Bonus Content!
Want to see Kratos and Jade's 'first time meeting' from his POV now that it won't spoil things. Keep reading!
The boys are due here any minute. I’d like to say everything just worked out like this, but that would be a lie.
I make it my business to know what’s happening around the city, meaning I keep tabs on everyone in Vengeance. Usually, it’s to keep everyone accounted for, whether I should need them for something or just to make sure any would-be rivals don’t get to sink their claws into them.
Today, having tabs on them helped me to get Jade here. No way in hell would they bring her if they had just been at the house.
I had to force their hand without directly asking for her.
I pile up the papers I’d spent the morning compiling and typing into the file and head out of my office and down to the lower level. A smile threatens to pull at my lips, thinking about her reaction to this level in particular, but I push it back, just barely.
I have a reputation here and in the rest of the damn city, if I’m being honest, and I can’t afford to let that slip.
Not yet.
Not until everything’s sorted out.
We’ve worked too damn hard to have me fuck this up.
I’ve never had this problem before, but that’s exactly what this is.
A fucking problem.
I need to keep my shit together now more than ever.
It’s still early in the day, which means the dancers' floor is mostly empty. It’s become a place where we meet for anything that isn’t overly sensitive.
Zander can’t handle being in a room with me for long, even after years in Vengeance.
The dancers are usually enough to keep him from fidgeting to the point that I want to smash his head off the table, though the same can’t be said for Rick.
Guy goes from zero to one hundred with Zander and Spencer faster than anyone else.
I make my way to the right side of the room that’s currently unoccupied, leaning against the stage, my eyes fixed on the door.
It’s been over a year since I saw her last, and the anticipation is riding me hard.
I don’t wait long, just a few minutes, before Rick comes through the door, followed closely by Spencer.
Neither of them looks happy, but that’s nothing new.
In all the time I’ve known them, I can count on one hand the times I’ve seen them outside of their usual business selves, and that’s typically when something goes wrong.
Like the time Rick got stabbed by a junky when he went after Spencer.
No, Rick always looks like he’s got a stick up his ass, and Spencer seems bored out of his mind. Add in Zander, who’s got the energy of an over-excited golden retriever, and I’m not sure how they ever became friends, but as strange as it is, it works for them.
They’re close, and it’s easy to see they are much more than just friends. If I didn’t know better, I would guess they were brothers. They might not always see eye to eye, but they get shit done, which is how they were able to rise through the ranks as quickly as they have.
All thoughts of them and everything else leave my mind the second she walks through the door.
My heart beats a rapid succession, feeling like it's trying to jump out of my damn chest. To get closer to her. Most of the time, I don’t even feel as though I have one.
Our enemies would probably think me a monster, and they're not wrong. I’ve done terrible things to terrible people, and I’ll continue to do them if that's what she needs.
Because as heartless as I might seem to everyone else, this cold black heart still beats for her.
I watch, unable to pull my eyes away from her as she looks around the room, eyes wide. It takes everything in me to remain where I am. Years of discipline and the fact that I know she wouldn’t want that.
With a strength I wasn’t sure I had, I drop my gaze to the floor, unwilling to draw attention to her. The guys know me well enough by now that they would know something was up if they found me looking at her too hard.
With a deep breath, I push down all the shit between us and force myself to be who she needs.
This is her show.
I'm just here for the ride.
Zander’s voice has an edge of excitement, and while I can’t make out his words, I can see him pointing things out to Jade.
The other two might not be so happy about Jade being in their care, but Zander doesn’t seem to have an issue with it.
He loves women almost as much as he loves his precious knives.
It's too bad he has no idea what he’s getting himself into.
No, it’s probably not too bad. I’d be shocked if he didn’t like her more for it. The crazed part of him that thrives on chaos will probably be overjoyed.
Only time will tell for sure, though.
The feeling of someone’s eyes on me has me looking up again, but this time, I find Rick’s gaze. I make no move toward them, knowing he’ll get the hint. He always does.
After a moment, he looks away, turning to Zander and Jade, where they stand a few feet from him. I can’t hear what he’s saying from here, but I see him nod toward a table near where two of our girls are performing. Her eyes follow his movement, and for a moment, I think she might go without issue.
