17
Damien
Mikhail sits on the other side of the table, looking grim. His ash-blond hair is a mess from being ruffled each time he runs his fingers through them in frustration.
Leon stands closer to me, leaning against my desk.
“Get going,” I say in a commanding tone. “Lucia will be here when you get back.”
“I know,” says Mikhail, looking disturbed. “It’s just that I want to confront her about everything.” He punches the couch’s armrest in frustration. “Did you see the way that asshole treats Lucia? As if she’s his bitch. As if he’s used to her obeying his every command.”
I give a grim nod. He’s not aware of it because he’d been standing far from Lucia during the confrontation but I noticed the way she reacted to her brother. He scares her. There were times she clung to me, a monster, for support.
“Callum Baldwin isn’t going to sit back and take it,” I say. “He’s probably already busy recruiting every gang and army-for-hire he can get. We gave him a glimpse of our power. He knows where we live. He’ll be coming back with reinforcement. We need to know about his allies in time to plan out our defenses.”
Looking toward Leon, I say, “Get inside the homes and offices of these people on the list.” Sliding a sheet toward him, I rest my elbows on the table. “You need to get out there too, Mikhail. Find out what’s happening among the street gangs. They’ll be the first to respond to Callum’s call.”
Leon’s eyes gleam in the firelight as he gazes at the list in his hand. “You’ve been thorough,” he comments.
“Can I at least see her before leaving?” Mikhail whines.
I don’t like the way he’s getting attached to her. We still need to find out the truth about her relationship with Callum. A single confrontation cannot reveal everything that’s buried under the surface.
“She’s not going anywhere,” I remind him again. “You need to stay focused on your job. A single mistake can cost us everything.”
My brother’s expression turns somber. “I understand,” he says with a nod. Getting to his feet, he gestures at Leon. “Let’s get going.”
Leon glances at me before following Mikhail out of the room.
I lean against the backrest of my chair. Lucia’s face rises before my eyes the moment I allow myself to relax.
The innocence in those emerald-green eyes hasn’t faded. She was able to guard her heart despite the way her brother treated her all these years.
Guilt weighs heavy in my gut as I think of the way we treated her when she was going through her heat. We should’ve made her more comfortable instead of letting her stay in that dark basement.
How could you have known about her relationship with Callum? I ask myself, hating the guilt spreading through me.
My mind wanders over to the moment when she’d looked at me earlier. She squeezed her eyes shut when I got closer. Lucia is still disgusted with me despite knowing that it was her brother who disfigured my face.
She owes me a lifetime of confinement in this isolated dark manor. I can never step out in broad daylight. A mask or a veil could hide my monstrosity but they’d also attract more attention to me.
To avoid the inconvenience, I’ve been forced to hide behind these ancient walls my ancestors built. Callum not only stole my face, but he also stole my freedom.
Stealing Lucia’s virginity is nothing compared to the curse I’m suffering. Had I been a true monster like her brother, I’d have inflicted the same treatment on her and cut up her pretty face. I’d have shed her blood until she was on the brink of death too.
“You’re distracted,” says a soft voice from the doorway.
Looking up, I see Lilja, my baby sister. She’s still in her PJs and her long, pink-streaked hair is pulled up in a top bun.
“Where’s everyone else?” she asks, striding into the room.
“They’ve gone out to take care of some business.”
She frowns. “Why don’t you ever include me in these missions?” she demands, banging her hands on my table. “I’m just as capable as Leo and Mik! You didn’t even bother to tell me Lucia was here already!”
“You shouldn’t have been nosy,” I say. “This is our fight, Lilja. We’re family but you shouldn’t have to shoulder the weight of our pasts. The Baldwins are our enemy. Not yours. Just mind your own business.”
“You’re all my brothers!” she shouts, her dark eyes spitting fire. “It’s my business if someone wants to hurt you. It’s my right to avenge you. I could’ve killed the bastard and his sister if you’d given me their info.”
Our parents put her through the same strenuous training as us since she was a child but they’d done so in a bid to protect her when we weren’t around. Lilja is strong and can take care of herself in a fight but that doesn’t mean we’ll risk her safety.
