Chapter 17
Nala had never been to King Street Station before, and she never intended to come back again.
“You’re gonna smother me,” she mumbled, while Vincent held onto her as if she really were a bird about to fly away. “I’m serious!”
Finally, he pulled away, his hands resting on her shoulders. Don’t look so glum, bud. Vincent looked like he was about to lose yet another lover. Don’t put that thought in my head. From Vincent’s point of view, his girlfriend was about to go into hiding half a country away. Who knew when he would have the chance to come see her? The fact he was returning to Portland that same day to rendezvous with Lucian and figure out their next plan was probably bad enough for him.
“You got everything you need? You got enough money?”
Nala had to smile. “No way. Five thousand in cash ain’t enough. You better make it ten.”
“Well… that’s a lot to carry in cash…”
“I’m joking.” She kissed his cheek and gave him one last hug. “We should probably pull off this Band-Aid right now. My train leaves in forty-five minutes. You know how security is…”
Nala wasn’t in a hurry to leave Vincent’s side. Quite the contrary. She was a big fan of staying curled up in his arms and never thinking about anything ever again. Too bad she didn’t live in that kind of reality right now. She would be lucky to see Vincent again in…
“Nala.” Vincent’s hands squeezed her shoulders, nearly shaking her where she stood. “I’m gonna put a stop to this madness. I swear. You won’t be gone for long. We’ll find a way to bring this guy down. I swear it.”
She wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed her face against his chest, inhaling his familiar scent. “I know you will. I love you, Vincent.”
“I love you too, Nala. Don’t ever forget that.”
She stepped back, giving him a coy look. “How could I? I doubt you say that often.”
“Hmph.” He smiled. “Still cheeky.”
“It’s how I want you to remember me.”
Vincent kissed her, his strength powering into her as he rocked them both back and forth. Nala almost forgot what she was doing. Why can’t I stay here and be with him? She had no job to go back to. No family. No friends, really. She had come to the Pacific Northwest with one objective only. Falling in love had not been on the docket, and yet here she was.
“I’ve gotta go.” Nala pulled out of his embrace and turned toward the waiting area. “I’ll see you later!”
It was the hardest thing she ever had to do, and when she spared Vincent a glance… that look on his face nearly killed her. It was the look of a man who wanted to believe her, but had enough life experience to tell him that she was probably full of shit. After what happened to Desirée, he probably doesn’t trust a single “see you later.”
Nala would prove him wrong.
She was lucky that her boyfriend couldn’t see her in the waiting area. To be on the safe side, she pulled on a brand new sweatshirt that he wouldn’t readily recognize, tucking her long hair into the hood and hunching down so he would never guess it was her. Why would she do something like this? Because Nala had no intention of getting on the Empire Builder and heading toward Chicago, where she was due, in about two days, to switch to a train to Indianapolis. Instead, she was taking a much shorter train. To Portland.
***
The sun was already threatening to go down by the time she arrived in Portland and switched to the MAX light rail. She was heading out to the burbs, with nothing but some texts from Lucian she had forwarded from Vincent’s phone to guide her.
She had no idea what she would find out in Hillsboro. She had never been out this far west in the metro area before, and seeing the suburban sprawl almost sent chills down her spine. God, I could never live out here. As she swapped to a bus and then started a long walk down a longer street… she was glad she did not live out in the middle of this nowhere.
The house was small. Smaller than any multi-millionaire couple had the right to live in. Do they really live here? Nala caught sight of a black van rounding the block. She almost ignored it, until it slowed down next to her, the driver hurrying to step on the gas when she noticed him.
Well, this place was weird.
Nala straightened out her hair and clothes before knocking on the door. Then she rang the doorbell. Then she knocked again. When a minute went by, she saw a curtain slightly open and a familiar face peer through. Within the next ten seconds, Maggie answered the door.
“What do you want?”
She was the most no-funny-business Nala had ever seen. Under the weight of that heavy glare, she almost felt like she was about to be crushed.
“I need to talk to you.”
“About what?”
Nala did not miss the black van circling the block again. Nor did she miss Maggie glancing at it.
“About what happened that night at the hotel.”
Maggie finally lowered her guard. “Is Vincent with you?”
“He doesn’t even know I’m here. He thinks I’m on a train to Chicago.”
