Chapter 8 Aniyah
ANIYAH
Closing the lid to the box after snagging the last eggroll, I rose from my desk. “I’m calling it a night.”
I glanced at Van, all buttoned up, freshly dressed, finishing the last of his food. It was a shame he didn’t have a flair for performance; with a face like that, he would've been a solid addition to the club’s talent roster.
The thought barely took root before I shook it off. Van would hate that, and something deep in the recesses of my mind said I wouldn’t like it either.
He was my BFWB—best friend with benefits. He scratched my back, and I scratched his. Everyone got what they wanted, and the best part? It never interfered with work. Everything stayed clean. Smooth. Easy.
So, why did he kiss me like that?
My eyes drifted to his mouth as he sipped the last of his soda. His naturally sharp, earthy scent of oakmoss, sage, and wild mint made me lean just a little closer.
“You need anything else, Ni?” he asked as he threw his napkin in the empty container.
His voice snapped me out of the trance, and I shook my head with a smile. I laughed, casual as ever. “Naw, you can head home. I just have to send a few things to Ezra, then I’m out of here.”
When he didn’t move, I smirked. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Alic is still waiting for me in the security room. We had a bit of a fight earlier, so he’s probably giving me space.”
Van let out a long, tired sigh and closed his eyes. “You know he’s here for your protection, right? Sent by your siblings because they care and want you to be safe.”
Like I didn’t already know that.
What he didn’t know was that I wanted to get in Alic’s pants, and it was the core issue beneath my attitude toward him. That, and I didn’t want to feel like someone had to babysit me. I was a goddamn Syndicate boss!
Ezra had her shadow hands. Calix had his little machine soldiers.
Riot was a world-class trained assassin, and Nova?
She trained all our muscle. Every one of them had their own methods of self-defense, but they seemed to forget that I was raised by the same parents and had undergone the same training.
Just because I was the youngest and worked the skin trade didn't mean I was some helpless flower.
Liking shiny things, heels, and being stunning didn’t make me easy prey, and I was damn sure going to prove that.
“I know, Van. I know.”
His jade eyes held mine, unconvinced but unwilling to argue. He knew it was pointless.
My gaze flicked to his lips again, the ghost of his kiss still lingering. I looked away quickly, opened my drawer, and pretended to search for something, anything, to distract myself. “Look, I took the last eggroll as an olive branch, okay?” Anything to keep from blushing in front of him.
He huffed a soft laugh. “Aw. I’ll remember that next time you need to apologize for something.”
“Hey!” I lifted my head and screeched, instinctively defensive. “I hope you know that to—”
I cut myself off just in time. I was about to remind him I’d covered for him today, and we both knew that would spiral into a conversation about a certain vampire neither of us was ready for.
His brow arched in curiosity, but I recovered fast. “I hope you know that two can play at that game.” I set my hands on my hips, teasing. “I’ll start a tally of everything you should apologize for. Let’s see who ends up with the last eggroll.”
He broke into a wide, brilliant smile and chuckled as he reached for his coat. “All right, all right. You win. You always win, okay?”
I nodded, smug and satisfied. “Damn right, I do.”
“See you tomorrow, Ni.”
He paused, shoulders tightening just slightly, before slipping on his coat and walking out the door with a wave.
As soon as it clicked shut, I collapsed back into my chair with a groan. What a damn day.
Honestly? It had been great. I did a tour, signed a new top-tier member, had some mind-blowing sex... but something in my gut told me this was just the beginning of something complicated, and I really didn't want to do complicated.
Thinking it over, I realized Van and I had never added anyone into the mix. It was always just the two of us or an audience. Maybe that was what changed the energy. Maybe that’s why he kissed me. He knew the rules, but he still did it.
And then there was Mr. Lucus Kingsley, the stuck-up London vampire billionaire who’d come here looking for some fun. Who knew he had that in him?
I had an inkling he had something lying dormant inside him. Even without my powers, I could feel it. I just didn’t expect it to break out like that.
A heavy knock rattled my office door, and I didn’t need to ask who it was. Setting aside my tangled thoughts of Lucus and Van, I braced myself to deal with yet another man in my life, one who was just as complicated in his own way.
“Come in, Alic.”
The door swung open, and his massive green frame filled the doorway, barely squeezing through. Ever the dutiful soldier, he marched to my desk, hands clasped behind his back, silently waiting for orders.
