Chapter 10
ten
-Set-
-a few minutes earlier-
I could pat myself on the back for how well I’ve handled the first hours of being back in the penthouse with Serena.
I hope to keep this up, maybe even learn to control my reactions when I'm around her. I’ve never had to control myself before, and I seem to be turning into a ticking time bomb every time she so much as breathes wrong—that used to be like every five minutes, from what I can remember.
But she seems more docile now. The time apart must’ve done her some good, probably making her realize there's no turning back once you've been claimed by the devil.
Even if we just had something to eat, I’m considering taking her to a restaurant for dinner. She might be on probation for now, but I don't plan on keeping her locked up in the house. Especially since that would mean locking myself in, and I don't do well caged for long.
Not that we actually make it to dinner. Something unexpected ruins my plans. A loud knock on the door that throws me completely off and changes the whole dynamic of the evening.
Where the fuck are my guards?
I grab my gun and head toward the door. Something feels off. No one comes up here.
I open it with extra care, just to realize the reason why none of my guards announced someone—my brother Whiro is here, unannounced. No guard dares to even go near him, no sane man would.
This pretty much one of the worst things that could have happened. Not because I don't enjoy him coming to visit. It’s because it isn't like him to pay visits, unless something’s seriously wrong.
"You should train your boys better," he says, stepping inside, and I’m already convinced he beat the shit out of my guards.
"Show-off," I mutter, already rolling my eyes at having to find new employees. But that’s the least of my worries for now, and I know it. "It’s been a while."
"Well, it's not like anyone in our family gathers to celebrate Christmas. You know, but I was thinking we could just make Halloween our holiday. It's more suited," he shrugs, that usual madness flickering behind his words like it’s nothing.
Whiro’s different from me and the rest of my brothers.
We all had our empires to build, borders to guard, and balances to keep, while he never had any of those problems. He’s too unstable, even for Father to handle.
So, after enough failed attempts, our Old Man finally gave up and left him alone to do whatever the hell he wanted.
Whiro does serve his purpose, though. He does the things no one else can.
We might be predators by nature, but he's the apex.
I swear he can hear a deer all the way from Vegas to Alaska, no one stands a real chance against him.
He kills for fun, but usually needs a target—something to aim the madness at.
That's why he's a sort of mercenary—the most skilled one there is. And that brings me to the question I really don’t want to ask.
"How bad is it?" I don't know what or where it happened, but I haven't seen him in over five years. This can’t be anything but bad news.
We don't need to measure time to keep our bond. Years are irrelevant when you're facing eternity. But I know he doesn’t do home visits just because he missed me.
"Why do you always assume I bring bad news?" He laughs, yet doesn't deny it.
I shrug. "Old habits die hard."
"It's not that bad. More like trying to solve a riddle… and having innocent fun."
"Your idea of innocent fun terrifies even me. Who’s in trouble?" I ask, since I assume he came here for backup.
But it seems I’m wrong. It’s not backup that he’s looking for. "I'm looking at him."
"Me?" I ask, confusion taking hold of my voice. Things have been quiet around, especially after the little killing spree I went on when Serena left. I don’t have many enemies still breathing.
I see him lighting himself a cigarette. Of course, without even asking permission to smoke in my house. But then again, he's never been the kind of guy who asks for permission. "Indirectly," he says, taking his first drag.
"What the fuck does indirectly mean?" I'm already losing my patience, but I know he likes to make a drama out of everything.
"It's about your girl," he grins, like he just exposed one of my deepest secrets.
How the fuck does he know about Serena? I haven't seen him in over five years.
I don't get to ask before he clears things up for me. "Our brother Surt mentioned something that made me curious."
"Curious enough to check up on me? You could have called instead of coming to visit," I say.
"Yeah, and you would’ve given me shit. I was just curious to see what you were doing, and I happened to be in Vegas when I stumbled upon something."
Here comes the interesting part. "What's that?" I ask, feeling this isn't just a courtesy call. This is serious.
"Her name, Serena Halden, came up on one of the lists," he says way too casually, and I feel a chill running down my spine.
I'm locked in now, so focused on what he has to say, I don't think I'm even breathing anymore. He's talking about the hit lists.
"I wasn't going to say anything since I knew she’d been missing.
To be honest, I thought someone had completed the contract.
" The corner of his mouth churns into an oops.
"I didn't want to be the one to break it to you; even I know better than that.
Besides, I was waiting to see how things turned out. "
"And how did things turn out?" I ask, annoyed.
"Someone saw you two getting off your jet yesterday. If I know, others will know soon. I just came here to give you a heads-up. There's a hit out on Serena."
"Fuck." I don't get to say another word before I hear a gasp coming from the hallway.
"What?" Serena’s voice trembles. Her whole body’s shaking, her hands clutched into fists.
