2. Alexis
Alexis
I spent the entire drive back to my apartment fuming over what had happened.
The second I returned, I stormed from the door to the living room before collapsing onto the couch, unlacing my boots, and throwing them across the floor.
I then fell back onto the pillows and closed my eyes.
I was exhausted from the night, and dawn was about to break.
As I lay there, I threw my arm over my eyes, simmering in the anger radiating from me.
I fucking hated Derek, and I couldn’t wait to storm into the CIA office and tear him a new one in front of every single agent on his floor. That son of a bitch had no right to take what was mine from me. There was nothing on it of use to him anyway, so why did he even bother with it?
I grabbed the pillow out from under my head and smothered my face into it, screaming until my voice went hoarse and my throat felt like sandpaper. There was so much pent-up rage within me, and I needed a way to let it out. Screaming into a pillow felt like the most efficient and convenient option.
When I had finally calmed down from my rage spiral, I dropped the pillow to the floor and rolled my head towards the coffee table.
I narrowed my eyes and furrowed my brow when I noticed something sitting in the center that wasn’t there before.
I wasn’t the kind of girl who focused on interior decoration, so it was apparent when something I never owned just appeared in my apartment.
A red envelope with a black and white seal rested against a vase of a dozen black roses.
Who the fuck was in my apartment? And why did they leave me roses? Black ones, at that…
Curious, I sat up and leaned forward, picking up the envelope and staring at the wax seal.
The base of the seal was black, with a white rabbit in the center and a small red letter A on its body.
This symbol wasn’t something I had seen before.
I chewed on my cheek while debating whether or not I should open it.
I fanned the envelope in my hand, tapping it against my nails. My right knee started bouncing, and I could feel my pulse begin to quicken with anxiety.
My hands trembled as I slowly slid my thumb under the seal, popping it off the back, holding a breath as I lifted the flap and opened the mysterious envelope.
I released the breath I held, pulling out a piece of cream-colored cardstock. The back had a red, water-stained circle, and a painted letter A was in the middle. I turned the card over and read the inscription on the back.
Anathema ? I pressed my fingers to my lips as I sat on the couch, with my elbows resting on my thighs, staring at the handwritten words.
I had never heard of Anathema before; could this be a prank? A joke? But then again, who would be pranking me?
I tipped the red envelope upside down, shaking it to see if there was anything else inside, and a small piece of paper, no bigger than what you’d get from a fortune cookie, fell out and onto the floor.
“ Enter the rabbit hole and see how far it will take you ,” I hummed to myself as I re-read the tiny print a few more times, attempting to understand what it could be referring to. Whoever Anathema was, their words were cryptic, making me curious to learn more.
I bit my lip and stood from the couch, wandering across the kitchen to the front door. I placed the card and envelope in my back pocket, opened the door and left my apartment.
There was only one person I knew who could tell me what—or who—Anathema was, and I was about to wake his ass up.
Twenty minutes later, my fist hammered his door as hard as possible. When he didn’t answer immediately, I pounded my fist even harder and added a kick for good measure.
Hurry the fuck up.
I could hear the sounds of empty cans rustling on the floor before the door was ripped open, and a half-naked man stood before me. With an angry sneer, he narrowed his eyes on me. Who would have guessed that Eli wasn’t a morning person?
A smug smile pulled at my lips as I stepped through the doorway and shoved myself past him to stand in the kitchen. His apartment looked like a bachelor pad. It was littered with beer cans, dirty laundry, and empty takeout containers. Gross.
“Do you ever clean up after yourself?” I wrinkled my nose and grimaced as the smell of stale food and beer crossed my senses. This place was beyond filthy. It was hard to imagine that the man who lived here was even remotely attractive by the mere sight of it.
“I’m sorry; if I knew you were coming, I would have cleaned up sooner, princess.” He goaded, scratching the back of his head. I cringed at the nickname he had for me. Several times, I threatened him to stop calling me that, but he never stopped.