Maggie opened the door. “Okay. You get ten minutes. You’ll be lucky if I tell you anything.”
Nala had long suspected something about Jay and Maggie. Until she walked in and saw the sparse furniture, a complete lack of photos, and a pair of paranoia-inducing binoculars on the windowsill... yeah, her suspicions were not that crazy.
Nala told Maggie her plan. Every so often the other woman asked her a pertinent question, poking holes in her plan and then buffing them up with her own ideas. There were times when Maggie insisted that Nala was completely crazy, but did not discourage her from her plan.
“You might die.”
“I don’t care, honestly.”
“Wouldn’t Vincent care?”
Nala sighed. “Of course he would, but I can’t think about that. What’s going on here is more important than my own life.”
“If you can pull this off…” Maggie shook her head. “Well, you’ve got serious balls, kid.”
“Bigger balls than Jay?”
Maggie’s eyebrows crawled up her face. “I honestly wouldn’t know.”
“I figured as much.”
“You’re not going dressed like that, though, are you?” Maggie quickly changed subjects by bringing up the jeans and sweatshirt on Nala’s person. “Even I want to laugh.”
“Nope.” Nala swung her backpack around and opened the top zipper, revealing the black dress she wore the night she role-played with Vincent. It’s clean… enough. “Can I change in your bathroom?”
Maggie gestured to the room in question. “Make it quick.”
Oh, Nala did. She had places she needed to be at after sundown.
“Well, don’t you look like the pretty birdie?” Maggie grinned at her when she emerged from the bathroom. Hair down. Dress tight. Boots clanking against the floorboards. All Nala was missing was her fake pair of wings. “Good for you. That’s exactly what he’ll want to see.”
Nala handed the other woman the manila envelope full of printed emails. “Just in case.”
Contrary to what Nala ever expected from someone of Maggie’s disposition, the tall, unbothered woman pulled Nala into an embrace and held her tight. Whoa. Maggie patted her back a few times before finally releasing her, the sweet scent of a floral perfume lingering between them.
“Good luck,” Maggie said. “It’s gonna be a long night for you.”
Nala pulled on her jacket to fend off the Portland chill. “Thanks. And…” she braved saying what was on her mind all this time. “I’m sorry about your son.”
Maggie didn’t say anything, not that Nala gave her anytime to do so. She was out the door and down the street long before the other woman had the chance to react.
Nala shuffled down the sidewalk in her boots, boosting herself up in the hopes that she could feel more empowered before she got on the bus. The one thing not helping, however, was that damned van making another lap around the neighborhood. This time the driver did not dawdle and give Nala the chance to see who it was.
Considering the time, Nala decided to forego the bus and instead hailed the first taxi she saw. I’ll have to get one eventually anyway. When she showed the driver the address she wanted to go to, he looked at her as if she were crazy. “Don’t worry,” she sweetly told the man. “I’ve got an invitation to an event there.”
“You better, ‘cause I don’t feel like getting booted off the property for your mistake. I get in trouble for that, you know.”
“Don’t worry! I’m expected.”
The taxi pulled away from the Portland suburbs. The next stop: the West Hills.
***
There was a small kerfuffle outside the gate to Xavier Crow’s property. The security guard was ready to raise hell to the taxi driver before Nala brought up her “invitation” on her cell phone and showed it to the man. He looked her over, taking in her outfit and the smile on her face. “All right, but he’s not expecting anybody. Don’t be surprised if you have to wait.”
“Oh, of course.”
The taxi was waved through. Nala was not surprised when a security patrol car followed them down the driveway, but the driver sure was.
“What kind of mischief are you into?” The driver waved his hand. “No, wait, I don’t wanna know. I don’t wanna be an accomplice.”
Nala started counting out some of the bills Vincent gave her. “I’ll make sure you’re tipped well for your trouble.”
“Honestly, I better be!”
The taxi pulled up to the main entrance. The driver was not wont to get out, but he didn’t have to – the surly old butler was there to meet Nala, offering to open her door for her.
“He’s expecting you, Miss.”
Nala batted her eyelashes at him. Come on, tell me your blood flows through your veins. Were this a thousand years ago, she would think this guy was a eunuch. Now she thought he was out of touch and too blinded by the shit Xavier Crow made him look at on a constant basis.
