“When she first got here… Just in case. Figured she might be a slippery one.”

Alik smirks. “I knew marrying you would end up at the very least useful.”

“Can you two stop flirting and—” Isaak cuts himself off and coughs up drops of blood.

“Stop talking,” I chide.

“Are you going to the hospital with him or are you coming with me?” Alik asks, getting his coat on.

“I’ll be fine. Go,” Isaak urges.

“Are you—”

“Find Kiya, and make sure you kill my dad this time too.”

“Isaak.”

“What? He deserves it. And you don’t like him either.”

“We’re discussing this later,” I say as Alik helps me get my coat on. Then I say to Alik, “You track Kiya. I’ll go deal with Vaughn.”

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