Chapter 7
Seven
N erine
“Hello, Mrs. Angelos. Welcome back to the Drakos estate.” Stevie, Nyx Drakos’s head of security, greeted me as I stepped out of my car.
“Hi, Stevie. It’s good to see you again.”
Her stern face softened, turning her into the runway model she’d been in her youth, and a slight twinkle lit her dark eyes. “I hope you’re ready for the beginning of your training in plants.”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I answered, releasing a deep breath.
I gestured with my chin to the bag on the floorboard, and immediately, she reached inside and handed it to a man waiting behind her. I noticed Theo’s scowl—he hadn’t seen anything in my hands when I’d slid into the car at home.
Yeah, I had a feeling he’d ask me about it on the way back.
She’d barely glanced at Xander and Theo. Still, I knew she’d taken in everything about them, from Theo’s irritation toward me to how Xander scrutinized everything around him.
But the three of them hadn’t counted on the fact that I caught the glances that passed between them. They knew each other, maybe not as friends, but they weren’t enemies on a deeper level than security for two syndicate heads.
Cara, remember you play multiple games at the same time. You can’t focus only on one thing. It isn’t fair, but you are a woman, and they will treat you differently. You have to be better than all of them.
Were they working with Stevie on this long-term plan of theirs?
They could go right ahead.
I’d work mine, and they could carry on with theirs.
We’d see who got to the finish line first.
“I’ll take you to the solarium. We’ve prepared it for your lessons.”
Stevie led us through the opulent front entryway. Any trace of last night’s event no longer existed. Though the way they’d created the living garden indoor atmosphere was beautiful, I preferred how it looked now. This classic, clean with hints of a modern aesthetic, called to me. They’d brought the house up in time with technology and art but kept the original prewar New England style, structure, and coloring.
A warm, comforting sensation washed over me as we weaved through the house. This place wrapped a person in a feeling of love and contentment.
This was a home.
The energy here welcomed a soul.
A pang hit my heart and reminded me of what I’d once felt in the Angelos compound. Those times were long over.
A few seconds later, we stopped outside two thick wooden doors.
“Gentlemen, you are not permitted inside the room.” Stevie crossed her arms across her chest in a no-nonsense stance.
“We go where she goes,” Xander challenged.
The firm set of his jaw screamed he had no plan to budge on his assignment.
“Wrong. Mrs. Angelos is a guest in the Drakos home. Nyx wants a private afternoon with her friend. She will get a private afternoon.”
Theo moved to stand between me and the door, his granite-like stance blocking my way into the room. “As Mr. Onassis stated. We go where Mrs. Angelos goes.”
Irritation coursed through me. This whole situation was stupid.
I shoved Theo out of my way. “What the hell is going to happen to me here?”
“You are our priority. Those are our orders.”
“Orders? Andraius is jizzing himself right now that I’m here.”
“I do not believe he would find that language appropriate.” Xander’s chiding tone had me ready to deck him.
What he couldn’t say was he hated that word—always had, especially when I said it.
What had he expected when I fell for two enforcers and hung out with their crew? I could be as raunchy as the rest of them.
“I’m his wife, not his child. Get a grip or get lost.”
Stevie moved toward me. “They can sit outside if that makes them more comfortable.”
With an icy glare, I shot back, “No, they can’t. I want privacy as well. So go have a cookie or something in the kitchen.”
“A cookie?” Theo’s eyes narrowed menacingly, and he stepped in my direction. “I swear to God, Ne?—”
He cut himself off, pausing his movement, and clenched his jaw, realizing we had an audience. I’d made him break his calm iceman demeanor.
I lifted a challenging brow and taunted, “You were saying?”
Xander stepped between Theo and me. “Go play with your plants. We will occupy ourselves for the next few hours.”
He glanced at Stevie, who showed him four fingers in a silent response, conveying the number of hours for the lesson.
“We will see you at six o’clock sharp,” he said gruffly before turning and striding away with Theo on his heels.
A throat cleared, and my attention shifted toward the solarium. Leaning against one open door, I found Nyx. A tight bun sat atop her head, and she wore a fitted tank top with slim workout pants.
The curious expression on her face told me she’d heard part of the exchange I’d had with Xander and Theo.