“Miss Nightingale!” the butler bellowed in the foyer. Nala stepped in behind him, hearing the doors close and the chill instantly leave her skin. Although still a little cold, she did not resist when a maid offered to take her coat. She wanted to make sure that Xavier saw exactly what he expected when he turned the corner of the stairs.
She only had to wait a few seconds.
Years later, Nala would wonder where she found the courage she had in that moment. Here Crow was, leering at her, the piece of prey who marched willingly into his cage. Nala knew that the moment those doors latched shut, she had signed herself up for God knew what. I know what he’s done to Desirée. He could do the same thing to me. Nevertheless, she had to keep her smile on her face and look as demure as a falling snowflake. I cannot be as fragile, though. That was the worst possible idea.
“Ah, Nightingale…” Xavier Crow began his descent down the stairs, removing his hat in mock formality. “So nice of you to finally swing by. You’ve been expected for a long time. Come, come… there are drinks upstairs.”
Nala wasn’t going to drink a damn thing he wasn’t already. Unfortunately, she still had to follow him upstairs and hope she wasn’t surprise attacked by an assassin under house arrest.
“I’m glad that Vincent finally came around.” Nala wanted to tune him out as she went up the stairs, but the only thing worth focusing on was Crow’s smooth voice. It’s a lie. It’s all a lie. There was no such thing as a Xavier Crow who was genuinely kind and philanthropic. Every action of his had a reason. An ulterior motive. Something dark and sinister. Something that was likely to get Nala killed at any moment, especially if she lost her cool.
Never before had she been so pressured to be the Nightingale that Xavier expected. As she followed him down a hall and entered a different salon from the last time, Nala remained mindful of her posture and the look on her face. She did not want Xavier to think that she was here for any reason other than to make amends and have the multiple hits called out on her and Vincent to cease.
“It’s an honor to be in your company like this, Master Crow.” Nala sat on a plush couch and accepted a glass of wine. She didn’t take a sip until she saw Xavier sip it first. “When I was invited to see you, I had to admit… what made me so special as to receive such an honor?”
“Ahh…” Xavier sat on the other end of the couch. Nala was relieved that he wasn’t sitting any closer. “As it turns out, you’re a very special lady, Miss Nightingale. Or should I call you Miss Nazarova?”
The corner of Nala’s mouth twitched. “I hate to be so rude, Master Crow, but it’s Nazarov. Nazarova is my mother.”
“Of course, of course.” He crossed his legs and finished half his glass of wine. Yes, yes, get drunk. This will make everything easier. “Did you know that I knew your sister? I knew her very well.”
Nala had to check the anger burning in her body. Don’t you even mention my sister, you piece of shit. The irony? This was the perfect segue into what Nala wanted to bring up first. “She mentioned you a time or two, for sure… before she…” Nala looked away.
“Ah, I’m sorry. Yes, it was a terrible tragedy what happened. So young! So gifted…”
“I hear she was awfully close to a cure for cancer…”
“Hmm, is that so? Well, Tasha was very confident in her research skills, but I’m afraid she was mistaken. She came close to a couple of very promising leads, but the trials didn’t pan out. She was no closer than anyone else on my research team.”
Nala was not expecting this. “I’ve never known my sister to inflate her own ego like that.”
“Like I said, she was very determined and self-assured. It’s one of the reasons I hired her, even though she was so young.”
Is that why you seduced her too? Nala couldn’t believe it. Just looking at this man made her want to vomit. Then again, she was never into older men. Maybe Tasha was. Older men with a lot of money, anyway… “She mentioned you a lot, actually. Said that she was quite… close to you.”
The entirety of Crow’s face twitched. “Is that so? Well, I don’t wish to speak ill of the dead… and I certainly don’t like to kiss and tell, especially with family members, but…” he chuckled. “Let’s say it was highly ironic that you walked through the doors to my Aviary that day, Miss Nightingale.”
“When Master Vincent told me about it, I told him we had to go. I had to see the man my sister fell in love with for myself.”
She had to rely on her lying skills more than ever right now.
“Fell in love with? Why, I didn’t know Tasha felt that way.” Xavier continued to stare at her while he drank, looking for her tells. “As for you and Master Vincent… we didn’t expect him to have a partner so soon, let alone you. I was under the impression that he was single.”
