9. Chapter 7
Eli
Idon’t mind having blood on my hands. It doesn’t disgust me; it doesn’t make me feel nauseous or dizzy. Quite the opposite. Blood has always been something beautiful.
My gaze falls on my fisted hands. They’re covered in red to my forearms, blending in with my tattoos.
Blood is a shade of this world and of my life.
“You see, Nelson,” I say without taking my eyes off my hands. “If you hadn’t decided to sell your ass, we wouldn’t be here. You know better than anyone that the Pact doesn’t treat betrayal lightly.”
My eyes drift up.
Nelson is standing by the basement wall. Hands chained to metal hooks. Legs bound by another chain.
A few years my senior, he has blond hair and a handsome face. He’s successful at one of the money-making firms on Wall Street. Not because of his own actions, no. Because of the Pact.
But did he appreciate it? No, he didn’t.
Following James’s death, he joined the ranks of those opposing the power my brother deserves.
And my job is to protect Ryker with my life until my last breath. I owe it to him.
That’s why we’re in this situation. Nelson isn’t just siding with former General Matthews. That would be too easy. Even though he’s entitled to his own opinion, the Pact’s oath explicitly states his duty is to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brothers.
Ryker holds power over the Pact, whether or not he desires it. Nelson betrayed him. Betrayed us all by stirring up others, recruited mercenaries for Aiden in secret, and painted a target on my best friend’s back.
“What did you expect? Hm? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?
You’re not that na?ve. You should have known the dark web is my playground.
I grew up in a place you don’t have the faintest idea about.
” I shake my head, unable to comprehend his stupidity.
“And yet you still thought it was a great idea to set my brother up?”
Nelson’s eyes, weary from torture, meet mine.
It’s hard for him to raise his head. Exhausted, with broken ribs, he’s struggling to breathe.
A collapsed lung is my strong suspicion.
The exposed chest bears red and purple marks from the blows he has taken.
In a few places, I burned cigarette marks into him.
He’s wearing nothing but jeans stained with basement grime, blood, urine, and floodwater.
“I’m not telling you a fucking thing, you son of a bitch,” he snarls.
I break out laughing.
“That’s the point,” I say as the last chuckle dies on my lips. “You don’t have to tell me anything. There’s nothing I don’t know. You put a hit on my brother, and I can’t forgive that. In a place I control. It’s like you were begging to be caught.”
Nelson gasps for breath and starts coughing. Blood splatters onto the brown tiles, but he doesn’t raise his head again. He doesn’t have the strength.
I continue, “You understand that every single Pact traitor meets a miserable end. Want to share names?”
The truth is, I didn’t even have to lift a finger myself. I made contacts and connections online. I created a spider’s web on the web that controlled the movements of others. Within five minutes of his targeting Ryker, I was already informed.
Nelson tries with his last ounce of energy to pull at the chains, but it’s useless. He won’t leave this basement alive. And I think he’s well aware of that.
“Fuck you! You’re all dead men,” he says. “You… Your brothers. And those two sisters too. But for sweet little Zoe, something really special is in store.”
Despite recognizing this as an attempt to provoke me, I still react instinctively. In a split second, I’m on him, punching his face over and over. The last thing I do before stepping back is to land another blow to his ribs, and I feel a bone snap under my fist.
My breath is deep, and I can’t tell if it’s from strain or my temper. Adrenaline takes over my body, and I let it. It mixes with rage.
All it took was for him to mention her name.
Zoe.
The last time I saw her comes to mind. A week ago. When my arms pulled her close to my body and my lips found hers. They were so soft and warm. Moist. I had no doubt she would be equally hot down there.
That single impulse from young Matthews was enough for me to cross the first line. But when she parted those tempting lips and her tongue slid across mine, there was no turning back.
I kissed her so hard she moaned, and I seized the opportunity with my tongue. It slipped into her mouth, and I couldn’t stop kissing her. Lost control of the situation, of myself. Unable to stop myself.
Zoe wasn’t indifferent. Oh, no. She was surprisingly active and aroused. The passion with which she returned the kiss matched the intensity that had taken hold of me.
She ran her hands through my hair, pulling me closer. Even through our clothes, I could feel her burning body. Her moan was like a siren’s song. It lured me to my doom, and I had no strength to resist it.
But then she said those three words that brought me back down to earth. “I want you,” she whispered against my lips.
I grabbed her shoulders and backed away from her.
