The Villain

Prologue

South

This is Tera’s savior. The person she trusted with her safety while she was hiding from me.

I have to say, I’m grudgingly impressed.

A man with black hair cut close to his head on the sides and a bit longer on top. Mostly Asian heritage. His skin looks deeply tanned with all the black he’s wearing. Cargo pants and combat boots. Military but not quite. Maybe he served before he became a bodyguard. A tight black t-shirt that emphasizes the breadth of his shoulders and his muscular chest. He’s not a powerhouse. He’s more slim stealth you would never see coming until it’s way too late.

I can appreciate that type. It suits my style.

He isn’t shifting on his feet as he waits. His full attention is on the parking lot as he stands by his car. His body is stiff as he pretends to be a statue.

I’ve never seen anyone so still before.

He hasn’t gone out much since Tera asked me to follow him. All I have to do is keep him safe.

From what though?

Yeah, his boyfriends aren’t the best from what I’ve been told. His coworkers apparently eat a bag of dicks for breakfast in the mornings. All the other information Tera could have given me is locked up tight in her memory vault. She knows secrets about him and she’s promised to never tell.

She’s good at keeping secrets.

It makes me curious. I know there’s more to the story and I like taking things apart to see how they work.

He is a story I want to take apart and savor piece by piece.

I rarely get affected by people. They mostly cause a minor or a major annoyance to me. This man has my full attention. Not a good thing for him.

It isn’t just his looks, even though he is attractive. It’s something else. Something I can’t quite put my finger on. And I want to put my finger on it. All over him, preferably.

What would I have to do to shake that effortless blank mask right off his beautiful face?

I’ve been thinking about it nonstop since I first saw him.

Silent, solemn, and still.

I wonder if he’s like me. Or does he have feelings? From what I’ve seen he doesn’t. I emote more than he has.

I don’t think I’ve ever met someone like me before. If I have, odds are they fully developed a system for faking emotion. I stopped doing that a while ago. There’s no point in pretending to be a normal person when you don’t know what it’s like and you don’t want to. They’re all too weak and vulnerable to me. Who has the patience to fake that all day, every day? Not me.

I lean back against the wall of the building hiding me from his view to wait with him. Not really with him, just alongside him without his knowledge.

Who would be dumb enough to throw away the perfect little statue in front of me?

This doesn’t look like a broken man. His face has been expressionless every time I’ve seen him. I don’t get close enough to see his eyes but I’m pretty sure they’re dead inside.

I want to see him up close. To know him. Rare for me but it happens. I wonder if he would run? Does a statue know when it’s in danger of being knocked off its pedestal and stolen?

A white SUV comes bumping up and slides to a stop several parking spaces away from him. He still hasn’t moved.

Does he want this meeting or not?

Tera said he would be most vulnerable now and to stick close.

He looks like he’s made of stone. No vulnerabilities here.

Four guys get out and walk over to him. They all have winning smiles with perfect teeth. Why does everyone in this town look so fake? I noticed it the last time I was here. A year ago now? They all seem like plastic people. It’s weird. Coming from me, that’s saying something.

“We’re glad you decided to meet us,” one of them calls out. He’s walking in the front with the big bruiser next to him. Ira and Brody from the descriptions I was given. The twins are behind them, muttering to each other. They’re turned so I can’t read their lips. Felix and Blaze. Who cares which one is which.

Tera’s big bro Shade doesn’t say a word. He looks as stiff as a bad mannequin. It’s a subtle shift from the statue of a second ago.

If I didn’t know better, I would think he was scared. From everything I’ve seen this guy is too emotionally frozen for that. How he and Tera are so close is a mystery to me. Then again, she’s friends with me, too.

“We’ve been given an assignment out of town,” Ira continues. I can barely hear his voice from this distance but I have their lips lined up so I can read them easily. As long as they don’t twist around too much.

“You have a decision to make.” Brody crosses his arms more as an intimidation than defense. I thought Tera said these guys worked together for years? They act like her big bro is an enemy.

Shade’s head tilts like he’s questioning them without opening his mouth. A man of few words. I like that but I want to hear him speak more. What does he sound like?

“You can come with us or you can stay here with your little Tera,” one of the twins says and my eyes narrow on him. The differences between the two of them are hard to spot but he’s making me take notes right now. Wouldn’t want to hurt the wrong one, would I?

“How is that going by the way?” the other twin asks casually but his smug grin is slimy. “I heard she kicked you to the curb for the other three guys. You doing ok with that?”

“She’s a sister to me. I’ve told you that several times.”

His voice is mellow like cognac with a bit of bite to it. I want more. His disinterest is a little odd considering he’s dating them. Where is the heartfelt conversation Tera was sure would happen?

“Right,” twin two nods but the mocking look on his face makes his agreement a lie.

“Well, it’s her or us,” Ira holds his arms out like he’s waiting for a hug.

Don’t do it.

Be good and stay with Tera.

Stay in my sight.

And get rid of these assholes before I do.

“What about Andi?”

Look who’s dedicated to his job. Must be good pay.

“This trip is Matthias approved, Shade. We might not come back either. Now that the little princess is safe there isn’t much of a need for us.” The threat is given by twin one.

He just tossed that gauntlet down with a smile.

Douchebag.

“I thought we were going to talk? Clear the air,” Shade doesn’t sound moved by anything they’re saying and I silently applaud him. They aren’t worth heartbreak. They’re worth broken bones and blood.

“Something you wrote up with Tera? I’m sure it would move us all to tears now that she has you trained.” Twin one crosses his arms over his chest with a mocking sneer.

