Chapter 30 Aniyah #2
He flailed a hand at her, mouth open, turning to me with a betrayed look that screamed Why? Why is this my life?
Resting my chin on my hands, I doubled down with a grin.
“You know, there are some really good taboo books and porn with this exact setup.” Flinging my hands out like an exaggerated movie producer, I said, “Picture it! A lazy, hot-headed brother and rough-and-tumble, charismatic sister, always butting heads… until one day, all that bickering turns into something else.”
I lifted my brows and waggled my fingers. “What do you think? Sexy, right?”
“You’re sick. Sick in the head,” Calix spat, collapsing back into the couch with all the flair of a man defeated.
Nova was fighting back laughter, her lips twitching. I smiled wider. Nova was the one that always got me and my humor.
“Well, different strokes for different folks,” I chirped, clapping my hands. Time to steer the chaos back on track. “Anyway. I actually agree with both of you to an extent.”
I turned to Calix. “I trust your system. It’s saved the building already, and I’m sure the upgrades will help.”
He mumbled, “Couldn’t do all the ones I wanted,” while glaring daggers at Van.
Van’s exhale told me this was a well-worn argument. “Boss Winstale, there was no universe where Boss Glovefox was getting an ejector button installed in her chair.”
Wait—what?
I ran a hand over my armrest, imagining myself being flung through the ceiling like a cartoon villain. Would the building spit me out like a human cannonball? Wouldn’t I crash into the ceiling?
Calix gestured toward me. “Look at her face! Tell me that’s not the face of a woman who wants an emergency eject option!”
I tried to smother my grin, knowing that I had five sets of eyes watching what I was about to say, even if my brother wasn’t wrong.
Van leaned in and whispered, “Just imagine accidentally hitting that button before orgasm.”
I blinked. Immediate mood killer. Immediate. I shook my head while Van gave Calix a victorious look.
Calix sulked, but I steamrolled ahead. “Nova, I also agree with you. For the re-opening, we need more guards, not just for security, but optics. Guests need to feel safe.”
Nova smirked at Calix like she’d just claimed the final word.
“But,” I added, “I don’t need them long-term. Just a few days… and not a whole army. Maybe a quarter of what you proposed.”
This time, Calix huffed a pointed laugh in her direction. Working with my siblings was always a flip of a coin. Either the cunning, ruthless bosses came out or the people I grew up with shined through. We just brought that out of each other.
Then inspiration struck.
“Hey, what if we made them part of the décor?” Turning my head to Calix, I explained, “Camouflage their bodies with magic and stick gold masks on their faces, almost like they were masks hung on the wall. It would make the members feel like they were being watched, making it a little mysterious and sexy.”
Calix tilted his head, considering. “That… could actually work. We could finish everything on our side by tomorrow night.”
Nova nodded. “I can get that number of men here on time.”
Excitement bubbled in my chest. “Great! Van, how much of the talent is coming back?”
“All of them.” He smiled down at me, eyes shining with smug satisfaction. “They were just waiting for your green light.” My heart grew, and for once, I didn’t mind his silent I told you so.
“And the members?” Instead of getting my hopes up, I made myself expect a drop in the numbers. I was confident that I could bring them back up again.
He chuckled. “We lost a few, but membership’s actually up three percent. Apparently, the thrill of almost dying mid-orgasm was such a hit, some of them ran out and told their friends it was the best sex of their lives. A few of our ‘maybe’ clients signed on immediately.”
I leaned back in my chair—carefully, just in case. You never knew with Calix. He was sly about sneaking in the things he really wanted.
“Diamonds.” I stared down at my desk, already envisioning the glamour and sparkle. “For the re-opening. Limited-edition masks for one night only. White base, laced with a unique diamond design. Only those who sign up get one, either to take home or stash in their lockers with their original masks.”
Spinning toward Van, I rushed out, “We need a news blast now, a glittering invitation saying exactly that. Also, open all rooms at base price. No upcharges. One night only. Cut-off to sign up is noon tomorrow. That gives us just enough time before the ten p.m. opening.”
He was already typing everything out on his tablet. He was such a good right hand.
“We need to keep the momentum up, no dead time. Call in more mages and tell them we’ll pay double to meet the timeframe.”
