Chapter 7 Nyx #2
It’s like teaching kindergartners how to apologize. You’d think we don’t do this every fucking time.
“Nah, nah, nah,” I say, shaking my head. “You both can do better than that.” I motion for them to stand. “Up.”
They begrudgingly move, already glaring at me like I’m the bad guy.
“Hug your brother,” I order, giving Kaios a light smack on the back of his head before folding my arms over my chest. That gets them both to crack a smile.
Jaxon steps around his desk, and Kaios meets him halfway.
Hard-headed fucks.
Out there, they’re the big, bad, hardened men the world expects them to be. But here, when it’s just us, I don’t let that bond slip—not even for a second. Because there’s a whole fucking world out there, licking its chops, waiting for cracks like this.
They each return to their seats, and the tension between them eases. Their shoulders drop; their breathing slows. I’ve heard hugs release oxytocin or some shit, making you happier and calmer. Whatever it does, it works.
Shit, maybe I need a hug, but not from these assholes.
“Great,” I say. “Now, start the damn meeting, King.”
Jaxon clears his throat, straightening in his chair like he’s preparing for a TED Talk. “So, as you both know, we’ve been tasked with an assignment.” He pauses, his gaze darkening. “And that assignment just got more complex.”
I roll my eyes. We’ve got so many assignments in the air right now; I’m just trying to figure out which one has my name stamped on it this time.
Jaxon doesn’t call us in—Kaios and me—unless shit’s gone sideways. Special ops, that’s what he calls us. Not because we’re his brothers, but because our skill sets only come into play when the target’s too risky for the crew he sends first.
Most of the time, it’s either one of us or the other. It’s been years since we’ve been called in together. So, yeah, I’m curious now.
“Which assignment?” I ask, my voice sharp enough to cut through the silence.
But they’re both too quiet. King and Mouse exchange a look that sets my nerves on edge.
Shit. Must be bad.
“Which case?” I press, looking between them.
Still nothing.
“Guys, come the fuck on. I’m tired as s—”
“Naomi Blaine,” Jaxon says.
I pause, looking between them for any sign that this might be a joke. “Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I groan, scrubbing a hand over my face, slumping back in my chair, exhausted.
“What is it with you two and this girl? I’ve been asking, and neither of you will give me a straight answer.
” My voice rises, sharper than intended.
“How hard can it be to babysit a damn debutante? Why the hell does she need all three of us?” I growl, my irritation spilling over, even though I know most of it is exhaustion talking.
They’re keeping something from me. I can feel it, and that makes it worse.
“She’s important because I say she’s important,” Jaxon snaps, standing abruptly. He plants both hands on his desk, leaning forward as he locks eyes with me. “She’s important because she’s family.”
Family.
That word halts me mid-breath. Family means everything to us, and it doesn’t have to mean blood.
I know Jaxon went to school with her brother. Their bond must run deeper than I realized, but even still… I’m skeptical. The only time I met Max and his younger twin brothers was when they wanted to throw her some big party at our nightclub when it first opened.
She liked Empress Beatrix, and her team owed me a favor I’d never planned to cash in on. It hadn’t seemed like a big deal to use it for her. After all, the Blaine family were Jaxon’s friends, and back then, I was just trying to keep things afloat.
Naomi had tried to thank me afterward, but I didn’t have the time—or the energy.
The club was a disaster to open, and Barbara Vance—that demon of a woman was hellbent on ruining my life.
If I didn’t keep her happy, my plea deal would have fallen through, and I’d have ended up back in the system, serving twenty-five to life.
At the time, everything felt like it was slipping through my fingers. I couldn’t fail my brothers—not after everything we’d been through. Meeting with her didn’t even make my top five priorities.
She’d faded into the background.
A week later, a thank-you note had landed on my desk, from her.
It sat unopened for days before I finally tore into it. Her words hit me harder than I expected. She’d told me I’d made her dreams come true, checked something off her bucket list. Her letter landed softly in a hard place.
I’d kept it. Folded it up and slid it into my wallet, where it still lives to this day. On bad days, when I feel like I’m nothing but a string of failures, I pull it out. Read it. Remind myself that, at least once, I didn’t screw everything up. At least once, I got something right.
“What do we need to do?” I ask, locking eyes with Jaxon.