Just looking at him made my body sag with exhaustion. I didn’t have it in me to fight anymore, not tonight. I was too drained, physically and mentally. Sighing, I grabbed the white to-go box from my desk and padded around it barefoot, placing a gentle hand on his arm.
“At ease, soldier,” I joked weakly.
No reaction. Not even the twitch of a smile.
Typical.
So, I shoved the box into his hands instead. “Here. Peace offering, okay?”
He glanced at me, then at the box, before taking it from my hands and opening it. He stared at the lone eggroll for so long I almost told him to give it back, then he pointed at my feet. “You’re barefoot.”
I looked down, then back up at him with a small shrug, tucking loose strands of hair behind my ear. “Yeah… When I’m emailing Ezra, I like to have my feet flat on the floor. I don’t know why. It just… makes me feel more grounded.” Why the fuck did I tell him that?! Now, he’s going to think I’m nuts.
“Weird, huh?” Since it was already out there, I should just own it and make fun of it myself.
He shook his head, eyes still fixed on my toes, making me want to hide them behind the desk again. Instead, I stood my ground. Literally.
“It makes sense,” he said finally. After a pause, still staring at the eggroll, he admitted, “I get nervous around her, and I’m like four times her size.”
I barked out a laugh and sat on the edge of the desk, crossing my arms. “She’s always been that way, even when we were kids.
” Losing my mind to my childhood memories with a smile, I explained, “She’s been mean mugging everyone since she knew how to walk.
It wasn't until she figured out she could get more out of others by smiling instead of scaring the shit out of them that she stopped. Not that it helped much. That aura she’s got? Still terrifying.”
I shook my head, fondness and frustration tangled together. “Most people chalk it up to her sitting in the Desmond seat, but that's not it. Ezra’s just Ezra. One scary-ass bitch.”
“You know I could never agree with what you just said.”
His no-nonsense tone had me doubling over, laughing like I’d lost a lung. God, why was he so freaking cute? Did he realize that being so straight-laced only made me want him more? It made me itch to see what my chaos could unravel in him.
“Yeah, I know,” I said, catching my breath. “That’s why I said it for both of us.”
He gave a small nod, lifted the eggroll to his mouth, and took a crunchy bite like that was the end of it. Just like that, the world was calm again.
Then a soft ding sounded from my computer.
I darted back around the desk to check it, not expecting anything major until Alic picked that exact moment to ask, “So, why was the camera on floor thirteen turned off?”
His voice wasn’t accusing, just calmly curious, which somehow made it worse.
“I forgot to turn it back on after I used the space to practice for yesterday’s performance,” I easily lied, but we both knew it was a lie.
I wasn’t sure how he knew I’d been fucking Van on the side, but the way Alic’s eyes tracked him whenever he was in the room was a dead giveaway. It wasn’t jealousy, exactly… more like silent judgment wrapped in protective instinct.
Desperate for a distraction, I focused on the new email instead of his questions since I knew they’d just cause us to fight again.
No sender.
The subject line read: To My Flower with Bloody Thorns.
I clicked.
Only a few lines were inside, but they chilled me to the bone:
You’re glorious in all that you do. I can’t help but bask in your luminous glow, wishing I could show you how much I’ve missed you. I hope your time on level thirteen was satisfactory tonight.
Love,
Your secret admirer.
What the fuck?
Apparently, I said that out loud because Alic was at my shoulder in a flash.
“Hey!” I yelped as he snatched the mouse from my hand. Within a second, he was clicking around and typing furiously, trying to trace the source. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to find anything, but still, I let him try.
My eyes drifted toward the corner of my desk. The rose. The bright pink one that had shown up earlier with a note whose tone closely resembled the email.
Could it be…
“Aniyah, do you have any—”
He stopped. His gaze shifted from me to the rose, and just like that, every muscle in his body locked tight.
Oh, no.
“Aniyah.” He said my name low and slow, letting every syllable drag like a warning. “Where did that flower come from?”
I didn’t want to tell him. He’d blow it way out of proportion, dragging this out into something messy, and I was already juggling too many messes as it was. This was probably nothing. Right?
Judging by the look on Alic’s face, stone-cold serious with a deadly glint in his eyes, it was definitely not okay. But, then again, Alic had a knack for making everything difficult.