Chapter 10 Everything Is Fine
Everything Is Fine
Kai to Carina: This is your fault. [unsent]
Tess
The man glares at Kai, his jaw tightening, before his gaze shifts back to me. His eyes soften, but it’s the kind of softness that makes you wonder if he’s deciding whether to eat you or just toy with you first.
“You’re Tessa.” It’s more a statement than a question. His accent sits somewhere between Italian and American.
“T—Tess,” I whisper, shrinking back behind Kai’s shoulder like a toddler trying to hide behind a lamppost. My heart is pounding so loudly it might as well be auditioning for a drum solo.
This man—Enzo, I assume—is utterly terrifying. His shadow feels like it’s sucking all the air out of the room. His face is a map of bad decisions, and the dark stubble only adds to the “I’ve seen some things” vibe.
His hair is nearly black, styled in that messy-yet-purposeful way that says, “Yes, I look like I’ve just woken up, but it cost ￡300 to make it look this way.” Everything about him screams wealth and power.
I see no resemblance to myself in him, save for his eyes—those green, piercing eyes that are exactly like mine.
I’m not the type to cower. I’ve killed a man, for crying out loud.
I’ve done things that would make most people run screaming for therapy—like feed my dead boyfriend to pigs.
But standing in front of Enzo, I feel small—like a teacup Chihuahua barking at a Rottweiler.
It’s as if his entire existence is fine-tuned to make people like me squirm, and I hate how effective it is.
Kai squares his shoulders. “Are we going to have a problem right now?”
Enzo looks at him, eyes narrowing, and I swallow thickly. Then his face breaks out into a grin, and he pulls Kai into one of those one arm guy hugs.
“Nah, man. It’s good to see you.”
The tension dissipates and now my mind starts reeling from Enzo’s words.
“What do you mean I’m your sister?” I ask, scowling like a toddler gearing up for a tantrum.
I don’t know who this guy thinks he is, but I’m pissed that he interrupted whatever was happening with Kai. Kai, who will probably pull away and tell me that what happened was a mistake.
After Kai’s revelation about the Mafia being involved, sleeping was impossible.
I’d planned to make a late-night snack to distract myself, but the light in Kai’s office had caught my attention.
He’s so closed off, always keeping his emotions locked up tight.
I know he’s only helping me because he feels obligated, but…
the kiss. That kiss didn’t feel like an obligation.
Then he avoided me for days, like it never happened. But when he kissed me again—all my overthinking went right out the window. My coherent thoughts? Gone. My self-control? Non-existent. I might’ve gone looking for a snack, but instead, I ended up being one. For Kai.
“I need to talk with Kai first. Maybe we can talk in a few hours?” Enzo says.
“Good idea.” Kai nods, snapping me out of my thoughts as he motions for Enzo to following him.
“I have work soon.” I cross my arms in front of me, annoyed that I’m being left out of things again.
Both men turn to look at me with identical scowls, their matching disapproval so intense it’s almost comical.
“What?” I snap, suddenly braver now the tension has broken.
“You’re not going to work,” Enzo says like his word is law.
“You’re not the boss of me.”
Enzo opens his mouth, his expression thunderous, but Kai beats him to it. “I will tie you to a chair if I have to, Hurricane, but you are not leaving this house.”
Now is not the time for my vagina to be doing flip-flops at the thought of Kai tying me up and doing very dirty things to me. My cheeks heat and Enzo’s scowl deepens as if he can read my thoughts.
“Why can’t I go to work?”
“Do you not remember what happened yesterday?” Kai snaps.
“I remember. But some of us require money.”
Kai’s voice softens. “Please, Tess. At least take today off.”
Goddamn him and his beautiful face.
“Fine,” I grumble, shoving past them both. “But that means I’ll be in my room. You two can spoon each other. Let me know when you want to fill me in on my life.”
With that I stomp up the stairs and, for good measure, slam my door shut behind me. Grabbing my phone from its place on the bedside table I fire off a text to my manager telling her I’m sick then sink down onto the bed.