Jaxon leans back in his chair, his usual tension ebbing just a fraction. But it’s Kaios who answers, drawing my gaze to him. “She was kidnapped six years ago,” he says flatly. “We think her disappearance is connected to The Corinthium.”
“At the risk of getting my ass handed to me again…” I glance at Jaxon; my tone is edged with irritation. “Why do we need special ops for this? She’s back now.”
“I don’t need special ops.” Jaxon’s voice softens. “I need my brothers.” He leans forward, his gaze unwavering. “And I also think she could be the key to our plan.”
I blink, processing his words. “You think her disappearance has something to do with The Corinthium,” I repeat slowly. “So, how the hell does that relate to us?”
“Anything tied to The Corinthium could bring us closer to reinstating our Rite,” Kaios says, his tone laced with restrained patience.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t make her the key.” I tip my head back and squeeze a few drops of artificial tears into my dry eyes, blinking against the sting.
“You’re right.” Jaxon’s tone shifts, and I sense the pivot coming. “But as you know… she’s with Christian Cavanaugh now.”
“Yeah?” I lower the bottle, wiping away the excess drops as he comes back into focus. “And?”
“And that means intel,” Kaios bites out, his jaw tight. There’s something else beneath his words, something raw.
I raise a brow. “Okay, but would she even agree to help us?”
“She doesn’t have to know,” Kaios says calmly, pulling up something on his laptop. “With her being close to Cavanaugh, we might have better access. And we can finally figure out how his family managed to annex our Rite.” He swivels the screen toward me.
“So, you want to use her,” I say bluntly, squinting against the beaming surface, trying to get my vision to help me comprehend what I’m seeing so early in the morning.
“It’s not like that,” Kaios growls, yanking the laptop back. His fingers fly over the keyboard. “No one is using her.”
My head snaps towards Jaxon, pinning him with a hard look. “Then why don’t you enlighten me, King?” My voice is calm, controlled, but the bite is unmistakable. “You were the one who insisted on this meeting.”
Jaxon answers, his tone measured. “It’s a mutual benefit. She finds out who took her, and we get the answers we need.”
Kaios spins the screen back toward me, his jaw tight. This time, I see the footage. Clearer. Longer. The angle is better, and it shows someone lifting her limp body over their shoulder, disappearing into the tree line behind her house.
“Does she even want to know who took her?” I ask. “She’s moved on. She might just want to let it go.”
He sets the laptop down on the desk, his voice low but edged with something jagged, something unfamiliar.
“Sometimes, the memories don’t go away,” he says quietly.
His words hit harder than I expected. “Sometimes they consume you. Every breath, every thought.” He pauses, his fists clenching and unclenching as he stares past Jaxon, his focus fixed on the bookshelves behind him.
“But at least we can give her the choice. Whether she wants to know or not, after we find out.”
The rawness in his voice stops me cold. It’s rare to see this side of him, and rarer still to hear it. For a moment, the room feels too quiet, too still.
“Everything okay, Mouse?” I ask softly, using the nickname that usually pulls him out of his head.
He dips his chin, barely acknowledging me, his gaze still distant.
“She’s been back for six years,” Jaxon says, breaking the silence.
His tone is steady, but there’s a hint of something deeper there, something protective.
“And she still has nightmares. Every year, on the anniversary of what happened.” His eyes meet mine, unyielding.
“The least we can do is offer her the damn choice.”
My brothers take turns briefing me on the scraps of information they’ve managed to piece together—from her, from her brothers, and from Dr. Mortez’s patchwork interview, which is not much to work with.
I think back to the blueprints of her home that Jaxon sent over when he first picked up the case. No way a regular person could’ve pulled off her abduction, not with the layout, not with the sheer size of the property.
By our standards, her security is garbage.
But by everyday standards, it's extensive enough that it would take people who knew what they were doing to pull it off. I can see why my brothers think The Corinthium might’ve had a hand in it.
And the more they tell me, the more resigned I become to Jaxon’s decision.
One way or another, the motherfucker that did this to her needs to be put in the dirt—not just for Naomi, but for every person who walks home alone at night.
“What about the driver?” I ask. “He didn’t see anything?”
“The Blaines questioned him, but he said he was parking the car near the front of the grounds when it happened,” Jaxon says, his tone sharp with frustration.
