Chapter 24 Lexi
Lexi
My fingers ache from gripping the wheel. My pulse hasn’t slowed. If anything, it’s getting worse—faster, harder, like my heart is trying to break through my ribs.
I just stole the devil’s car and met his replacement.
In the rearview mirror, the black sedan sits calm now. Headlights steady. No more aggressive chasing.
I’m scared.
I hate admitting it, even to myself. But I am. Terrified, actually.
What the hell did Jasper drag me into? I stare at the rearview mirror, terrified about what these guys are going to do to me. But I trust Jasper with my life, and he wouldn’t screw me over like this.
My phone sits in the passenger seat, screen dark. No messages. No calls. Just silence.
I could floor it. Drive until I run out of gas. But then Koa would find me. The reason I called Jasper in the first place was to just take it one step at a time. I want protection, and apparently, Jasper sending me to his friend of a friend is going to solve my problem.
But then what?
And what about Axel?
Fuck, I’ve found myself in a hell hole right now. And I wouldn’t doubt that Koa is pulling Axel out of rehab as I drive.
I look in the rearview mirror again, feeling eyes on me. Revan, in the passenger seat, is staring at him. His words echo in my head. ”If I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead.”
I take a shaky breath and keep driving.
We drive for another fifteen minutes before the landscape changes.
Trees close in on both sides, dense and dark.
The road narrows. Then we crest a hill, and I see the destination.
A beautiful mansion. Gothic. Massive. Half-hidden behind iron gates and security lights that flicker like dying fireflies.
It looks like something out of a horror movie—the kind where people go in and don’t come out.
I was expecting frat-house chaos. Beer cans and broken furniture.
Not this.
This is deadly. Controlled. Expensive. Intimidating.
The sedan drives around me and pulls ahead at the gate. It opens automatically, smooth and silent.
I follow, heart pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears.
The gate clanks shut behind me.
This isn’t a mansion. It’s a trap.
I park behind the sedan and kill the engine.
For a moment, I just sit there, hands still on the wheel, staring at the mansion through the windshield.
The driver’s side door of the sedan opens.
A man steps out.
And I forget how to breathe.
He’s sin wrapped in olive skin. Tattoos cover his arms, disappearing under the sleeves of his black shirt. Dark hair. Sharp jawline. The kind of face that makes you forget your own name.
I swallow hard, forcing myself to look away.
Revan gets out next. He’s covered in ink with brown waves that land on his forehead. His eyes find mine, and they bite me awake, shocking my system until I look down at the ground.
They walk around the car, waiting for me to get out. I step out of the Charger, tucking the keys in my pocket.
I don’t know where to keep my eyes, but when I look up again, my eyes know exactly where they want to go. The taller one. The one that was driving like a maniac.
Revan glances back at his friend, then back at me.
“Do you know him?” Revan asks.
I shake my head quickly, meeting Revan’s eyes. “No.”
The tattooed man doesn’t acknowledge me. Just walks toward the mansion without a word.
I follow Revan inside with shaky legs.
The mansion smells like steel, motor oil, and expensive cologne. It’s beautiful in a cold, lonely way. High ceilings. Dark wood. Chandeliers that cast shadows instead of light.
My footsteps echo on the marble floor.
Then a group of men walk into the hallway ahead of us—tall, broad, moving with the kind of confidence that comes from never being afraid.
They glance at me, then at Revan.
“Who the fuck is this?”
I stare at them, intimidated, yes. I don’t know what kind of hell I walked into, so I decide to be respectful.
“Lexi,” I answer for myself before Revan can.
He walks up to me, eyeing me up and down. “What are you doing in the Reaper’s home, Lexi?”
“She’s going to be one of us,” Revan says.
I glance up at the eyes through the mask. “I will be on my way soon.”
The group stalk off, keeping their eyes on me. A shiver runs down my spine. I’m not welcome here.
As I watch them walk away, I realize that I just traded one criminal empire for another.
Revan gestures down the hall like a gentleman. But his eyes never soften. Never lose that predatory edge.