His light blonde hair was mussed from sleep, and he was naked from the waist up, a lithe figure with defined muscles and abs that begged to be traced by greedy fingers.
I huffed and rolled my eyes before they landed at the carved V peeking out of his— ridiculously —low-hanging gray sweatpants. This man had absolutely no right to look this good in the morning.
“Oh please, as if you’ve ever cleaned this shit hole up for anyone, Eli.
” I crossed my arms over my chest and peered around the rest of the room.
It was a simple studio apartment, with everything in full view from his makeshift bed, which was just a mattress raised on pallets, a desk holding a laptop with two additional monitors, and a tiny kitchenette with no available counter space, considering it was all covered in junk.
I didn’t even want to think about what was hiding inside his refrigerator—most likely mold and excessively expired food.
Eli snorted as he crossed the room to where I stood and stepped into me.
He towered over my short five-five height, but I was never intimidated by him.
His hands rested on the edge of the counter behind me, caging me in as he leaned down, his mouth close to mine.
I could feel his warm breath trailing along my skin as he spoke .
“I’d do anything for you, princess. All you have to do is ask.” He winked, and a shiver trailed down my spine as my lips parted and my throat turned dry.
I was never sexually attracted to Eli, but Derek had left me in a state of desperation after he had his fingers inside of me. My mind was clouded by lust, drunk on desire.
I swallowed the lump that had formed in the back of my throat and looked up at Eli through my long lashes, catching his blue-green eyes with mine.
Come on, say something, Alexis…
“Anathema,” I rasped before clearing my throat, and he pulled his face away from mine with a frown.
The cold air that rushed between us was a welcome break from his warm breath gliding along my scorching skin. It had suddenly become way too hot in this tiny space.
“Anathema? What about them?” He asked, raising a brow in question.
“So you know who they are?” I straightened. I knew he would have the answers I sought. If anyone had information about unknown and secretive groups, it was him.
“I do, but what do I get for giving you the information, and what do you want with them?” Eli leaned further into me, pressing my lower back into the counter’s edge.
My breath hitched, and I was growing uncomfortable with how close he was.
For this specific reason, I rarely interacted with him face-to-face.
Eli was intense when he wanted to be, and the man rarely took ‘no’ for an answer.
There were times when I felt he would have his way with me, throwing consent out the window, but he never did.
Our bodies were flush against each other, my chest rising to meet his with every heavy breath I took.
I fisted my hands at my sides, knuckles turning white with the strain. I refused to let him get to me. Attractive as he was, I had no sexual interest in him at all, and if anything, he was starting to piss me off. Fucking Derek and winding me up so tight I was ready to explode.
Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out the red envelope and held it between us. Eli’s eyes went wide, and he backed away from me as soon as he saw the black and white wax seal.
Well… that was easy.
“Where… where did you get that?” he breathed, his face turning pale as he swallowed.
My brows furrowed in curiosity at his reaction. Did he fear Anathema?—whoever they were? Interesting…
I tilted my head at his hesitation, curious as to why he was reacting like this. A man who spent the majority of his time practically living inside the dark web, committing multiple felonies daily. He feared nothing—or so I thought.
“It was left with a vase of black roses on my coffee table this morning. Who are they? I’ve never heard of them before today, but it appears you are familiar with them.” I rested a hand on my hip, the other still holding the envelope between us .
Who would have thought that something as simple as red paper would get him to back off of me for once? Maybe I should keep this in my pocket from now on as permanent ‘Eli repellent.’
Eli cleared his throat and straightened, moving his eyes from the envelope to mine. He looked as though he had seen a ghost—his breathing bordering on erratic.
“The fact that you’ve never heard of them should give you a good idea of who you are dealing with.
This group is darker than Charlotte and any other mercenary-for-hire agencies out there.
They are—the elite—in a sense.” He rested a hand on his hip, mirroring my position while running the other through his hair.
“Long story short, this is a group of sick and twisted fucks who walk the line between gray and black, often enough leaning more on the side of black. Hence, the roses they left for you.”