Nala blushed, turning her head away so she could act like a treasured kitten. “We were not serious before The Aviary. We decided to become exclusive afterward.” Were these lies believable? They had to be.
“I see. I’m glad you made that decision, Miss Nightingale. The Aviary wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“It’s the strangest thing, though…” As if Nala would let him change subjects. “The way she died… who has a heart attack so young?”
“I hear it does happen.”
“You know, I’ve done some research… and apparently one can make someone of any age have a heart attack if they poison them with potassium chloride. Completely untraceable. Did you know this?”
Xavier was not looking so amused now. “I may have heard of it. Why do you want to talk about such unpleasant things? There are so many… better things for us to talk about.”
Now he scooted closer, and the barrier Nala mentally erected between them did nothing to stop him.
“That may be true, Master Crow,” Nala said. “But forgive me if I get hung up on my sister. I didn’t always know her so well growing up.” More lies. She hoped they worked.
“I suppose it’s normal for a young girl to want to know more about her big sister.” I dare him to call me “young girl” one more fucking time. Nala was young, all right, but a girl? She knew how this man thought of women… pretty soon he would be calling her a female to spite her. “Do you want to know about your sister? I can tell you all about her.”
Xavier stood from the couch, carrying his empty glass and not offering to refill Nala’s. Fine with her. She looked to the side, retaining her cool while also suppressing her anger. The Nala of a few months ago would have lunged at this guy already. “You spoil me, sir,” the Nala of today said.
“Tasha was an exemplary woman,” Crow began, pouring his new drink. He kept his back to Nala. He was either more foolish than Nala took him for, or he truly didn’t think she had it in her to stab him in the back. “So bright at such a young age. Beautiful, too. I may have made a fool of myself around her a time or two.”
Nala kept her eyes down.
“I wish I could tell you that she and I had a whirlwind romance, but that simply wasn’t the case. There was a lot of trust to build up. She didn’t say yes the first time I asked her out… and, ah…”
“No need for those details, sir. Some things are best not known about family members.” Like how you… I don’t know… Had Tasha consented to all of it? Or did she feel pressured because she didn’t want to be cast aside by her boss and lover? Did even Tasha know the truth? Nala knew as well as anyone by now that sometimes the lines blurred between knowing one wanted to do something and being pleasantly surprised.
“We broke up shortly before her death, you know. Don’t suppose she told you that.”
She didn’t tell me anything. “She did, sir. She was shaken up about it. Said that she was the one who wanted to move on?”
Finally, Crow stiffened, his glass shaking in his hand. “That she did. Was a real shame losing her from the company too. You Nazarov women seem to have a lot of will.”
Nala got up, hair swaying across her chest as she walked straight and tall toward Xavier Crow’s form. Every step was a knowing one into a pit of vipers, a den of dogs, a cave of bears. Nala could not relent. She could not let this man see the fear gripping her bones and shaking her from the inside. Even her face, carefully made up in Maggie’s bathroom, remained unflinching as she reached out and put a hand on Xavier Crow’s shoulder.
“It’s hard to believe my sister would let go of such a… well, do I have to say it? Such a fascinating man. I wish I knew what she thought was so much better than a life like this.” Nala gestured to the lavish room around them.
Xavier looked as if he didn’t know quite what to make of her. “You like a lavish lifestyle, do you Nightingale?”
She nodded, slowly. “I am a creature who appreciates the finer things. Good wine. Better food. Fine delights, sir.” The purr in her voice was something she should have reserved for Vincent. Now is not the time to feel guilty. “I don’t ask for much. As you can see from my style, I’m pretty low-maintenance. I speak my mind a lot, but I also know when to stay quiet.” Nala shrugged, reclaiming her hand. I need to douse it in lye. “In return, there is a lot that I can offer the right man. I thought Tasha was much the same way. Which is why it’s so curious she would leave you and quit her job. Marrying well and having a prestigious job were her two main obsessions.”
“Marriage… well, perhaps that was it, eh? I am not the marrying kind of man. I’m also not very committed. She knew that getting involved with me, though.”
I bet she loved that. Tasha was a poster child for monogamy.
