Sascha gave a poor semblance of a smile as Ivan and Nix approached. “I haven’t been here since…”
Ivan cleared his throat. “I’m aware.”
The restaurant hadn’t changed a bit since their father had passed. Not since their childhood, really. It was still owned by the same family, kept as a time capsule of a different era.
Sascha swallowed hard before getting a hold of himself. “So where’s the staff?” he asked much more brightly.
“Paid off for the night.”
The side door Ivan and Nix had entered through opened again, and Ivan had his gun drawn and pointed in an instant.
But it was only Cooper poking his head through, nodding when he saw them all, unfazed by Ivan’s gun pointed in his direction. He led his chaos demon by the hand. The creature was still in his human form, his hair and eyes back to brown. He hissed at Ivan’s weapon, and Ivan lowered it immediately.
Kai growled, turning on Nix immediately. “What did you do, incubus?”
Nix’s eyes widened in faux innocence. “Me?”
The chaos demon grinned, an innocuous-looking dimple flashing in his left cheek. “Hello, Kaisyir.”
Kai swore softly, tugging Sascha closer in the booth.
Ivan could barely contain his smile. That was three demons and two vampires on their side. Much better odds than he’d hoped for.
Introductions were made to those who hadn’t met before, and the chaos creature remained surprisingly docile after Ivan had stowed his gun. He seemed unconcerned by Kai’s wariness, or his bitter mumblings.
Maybe he was shoring up his bloodthirsty ways for what was to come.
Ivan could only hope.
He took the remaining time to discuss what would come next, once the men arrived. By the time he was finished, Jace, Tag, and Oleg were coming through the door to the kitchens, signaling to Ivan that things were ready on their end.
Something hot ran through Ivan’s veins, anticipation setting his skin buzzing. It was time. No going back. Changes would be made today, bloody and permanent.
The front door opened, the first of the men arriving earlier than anticipated.
But it wasn’t one of Ivan’s men who came through the door. Or at least not one still loyal to him.
It was Alexei, tall and broad and stern-faced as ever, with a small dark-haired man at his side. His vampire.
Two years after his betrayal, Ivan’s wayward brother had come home.
19
Nix
Nix had never been so blue-balled by a family reunion in his life. It was frustrating to the point of maddening, considering how much pain and resentment he knew Ivan harbored over his middle brother.
If Nix hadn’t recognized the vampire with him, he might not have known the man was Ivan’s brother at all. Alexei looked nothing like Ivan or Sascha, his features more rugged, his hair a dirty blond rather than the icy color of the other two, his broad frame packed with muscle.
A swell of emotions had filled Ivan at the sight of Alexei at the door, strong enough that Nix could feel all of it—the shock, the tentative hope, the familiar bitterness, the ever-present suspicion—but not a bit of it had shown on Ivan’s face. He’d been placid as ever, and the brothers had only given each other the barest of nods, Ivan murmuring, “Alexei,” as if the man’s arrival hadn’t been a complete surprise.
And that had been it. The tall, man-bunned figure Nix hadheard so much about had simply joined the fold with his partner, who’d waved shyly at all of them, miles away from the exuberance the little vampire had shown over their FaceTime call.
It wasn’t like there had been time for much else, not with the men arriving, but still.
What the fuck?
When this damn meeting was done with, Nix would be making sure there was more between Alexei and Ivan. He’d tackle the burly middle brother himself if he had to.