“Want some water?” he asks.
“No.”
“Suit yourself.”
He leads me into a sitting room—leather couches, dark wood furniture, a bar in the corner. He sits down opposite me, posture lazy but coiled. Like a snake pretending to sleep.
I stay standing.
“You always this reckless,” he asks, “or am I just special?”
I glance at the tattooed man. He’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed, refusing to look at me. His side profile is killer.
“You chased me down and think I’m reckless?”
Revan grins. “Touché.”
I notice bruises on his throat. Dark, distinct. Fingerprints.
Proof he bleeds too.
That should make me feel better, but it doesn’t.
“What happens now?” Revan asks, leaning back.
I shrug, trying to look more confident than I feel. “I just wanted protection for the night, I guess.”
He presses his hands together. “Protection comes at a cost.”
Of course it does.
I stare at him, then at the other one, who still won’t look at me. The look in Revan’s eyes—calculating, amused—makes my stomach turn.
I roll my eyes and sigh. “I’m so sick of assholes who think they can take advantage of me.”
I turn to leave.
The friend steps into my path, blocking the door.
“Excuse me,” I say, trying to sound braver than I feel.
I glance up, meeting his gaze. He’s finally looking at me.
Holy shit.
His green eyes are… hypnotic. The kind that pin you in place and make you forget how to move. He’s taller than anyone I’ve ever met—broader too, with dark hair that falls just slightly into his face.
“I’m going to leave,” I say, but my voice wavers.
He shakes his head. “You need our protection for the night, don’t you?”
Oh god. He has an accent. A hot, gut-wrenching accent. Deep and smooth and completely unfamiliar. I don’t know where it’s from but definitely not American.
I’m panicking now because he’s beautiful. Built like a Greek God. My insides twist into a full-on internal meltdown.
Revan steps beside him, grinning like he knows exactly what’s happening to me. “I gave Jasper my word, so here we are.”
I force myself to focus. “I need to return the car eventually. I was hoping one of you would come with me.”
I glare at this beautiful man, feeling myself blush as Revan starts laughing. It’s boyish, lighter than I expected. Not as brutally cold as this one. Not as hard as Koa.
“We aren’t returning the monster’s car,” Revan says.
“What?” I gasp. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“You don’t make deals, remember? Or promises.”
Shit.
My stomach drops. It’s happening again. Another deal I don’t understand. Another game where I don’t know the rules.
I don’t want to destroy Koa’s car. But I don’t want to be there when he finds me either. I’m terrified. Maybe I shouldn’t go back to town yet. Maybe I should—
“Take her to her room,” Revan says.
“My room?” I gasp.
Revan nods like he’s a kind host.
He starts walking.
And like a dumbstruck idiot, I follow.
We walk down a hallway lined with closed doors. My heart pounds with every step.
“I don’t want to ruin his car,” I whisper, desperate to break the silence. “I just want to return it tonight and have someone there to protect me. I don’t know if that can be you or Revan, but...”
He stops in front of a door. Nods once.
That’s it. No words. Just a nod.
He opens the door—minimal room, bed with vintage furniture, a security camera in the corner.
I didn’t escape. I just walked into a prison.
When he turns to leave, I grab his hand without thinking.
“Wait.”
He freezes.
Then he looks at my face. Really looks. And something shifts in his expression—something dark and dangerous and magnetic.
He steps toward me.
“What’s your name?” I whisper.
He comes close. Too close.
I should step back. Should let go of his hand. Should tell him to leave.
But I don’t.
I’m scared. Terrified, actually. But there’s something about him—something that pulls me in like gravity. Like standing at the edge of a cliff and wanting to jump just to feel the fall.
He leans down.
I close my eyes.
“Atticus,” he whispers against my lips.
I inhale, feeling his breath tickle my lips.
I look up at him and repeat. “Atticus.”
He stares into my eyes and kisses me. I melt into his lips, loving the softness of them as I wrap my arms around him.
He spins me, pinning my arms above my body against the wall and kisses me again.
I kiss him back, every rational thought leaving my head.