She confirmed it when she lifted a brow and said, “Something tells me those two were much more than bodyguards in your former life. Hmm?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m a cold-hearted bitch, or haven’t you heard the complaints my husband likes to spread about me?”
Nyx gestured for me to enter the room. “Sometimes, the only armor a woman has is her cutting tongue and slicing personality. So I’m going to teach you another way to protect yourself.”
“Want me to keep a certain green-eyed busybody away for today’s lessons?” Stevie asked.
“As if that is even remotely possible.” Nyx gave Stevie a deadpan stare.
“Then what do you propose we do when he decides to supervise? And you know he’s going to want to supervise.” The annoyance in Stevie’s voice made me think she was more of a friend to Nyx than exclusively a bodyguard.
Nyx smirked and scanned me from head to toe before saying, “Nothing. The asshole I love called and said he has to fly to Greece for some emergency negotiations for a shipping contract. He may not be back for weeks.”
Stevie cocked her head to the side. “Let me guess. Your brothers are involved in this business?”
“Why would I know anything about my brothers’ dealings?” The smirk on Nyx’s face said she was well aware of everything going on. “What I do know is that I’ve got this one all to myself and her husband won’t have any objections to lessons from me every day if I request them.”
This woman seriously had some balls of steel. She gave no fucks at all.
* * *
“What do you think?” Nyx asked as we entered the solarium.
The space gave the feel of an enchanted garden, where the sun shone through the glass walls in beams of light onto the incredible array of plants around the space’s edge. But what made this room unlike anything I’d ever seen were the cases of weapons and armor situated at various points around a giant training mat.
“Is this your gym?”
“Almost every other day while I’m in residence.”
I studied her, taking in her complete confidence in who she was. She appeared to be the Mykos Hellion turned refined Drakos wife to the outside world. However, everything I’d learned in such a short time told me it was all a guise, and she’d never truly conformed. Instead, she’d just learned to manage her reactions more.
As if sensing my scrutiny, Nyx made a circle with her body, hands out.
“No, you aren’t in the twilight zone. And yes, I’m the same person from last night. But, I behave because that will cause the least amount of issues for Simon and my brothers.” She shook her head. “The shit a girl does for the people she loves.”
“You are seriously like no one I have ever met.”
“I can’t wait to introduce you to my other friends. They are going to blow your mind.”
I gaped at her, dumbfounded.
“No, seriously, those women scare the shit out of even me. But every girl needs a tribe, right?” Before I could answer, she added, “Now, with you in the mix, I won’t be the youngest. You are like a baby. What are you, twenty-four?”
“Umm. Not yet.”
“You are the baby. Let’s hope they don’t put a hit out on Andraius before Simon sets his plans in motion.”
I decided to sit down as my mind started to whirl.
Sliding to the floor, I stared up at Nyx. “Why are you being so open with me? I don’t understand any of this. Nobody is this free with a person they just met. Just put everything on the table. What do you want from me?”
Nyx approached me and kneeled, her almost black eyes peering into mine. It was as if she saw something in me I wasn’t aware of myself or maybe had forgotten about.
Whatever it was, my stomach was uneasy, and I braced for her words.
“Do you know what New York society called me as a teen? Hell, they called me that name until I married Simon.”
I nodded. “You were the Mykos Hellion.”
“There is no were about it. I’m still that same girl. I’m just better at camouflaging it.”
“And what does that have to do with me?”
“You are the younger, Boston version of me. My brother Tyler mentioned you years ago, so I had to see for myself. And he was right. You took shit from no one. Didn’t they call you the Angel with the tongue like a viper?”
My lips trembled, remembering how Papa had told me to use that name to my advantage, to wield it as a weapon since I’d lead the family one day. He’d said angels brought hope and salvation and destroyed and conquered those who stood in their way.
I swallowed the pain of knowing I’d failed at being who he wanted me to be.
“I’m not her. She died with Papa.”
“No. I call bullshit on that sentiment. And I’m going to prove it to you.”
I held her gaze. “How?”
“I believe you are hiding plans you don’t want anyone to know about.”
A roaring echoed into my ears. Who the fuck was this woman?
Instead of giving any reaction, I kept my face emotionless.
“Excellent, emotion control.” She quirked her lips, amusement evident on her face. “To achieve your goals, the plan isn’t the only thing necessary. You need to learn to defend yourself.”
