Chapter 15
WREN
Dinner was quite enjoyable, and I was shocked that Genevieve and I had a lot to talk about.
There was never a dull moment at the dinner table.
Seth never once let on that something was wrong.
He smiled and ate dinner as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
No wonder he won a hotel through a poker game; he had a good game face.
When we arrived back at Seth’s house, Genevieve hugged me before I could get out of the limo.
“We need to do this again, dear.”
I returned the embrace and smiled. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”
She kissed Seth on the cheek and said her goodbyes to him.
He got out first and held his hand out to me.
I didn’t need help getting out of the freaking limo, but I took it anyway.
His hand was warm and firm, and just that single touch sent a fire through my body.
I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks and I prayed Seth wouldn’t notice.
Benny stood beside Seth as we watched Diego drive through the gate. “Someone was following us tonight, weren’t they?” I asked, facing them both.
Seth’s jaw clenched. “Yes.”
Then he glanced over at Benny. “It’s time. I’m making the call.” When he focused back on me, he gestured toward the house. “Let’s go inside.”
I held up a hand. “What call are you making?”
A heavy sigh escaped his lips. “The one, Wren. It’s time for my father and I to meet with Nikolai.”
That meant the war between them would ignite in full force.
The thought of that sent energizing trembles through my entire body.
I wasn’t accustomed to their world but I was about to be thrust right into it.
What surprised me most was that I wasn’t afraid; I was looking forward to the fight.
There were a million things I wanted to do to Nikolai, all of them heinous and morally wrong.
Did Nikolai deserve to get his balls sawed off with a butter knife? Why yes, he did. And if I had the chance, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Did it make me evil that I had those thoughts? Maybe, but I didn’t care.
I started toward the door and one of Seth’s men opened it before I could touch the handle. Seth placed a hand gently on the small of my back, his breath warm against my neck.
“I’ll be back. I’m going to make the phone call.”
He disappeared down the hallway toward his study while I stood in the foyer, my mind going ninety miles an hour. I turned for the stairs, but Ripp’s voice stopped me.
“Did you have a good night?”
“Surprisingly, I did,” I said, facing him.
His eyes raked down my body and he whistled. “Wow. You look amazing. New dress?”
I nodded. “Seth got it for me.”
He tilted his head toward the back door. “Can we talk outside?”
I followed him to the door, and we stepped outside to the pool area. One of Seth’s men could be seen across the yard on one side, while another stood guard on the opposite end. We sat together on one of the lounge chairs by the steaming pool.
“We were followed tonight,” I whispered.
Ripp grumbled and hung his head. “Soon it won’t be just following, Wren. All it takes is just one bullet. Nikolai doesn’t have to leave the car to do that.”
“True,” I agreed. “I’m just hoping God doesn’t let me go out that way. I still have so much to do in this world before I die.”
Ripp chuckled and bumped me with his shoulder. “Yes, you do.”
“We went out with Seth’s mother tonight,” I said, meeting his gaze. “What’s weird is she’s nothing like I imagined the wife of a mafia boss to be. She was sweet and down-to-earth.”
Ripp shrugged. “Nothing makes sense anymore.” Then he cleared his throat. “Which brings me to my next question.” His eyes searched mine and he huffed. “You’re not falling for Michelson, are you?”
The laugh that escaped my lips echoed in the night air. Was it convincing enough, or would Ripp see right through me? I didn’t want him to know I was attracted to Seth.
“Seriously? Have you lost your fucking mind?” I came back with.
Ripp held up his hands in defeat. “Hey, I’m just going by what I see. I’ve seen how he looks at you and you him.”
I playfully nudged his arm. “You have nothing to worry about. I respect Seth, but that’s as far as it goes.”
His shoulders relaxed, and a smile spread across his face. “Okay.” He rose from his seat and reached out to take my hand. “I’m heading to the pool house for the night. Do you want to hang out with me for a while?”
I allowed him to help me up, then declined the offer. “Actually, I want to change my clothes and watch a movie. But I’ll see you in the morning for training.”
He nodded and slowly started walking backward toward the pool house. “See you then. Good night, Wren.”
