47. Kaos
The shadows have been my home the last few years.
The loss of my father has changed me in ways I don’t think any of us could have seen coming, but mostly it made me more solitary.
For the most part, he was on the outside. It was always the four of us, and then my dad was the fifth. He never lived at the compound, preferring to remain in his own apartment a few blocks away. But that didn’t make losing him hurt any less.
I watch Charles from a dark alley. He’s talking to one of his men on the street, far from where he shot his distributor in cold blood while Kovu watched yesterday.
He wouldn’t normally do this kind of work himself, but without a new distributor, he’s forced to do some of the dirty work.
Crew wants one of us watching him at all times, but I don’t see the point. It’s not like we can’t have our tech guy keep an eye on him.
But he insisted, and so I’m just following orders.
At the very least, it gets me out of the complex and away from the princess.
The longer she’s in our space, the more I resent her for her presence.
Logically, I realize she doesn’t have a choice in the matter. The others have told her that she’ll remain within the complex until she’s finished healing, and maybe even past then. But that doesn’t stop me from fucking hating her.
I creep toward the mouth of the alley, ducking between a dumpster, when Davenport turns around suddenly.
I wonder if he knows he’s being watched. Surely he doesn’t believe he can get away with trying to overthrow the Syndicate. I’m certain he can’t truly be that stupid.
But men who have it will always allow power to go to their heads.
“Any luck finding the girl?” the dealer asks, his voice hoarse and croaky. The effect of too much meth if I had to guess. Don’t these assholes know they shouldn’t sample the product? It’s a bad fucking idea to shit where you eat.
Charles turns to him, his eyes cold. “No. The little bitch has disappeared off the fucking grid. I should have known he was going to fuck me when he started training her to take his place as head of the family.”
“And you’re sure she’s not dead?”
“No. I’m not certain of that. But until I see her rotting corpse myself, I have to assume she’s alive and somewhere in the city.” Every word out of his mouth is strained, and I’m more than a little tempted to tell him exactly where he can find his would-be wife.
But I can’t do that to my brothers.
As much as I despise her very existence, handing her over to Charles would hurt them, and after everything we’ve lost, that’s not something I’m willing to do, even if that means putting up with their obsession for however long it lasts.
One thing is for sure, though, it won’t be forever.