“I’m sick of this patriarchal bullshit,” she hisses. “I can fight too. I’m just as good as you guys.”
But unlike us, your heart is whole , I think quietly.
“You’re such dicks!” she bellows, picking up the stuff on my table and throwing them around. “Why won’t you tell me anything? I have a right to protect my brothers too.”
She’s throwing a tantrum, intent on riling me up but all I feel is warmth swelling inside me. Lilja is one of the very few women in the world who doesn’t cringe at the sight of me. She’s just as precious to me as my brothers. I know she’ll give up her life to protect me.
And that’s something I can never allow , I decide, steeling my heart.
Callum Baldwin will be looking for my weaknesses. Strong and capable as she is, Lilja is our weakness.
“I was looking at the catalog for those Harleys you wanted,” I say, hoping to distract her.
“What’re you talking about?”
“That Harley you wanted for your last birthday,” I say calmly. “It’s your reward for fighting against those puppies this morning.”
“I know what you’re doing,” she says with a sudden grin. “You’re trying to change the subject. I’ll take the bike but I’ll keep coming back to this, Damien.”
Walking around the desk, she comes to stand directly in front of me. “Since you’re being so sweet, I guess I’ll let you in on a secret.”
My brows arch. “A secret?”
“I may or may not have forgotten to lock the door to Lucia’s room.” A mischievous, almost demonic grin comes onto her lips.
Shit , I curse internally. I love my sister but she can be such a pest.
Shooting to my feet, I stride past her. Her chuckles follow me as I step out of the room.
Without wasting a moment, I run toward the southern section of the mansion where Lucia is being kept. I take the stairs two at a time to reach the third-floor landing.
The door to Lucia’s room is wide open. A quick look around the small space is enough for me to know she’s gone.
Rage courses through me at the sight of the empty room. How dare she try to escape from me?
I took on a greater risk and brought danger to my family by refusing to let Callum take her away. Didn’t Lucia guess it already? Her life belongs to me now.
How dare she run after taking so much from me?
I walk out into the hallway and make my way toward the area dedicated to surveillance feeds. Every inch of the grounds as well as non-personal space in the manor is heavily monitored. Even if Lucia can make her way out of the building, she’ll never escape my territory. She can run but she won’t be able to hide.
Perhaps, it’s a good chance to teach her a lesson , I decide, entering the surveillance room. More than a dozen wide-screen LCDs are lit up with CCTV footage. Five guys sit on chairs, keeping their gazes on the entrance points of the manor’s grounds.
Moving forward, I check the feeds that give me the view of the corridor outside her room. Taking a seat by the screen, I playback the footage from an hour ago.
Soon, I see the moment when Lilja walked into Lucia’s room. I fast-forward the feed, waiting for my sister to make her exit.
Lilja comes out almost forty minutes later.
What were they talking about? I wonder as my gaze stays focused on the screen before me.
The door to the room is left ajar. What the hell were you thinking, Lilja? I curse at my sister silently as Lucia cautiously steps through the door and peers down the hallway.
Lucia follows the same route as the one I used to take her into the entrance hall. She makes a few errors, but quickly changes direction, steadily heading the right way.
I click onto another feed and find her fleeing down the front lawn of the manor. Zooming in, I gaze at the lost expression on her face as she tries to decide which way to go.
The grounds of Volkov Manor are vast. Heavy woods fence the area, keeping the centuries-old building concealed from public view.
Very few people know the way to our home. As assassins, we’re always under threat from the families of those we killed. My ancestors made sure to invest heavily in fortifying the perimeters of our residence to minimize all risks.
Lucia is still clueless about who we are. Even if Lilja explained our identities to her, she’ll still need time to know everything there is to know about us.
Lucia runs into the woods fencing our northern borders. I know the exact way she’s going to take and smile to myself. There’s an underground tunnel leading right to the spot that she’s heading to.
Pushing back my chair, I stand up.
Rage and desire clash inside me as I hurry out of the room. Lucia thinks of me as a beast and right now, I feel like one.
I’m going to give her such a chase, she’ll never dare to run from me again. Lucia has to understand she’s always belonged to me and my brothers.
Her willingness is only an option. She’ll have to surrender to me with or without it.