Twisted Hate (Twisted, 3)

After we returned to the living room, Ava whisked Jules away for what I assumed was a similar conversation to the one we had, minus the sibling stuff. However, instead of staying in the apartment, they decamped to a nearby bar so Ava could quote unquote try and forget she ever heard the phrase banging your brother.

Personally, I thought they left the apartment so they could secretly plan how to gang up on me in the future—I know how they work—but I was so relieved by Ava’s acceptance of my and Jules’s relationship, I didn’t care.

After the girls left, I joined Alex by the wall of windows, where he stood with a pensive expression.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go with them.” I came up beside him and stared down at the city laid out before us. Dusk transformed the skies into a palette of soft pinks and purples, and lights flickered on in the sea of buildings until they resembled a carpet of tiny jewels. “You’re usually glued to Ava’s side.”

Alex had been paranoid about Ava’s safety since his uncle kidnapped her; he even hired a bodyguard for her until she chafed at the constant shadow. They got into a huge fight over it before Alex caved and dialed back on the protection detail.

“We’re working on that.” A hint of disgruntlement colored his voice. “She says I’m too paranoid.”

“You are. And I say this as her brother, someone who’s very invested in her well-being.”

He let out a small rumble of irritation but let the issue drop. “There is another reason I stayed behind. I need…I want to tell you something.”

My eyebrows climbed at his uncharacteristic stumble. “Okay. As long as it’s not another confession about a seven-year lie, because I swear to God…”

“Now who’s the paranoid one?” Alex rubbed a hand over his jaw, his brow knitting in a frown.

The longer he hesitated, the more my curiosity spiked. Alex rarely struggled for words. Except for Ava, he didn’t give enough of a shit about anyone to care how his statements were received.

“I’ve never had much of a family,” he finally said. “As you know, my parents and sisters were murdered when I was a child, and my uncle was a psychopath.”

Only Alex could deliver such brutal facts with such unflinching honesty.

“I didn’t have many friends growing up either, and that was fine. I dislike a majority of people I meet. I had my business and side projects, and that was enough.” His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. “Then I met you and Ava. You were both quite irritating in the beginning, with your insistence on adhering to social niceties and your determination to see the best in people, no matter how foolish an endeavor that is.”

I snorted, but a strange tightness gripped my chest.

“But…” Alex hesitated again. “You also saw the best in me. You’re the only people who’ve ever seen more in me than a bank account, a status symbol, or a business connection. We may have different views on life and the way we approach things, but you and Ava…” His voice softened. “You’re the closest thing I have to a family.”

Ah, fuck. If I teared up over something Alex said, he’d never let me live it down.

But I knew how hard it must’ve been for him to admit that. Alex was as sentimental as a porcupine was cuddly, but for all his faults, he was a good friend in the only way he knew how—loyal, unquestioning, and willing to burn the world down for the people he loved.

 “Fuck, man, you should’ve warned me you were going to get all sentimental and shit. I would’ve brought more Kleenex.”

The words came out more choked than I would’ve liked.

A small smile graced his mouth. “It’s facts, not sentimentality. On that note…” He reached into his pocket and retrieved a small velvet box. “I’d like to formalize the relationship.”

Were my ears deceiving me, or I did detect a touch of nervousness?

I stared at Alex blankly. Part of me knew what he was hinting at, but my sluggish brain couldn’t catch up in time. “Formalize what relationship?”

“The family one.” He snapped the box open and nearly blinded me.

Holy fucking crap.

The ring nestled against the velvet cushion gave the Wollman Rink a run for its money in terms of size. I didn’t know much about diamonds, but I knew this one had to cost at least five figures.

It blazed like a fallen star in the dying late afternoon light. Smaller diamonds dotted its platinum band and threw rainbow prisms across the room, and the silver letters stamped on either side of the ring cushion read Harry Winston.

“I wanted to tell you before I proposed.” Alex closed the box again, saving my retinas from being seared right off. “You know how I feel about Ava, so I won’t bore you with a regurgitation of the facts. I also despise the outdated tradition of asking permission to marry. That being said, I know how much she values your opinion. I do too, and while I don’t need your permission…” He swallowed hard. “I would very much like to have it.”

Silence rang in the wake of his words.

Alex. Proposing to Ava. So he would be my brother-in-law.

The disjointed yet connected thoughts tumbled through my head. Holy fuck. I’d known Alex and my sister would be endgame since the day I learned he gave up his company for her. He got it back after she forgave him, but for him to even consider doing something so drastic, he had to be in deep.

Yet I never could’ve imagined the proposal would come so early, or that he would ask for my permission.

Alex never asked for permission from anyone.

“I didn’t want to propose until after you and I…sorted through some of our issues.” Alex watched me with sharp eyes, his features taut with tension. “I didn’t want to put either of you in that position.”

I finally found my words through the well of emotion in my chest. “My sister’s rubbing off on you. You actually sound human.”

“I’m good at imitations.”