Kai
“What did you want to talk about?” I ask Enzo after I’ve eaten my toast and drank my coffee.
Enzo sits across from me on the sofa, one leg resting on the other—a picture of casual indifference.
“She’s in danger. I found her birth certificate. Her real one. She’s my half-sister. Which means the Russians have somehow found that out and are going after her as revenge for my papa.”
“Revenge?”
“He killed someone's brother.” He waves his hand dismissively like it’s no big deal.
I groan. “Fuck.”
“Papa is ecstatic to find out he has a daughter—seriously, I’ve never seen him so happy. It’s weird. He’s already looking into the threat, determined to eliminate anyone who would hurt her.
“I had to convince him that meeting her right now might not be the best idea. There’s already so much going on. Better for her to meet him when things are settled.”
I nod. He’s right. Tess’s state of mind is likely already fragile, everything from the past week has been a whirlwind that’s bound to catch up to her soon.
“How did you manage to find her birth certificate?” I’ve been trying to uncover the missing pieces, but it felt like I was being stonewalled.
Enzo taps his nose, smirking. “I have connections.”
“Fine, keep your secrets.”
“So…” Enzo begins, grinning at me. “You and my sister?”
I scowl at him. “There’s no me and Tess.”
He raises an arched brow.
I scrub my hand over my face. “We got carried away. It won’t be happening again.”
Enzo scoffs. “Yeah right.”
“I’m serious.”
Enzo just rolls his eyes then yawns.
“I’ve been on a plane for hours. I’m exhausted.”
“Tess is probably asleep. Want to nap before you talk to her?”
He rolls his neck. “That would actually be great.”
“You can take my bed,” I offer.
“Fuck no,” he retorts with a shudder. “I know exactly what you were just doing in there. I’ll take the couch.”
I bark out a laugh. “Good to see you, man.”
After setting him up on the sofa—which is laughably too small for his massive frame—I head upstairs.
On the way to my room, I stop outside Tess’s door.
Part of me wants to go in, to talk to her, maybe even just watch her sleep like a creep, but when I crack the door open, she’s already out cold.
Her face is peaceful, and for a moment, I just stand there, my chest tightening in a way I’m not ready to deal with.
Instead, I retreat to my office. My safe place.
I feel bad about neglecting my work at Haven, but I know Nate isn’t mad.
If he were, he’d already be on my doorstep with a knife in one hand and a spreadsheet in the other.
Until that happens, I’ll assume I’m in the clear.
It’s not as if the place will fall apart without me—I’ve set up alerts on my phone for any major data or security issues. It’s fine. Everything is fine.
Except it isn’t.
I can’t get Tess out of my head.
I want her. Badly. I want to hold her right now, to feel her body pressed against mine as we drift off. Hell, I want to wake up with my head between her thighs and start the day with a new morning routine.
She's in my head, in my every thought.
When I'm with her, it's like the noise that's always buzzing in the back of my mind—the guilt, the anger, the scars from everything I've been through—just... stops. Like she's the only thing that matters.
That's dangerous.
I've spent my entire life building walls, creating routines, keeping my control locked so tight it's like armour. Control is the only thing I have left. The only thing that keeps me sane. And Tess?
She's a wrecking ball. A beautiful, chaotic, impossible wrecking ball.
Maybe if I just fucked her, I'd get her out of my system. Just one night to get rid of this fire under my skin. But even as the thought crosses my mind, I know it's bullshit. A taste of her wouldn't be enough. It would only make me crave her more.
My control hasn’t just slipped—it’s fucking sprinted off into the distance, waving a white flag as it goes.
And it’s not just sex I want. When I’m with her, it’s like everything else fades into the background, leaving only her.
Her ridiculous rambling. Her smile that lights up the room. The way she always manages to drop crumbs on her top when she eats. Her chaotic, maddening, completely captivating nature that’s taken root in me like a fungus I never want to get rid of.
I can’t let this spiral any further. My routine’s already gone to hell, and I’m barely holding on. I need to claw back some control—anything to keep the chaos at bay. It’s the only thing tethering me to sanity.