I waved goodbye and watched him disappear into the pool house before returning to my room.
Once changed into a set of Kali’s comfortable pajamas—a pair of flannel pants and a T-shirt—I decided to explore the hallway I had yet to venture down.
The walls were decorated with stunning landscape paintings, though these depicted the rugged terrain of a desert rather than majestic mountains or lakes like the others I’d seen throughout the mansion.
Walking down the hall, I noticed four closed doors on either side.
Curiosity got the best of me, so I opened the first one on my left.
To say that I was impressed would be an understatement.
My jaw practically hit the floor when my eyes fell upon what was inside.
It was a massive library, shelves stacked from floor to ceiling with books of all genres imaginable.
I wasn’t a big reader, but I always wanted to be.
I shut the door quietly and moved on to the next door on the right. The second I opened it, the breath whooshed out of my lungs.
“Oh my God.”
It was a movie theater room with plush, red velvet seats and a giant screen at the front. The walls were adorned with classic movie posters, and a popcorn machine stood in the corner with fresh, buttery popcorn inside. Seth’s voice echoed from behind as I walked down the aisle.
“Do you like it?”
The room was dimly lit and when I turned to look at him, he was sitting in the back row with a bag of popcorn.
Even though I couldn’t see his eyes well, I could feel them roaming all over me.
He’d changed out of his suit and into a T-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, which made him look almost normal.
“I do like it,” I said, pointing toward the door. “This is the first time I’ve been down that hallway. I didn’t know this was here.”
Seth set his popcorn down and walked down the steps toward me. “If I’d known it would interest you, I would’ve told you.”
I shrugged it off. “No worries. Did you talk to your father?”
Seth’s expression hardened. “I did. The meeting with my brother will be this week.”
My heart thundered so hard in my chest I thought it’d come up my throat. “What will I be doing during that time?”
Seth’s eyes searched mine. “You’ll be coming with me, but you won’t be in the meeting.” He glanced around the room, his voice low. “I don’t want you here without me.”
“Why? Aren’t your guys protecting me?”
He shook his head. “It’s not enough.”
His tone and the way he stared at me made my body tighten and long for his touch. Clenching my fists, I let the pain of my nails digging into my skin drag my dirty thoughts away. All that mattered was that the meeting was happening, and I would be close to Nikolai. I had to think of a plan.
“Okay,” I said, stepping away from him. “I think I’m going to head back up to my room. Have a good night.”
He grabbed my wrist, his grip firm. “You could stay here and watch a movie with me.” A smirk spread across his lips. “There’s fresh popcorn. I’ll even let you pick out what we watch.”
I wanted to say no, but I couldn’t. Why was he so hard to resist?
“What movies do you have?”
Seth opened his arms wide. “Anything you want. Name something.”
I walked down to the popcorn machine and put three huge scoops into one of the tubs; they were exactly like the ones you get at an actual movie theater.
“How about a mafia movie?” I called out, waiting to hear his reaction. I glanced at him over my shoulder to see his brows raised.
“Really, Wren? That’s what you want?”
Laughing, I shook my head. “I’m kidding. Although, I thought it might be interesting. Maybe it’ll give me some insight into your life?”
Seth shook his head and returned to his seat in the back row. “You don’t need to watch one of those movies for that. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
I sat down next to him, loving how soft the seats were. “Would you?” I asked. “Anything I want to know, you’ll tell me?”
His gaze landed on my lips and then up to my eyes. “Anything,” he whispered, his voice was like honey gliding across my skin.
I couldn’t look away from him, and when I noticed him moving closer, I turned my head toward the screen.
“We still need to pick a movie.” Still feeling Seth’s eyes on me, I grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into my mouth. “I love Dwayne Johnson. Any movie with him in it will be great.”
Seth chuckled. “We can do that. Which one do you want?”
I wanted something with action in it, nothing romantic.
“San Andreas?” I mentioned, still chewing away at my popcorn with my mouth open.
Chowing down on popcorn wasn’t sexy and that was exactly what I wanted. Seth smirked, seemingly amused as he fiddled around on his phone. A few seconds later, the lights dimmed even more, and the screen came to life.