There was a moment of stunned silence before a laugh burst from my mouth. “Shit, Volkov, don’t kill me with shock before the wedding. Ava will be pissed.”

Alex’s lips curved. “Is that an implicit blessing?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” I sobered. “You’re right. We have very different worldviews, and we hit a bit of a, ah, rough patch over the years. I still think you’re an asshole eighty percent of the time. But you…you walked my sister home every day for a year like a psycho Romeo. You always put her safety and well-being ahead of yourself, which for you is saying a fucking lot.” I swallowed hard. “Ava is my only sister. My only real family. I’ve always taken care of her growing up, and I don’t trust her with just anyone. But I trust her with you.”

If there was one thing I was certain of, it was that Alex would lay his life down on the line for her. He may be an asshole to everyone else, but I could always trust him to take care of Ava.

I clapped him on the back as the tightness in my chest intensified. “So yeah, you have my fucking permission. Just don’t kill her with the ring, because that shit is bright as fuck.”

A suspicious brightness glowed in Alex’s eyes before he blinked and it disappeared. He let out a relieved-sounding laugh. “She’ll be okay. She’s tougher than you.”

“That’s true.” Despite her sunny optimism and what some would call naïveté, Ava had always been a survivor. I shook my head in my disbelief. “Can’t believe I’ll be stuck with you forever as my brother-in-law.”

I didn’t doubt Ava would say yes, but having Alex Volkov as my brother-in-law…Lord help me.

“Lucky you.” A small smile remained on Alex’s mouth, but his eyes turned serious again. “Speaking of which, I also have a proposal for you.”

“Alex.” I clutched my chest. “Ava’s not gonna like it if you propose to me too. Bigamy is illegal in D.C.”

“Funny.” He walked to the bar and poured two glasses of whiskey, one of which he handed to me. “If Ava says yes…”

“She’ll say yes.”

An uncharacteristic hint of nerves coasted through Alex’s eyes before it vanished beneath cool green ice.

“When she says yes, I’ll need a best man.” He rubbed his thumb over his glass, his tense shoulders at odds with his casual tone. “Since you’re my best friend, and one of the few people I can stand to be around for more than five minutes at a time, consider this my official ask to you.”

Ah, fuck. Emotion rushed back into my chest and swelled until it formed a lump in my throat.

Before our falling out, Alex had been there for every game, every crisis, and every emergency I had. He was the only person outside my family I trusted, and I was the only one he uttered more than a dozen words to at a time.

We’d been best friends, but he’d never called me that, at least not in my presence. Today was the first time.

“That depends.” My voice came out scratchy before I cleared my throat. That fucker would not make me cry. Not today, Satan. “One, do I have full authority to plan your bachelor party in any way I see fit? Two, do I get box seats for life to any sports game I want? Three, can I take your Aston for a spin?”

Alex released a sigh so weary I half expected him to collapse beneath its weight. “Within reason, yes, and no.”

One and a half out of three. Not bad. I hadn’t expected him to say yes to the Aston thing anyway. He never let anyone drive his precious car.

“I’ll take it.” I raised my glass. “You’ve got yourself a best man.”

“I’m thrilled.”

“I can’t wait until our Vegas blowout,” I said, ignoring his dry response. “Actually, shit, let’s level up. You’re a billionaire with a b, as you always remind me. Let’s go to Macau. No, Monaco. No, Ibi—”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself. I haven’t proposed yet.”

“But you will, and it’s best to be prepared.” My grin faded at the sight of Alex’s tight jaw. “She’ll say yes,” I repeated in a softer voice. “Don’t worry.”

Another hint of nerves flickered in his eyes. “I don’t worry.” He rubbed his thumb over his whiskey tumbler again until some of the tension drained from his shoulders. “But no Ibiza. I can’t stand island parties.”

“Deal.” Monaco sounded more fun, anyway. “Here’s to an epic proposal and even more epic bachelor weekend.”

I lifted my glass again. Alex clinked his against mine, and I waited until we’d both drained our drinks before I added, “I’d be your best man even without the box seats, you know.”

The ice in his eyes cracked, revealing a sliver of softness. “I know.”

A poignant beat passed before we coughed at the same time and let out awkward laughs. Alex might petrify into stone if we dwelled too much on the sentimentality of the moment, and I didn’t want my sister to marry a literal statue.

“Now that that’s out of the way…” I threw an arm around his shoulders and steered him toward the couch. “Let’s talk about how we’ll make this a stag party you’ll never forget. I’m thinking tigers, tattoos…”

“No.”

I brushed off the buzzkill. “Actually, how do you feel about cage diving with sharks? We can fly to South Africa for the weekend…”

Alex rubbed an exasperated hand over his face while I rambled off ideas and tried to hold back a grin.

Me annoying the shit out of him while he feigned irritation?

It was like old times, only better, because this time, there were no lies or secrets between us.

Every great friendship had chapters.

This was the start of our new one.