“Whipped,” twin two scoffs.

What is with the Tera hate? Even if these guys weren’t on Tera’s enemy number one list they’ve definitely made mine. So she wants to teach a block of ice how to talk about his feelings, who gives a shit? She’s getting a redo because it didn’t work for me. Hopefully he’s more receptive to it.

Shade looks down at his hand and uncurls a fist to reveal a folded piece of paper. He stares at it for what feels like eternity as they talk around him. It’s like he’s not really there. They talk at him. Everything about this is all wrong.

Get out of there.

“No.”

Yes. Good little statue.

They stop joking around and turn to face him again.

“I’m not leaving.”

Very good.

“Are you sure? This might be last call Shade. You’ve made a lot of mistakes but we’ve overlooked them. Would Tera do that if she knew everything?”

Of course she would. It doesn’t matter what he’s broken or done. She will forgive anything. Especially since she considers him family. It’s unheard of.

This leader is a lot of gaslighting. He’s not even good at it.

“She will.” Shade’s hand curls into a fist as he faces them again. At least one of them knows how loyal Tera is.

“That solves that,” twin one turns to walk away as he gives his parting shot. “You’re still going to be hearing from us. I don’t know why you’re bothering with this shit.”

“When you come to your senses, call us. We might be back for you,” Ira tosses out.

Shade stands in that same stiff stance while they load back up in their vehicle and take their time pulling away.

That was pointless. He gave them an opportunity to tear him down and didn’t respond. I don’t like that.

I wait for him to get back in his car to drive away, wiping his hands of this situation.

He doesn’t.

He stands there as an undetermined amount of time passes. I’m starting to think he’s stuck there. What is he thinking? Without expressions I can’t tell. I want to walk up and ask him but I’m on a no contact ban.

I take Tera’s rules for behavior very seriously. Mostly to avoid jail. She says it would be bad for me to go there.

He suddenly tilts his head back, the first move he’s made in a long time, and starts screaming.

The agonized sound startles me and several birds get shocked into flight. I’ve never heard something so hopeless and broken before.

I never want to hear it again.

He has to stop. If he doesn’t…

His hands clutch at his head, the paper floating down as he drops to his knees and starts sobbing.

I witness him break apart right in front of me and can’t do a single thing about it.

I’ve been tempted to break bans before but never like this.

I was wrong. He isn’t like me. He isn’t a perfect statue to watch without touching.

He’s like Tera. He just hides all his emotions behind a lifeless mask. That’s why he saved her. They’re fucking kindred spirits. He needs her as much as she needs him.

He needs me .

No. I can’t do that to Tera’s savior. Even I have some standards.

I may not be able to be there for him but Tera can. I just have to convince myself that it will be enough.

I’m stuck watching him as he loses his mind with grief.

It’s fucking horrible.

I want it to stop. I can feel that slippery slope of violence approaching and I don’t have an outlet yet.

When he calms down the paper gets tossed to the side for a breeze to catch it. He’s given up and shutting down. It makes my rage calm a little but nowhere near enough. I’ve seen what’s underneath that mask and he has nothing to soothe it.

He stumbles to his feet and gets into his car. I’m not sure about his driving right now.

I rush to my rental and follow him as he peels out of the lot.

I fumble my flip phone open. He’s going too fast for me to catch up. This rental is not built for a street race. He’s like a stunt driver with the risks he smoothly takes in the traffic. He makes it seem easy.

It makes me want to hunt him more.

“Hi,” Tera’s voice answers after the first ring. I put it on speaker so I can focus on driving, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat. “How is everything going?”

“They ditched him. He refused to leave you behind and they bailed. Work with a chance of never returning.”

“Ok,” she whispers but I can hear the pain in it. She loves the guy and wants good things for him so she feels the same pain he does.

I don’t say anything else as I try to keep him in my sights.

“Don’t leave him alone, Southie. Please.”

“I won’t,” I assure her. If he’s like Tera he’s about to go off the rails in a big way.

It’s like she reads my mind. “He’s going to drive for a while and be crazy about it. He’s practically a stunt driver so don’t worry about that. It makes him feel better.”

“And then?” I’m not going to be able to follow him like this. If I have a bar to land at or a restaurant, I can wait for him there instead.

“He’ll go home,” she sighs as if she’s defeated. “And he won’t come out for a long time.”

I hear a male voice mumbling words of comfort to her and she sniffles.

“You’re right.” She says to whoever she’s talking to and then returns to me with a determined voice. “Can you take care of him, South?”

“Me?” I can’t make the same tones of voice she can so the word washes out in the middle and goes soundless with surprise.

“Yes. He’s going to shut me out,” she sniffles and takes a deep breath. “He’s a runner and he needs some time. Please?”

“Yes.”

The easy capitulation is as much for me as it is for her.

I want him in my sights. More than I’ve wanted anything in a very long time.

If I tell her that she’ll become concerned and call me off. I’m not risking that.

She kept a huge, life altering secret from me. It changed the rules for our interactions whether she knows it or not.

If she doesn’t have to tell me everything, then I don’t have to tell her.

“Thank you so much.”

“You never have to thank me.” It’s ridiculous that she thinks I need the verbal comfort but it is Tera. She never listens when I tell her not to do it.

“I love you, Southie.”

I make a noise of acceptance and let her hang up. I’m not taking my hands off the wheel for this chase.

I can feel the smile creeping over my lips as he pulls farther ahead.

This game is going to be so much fun.