Chapter Thirty-Five
The smell of food rouses me from my sleep. I feel groggy and sore, so sore. My eyes blink open to find Dom looking down at me with a barely there smile.
“Did you sleep well?” he asks.
“Yeah, how long was I out for?” I ask.
“Just another hour. Zayden got food. Are you hungry?”
My belly roars in celebration that there is sustenance nearby, and we both chuckle at that before he nods. I stand up first, feeling a rushing of wetness between my thighs.
Fucking Zayden.
I awkwardly penguin-wobble my way to the bathroom and clean myself up quickly before coming back out. Dom has his sweats back on but his shirt is off. His skin is free of tattoos, unlike Zayden. That’s an easy way to tell them apart. About the only way to tell them apart besides the eyes.
He walks toward me, holding a shirt up for me. I lift up my arms with a giggle, and he rolls his eyes at me before dressing me. The shirt falls down to my mid-thigh and smells just like him. I lift it to my nose, inhaling the clean masculine scent before he gives me a wink and intertwines my fingers with his.
I smile at him, walking out into the dining room, where there are seven different takeout foods sprawled across the table. Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Brazilian, sushi, and two types of American food are all opened and waiting for us. Zayden practically lights up when he sees me, making his way toward us. For some reason, I drop Dominic’s hand when he does, feeling guilty.
There is no way I can smile at one brother while holding the other’s hand, right? Zayden looks down at my hand before shaking his head.
“Don’t stop holding hands on my account, angel. You’ll hurt my brother’s feelings, and then he gets all moody and punches holes in walls.”
Dominic rolls his eyes at Zayden, and I look between the two of them quickly.
“I-I just want to be respectful. I’ve never done this before, and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.”
“You won’t,” Zayden assures me, taking a step toward me and forcing me to move backward.
I bump into Dom’s chest, and his hands catch my hips easily. Zayden plasters himself against my front, and I look between the two, silently asking what I’m expected to do.
“Stop looking for direction, babygirl. What Zayden is aggressively trying to show you is that we don’t care. We want you to be happy. Do whatever makes you happy, and we’ll be happy. Just make sure you spend time with both of us, and everyone will be good,” Dom says with an encouraging nod.
My eyes come to Zayden, who is nodding with a smile before pressing his lips to mine. It’s a slow kiss at first, our lips moving against one another in perfect synchronization. Then a pair of warm lips touch my neck, moving up to the sensitive part of my ear all the way down to my collarbone.
We just had a threesome, and though that was hotter than I could have imagined, I’ve never felt so worshiped, so cherished, as I do in this moment.
I expect one of them to progress things, but they don’t, both just enjoying my skin against their own before they pull away at the same time, smiling down at me and leading me over to the table. Zayden pulls me down to sit on his lap, and when I try to get up, he only pulls me down again. I glance at him, and he just winks at me before wrapping an arm around my waist. Meanwhile, Dominic grabs two plates, putting a little bit of everything on both before he sets them in front of Zayden and me.
“Thank you,” I smile shyly, not sure how to act or react right now.
He gives me a tender smile before bending down and pressing a kiss to my cheek.
“Of course, babygirl.”
Dom makes a plate for himself and takes the seat beside me, holding my hand in his as we eat in comfortable silence. Unfortunately, all good things always come to an end.
“I need to make a drive to the farm tonight,” Zayden says.
Dom nods. “Need some help?”
Zayden shakes his head.
“What farm?” I ask.
They both pause, sharing one of those twin looks before glancing at me.
“It’s a friend’s farm,” Dom says cryptically.
I raise an unimpressed eyebrow before turning to face Zayden, who doesn’t hesitate.
“It’s where we take bodies to disappear from time to time, a pig farm.”
“A pig farm?” I ask slowly, his words running in my head for several seconds. “Jim is going to be eaten by a pig?”
The laugh that escapes me can’t be contained. I giggle and cackle and even start to cry a little bit. That is honestly the cherry on top.
“Yeah. We have other ways we could do it, but the fucker is so fat, I think it’s the easiest. I don’t want to spend all night hacking him up piece by piece,” Zayden agrees, laughing along with me.