"Oh, you must be my lucky prey. And I do mean lucky, because if you didn't belong to my brother, you’d be running by now." Whiro grins, and even if I know he’s joking—or hope to hell he is—that wasn't the best way for her to be welcomed into my family.
"Whiro," I snarl, hoping he’ll get the message and stop fooling around.
She’s too scared to even react. Her eyes wide, almost frozen, like she doesn’t know whether to bolt or faint.
I stare her down then tap the couch beside me. "Sit."
Still limping a little, she comes and occupies the spot, looking at my brother, like he's going to be the one who’ll really kill her.
"You’ve got nothing to worry about." Whiro grins, taking another drag until the cigarette tip glows red. "You ended up on the right side of the court. We don't let anyone mess with what's ours." He winks, showing off his unmistakable charm.
"What do you know about who put the hit out?" I ask, hoping for something useful.
But he’s just as in the dark as I am about it. "Didn't have time to dig into it. I didn't think it would be necessary. Humans are usually a liability, and I just hoped you’d just move on."
"Humans?" I can hear Serena ask, confused and clearly not following since she has no real idea who she’s dealing with.
Whiro just laughs, looking straight at me. "Oh, you're fucked."
Like I didn't already know that.
Maybe I should’ve told her what I really am from the start, but then again, we didn't exactly have the smoothest beginning. Now, I might need another century to explain everything to her.
Just when I think things can't get any worse, 8-Ball strolls in and starts rubbing against Whiro's legs.
This time, he's not laughing; he's fucking cackling so loud they probably hear him all the way down to the first floor. "Let me guess. Hers?"
"Don't ask," I say, sounding more defeated than I mean to, because no matter what excuse I offer, nothing I come up with will ever sound right. Besides, I know he sees through my bullshit, and will probably mock me for eternity.
"I’ll look into it and get back to you. Gotta go,” my brother says, reading a text that clearly just lit a fire under him.
With the amount of shit that can go wrong with him and Serena in the same room, I don't argue.
Just lead him out, knowing I'll be hearing from him soon. I'm just pissed off at myself that I hadn’t found out about this until now. But then again, even I don’t have access to all the places Whiro calls home.
He’ll have an answer for me. He always finds the answer. It's what he’s best at. But that doesn't mean I won't do a little digging of my own and see if I can come up with something.
I walk him to the door, and I know we’ll be in touch soon. But until then, I have another problem on my hands to deal with. I don't want to show Serena anything but coldness, keep my distance. But knowing she's scared like that does something to me I can't explain.
Why would she ever imagine I couldn't protect her from any man or god? No matter how hard I try to deny it, I’d bend heaven and hell to keep her safe.
It's not something I've ever done for anyone else; maybe that's why it feels like such a torment to my soul.
And she doesn't even deserve it yet. I'm well aware of that. But I know she’s the only one for me.
I turn to look at her. Her eyes are pointing at me like she's expecting me to say something to make sense of what she just heard. It’d be so easy to just ignore her and let her sit with it.
Let her burn. But her hands are clinging too tightly to her T-shirt, and I know her mind is buzzing with a million questions—most of which I don’t even have an answer to—yet.
Still, I do have an answer when it comes to her safety.
I walk in front of the couch where she is sitting.
Her eyes seem to be looking through me, like her mind drifted away, trying to figure out what this means for her.
As much as I enjoy torturing her, I can’t leave her like that.
I need to explain things to her. "Eyes on me.
" I place an order and wait for her to comply.
Her big blue eyes lift to look at me, shining with what might be the beginning of tears.
I love it when she cries in fear. But it's me she needs to fear, no one fucking else.
"You belong to me." I make that crystal clear to her.
Maybe she didn't completely get that in her head just yet.
"If I want to fuck you, then I fuck you.
I want to kill you, then I kill you. Me, no one else.
I am the only one who can do any of those things to you.
No one else on this earth can lay a finger on you as long as I'm still breathing. Do you understand?”
A veil of doubt slips from her gaze, only to be replaced by something else—relief. "Yeah," she murmurs, knowing it wasn't a threat. I'm not the kind to confess my feelings that easily, but I know she realizes what my words truly mean.
"Nothing's going to happen to you. Even if I am forced to burn this fucking city to the ground to prevent it.
Don't doubt my words." I take a seat next to her, preparing to make some calls, when I feel her hand brush against mine.
The touch so sweet, so welcome; like a breeze of air on a desert rock.
Her fingers curl into my palm, hoping I’ll keep her hand there, prisoner.
But it's not enough to win my forgiveness.
I don't close my hand around hers, and I don't pull her into my lap to reassure her, even though my body’s twitching to do just that.
This time, she needs to give me time. And I need to take some sweet fucking revenge.
I spend most of the day making calls. Not exactly how I pictured for her return to Vegas, but my life’s never been easy anyway.
I haven't hunted in a while. Sure, I tracked her down, but that wasn't the same. I couldn't truly hurt her. Not the way I'm going to hurt the ones who threatened