“Got it.” He nodded then glanced up and hesitated. “Are you… doing a special performance?”
The room didn’t go silent, but the shift in attention made it feel like it had. Every man around me focused on my answer like it would shift the earth beneath them.
Normally, I’d want to put on a grand show, eating all that attention up, but not while the situation with Glen was still a mess. Not to mention the mate situation hanging over my head like a guillotine. It was just too much.
“No. Opening night is for the members. To honor their loyalty and trust.”
Van tried, and failed, not to smile. Around the room, I caught the same look on the others’ faces. Smug satisfaction. Selfish bastards.
“All right, with all that figured out,” Calix leaned forward, voice edged in authority, “the rest of you need to scram. I need to talk to my sister.”
Ras’ fingers, which had been tracing slow circles on my back, paused, then tightened.
Calix’s eyes narrowed directly on him, sharpening into a glare.
“And you,” Calix growled, “don’t think I haven’t noticed you drooling all over my sister since she got back. We’ll be having a conversation about that once I’m done here.”
I was about to tell him to shut his loud, overprotective mouth, but Ras beat me to it.
“I don’t see the need for a conversation,” he said smoothly, his voice oozing danger, “when we can clear it up right now.”
My heart skipped, then it began to pound. I looked up just in time to see that crooked smile of his widen, a familiar, dark glint flashing in his eyes. I had a very bad feeling about this.
“I’m Aniyah’s boyfriend. At least one of them,” he added, glancing down at me for confirmation.
With the way the tension in the room exploded, you’d think a bomb had gone off.
“W. H. A. T?” Calix enunciated every letter like it was a separate curse.
Ras, unfazed, knelt beside me like I was the goddess he worshipped. “She’s chosen me. Just the other day, the moonlight hit her body—”
I slapped a hand over his mouth so fast it surprised even me. “Stop talking,” I hissed. “Before you either get me in trouble or yourself killed.”
“I’m also one of her boyfriends,” Van said, stepping forward. What was this? Some kind of role call?
And then Lucus, ever the posh king, raised his glass of booze to my brother. “Well, guess the cat’s out of the bag. Me, too.”
My eyes snapped to Alic and Maso, silently ordering them to stay quiet. They exchanged a look with Nova, then, being the traitors they were, nodded.
Nova slapped her knee and burst into laughter, throwing her thumb over to them. “Oh, shit! These two as well?! Damn girl! You got some bomb-ass pussy!”
She turned to Calix, a gleeful smile on her face as she counted it off in one hand. “Five boyfriends, Calix! Five!”
She leaned in, grinning as she whispered in his ear. “They outnumber you. What you gonna do about that?”
Calix stood slowly, voice vibrating with fury. “You think I can’t handle a ragtag group like this?” He reached into his pocket, and my stomach dropped.
This was about to get real. You never knew what kind of weapons were in Calix’s pocket, and I’d just had the building fixed.
I stood up, slapping my hands on my desk, and belted, “Can I please get a moment alone with Boss Rossey and Boss Winstale?”
Everyone hesitated, but Van was the first to nod and walk out. The others followed, though not happily. The door clicked shut, and I could already tell I wanted to call them back in for comfort.
“You’ve lost your damn mind!” Calix roared. “Fuck them? Fine. Use them like toys, yes. Hell yes. But boyfriends? Labels?! Standing?! No. Absolutely not. I forbid it.”
He sliced his hand like that was the final word.
Nova's eyes lit up like she’d just gotten popcorn delivered and was settling in for a show.
Cracking my neck, I walked around my desk and bumped my chest into Calix. “You think you can forbid me from doing anything?”
He blinked, thrown off.
“I’m the Glovefox boss. Same level as you. You think you can tell me who I can or can’t be with?”
He grabbed my shoulders, the bravado melting as his voice softened. “Spend time with them. Fuck them. But don’t let them in. Don’t give them anything.”
Ghosts of his past haunted his eyes, shadows of things he didn’t want to talk about. Wouldn’t talk about.
Nova stepped up beside us. “What our big brother is trying to say, badly, is that he’s trying to protect you. You know, in the classic macho, emotionally-stunted, dickhead kind of way.”
“Yeah. Something like that,” Calix muttered.
