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“Maxim’s men had her and were dragging her to her car,” I explain. “Levi played kamikaze and interrupted them. They shot him and she went ballistic on their asses. May want to see if she wants to prospect for the club. She reminds me of Viper from Vegas.”
Abra laughs and nods his head. “I agree. She punched the asshole in the junk after he shot her brother. Then she knocked the gun out of his hand. Following all that p with some ninja move before vanishing.”
“She ducked under a car,” Zip supplies. “I saw her getting out the other side so she could take care of her brother. She impressed the hell out of me.”
“What happened to Maxim’s men?” Hex asks.
“He told them to take off, but not before he gave me a message to deliver to you,” I tell him. Once I give him Maxim’s message, Hex glances at his brother.
“Does he know where we are?”
Vladimir shakes his head. “I don’t think so. He has someone looking for you, so he might have discovered your location. However, I think it’s just a threat. He needs your help, so of course he’s making threats. He’d never show vulnerability by asking.”
“What does he need from me? He never got around to the specifics. He mentioned having made arrangements with Cleo’s father for transportation of something valuable. But he wouldn’t say what he needs transported. Could it be women or children? He said no, but I don’t trust him to tell me the truth.”
Vladimir shakes his head slowly. “He never got into the skin trade, at least I’m fairly certain. I don’t know every detail about his business, but I know more than he tells me. If he was involved in human trafficking, I’d know. He prides himself on dealing with only exclusive merchandise like jewelry and art. All stolen, of course. He used to sell drugs, but no longer. He considers himself a criminal connoisseur these days.”
Delphine snorts, which reminds me of Maxim’s comment about the father of Sasha and Shayna. I knew the story about his death. How he died in a fire in his office. Maxim implied that she may have had something to do with his death, but I don’t see how. Pulling Delphine to the side, I tell her about what Maxim said. Expecting her to scoff or laugh at his words, I’m unprepared for the guilty glint in her eyes.
“Delphine?” I say, wrapping my hands around her arms to force her to look at me. “Tell me he was lying. Tell me you had nothing to do with the death of Shayna and Sasha’s father.”
She glares at me before shrugging out of my grip. “I can’t. Okay? Maxim’s right, I was responsible.”
“You need to explain,” I growl at her.
“Yeah, Mom, you need to explain what happened to our father,” says Shayna, who had come up next to us when I wasn’t looking. Shayna and her sister send matching glares at the mother.
“You said a disgruntled client killed him. Is that not true?” Sasha asks.
I shift my attention to Delphine to see her face crumble; the tears falling fast. The sight breaks my heart, but before I can reach for her, she pushes away from me and runs up the stairs.
“What the fuck did you say to her?” Vladimir demands.
“Shut up, Hex. This has nothing to do with you. Dixie said your mother had something to do with the death of our father,” Shayna says, gesturing between herself and Sasha. “Wait. Why are you dressed in a suit?”
“You’re not Hex,” Sasha says, stepping away from Vladimir and pulling her sister with her. “Who the fuck are you?”
“He’s my twin brother. Now everyone shut the fuck up and tell me why my mother just ran upstairs in tears.” Hex glares at his sisters.
“They discovered I’m responsible for the death of their father,” Delphine says, slowly coming back down the stairs.
CHAPTER TEN: DELPHINE
The anger and suspicion in the eyes of my daughters has me seeking escape. When I reach the top of the stairs, I realize I’m being a coward. They need the truth, and I need to face the consequences. Losing their father hit them both hard. In these past two days, they’ve learned they have a brother they never knew about and that I know more about their father’s death than I’ve shared.
Turning, I start back downstairs and see my daughters facing off with their long-lost brother. Seeing their double-take when they realize their mistake would have been funny under different circumstances. Now, it’s just another reminder of how many secrets I’ve kept from my kids.
I hear Hex demanding the girls tell him what they did to upset me.
“They discovered I was responsible for the death of their father,” I explain.
Hex and Dixie come to my side while the girls face off against me. Vladimir hovers between sides.
“I should explain. You all need to hear everything.”
Hex leads us toward his office, but must realize we won’t all fit inside. He makes a detour and takes us into where he holds Church. Dixie takes my hand and helps me into a chair between him and Hex. His protectiveness makes me smile. I doubt my children will attack me. At least not physically. Neither he nor Hex can stop the emotional blows.
“Before we start, every person in this room will treat Delphine with respect, and no one interrupts her until she’s finished.” Hex glares at everyone at the table until they’ve given him a nod of understanding.