Dom is the only one not laughing as he looks between the two of us.
“Who was he?”
My laughter dies instantly, my appetite instantly souring. I expect him to apologize and drop it, but he only stares at me patiently. I look to Zayden for assistance, but he doesn’t seem to be willing to offer any. Dom’s eyes are begging me to open up fully and with Jim dead, I guess I don’t feel the fear to do so that I once did.
“He is…was my foster dad.”
Understanding clicks behind Dominic’s eyes as his jaw hardens to granite.
“He hurt you,” he states.
“Yes,” I agree.
I feel Zayden’s thighs tense beneath me, and I place a hand on one of them, causing him to relax instantly.
“He used to have his friends come over. ‘Poker night,’” I say, using air quotes as I continue. “They’d play, smoke cigars, and then they’d get bored and wake me…” My voice trails off as I turn away from their prying eyes, swallowing through the next part.
“The first time I was nine, the last time I was sixteen, when I ran away.”
The air is filled with dangerous tension, so thick you could practically choke on it.
“Names,” Dominic grits out.
“What?” I ask, turning to face him.
“Do you remember their names? The friends?”
I shrug. “Yeah.”
“Give them to me, babygirl. Right now.”
“Why?”
He gives me a flat look and understanding dawns on me.
“Gerald, Bernie, and Slinky. I never learned last names or Slinky’s real name. He was…one of the worst, though,” I say as a shiver runs up my back.
Dominic seems to take mental note of the names, nodding as he cups the back of my head and presses his forehead to mine.
“I’ll take care of them. You’ll never have to think about them again.”
“Unless you want the honors, angel,” Zayden chimes in.
I turn to look at him, pausing only for a moment before I shake my head.
“Tonight was…enough.”
Though I have absolutely no regrets and can’t deny the rush and high I got from killing Jim, I don’t want it to be a regular thing. I’ve slept more than I’ve been awake today, and I know it’s my body’s way of protecting me. I’m going to crash soon. I don’t need to put more bloodlust on my agenda for the next day, week, or even year.
“So, what? You guys kill a lot of people? Like hitmen or something?” I chuckle, my laugh dying when they don’t correct me.
“Hitman seems too basic, I prefer mercenary,” Zayden says.
“And he does the killing, I do the planning,” Dominic continues.
“Now,” Zayden adds.
Dominic hesitates before nodding his agreement.
“Why? Why do you do it? Because they did something to you or?—”
“Money, angel. It’s how we make our livelihood.”
“But you have your security business and the mechanic shop,” I say to Dom.
“You mean the business to ensure Dom has access to wipe our jobs from evidence, and the shop where we launder our large sums of money?” Zayden asks on snicker.
My mouth drops open as I turn an accusing look to Dom, who has the decency to look a little sheepish, at least.
“Are you kidding me?” I ask. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Babygirl, I love you, but you didn’t need to know. Honestly, the less you know, the better. You shouldn’t even be hearing half of this stuff,” he says with a pointed look at Zayden, who shrugs.
“Why not?”
“Because if you ever get taken in by the police or an enemy and you have knowledge, they could hurt you,” Zayden says over a mouthful of food.
“You don’t seem too concerned about that.” I point out.
“I’m not,” he says with a shake of his head.
“Then why can’t I leave this apartment?”
The guys share a look for several seconds before Dom speaks.
“We’ve been discussing it. I think things are…contained well enough. I still want at least one of us with you at all times, but I don’t see why you can’t get out more.”
“Really?” I ask, my eagerness slipping through into my words.
Dom smiles softly and nods.
“Tomorrow, angel,” Zayden pipes in. I’m taking you on a date, wear something warm.”
He stands in the next moment, setting me to my feet before kissing the top of my head.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go take care of that little mess my woman made so beautifully,” he says with a wink before sauntering down the hallway.
I shake my head, smiling softly, before facing Dom.
“Shouldn’t we help him?”
“Nah, he’ll be fine. He likes it.”
“Why?” I ask with furrowed brows.
“Because he’s fucked up, baby.” He laughs, forcing me to laugh too.
Is it actually funny, or are we just disassociating? Probably both.