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If I feigned nonchalance at this stage, he would know it was just a bluff. So, I ask, “How is she?”
He leans back with a satisfied smile because he now has my full attention. “If you ever want to see her again, you will deliver Veer Bestlasson by the end of the month.”
I fold my arms across my chest. “And I ask again, why are you expecting such fast results when this is a long-term mission?”
His features harden. “Odin has Viktor.”
My brows rise.
“Your brother,” he replies.
“I’m an only child.”
Crius’s shoulders draw up, and he sucks in a deep breath through flared nostrils. Now, I’m seeing the real Crius Vanir, the man I mostly heard through closed doors and the man Mother can’t seem to resist.
“Regardless of whether you’re acquainted with my legitimate children, they are still your siblings,” he says through clenched teeth. “Someone tried to get to me through my eldest, and now he’s in Seacroft.”
There are no words to describe how much I hate this man, but I have no quarrel with the brother who rejected him to pursue a career in medicine.
“Odin has imprisoned the one who became a surgeon?” I ask.
Crius nods. “The consequences for such a gentle soul to be in a place like that would be catastrophic.”
It’s unsettling to see him so genuinely upset when it isn’t me who caused the pain. I can’t blame his sentiment. Every inmate with an ounce of decency will jump at the chance of tearing into the son of Britain’s most notorious trafficker and pimp.
I’d give the poor bastard a week.
“Why would Odin abduct him when he doesn’t even associate with you?” I ask.
Crius drops his gaze. “It’s a long, sorry tale for another time, but I would appreciate it if you would accelerate your plans to obtain the nephew.”
“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll make my first attempt before the end of the month.”
Crius raises his head and gazes at me through eyes that shine with gratitude. I hold back a grimace because it’s not an act. This man may be evil incarnate but he truly loves his legitimate children.
“Thank you, my boy,” he says. “I’ll have a clean-up crew at your doorstep within the hour.”
“Tell them to come through the patio,” I say.
“Of course.”
“One more thing.” I raise a finger. “Next time you send a search party after me because I haven’t answered your call, I will execute themandthe clean-up crew.”
He nods, but doesn’t reply. I take that as a silent fuck you for being an ungrateful son.
I leave the tablet on the kitchen table, not daring to contaminate it with my fingerprints. Despite that tender moment, I don’t trust Crius not to use any evidence to further ensnare me into his fold.
After grabbing another set of supplies, I trudge to the little wet room that leads off from the kitchen. Phoenix isn’t the lightest of sleepers, but she has a tendency to wander around if she wakes up alone.
I take a shower, making sure to scrub all traces of blood from my feet. By the time I’ve finished there’s a trio of men waiting on the patio dressed in overalls and clutching holdalls. Amateurs.
I open the door and let them in. “Over there. Use hydrogen peroxide on the grout.”
I don’t wait for them to reply and walk around the edges of the kitchen and down to the dungeon to check on Phoenix.
But when I pull back the black leather curtains, she’s already gone.
ChapterThirty-Four