My anger slipped away just as fast as it came, replaced by something warmer, heavier. I wrapped my arms around both of them, pressing my head into Calix’s chest.
“I know,” I murmured. “Trust me, I know. But…”
I hesitated, weighing the risk of telling them about the tattoo, my feelings, my fears…
Nova pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. “Niya, we know you’re smart. We know you’re careful. We trust you even if we want to burn out the eyes of everyone who even looks at you.”
Calix nodded solemnly. I nearly laughed.
“We love you. So, do what you need to do with those five tall drinks of water.”
“Fucking gross,” Calix groaned, releasing us as he backed off.
He slumped into the couch, slightly defeated. “But she’s right. We love you, so I’ll trust your judgment.”
Then he pointed at me, stern. “But if they hurt you, if they make you cry, or rage, or feel even a flicker of badness, I’m dragging them to the dungeons in Vegas. I’ll make them pay tenfold.”
I smirked. “Got it.”
“No, I mean it.” His voice rang loud and clear. “Don’t come knocking, beg me to stop. You made the choice to date them, but I get to end them if they fuck up. That's the deal. Take it or leave it.”
I walked up and shook his finger like it was a normal business deal. “Deal.”
“Now, what’s going on with your lead?”
Leaning back against my desk, I let out a breath that felt like it had been sitting in my chest all damn day. The dried blood was crusting against my skin, but I didn’t have the energy to pick it off yet. “I did my best to get any information out of the fucker.”
Nova's eyes swept over me, taking in the blood-smeared mess I’d become. Instead of concern, she flashed a feral grin, all teeth and pride, like a wolf admiring another’s handiwork. “Obviously… which, by the way, good job. Looks like you did some solid damage.”
Despite everything, I gave her a small nod, acknowledging the praise without letting it in too deep. “Yeah. A lot of good that did me.”
I folded my arms across my chest as if that could somehow hold in all my frustration. “Right when he was about to give me the name of the person who orchestrated it, he died.”
Calix jumped in like I’d left an opening for criticism. “Well, Niya, that’s called taking too much too fast. Which artery did you nick? I can show you—”
“Shut up,” I snapped, my voice edged like a blade. I didn’t want this turning into another anatomy lecture or an I-told-you-so moment. “It wasn’t because I killed him.”
I exhaled hard, too tired and pissed off but not sure who to direct it at. “The dick had a vow of silence placed on him. As soon as he tried to say the name, his body convulsed. Then his heart exploded. Just… boom.”
That final word came out as brittle as the last thread of my patience.
Nova and Calix shared a look, quick, sharp, silent. A thousand conversations spoken in half a second.
“Did you tell Ezra yet?” Nova asked, her voice gentler now, with a thread of concern tucked into her usual cool.
I shook my head. “Not yet. We’re still tracking down the security guard who might’ve been involved. Once I’ve got his location and enough to give her something solid, I’ll do a full report.”
Calix started spinning the ring on his thumb, a sure sign he was thinking too fast and already ten steps ahead. “That’s probably for the best. We don’t know yet if this was a move against the Syndicate or just a personal vendetta. Either way, we’ll respond, but we need more.”
I stood up, trying to look like I had more energy than I actually did. “I’ll keep you guys in the loop.”
I assumed they’d be heading out soon since they had their own lives to get back to.
Calix stretched, the movement slow and exaggerated. “No need. We’re sticking around for a few days. Make sure the reopening goes smoothly.”
My mouth opened reflexively, ready to argue, to push back, to tell them I had this handled, but the words stalled, caught between pride and fatigue. I didn’t want to hurt them, but gods, I wanted them to back off.
Nova, because she knew me like the back of her hand, patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll stay out of your spotlight and let you have your big moment. Trust me, you’re going to want us here.”
Something in her tone set my nerves on edge. Calix was already grinning, which made it worse. They were totally about to drop some flaming bullshit in my lap.
I narrowed my eyes, suspicious. “Why?”
They turned and walked toward the door like this was just another everyday exit, but I wasn’t buying it. I took a step after them, gut twisting, instincts flaring. “Why?” I repeated louder.
Nova didn’t even look back when she tossed the words over her shoulder, all casual and cool.
“The grandpas are coming.”
I froze as my stomach dropped straight into my heels.
Oh, fuck.