But it was too late.
And even if she didn’t get to keep it—keep him—she knew now …
Kaz was that one person.
For her, he was that one soul meant for hers.
And she wasn’t allowed to have him.
“I moved the Bentley and put your Porsche in the garage,” Vera said.
Violet looked over Kaz’s shoulder to find his sister leaning in the entryway of the kitchen. Vera hadn’t spoken a lot since Kaz arrived. Or rather, she said barely anything to Violet, and when she did speak, she directed everything she said to only Kaz.
It was cold and disconcerting.
Violet tried not to let Vera’s attitude bother her, but it was hard. Kaz had told her once that out of all his siblings, he was closest to Vera in both age and in friendship. And it was clear that Vera didn’t like Violet at all.
It was tough to swallow.
“Thank you,” Kaz said, never turning around.
His finger tapped the bottom of Violet’s coffee mug, silently telling her to take another drink. She lifted the tea and sipped, still watching Vera out of the corner of her eye. Kaz’s gaze was firmly stuck on Violet, and she had a feeling he knew exactly what she was thinking, or he had a damn good idea. His one hand rested on the edge of the counter as he stood in front of her, close enough that he was keeping her in place and with him.
When his other hand landed on her waist with a soft touch, Violet’s gaze flew to his.
Kaz smiled, but it didn’t quite ring as true as it usually did. “Vera is ...”
Violet waited for him to finish whatever he was going to say, but he just left it hanging like that.
Vera huffed under her breath, and Violet watched as she spun on her heel and disappeared somewhere down the hallway outside of the kitchen. She hadn’t gotten the chance to explore much of the home’s layout, seeing as how Kaz had forced her into the kitchen and worked on soothing her panic attack first and foremost.
“She doesn’t like me,” Violet whispered.
“Vera isn’t going to like anyone I care for at first unless she’s hand-picked them,” Kaz said, smirking just a little.
“That is not why she doesn’t like me.”
Kaz nodded once. “Yeah, I know.”
“Then why send me here if you already knew, Kaz?”
“Because it was a safe place—Vasily won’t come after Vera, no matter what happens in all of this, and I needed time.”
“Time?”
“To think,” he clarified.
“Oh.”
Suddenly, Kaz pushed away from the counter and Violet. Instinctively, she reached out and grabbed a fistful of his jacket, tugging to pull him back. She liked him closer—there with her. Standing with her, locking her in with him.
That’s where he needed to be.
“Don’t go right now,” she said quietly, her gaze lowering.
“I have to talk to Vera for a second, okay? Drink the tea. Don’t worry.”
That was much easier said than done.
Still, Violet let him go, releasing his jacket from her hold and staring out the small kitchen window as he followed the direction his sister had gone just a couple of minutes before.
Violet didn’t miss how on his way out of the kitchen, he grabbed the packet of photographs that were sticking out of the top of her bag, resting on the table.
Not ten seconds later, the voices started to raise from down the hall.
“Are you serious, Kaz? Are you trying to get yourself killed—oh wait, it’s too late to ask that question, considering the two of you are here. What were you thinking?”
“Vera—”
“And of all the women in New York, you picked the one that would piss off Vasily the most? If the situation wasn’t so serious, I might have given you a pat on the back.”
“Vera—”
“And how long do you think you can hide out here before Vasily arrives?”
“Will you shut up long enough for me to speak?” Kaz asked dryly.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Please, enlighten me on how you expect to get out of this one without our mother having to bury you … I’ll wait.”
“Jesus, when did you become so pessimistic?”
Clear as day, Vera said, “The day my brother brought the one female to my door that would surely get him a bullet to the forehead. How do you want me to act, Kaz? Should I go out there and smile pretty, make sure she’s happy and comfortable? Wait until her psychotic father sends some of his people to kick in my door trying to get her back?”
“Don’t, Vera,” Kaz said with an edge to his voice. “Don’t blame her for the decisions I made.”
“No, you’re just as guilty as she is, but at the end of the day, she may get no more than a slap on the wrist. You, Kaz … they’re going to bury you for this.”
Violet clenched the cup a little harder in her hands, wondering how much truth was in Vera’s words.
Probably more than she wanted to admit.