Chapter 22
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
JULIUS
“Relax,” Marco reassured with a slight grin. “She’s not my problem, but she is yours. I’m offering you a solution that benefits us both. Women are expensive. You want to lose yours because you can’t provide for her?”
I shook my head. “She’s not like that.”
“They’re all like that.” He wavered for a moment. “Does she know what you’re doing? All the risks you're taking? How much are you playing fucking hero in her fairy tale?”
“Like I said, she’s not like that.”
“No shit. The girl’s jaded, but what do you expect when you’re raised on the streets? And trust me, it takes one to know one.” He cocked his head to the side. “We all have that in common, and look how well I turned out. You want to live like me? Because I can make that happen for you.”
I thought about what he was saying.
“You love her?” he asked. “It doesn’t matter what they say. They want to be spoiled rotten and feel adored, and that takes a lot of money. If you don’t make it happen, she’ll find another sucker who will. It’s just the circle of life, kid.”
“It’s not like that between us.”
“And what do you think it’s like?”
My head was spinning. He knew how to drive a point home.
Isla isn’t like that, right?
I knew nothing about women and even less about her.
Inhaling a deep, reassuring breath, I changed the subject. “For how long?”
He negotiated. “As long as we’re both making money and happy, I don’t see a reason to put a deadline on it.” Abruptly, he stood, gesturing to the doors. “Why don’t you think about it? You let me know when you’re ready to do some real business.”
I followed his lead, standing. “Alright, I’ll head out to the club—”
“No,” he snapped. “That won’t be necessary. You can head back home. It gives you more time to decide on our future together.”
“Oh,” I strained. “So I either work for you full-time or I don’t work for you at all? Is that how this is going to go?”
He extended his hand for me to shake. “I’m just a businessman after all, Julius.”
In the blink of an eye, I lost, surrendering.
I had no choice.
“Fine.” I bargained, “But only until I’m eighteen.” I shook his hand, declaring, “Deal?”
“It works for now,” he noted, shaking my hand back.
Feeling as if I just made a deal with the devil, I got the hell out of there. On my way to the door, I turned back around, and without second-guessing myself, I demanded, “If you do see my mother, tell her to stay dead.”
I meant every last word.
Isla
I listened to Kraven play the piano for hours, feeling in my heart that he was playing just for me. Fully aware of how much their music meant to me. There was no hiding it from them or anyone, for that matter.
The power it held over me was apparent, and I wanted them to see it. Being able to control a person’s emotions through music was a special gift. Every time I got lost in their indescribable talents, everything else faded away.
My problems.
My worries.
My shame.
Showing my vulnerability to Kraven was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, and the fact that I shared the same sentiment with his brother the night before made me feel like shit.
I broke down by myself, there in Julius’s bedroom, as his brother sought out my soul through the keys of a piano.
My chest was locking up.
My eyes were blurring with fresh tears.
My lungs were caving in, suffocating in my own misery.
I lay there on Julius’s bed with my hand on the wall, trying to hold on to the melody that gave me peace through the horrible memories, through the future I may never have, through the fear and doubt that never left me.
In one unexpected encounter, Kraven beat Justin to a bloody pulp, instantly shattering all my illusions of who I thought he was.
I hated violence. It never solved anything, yet it always seemed to be the first resort.
I should have known better. He was reckless on his bike, and that was with his life, so of course, he’d be trouble with a capital T.
At that moment, he appeared so big and so small at the same time.
So lost.
So desperate.
So sad.
I didn’t know the guy staring back at me.
And I was beginning to think I never had.
He played for me until the sun rose, until the world started waking up, until the music left us alone together, and the last note simply faded.
I jumped in the shower after only sleeping maybe an hour or two and tried washing away the confusion of last night before I made my way downstairs.
I made us some breakfast, leaving Kraven’s portion on the stove.
At some point, I must have passed out on the couch because I woke up to Kraven attentively staring right at me…
Sitting in the shadows without saying a word.
The curtain was still closed, making the room have a soft glow to it.
The candle I lit on the coffee table cast an amber glow on his face, softening the hard edges of his features.
It smelled like pumpkin spice, which only heightened my senses.
From an outsider looking in, he appeared to be watching over me.
If Julius walked in, he’d definitely get the wrong impression.
I took in his unruly hair that draped over his eyes, obstructing his view a bit.
He was only able to see through the slits in the strands.
I could see his dark, cold, beady eyes, penetrating deep into mine, sparking an uneasy reaction out of me.
The outpouring of emotions he shared with me seemed like he’d been drowning in them. It merely fueled the way he was watching me, making me question what or who he was truly seeing in front of him.
Him.
Me.
Julius.
Or worse, his mom…
I seized, locking up like I did only hours prior.
Staying firmly rooted to the place where I lay on the couch, I was held hostage in his haunted composure.
In his tormented expression.
In his conflicted demeanor.
And he knew it too, the conflicting effects he was having on me, and I’d yet to realize if it was a good or bad thing.
He grinned, reading me like a book. “You scared of me, Isla?”
I shot straight up, angling my chin in defiance, challenging him. A hint of amusement passed through his gaze, but he blinked it away. Making me think I imagined it as if I needed to cling to some connection with him.
My thoughts were lying out in front of us, and I was unable to run away like I usually did.
Wanting.
Needing.
Waiting.
Holding my breath with every fiber in my being.
I couldn’t breathe, and I counted silently in my head.
It was the only way to keep myself from passing out over the sensations I couldn’t control for the life of me.
Shivers coursed down my spine and back up my neck.
My heart pounded harder against my chest.
Beat.
Beat.
Beat.
“What, Kitty? Cat got your tongue, or do you only reserve your voice for screaming my name? Is that how I make you purr?”
“More like hiss.”
He smiled widely. “Hiss all you want. At least it’s got you talking to me now.”
I looked away. I had to.
“Relax, I’m not going to tell Julius about tampering with your Morse Code.”
My eyes shifted back to his.
“The guilt is written all over your pretty little face, and if I can see it, Julius will too.”
I blushed. I couldn’t help that either.
Feeling brazen, I replied, “Save the guilt act. You’re the one who’s watching me sleep. How creepy is that?”
“Can’t have you scurrying away on my watch.”
“Because of Julius?”
“Because of everything. That’s twice now that I need to know you’re not going to run your mouth.”
“To who?”
“My brother.”
I was offended. “If I didn’t last time, why would I now?”
“Well, for one.” He leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees. His hair fell in front of his eyes. “I didn’t scare the shit out of you when I was on my bike.”
I didn’t hesitate in spewing…
“Says who?”