I should have known better.
Whatever he says next seems to catch her interest as I watch her head snap up, her eyes quickly scanning the room.
Her eyes land on me for the first time since walking through the door, but I know her well enough to know she was aware I was here from the start. She knows how this goes as well as I do.
The urge to go to her is riding me hard. Gritting my teeth, I remind myself now isn’t the time as I watch her brow rise while her eyes roam over me.
Fuck, it shouldn’t be so hard to resist her.
I’ve resisted women for years now. They lost their appeal a long time ago, most only wanting to be with me to claim it as a trophy or try to get something.
Money, power, an inside look at Vengeance, you name it; they want it.
Or worse still, they want more than I can give them, dedication over Vengeance.
It’s not something I can do, and I wouldn’t even if it were possible.
Jade’s different, though. When it comes to Jade, I want to be whatever she needs. It’s what I know, my whole purpose.
Jade is Vengeance, the same way I am.
I watch her lips move, and though I can’t hear her, I can see the mirth shine in her eyes.
She’s fucking with them, and it appears to be working wonderfully based on the way Rick’s gaze snaps to mine.
I watch the three of them turn to her, Zander’s usual smile now missing as he speaks, looking like he’s almost pleading with her.
Her bottom lip juts out in an honest-to-god pout, and I almost lose it.
Spencer is the only one of the three who seems unaffected, but even still, he has something to say.
Whatever it is earns him a glare from Rick but has the opposite effect on Jade, who still holds my gaze across the room, almost as if daring me to look away first.
Never going to happen, Killer.
With her gaze on mine, I get a perfect view of his face, and when she speaks again, I’m able to read her lips.
“Oh, tall, dark, and dangerous. Definitely Daddy material,” she says, and just like that, I’m hard as a fucking rock.
Damn, this woman is going to be the end of me, and I can’t even find it in myself to be upset about it. No, if she wants to drag me to hell, I’d go willingly; she wouldn’t even have to ask.
Rick’s patience finally runs out, and he again waves her toward the tables. I almost feel bad; they’re clearly unprepared to deal with her.
If only he knew that this wasn’t even half of it. These boys are in for a fun ride, that’s for sure.
As if she can hear my thoughts, she lifts her hand, waving at me with a smile that isn’t fair.
How in the fuck does she make every single thing look good? From something as simple as a wave to killing a man, she really has got it all.
Poor Rick looks about two seconds from losing it when he turns to me, panic clear in his usually hard, mismatched eyes. He’s all about control, and right now, he has none.
I’ve never been able to deny Jade, and I won’t start trying now, so I feed into her fun little game, raising a brow at him in question.
It’s enough to spur him into action.
I watch as his hand drops to her lower back as he gently ushers her toward the tables. Smart move. There is no way she would go without that. She’s enjoying this far too much. Though I can’t say I’m surprised, freedom must taste so sweet after all these years.
She deserves a chance at fun, and I’m more than willing to be her partner in crime, both with the boys and in every other aspect of life.
I watch closely, unsure how she will react to his touch, and find myself shocked when she has no reaction.
Strange.
Rick walks her to the table, pulling out a chair she drops onto before he waves down one of the wait staff.
Still, he doesn’t move away. Instead, he stands there for a moment, watching her as her attention finally returns to the girls. His shoulders drop in visible relief when she doesn’t turn my way again.
Her lips twitch in the slightest hint of movement; whatever she said has Rick tense, but he doesn’t turn around. I’m almost positive his lip twitches up with a small smile, but before I can be sure it’s gone again.
It's too bad, really. I can’t deny I enjoyed watching them. Rick is usually pretty calm and in control, but something about Jade seems to push him, not that I'm surprised; she has a way of getting under people's skin.
Trust me, she’s been under mine for years now, buried so deep I couldn’t cut her out without killing myself in the process. I wouldn’t want to anyway.
Rick makes his way across the room, Zander and Spencer following him without a word as I meet them at the table closest to me. I watch Rick round the table to sit on the far side, giving him a clear line of sight to Jade’s table.