“He blamed himself for her disappearance and was so overcome with grief that he ended up taking his own life shortly after. He left a note for the family, apologizing. So we don’t have the option of speaking with him. ”
“Fuck,” I mutter, running a hand down my face. Then a thought crosses my mind, sharp and unwelcome, the words feel like ash when they leave my mouth. “You don’t think Cavanaugh had anything to do with this, do you?”
“If he does, I’ll personally deliver him to his maker myself,” Jaxon replies, the threat in his voice cold and deadly. “But it’s unlikely.”
“Nothing is improbable when it comes to The Corinthium,” Kaios bites out. His voice is tight, anger simmering just below the surface. “We don’t leave any fucking stone unturned. Even if it’s that bitch Cavanaugh.”
“You’re right, Mouse,” Jaxon says, his gaze steady on Kaios. “We’ll check him out regardless. We have to—for us, too. Remember?”
Kaios doesn’t answer right away. His eyes flick to Jaxon, and after a moment, he nods. His shoulders drop a fraction, the tension in his body loosening just a bit.
“Sound good, Mouse?” I press, watching him closely. A nod isn’t enough. Not with him. We need his word.
He blinks a few times, like he’s dragging himself back to the room. “Yeah,” he grumbles. “Sounds good.” His hands finally stop their restless, repetitive motion, settling in his lap.
“Good. Then everyone’s on the same page,” Jaxon says, his gaze flicking between me and Kaios. “We get closer to Cavanaugh, and she gets the chance to know what happened to her.” His eyes pin me down before I can speak. “Provided she wants to know.”
“Thanks,” I say, smirking.
Kaios shakes his head, rising from his chair. “Trust me, she’ll want to know.”
“We’re not done, Mouse. Sit,” Jaxon orders, his tone brooking no argument.
Kaios grumbles something under his breath but drops back into his seat with an exaggerated huff.
“What’s up, King?” I ask, wary of the shift in Jaxon’s energy.
“When we do this, we have to stay on the same page at all times.” He levels a pointed look at Kaios. “This means no going off script.”
Kaios throws up three fingers, his grin downright infuriating. “Scout’s honor, King.”
The grin says everything I need to know—if Kaios does anything, it’s on his own chaotic terms. Why Jaxon bothers wasting his breath is beyond me.
“Mouse, I’m serious.” Jaxon steps around the desk, leaning against the edge, looming over Kaios. “There can be no slip-ups this time.” His voice drops, and for a moment, there’s something like worry in his eyes. “She’s too important.”
Kaios sobers, meeting Jaxon’s gaze. “I know, King. I get it.”
There’s something unspoken passing between them, heavy and quiet, and it makes my stomach twist.
I clear my throat, breaking the tension. “What the fuck is this? Some kind of Hallmark moment?”
Both their heads snap toward me, twin looks of irritation and amusement.
“Aww, Mouse, look. I think our big brother feels left out,” Jaxon says, smirking.
“Is that so, Nyx?” Kaios stands, stretching. “You wanna hug?”
“Mouse, don’t even bring your Loch Ness monster-looking ass over here,” I warn, holding out a hand to stop him.
“Give your brother a hug,” Jaxon says, mocking my earlier tone.
Kaios moves too fast, locking me in a bear hug before I can dodge him. His grip is as suffocating as it is smug.
“I fucking hate you both,” I grumble, finally relenting to his death grip.
“Nah,” Jaxon says, his grin wide and sharp. “You fucking love us.”
When I finally shove Kaios off, who's still chuckling like a lunatic, Jaxon claps me on the shoulder. “Now take your grumpy ass to bed, Sleeping Beauty.”
I roll my eyes, ignoring their antics, but deep down, I’m relieved that my brothers can get back to being civil so quickly. Of course, they can both go to hell, because my beauty sleep is the only thing keeping me sane enough to deal with them every day. They should be grateful.
Kaios and I leave the library, heading in opposite directions. He pivots left, and I head right, crossing the walkway above the double grand staircase toward the end of the hall.
“Night-night, Princess,” Kaios calls over his shoulder, heading to his office.
Without looking back, I lift my middle finger over my head. His chuckle echoes behind me, followed by the sharp click of his office door snapping shut.
I don’t usually stay at Verrin Hall. The penthouse we own is home now. Too many ghosts linger in these halls, and I’ve spent years trying to outrun them.
One shower later, and I’m out cold, dead to the world.