“Now I want you to tell me something, Nightingale.” Xavier turned, backing her against the wet bar. Nala’s hand bumped against an ice bucket as her ass remained the only thing between her and a bunch of shot glasses. “Why did you come here tonight? Does Vincent even know you’re here?”
Nala tilted her head and grinned. “No.”
She didn’t know how he would react to that. Would he find it intriguing? Would he call her a liar? Tell her she was a bad sub who needed to return to her Master and accept punishment? Or would he be pleased as punch, knowing he had her right where he wanted?
Oh, the latter, of course.
“That’s right. I’m sure he would never let you come here on your own like this. Why do you think I sent for you?”
Nala snorted. Now she had to play her final card. “To kill me and send Vincent my body.”
This time, she got an appropriate reaction. Xavier blanched as if she had accused him of directly murdering anyone. “Excuse you…”
She shrugged. “Someone’s been trying to kill us. Someone killed that couple in Germany. Someone killed my sister.” Nala glanced away before looking him in the eye again, fervor renewed. “And someone killed Desirée. You know. Vincent’s pregnant fiancée.”
Crow walked away from her. At first, Nala thought she had pushed too hard. Maybe they had even been wrong about a few details and she sounded stupid now, but when Crow looked at her again, this time with anything but grandfatherly flirtation in his eyes, Nala knew she had struck a nerve.
She also knew she would probably pay for it. She didn’t imagine him calling for a guard.
***
Being tied to a chair in a madman’s office was a helluva lot different from being tied up in Vincent’s bedroom.
“Don’t bother struggling, dear,” Crow said, leaning against his desk and lighting a cigar. Two armed guards stood on either side of Nala, who was tied tight to a Robert chair. The only reason she now knew this basic kind of chair was called a “Robert” was because Crow called it that about fifty times, in case his guards hadn’t known him for long. “As much as I would love to see you struggle, my dear, it won’t do either of us any good. It will exhaust me to watch. And, well, you won’t make any headway. All of my top guards are well versed in knotting.”
Nala made a sour face. Did this brute know what that meant to someone in her generation? I’ve read too much fanfiction. Terrible prose about dudes and… well, never mind. Those weren’t what she wanted to be her last thoughts in life, anyway!
“Why look so upset?” Xavier moved his cigar before approaching her, placing both hands on her face. “Any death should be perfectly beautiful. Second only to the body they place in the casket… and don’t worry. Since you’re Tasha’s little sister, I’ll make sure you have a peaceful death, body fully intact. It was the least I could do for her.”
Nala shirked away, trying her damndest to get away from this monster’s cold touch. “But not Desirée. Fuck that pregnant bitch, right? How dare she get knocked up after you raped her!”
“Shut your foul mouth. I would never do such a dire thing.”
“Not according to those emails.”
“Ah, yes, such an astounding hack job. I admit, I was impressed your boyfriend could hack through my firewalls. Then again, I was impressed with how good his app was for my company… I shouldn’t have been impressed that second time.” Crow smirked, finally drawing his hands away. “What happened between me and that sweet, curly-haired vixen is neither here nor there anymore. All I’ll admit is that we had relations. She was a magnificent sub, by the way. Your boyfriend had trained her well.”
Nala knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help it – she surged against her bindings, growling in rage at the kempt man before her. Xavier remained unfazed while two strong hands pulled Nala against the back of her chair. The guards gave her stern looks that would make a woman not overdosing on adrenaline squirm in her seat.
“Possessive, are we? Don’t like the thought of him being with another woman?”
“Fuck that! I don’t like the idea of you having innocent people killed!”
“It’s a rough world out there, Miss Nightingale. The more successful you become, the rougher it becomes protecting your holdings… not to mention your ideals. As for Desirée…” he looked away. “How unfortunate. I believed she would keep quiet about our affair. Then that thing happened.”
“A baby, you sick, twisted fuck. A baby happened.” Nala was one of the least maternal women in the world, and even she was beyond horrified by what he had done. “Not any baby, right? Your baby. It had to be yours, because you were the only man she was ‘with’ while she was separated from her fiancé. She wouldn’t get rid of it, would she?”
“Now would be an excellent time to shut your mouth.”
Didn’t he know Nala didn’t take orders well? “Did you know that Desirée had a miscarriage before? She would have given anything to have a baby. Even if it was yours. No. That took things too far. That took power out of your hands, and you are not the type of man who has power taken away, are you?”
