Illusion(31)

“What kind of lies?”

“Kian tried to convince me that she left us and took you with her. That he was the victim in my mother’s selfishness. I was naïve and believed it until I found out our mother was having an affair with Nigel. She was going to leave our father the day she disappeared. Convenient timing, right?”

My mind flashed back to the day Nigel told me that my mother was almost as beautiful as me. I remembered his anguish as he sat in this very room, so strong that I felt tears fill my eyes now. “Nigel loves her. He keeps searching for her,” I said. My mind was racing as I considered his story. I knew Nikolaus was telling me the truth.

“Yeah, Nigel doesn’t want to accept she’s dead. Fuck Josie, I don’t want to accept it.” He ran his fingers through his short hair again, leaning back on the couch. I noticed that it was his hair was streaked with strands of chestnut and gold as the sun from the windows gleamed across his face. “I know you’re trying to figure out my angle, right?”

A sheepish smile tugged at my lips and my eyes narrowed. He was right. “How do you know what I’m thinking?”

“You’re a psychic and I’m a telepath. If I’m right, drop your shields and you’ll see.” He pressed his index finger against his temple and raised up his thumb, imitating a gun. “Our father doesn’t know I can read his mind. It’s quite humorous to know I can do something he doesn’t know about and he can’t block.”

Lowering my shields, I startled when my mind connected with his. Nikolaus’ brain was like opening up an encyclopedia of memories. He gave me access to every bit of information he knew about my father, many of the recollections making me shudder. The one that I focused on featured our father gripping a beautiful, brown haired woman by the shoulders, shaking her violently. His face was twisted in rage as he sank his fangs into her neck, biting her so savagely that he nearly ripped her throat out.

Pulling myself out of his memories, I sank down on the couch beside him. “That was our mother, wasn’t it? Kian killed her, didn’t he?”

He reached over and took my hand. He turned to look at me and his eyes were so similar to mine that it was like gazing into a mirror, except that his burned with a bitterness that I felt compelled to make disappear. “Yes.”

My mother… our mother. Dead at the hands of our father. It made sense why Kian didn’t want to speak her name. Guilt could do strange things, even to a megalomaniac. Tears burned my eyes and one escaped to run down my cheek. “What do we do?”

He snorted drolly. “I’m sure you can guess what I want to do.”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you want to kill him,” I answered, swallowing shakily.

He raised both eyebrows and his mouth twitched. “Bingo.”

My head turned as I heard a key turn in the lock. The apartment door swung open and Stefan’s large frame darkened the doorway, his pale blue dress shirt stretching across the broad expanse of his chest. He quietly strode in and closed the door behind him, glancing between Nikolaus and myself. Swaggering into the living room, he dropped into one of the armchairs across from the couch, the faded denim of his jeans clinging to his muscled thighs. He stretched his long legs out in front of him and his piercing gaze locked on me.

“I see your visitor has arrived,” Stefan said coolly. He stated the obvious as his fingers tapped against the arms of the chair, what I’d finally come to associate as his tell when he was anxious or nervous. He looked huge, handsome and deadly, his blue eyes as cold as ice. He had no reservations in letting us know he was displeased to see me with another man, even if that man happened to be my brother. I dropped Nikolaus’ hand and moved to stand at the edge of his chair, sitting down on his lap and curling up against his chest. His strong arms wrapped around me, sighing heavily against my hair.

“Have you enjoyed your visit with him, vackra?” Stefan’s mental voice was unsettled.

“It’s been informative.” My stomach turned when I replayed some of the visions through my mind, knowing Stefan was methodically reading my thoughts. His entire body went rigid underneath me as he mentally sorted through each of them.

Tilting my head back, I pressed a kiss to his throat. “Stefan, this is my brother Nikolaus. Nikolaus, this is Stefan. My mate.” I made sure to put the emphasis on mate to appease Stefan’s more possessive side. His body relaxed slightly underneath me, pleased at my choice of words.

Men. They were so easy to please.

Nikolaus focused on Stefan for a moment and an impish smile spread across his face, two dimples appearing on both sides of his cheeks. He clapped his hands together once and then rubbed them together, his deep laughter resounding throughout the living room. “Josie, you’re with Stefan Lifsten? Hell, yes! This is better than I expected. I know what you can do, Stefan. I just need to know if you’re willing to do it.”