Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 147801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
I rub my eyes with the heel of my palm. “Did you not hear the ‘no, thanks’ part?”
“Nah, I’d have to care about your opinion to hear your words.”
I sit down on the edge of the bed opposite him, the box between us. The quicker he’s done, the sooner he’ll be out of my face.
Besides, I do need stitches.
Because of that motherfucker in the Serpents’ mansion.
He didn’t stab the knife in the wound, but it’s his fault.
My spine jerks upright at the thought of him, and disturbing images flash through my head.
Thankfully, Killian’s voice cuts through them like an arrow as he examines the gaping wound at the side of my hand. “The fuck type of accident is this?”
“Either stitch it or fuck off.”
“Getting snappy today,” he says with that slight narrowing of his eyes.
I inhale deeply, because I’m losing my cool, and I don’t do that.
A groan escapes me when he douses the wound with something that burns after digging his gloved finger inside. “That fucking hurts.”
“Should’ve thought of that before you got yourself in whatever fuckery you indulged in tonight.”
Indulged.
I don’t like his use of that word, almost as if he has everything figured out and knows I do indulge in all sorts of shit he shouldn’t be aware of.
“You know.” He works on the sutures at an impressive speed. “My career choice has nothing to do with fixing you the fuck up. I only chose this to see inside people without killing them. Your insides bring me no satisfaction due to how ugly they are.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t okay me. Just don’t let me see inside you again and hurt my eyes with the view.”
“Is this your version of being worried?”
“Not even if you die.”
“Who’ll handle your tiresome personality then?”
“Actually, you’re right. Don’t die, so I can have a punching bag at all times.”
I let my lips curl in a tired smile as I stare at the ceiling. Little fucker can be effortlessly entertaining.
“Hey, Kill.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you know if Yulian is into guys?”
He lifts his head. “Why?”
“I’m trying to figure out a plan to bring him down, and I heard rumors that I want to confirm before plotting.”
There’s nothing suspicious about what I’m saying. While I take a background position in the Heathens, I’m mostly the brain behind many of our operations.
“If by guys, you mean Vaughn, then yeah. Yulian definitely wants to fuck him. Or be fucked by him, I’m not sure.”
“Our Vaughn?” I ask, honestly surprised.
“Is there another Vaughn?”
“The New York Bratva Pakhan’s son, Vaughn?”
“Again, do we know another one? You hit your head or something?”
Vaughn is the fifth member of the Heathens. An absent member. He’s around Kill’s age and chose not to come to this island or go to this college, opting to stay in New York. It was solely his choice.
He was vehemently against studying with us, no matter how many times Nikolai and Jeremy asked him to.
But he still joins the fun at initiations, mostly to hunt people.
“That doesn’t make sense,” I say. “Vaughn is straight. Hasn’t he had a girlfriend for years?”
“The girlfriend Yulian seduced and fucked, then sent Vaughn the video of her screaming his name while riding him? They’ll probably break up. That is, if he doesn’t kill her. You know how much he hates sharing.”
“When did that happen?”
“Last week? Right before we got back to school.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I heard it when I happened to pass by Vaughn talking about it to Jeremy and promising to kill Yulian.”
Happened to pass by in Kill’s vocabulary is eavesdropping. He loves gathering the most random shit about people. Big or small. He thinks it’ll help him crack them open and see inside them. Figuratively or literally.
I, on the other hand, find most people depressingly dull and would rather not gather any unnecessary details.
Vaughn is anything but dull, though, especially with this latest development.
“What do you think his plan with Yulian is? He’s on the other side of the ocean, so he can’t do much about him.”
My brother shrugs. “Not sure yet, but he’s putting in a last-minute transfer request to come here next term, which is playing into Yulian’s hand, if you ask me.”
“Because Yulian is the reason Vaughn didn’t want to study here in the first place,” I say, not a question, but a fact.
The pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together.
The way Yulian always, and I mean always, only fights Kill, Jeremy, or Nikolai in the ring.
Those are the only three he’s had any interest in fighting. He also makes sure someone is filming. I thought it was a sense of pride, but this is different.
He’s probably been sending those to Vaughn.
Our friend, on the other hand, has chosen not to engage in Yulian’s antics, hence the girlfriend and the staying in New York thing.
But he obviously hasn’t been able to completely stay away. I’ve always thought it’s because we’re his friends, since we grew up together, so he wants to pay us a visit now and again, but maybe that’s not all of it.