“And you’re the person who’s going to help me?”
“Yep, with a few friends of mine.”
Friends? A shiver slid down my spine. “And you’re doing this because I remind you of a younger you?”
“A younger me without the brothers and father to back me up. Though I believe those two protective men you have in my kitchen would step in if asked.”
Ignoring the latter part of her answer, I said, “I don’t buy it. What do you get out of this?”
“Let’s say I get to fuck with a misogynistic system that tried to force me to marry a man for a pot of gold.”
My eyes widened. “But you’re in love with your husband.”
“True. I love that asshole and would cut a bitch for fucking with him. But it doesn’t change the fact that he held all the power over whether we married or not and used it to his advantage. I had no say in my future because of a decision made a century before by a group of men.”
“Are you saying you hate-fucked each other until you fell in love?”
My thoughts drifted to Theo and how much I’d disliked him and his overbearing ways during high school. Though fucking hadn’t been part of anything between us. Well, not until my senior year.
That’s when things changed with Xander, as well. The attraction and desire sat as an undercurrent of our friendship, but we never acted upon it. Plus, I was well aware of what Xander and Theo had with each other. Then, one night, in the middle of a volatile argument with Theo with Xander trying to play peacemaker, it all changed.
“It coasted more on the lines of blackmail, but that’s a story for another time.” The mischievous expression on Nyx’s face told me she’d enjoyed the situation she’d found herself in. “Are my ulterior motives for helping you acceptable?”
I stared at her as a war of uncertainty battled inside my mind. Trusting her meant putting so many things in the hands of another person—no, not just one person, but many people. Then again, at the moment, I had very few people to depend on.
I couldn’t second-guess myself now. I’d made the call this morning in the shower.
Tilting my chin up, I responded, “I’m not sure I can trust you, but I don’t have other options, do I? So until you prove me wrong, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”
“You’re a smart girl.” A voice came from the corner of the room. “Never give anyone blind faith. That’s lesson number one.”
Adrenaline shot through my system, and my heartbeat hammered in my chest as two women stepped out from the shadows and approached us, one Indian and one tall brunette.
I recognized them immediately. They were Devani King, the Queen of Diamonds, the notorious head of a gem-mining conglomerate, and Lilly King, the daughter of Papa’s long-time friend, German mob boss Joseph Lennox.
For years, I’d admired Lilly. She’d had the same role in her family as I had. If she’d stayed in Germany, she’d have become her father’s second-in-command. Rumors said she was as ruthless or even more so than her father. However, she’d decided to follow an artistic path.
The two women had married into the King family of New York City, known for playing the mediators between the underworld, i.e., various syndicates, and upper-crust society. Though I’d heard they were as heavily involved in the business as their men.
And from the looks on their faces, something told me everything said about them was probably true.
“I take it you recognize our new arrivals?”
I nodded but kept quiet, watching the ladies approach.
“Nerine, let me introduce you to some new friends. Devani and Lilly. They are going to help me train you. In the next few months, you will learn things you would never have learned in any formal education institution.”
“Oh, don’t look so scared,” Devani King almost purred. “I have a secret to share with you. I’m not the bitchy socialite everyone believes.”
“What are you?”
“A girl who was a trained assassin by the time she turned fourteen.” She gestured to Lilly. “I taught this one everything she knows. And I’m going to teach you some of the same things.”
A shiver shot down my spine. Dear God. What had I gotten myself into?
Then Lilly smiled at me, her stormy eyes taking me in. “I’m going to do for you what your Papa did for mine.”
“And that is?”
“Teach you how to run an organization. You need to know how things work whether you take the helm or not. Also”—Lilly tapped her lip—“are you going to turn in your assignment? It was due this morning.”
“What assignment?”
I stared into Lilly’s stormy gray eyes resembling Theo’s.
After a few seconds, I remembered. I’d forgotten to turn in my training module from my mentor.
“You’re the hacker?”
“Among other things.”
“I think I’m going to be sick.” I dropped my head into my lap.
Nyx patted my shoulder. “You’re going to be just fine. By the time this is over, you may change your mind about leaving.”
“No, that won’t happen.”
“Then you train, and we’ll help make it happen.”