Xavier Crow mindlessly buffed his nails with his thumb as he regarded Nala with a toxic look. “You are very different from your sister. You’re lucky I liked her so much. She’s the only reason I’m not having someone slice that mouth off your face right now.”
“I’ll be sure to thank her for it when I see her.”
“You do that.”Crow motioned something to his guards. Something like, “Time to get out of here.”
“Wait,” Nala said, before the man before her could suddenly disappear. “Just tell me one thing. Something I haven’t gotten a straight answer for.”
Crow gave her a numbing look. “What?”
“Why did you kill Tasha?” When he was not immediately forthcoming, she continued, “Was it because she was too close to a cure, and that would have ruined your business?”
A snort shot through his puffy nostrils. “I’ve already told you that Tasha was no closer to a cure than anyone else. I never lied about that. Besides! Why would I kill her for that? A cure would only increase my brand and fortune! The Nobel Prize, for God’s sake!” He shook his head. “Do you want to know why your poor sister had to be taken care of?”
Nala steeled herself. “Yes.”
Xavier Crow picked up his hat and put it on his head before gesturing to the guard again. “Because, my dear, if I couldn’t have her, then nobody could. I don’t like it when my toys take themselves home.”
The guards left. Nala sat alone, with Crow, almost in complete disbelief. She died because of a creepy, possessive boyfriend? It seemed too unreal. Too… anticlimactic, almost. Nala had built a narrative about cancer and pharmaceutical conspiracies in her head for so long that this was a fucking disappointment. Tasha was nothing more than a statistic for college campaigns and public TV PSAs.
“So,” Nala chuckled, grinning at Crow, “you loved her back, huh?”
He turned. “What?”
“In your own twisted way. You loved my sister back, after all. That’s all she fucking wanted.” Nala didn’t touch the other shit that would’ve doomed her sister anyway. She wanted to get a final jab in before dying.
So did Crow.
“You know what the most satisfying thing about seducing Desirée was?” He loomed over Nala, a man who wasn’t so big when she was standing, but now seemed like a shadowy giant. Nala shivered to smell that strong cologne and realize that his face was coming closer to hers. Cologne turned into aftershave. Smelling his breath meant he was way, way, way too close. “Knowing that she belonged to another man. Those are always the most fun. And… oh, you both belong to the same man, don’t you? I wonder… how would Vincent feel knowing that two of his precious women knew me last?”
All the blood froze in Nala’s veins.
No matter how much she struggled in her bindings, no matter how far she twisted her head, and no matter how she bore her teeth once he had her mouth open, Nala could not stop Xavier Crow’s version of a kiss.
Fucking. Kill me. Now.
To think that her sister had kissed this mouth willingly… to think that Desirée hadn’t.
That was his point, wasn’t it?
“We’re done here.” Xavier adjusted his suit jacket before heading toward the office door. “I’ll give you a few minutes to think about your life. Treasure them. I won’t be more generous than that, Nala Nazarov.”
He left, locking the door behind him. Nala stared at the office before her, tasting that sludge of a kiss still on her lips. Am I really going to die? With that on my mind? Until now, Nala foolishly hadn’t considered that an immediate possibility. She was prepared for anything, but to be left here, alone, wondering about her fate? It seemed almost too simple for a man like him.
Vincent… What would happen to him? Nala was prepared for something bad to happen, but… for him to lose two lovers like this… At least I’m not pregnant. Nala had to find some bright side.
She slumped against the chair. I wish he were here. She wished he would come crashing through the window, untie her, and make off with her in his arms. She knew that was stupid. Not only did he not know she was here, but what could he do? Throw himself into danger as well? Ha.
Just as Nala wondered how she was going to die, she realized she had been staring at the same paper weight on the desk for five straight minutes. That the world was becoming blurry. That sleep sounded like a very, very awesome idea.
Her eyelids became unbearably heavy. Slowly, they fluttered shut, and the last thing Nala remembered were two memories coming together: her tenth birthday party, wherein her sister and mother pooled their money to buy her a handheld video game she had always wanted… and those walks on the beach with Vincent.
I’m sorry, Mama. You’ve lost everyone now. I’m sorry Vincent, you’ve lost another one.
She fell asleep.