“Did you do all of that through your phone?” I asked in amazement. I’d never seen anything like that before.
Seth grinned and winked at me. “You’d be surprised what all technology can do.”
Thinking of technology reminded me of Parker. My gut clenched at the thought of him. “I know what it can do,” I whispered. “My brother was an expert hacker.”
Seth turned to me, his gaze curious. “What all could he do?”
My eyes burned, but I refused to cry. The last person I wanted to see that side of me was Seth. I wasn’t weak and crying could be seen as weakness. I smiled at Seth, forcing myself through the pain.
“If he was here, I could get him to steal money from you.”
Seth lifted his brows. “Really? He was that good?”
“Oh, yes. We stole money from numerous people over the years and never got caught. It was how we survived.”
His expression softened. “What happened to your parents, Wren?”
Shrugging, I turned to the movie and stuffed another handful of popcorn into my mouth. “What’s there to say? My mom died of an overdose, and my father was in and out of jail until he was murdered for pissing off the wrong person.”
Seth’s fingers grazed my chin and he gently tugged for me to look at him. “I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice. “You don’t have to talk about it.”
“It’s okay. I don’t remember them at all. All I can say is that I’m most likely a better person without them.”
Seth nodded. “I’d say so. I think you turned out pretty damn well.”
“What about you?” I countered. “What does your family do?”
Seth focused on the movie and sighed. “We mainly focus on real estate and hotels. But now, we also have our fighting operation because of Nikolai.”
There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but the main one was right on the tip of my tongue. The second Seth tore his gaze away from the movie and looked at me, I had to ask.
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
Seth’s eyes never wavered from mine. “Are you sure you want to know the answer to that?”
I nodded. “I do.”
With a heavy sigh, he searched my face before answering. “Yes. I’ve killed people, Wren.”
“Do you regret any of it?” I asked.
There was no hesitation in his reply. “No. It was either them or me. I chose me.” His words reminded me of something I said to Peyton in Louisiana. “What’s that look for?” Seth inquired.
I shook my head and focused on him. “What look?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. You zoned out on me.”
Sinking into the velvety seat, I rested my head against the cushion. “I’m sorry. What you said reminded me of something I said to Peyton when she was in trouble.”
“When you were in Louisiana?” he wondered.
“Yes.” I peered down at my popcorn. “I basically told her I would save myself before anyone else.”
“And did you?” Seth asked.
I couldn’t help but smile when I looked at him. “No. I turned into the hero I never expected to be. I couldn’t leave Peyton there, not with what Martin had in store for her. She was pregnant and limited to what she could do.”
“And is that where you killed for the first time?”
“My only time,” I answered.
“Do you regret it?”
It was my turn to answer the same question I’d asked him.
“No.” I was going to admit something to him I’d never revealed to anyone. Why? I don’t know. I just felt like I could. “I enjoyed it,” I confessed. “The guy wanted to hurt me, and it filled me with so much rage. I let myself go in that moment and just rode the high as I beat him.”
Seth’s gaze softened, and he gently lifted his hand to brush my cheek. “You and I are not so different, Wren,” he murmured.
The words penetrated me like an arrow, piercing my inner being with their truth. The movie wasn’t over yet, but I had to get out of there.
“I’m going to turn in for the night,” I said, standing quickly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I took a deep breath and tried to walk away but didn’t get far.
Seth’s strong fingers clasped my wrist, halting me in mid-motion, and before I could fully understand what was happening, his lips were on mine.
They were warm and demanding as he pressed them against my own, his hands cupping my face as if memorizing it for eternity.
My pulse roared in my ears as I returned the kiss until rationality caught up with me, and the realization of what I was doing slammed into me like a freight train.
Seth pulled away first, keeping me close as his heated gaze searched my face for a response. “I’ve been dying to do that since the first moment I saw you,” he said in a husky voice, sending another flurry of tremors through me.
Swallowing hard, I stepped back out of his grip, keeping my expression blank so he wouldn’t see how much he affected me.
“Good night, Seth.”
The corner of his lips tilted mischievously. “Sweet dreams, Wren.”
Without another word, I walked out of the room and didn’t dare look back.