The way she looked… Fuck. She was every teenager’s wet dream, mine included. Lips swollen from our kiss, rosy cheeks, a hazy gaze…
I wanted everything she was ready to give me… But I couldn’t take it.
I behaved like a decent guy for the first time in my life. Couldn’t take advantage of a girl who was drunk. Not her. The next day, she would regret doing that with me.
No one in their right mind would ever pass up an opportunity like that. The battle in my head was never-ending. One side said I’d done the right thing. The other whispered that I could have tasted her.
Out of reflex, I punched my temple twice. Like the lunatic I am, I concluded that it was Nelson’s fault.
“See what you’ve done?” I ask, although he doesn’t understand a thing. “For the last two hours, while we’ve been hanging out here, I’ve had a break from thinking about her. You’ve screwed everything up.”
But he just wheezes, hanging. Eventually, he asks, “Kill me already.”
With all these intrusive thoughts and memories, I didn’t hear the approaching footsteps. And I’m usually highly sensitive to any sounds. This time, I fail across the board when the basement door swings open and Ryker walks in.
He’s dressed in an elegant suit and a crisp white shirt, looking like he’s coming back from a date with his wife. Black hair slicked back, a neatly trimmed beard. On one side of his neck there’s a tattoo of Aisling’s birthdate; on the other, Ash’s. Two women, one heartbeat. Poetic, if you ask me.
Ryker closes the door and examines our guest intently. Inch by inch. The grimace on his face…
He approaches me, hands in his pants pockets, and we stand shoulder to shoulder.
“You look like shit,” he says to me, casting a bored glance at Nelson. “How long have you been playing with him?”
I shrug because it doesn’t matter. It could be two hours or two weeks. What matters is whether the message I’m sending reaches its target.
“Don’t tell me you mind the blood on my hands. I clearly remember the mess you leave behind when you play with your victims,” I finally say.
My psycho friend grins, amused. “I meant you seem tired.”
Now I explode with laughter too. I love this bastard. Only he understands me so well.
However, I can’t deny the fatigue he accuses me of.
I even feel a little sad that it’s time to end this fun. Now I’ll have to find something else to take my mind off a certain black-haired girl and her sassy mouth.
“Did you have an excellent date?”
“I did,” Ryker says. “I do. Ash is waiting in the car outside.“
The vision of his wife waiting for her husband’s return makes me smile wide. “You’re aware you don’t have much time, do you?”
“You don’t have to tell me. I’m sure ideas are already forming in her pretty little head that I came to torture someone and left her behind.”
Typical Ash.
“What do you have for me?”
“Not much. Nelson continues to idolize your father and demonize you. That’s Aiden’s doing. This guy here is a small fish.”
My brother nods. “There are and will be more of them. Matthews will try to undermine my authority—and yours.”
“We expected that.”
“Yeah… We have to cut this short or we’ll all be dead. For now, everything’s being done in hushed tones, but the more people they pull over to their side, the worse it’ll get.”
Nelson’s head hangs, and if it weren’t for the faint rise and fall of his chest, I would suspect he’d kicked the bucket too soon. That would piss me off even more. There’s nothing worse than plans going to shit.
“I think you should do the same. Target the most influential players; secure their interests. There’s nothing more loyal than someone who gets even richer thanks to you.”
“Or one whose life and the lives of their loved ones depend on me,” he adds.
I shrug again. “Sounds great to me. Give them what they need, and they’ll serve you well. But something big is coming, Ryker.”
His head turns, and now his full attention is on me. “What do you mean?”
There’s no other option. I have to tell him the truth. It’s an important piece of the puzzle. “A few days ago, I saw my father with Aiden and his father. And a couple other members of the Pact.”
“Eli, I thought your father was no longer involved with the Pact.”
I snort at those words. “You know better than anyone that the only way to leave the Pact is in a coffin. I knew he’d come back to town, but I don’t have a clue what he’s up to.”
“When was that?” he asks after a moment’s thought.
“About a week ago.”
“And you’re only telling me now?” Ryker’s eyes narrow, his eyebrows almost meeting. “Don’t you think that’s important news I should have known? What were you doing there?”
That last question is what I’ve been trying to avoid.
I can’t tell him about the thing with Zoe.
It’s impossible to explain the kiss I had to share with her to keep us from getting caught.
And I certainly can’t tell him the truth—that while kissing her, I’d completely forgotten about the people across the street.