Separate Sins (Chaos Universe)

Chapter 1

KLAUS

Istared straight ahead, annoyed that I was even standing in this fucking meeting.

I didn’t trust this little fucking shithead any further than I could throw him, but Matteo was big on family and seemed to have a fuck ton of trust or dumb luck with this little asshole.

And I trusted Teo. I’d follow him straight into hell, and we’d raise it together.

Sylar’s blue eyes snapped to me. “Klaus.”

I stared back at him without saying a word. Matteo shifted in his seat at his desk, and Alessio cleared his throat, his subtle way of telling me to relax.

I didn’t want to relax, not like this. I wanted a stiff drink and maybe a damn nap. Maybe that would help me relax.

“You doubt me,” Sylar continued, frowning, his head cocked to the left.

I said nothing, opting to stare straight ahead and will the time to tick by faster.

“Matteo, may I?” Sylar looked from me to Matteo, who inclined his head without a word.

Great. Life lessons from a nutcase.

“She loved you like one loves a thorn,” Sylar murmured, his icy blue eyes locked on me.

I ground my teeth at his words and continued to stare at the door, willing it to open and lead this fuck out. I didn’t like it when people wanted to talk about my dead wife.

“But even thorns have uses,” Sylar continued. “And you fulfilled yours. Two sons. You pushed them away to make it hurt less. You… love them, but hate yourself.”

My pulse thundered in my ears at his words, but still I remained unflinching outwardly. That was my thing. Never show emotion. Emotion fucked you.

As was evident as this little pissant spouted off with the shit in his head.

Fucking Frank.

If he’d have kept his dick in his pants twenty years ago, I wouldn’t have to be dealing with this right now.

“You see, Klaus, we’re all part of one big puzzle. Even your jagged edges are needed. Am I right?” Sylar cocked his head to the left at me again.

I said nothing, pretending he didn’t exist.

He chuckled softly. “You’re a tough cookie, aren’t you?”

Alessio shifted, his dark eyes glancing to me. I could feel the muscle in my jaw flex. Alessio and Matteo knew me better than anyone else in this world. They knew when my moods were shifting. Once that happened, my violence tended to pour out.

“Let me say it clearly. You are lost, but you’ll find yourself soon.

When that time comes, I’d say it’s well into the afternoon.

I suggest a muffin for you to savor. A simple blueberry in flavor.

On Monroe Street, a diner called Merv’s.

You should stop there and perhaps check out…

all the curves.” He paused. “I do recommend the blueberry. They’re amazing.

So is she.” He winked at me before turning back to Matteo, who cast me a quick, concerning look.

I ignored that too.

This guy and his nursery rhymes.

To be fair, I’d seen them all come true. I prided myself on being a logical man, but Sylar was truly… something. I had no explanation for him. He was magical, I suppose, and magic didn’t need a reason, simply a belief.

And he’d said something similar to me before at the palace, which again, I’d ignored, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly intrigued.

And Matteo believed in him.

I had no idea why I’d stop at a diner named Merv’s. I’d never even heard of the place, and I’d been all over this damn city. It didn’t matter. I didn’t have any intention of going into a diner in the city center. I was picky about where I dined. I had to be. Didn’t want to die from poisoning.

“Matteo. The girl,” Sylar continued, focusing back on Teo. “Yes. Those thoughts. Yes.”

Matteo stiffened, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Are you certain?”

“Am I ever wrong?” Sylar countered.

Matteo was quiet as they surveyed one another before he rapped his knuckles on his desk.

“I will…try.”

“It’s all I can ask of you.” Sylar got to his feet and looked to the door. “3… 2… 1…”

The door opened, and Frank stepped inside.

“Oh, look. My daddy is here to pick me up,” Sylar said in a mocking voice.

Frank looked disgusted, shaking his head.

He definitely should have kept his dick in his pants.

“I’ll be seeing you, OGs. Love and light and all that passive-aggressive bullshit.” Sylar waved us off without a backward glance and followed his dad out of the room.

The door clicked closed behind them, and I finally looked over at Matteo.

“Really?” I asked dryly.

“Really,” Matteo said, getting to his feet to go to the bar in the room. I watched him pour a glass of whiskey before sucking it down.

“She’s beautiful,” Alessio said. “Bianca.”

“Alessandro said he will marry her,” Matteo muttered.

“And Sylar said for you to do it,” Alessio interjected. “He’s never wrong. You don’t want to die, right?”

Matteo poured another drink and didn’t say anything.

I stepped forward to him.

“Brother,” I murmured, resting my hand on his forearm. Matteo looked at me with sad eyes.

“For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do,” Matteo said softly. “This isn’t what I want. I keep listening and lose myself. I didn’t want to fuck the girl back when I put her on her knees in my office, and I sure as fuck don’t want to now.”

“Marriage doesn’t mean fucking,” Alessio said, moving forward and pouring himself a glass of whiskey. “You just wed the girl, and all will fall into place as Sylar has said.”

“It’s more,” I said, narrowing my eyes at Matteo. His arm trembled beneath my touch. “Teo?”

Matteo blew out a breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

“It’s nothing,” he finally said. “I’m just tired of fighting the same battles. I think I need a break.”

I removed my hand from his arm, knowing he was shutting down. Once Matteo did that, it was over until he decided to reopen. And sometimes, on certain subjects, he didn’t.

“How are you so calm about this?” Matteo looked over at Alessio, who was polishing off his drink.

Alessio licked his lips and smiled. “I love my son, but I want what is needed. If it keeps us alive, if it keeps him alive, I’ll do it. If Sylar came in here and told me I had to marry Bianca, I’d have her beneath me already. You know that.”

Matteo grunted.

That was how Alessio was, though. He was decisive.

Once he settled on something, he did it.

His mind moved quickly, and he never seemed to attach himself to anything.

Matteo and I figured it happened when he lost his wife during childbirth with his daughter, but we didn’t push the subject.

All we knew was that she was the love of his life, and her death changed him.

Even though we all shared the trauma of losing our women, Alessio still managed to be a good man—a good father.

I kept failing. I didn’t like to think about it.

Levin hated me, and Stef was dead. Helping Matteo keep the woman Levin loved prisoner wasn’t earning me any brownie points either, but then again, Levin wasn’t in the know.

He didn’t know we were listening to some asylum case Matteo had paid to tell him the future.

If Levin were anything like me, he’d laugh in my face.

I’d heard Levin was a lot like me. But also a lot like his mother.

It didn’t matter. I was a fuck-up and a piece of shit for a father. I couldn’t even save Stef. There was no point in my dwelling on any of it.

So I didn’t.

Instead, I drank to forget because it just made the days pass in a blur and hurt less.

That was all I could ask for.