Kairus
“Your focus is off,” Nolan observed. Ignoring him, I continued shooting at the target in front of me. “Normally you’re a straight shot, but you look sloppy out there.” My jaw clenched and I aimed the gun, pulling the trigger. This one went into the center.
Three days, it had been three days since Jeremy paid his debt and I locked Azeira back up. Her cries and pleas haunted my dreams, leaving me unable to sleep, especially since I had grown accustomed to her body next to mine. For three days I locked myself in my music room, refusing to be bothered. Even playing my instruments didn’t ease my tension. I attempted to go in my office and go over numbers, math was another entity that usually brought me peace. It didn’t help.
Now I was at Nolan’s house, in his gun range, attempting to release some tension. My muscles flexed as I continued to block Nolan out and pull the trigger. It had been a while since I used the range. When I was younger my dad brought me frequently to make sure my skills stayed sharp. When my chamber was empty I lowered the gun and wiped my brow with the butt of my gun.
“This has to do with Azeira, doesn’t it?” That caught my attention. Narrowing my eyes, I bit down on my back molars and held the gun tighter. Mirth formed on his face. “It does. Trouble in paradise?”
My vision darkened.
“I’m assuming it’s because her dad paid back the debt and she went back home.”
“She’s not going anywhere!” I spat. I was aware I sounded like a spoiled child, but I couldn’t stop the melancholy that pooled through me at the thought of losing her. Fear clawed at me thinking about having to watch her from the shadows again. Agitation pricked my skin at the thought of another experiencing her smile and happiness. When I declared something as my own I didn’t mean it half-heartedly.
One of Nolan’s brows lifted. He tilted his head and studied me. “You did send her back home, right?”
I stared at him blankly. “You have to send her back home.” This time the mirth on his face faded and he straightened his stance. “Don’t let your obsession with this girl cloud your judgment, . She was a placeholder until a debt was paid and now it has been paid. If you keep letting your personal shit impact your actions, the business will crumble.”
My jaw ached from how hard I was clenching it. Nolan sounded a lot like my dad right now. The urge to punch him in the face pulled at me.
“My actions won’t affect shit. This is bigger than business,” I responded tightly.
His eyes cut into slits, his mouth pinched. “You, you’ve fallen for her, haven’t you?”
When I didn’t respond he tossed his hands up before running them down his face. “Damnit, . I thought this was all just a damn game to you. A twisted way to antagonize her dad to speed up his repayment, but you’ve gone and fallen for the bitch.”
“Watch your fucking mouth,” I gritted, creeping toward him. My pulse picked up.
“No. You need to get your shit together! We didn’t come this far for it all to be fucked up because you want to fall in love with a girl you kidnapped. Do you think that’ll end good? She could ruin every fucking thing.”
My nostrils flared as redness clouded my vision. My stomach filled with lava, exploding into my veins, flowing through my body.
“You know you’re sounding an awful lot like our sadistic fathers. I don’t take people throwing demands upon me lightly, you of all people know that. What I have going on with Azeira has nothing to do with you or the business.” I stepped closer so we were nose to nose. “You worry about being the muscle and let me worry about being the boss .” My eyes narrowed as we stood in a stare off. I could tell my words triggered something in him, but in true Nolan fashion he never cracked under pressure. Nolan didn’t like to be dumbed down to simple “muscle”. In reality we were partners in this, but when it came down to it I was the boss. Without me, everything would fucking crumble and he needed to remember that.
Instead of going back and forth with Nolan, I turned to reload my clip. He knew not to become my enemy. Crime lords hired him for a lot of mercenary type work. People feared him because he was ruthless. Still, he knew not to try me, because if we were to go to war, we would set the entire city ablaze.
“Do you plan on keeping her locked up forever?” Lillian questioned, making me turn to face her. I stared at her with my arms crossed. She didn’t cower away like most people. Lillian practically raised me. She was the only decent person in my life growing up, cleaning my wounds after one of parents left me bloody and crying. I respected her more than most people, but even she knew not to overstep boundaries with me.
“She’ll stay down there until I say enough is enough,” I commented.
Her eyes softened and she shook her head. “I’ve known you since you were a kid, . I saw you transform from a happy, outgoing child to a shell of yourself, only craving destruction and blood. You didn’t blink finding both of your parents dead and bloody in their bed, never shed a tear knowing you were alone. Rumors about you being dangerous and unforgiving spread quickly and people tremble whenever you enter the room.”
My eyes cut into slits. “What’s your point?”
“Even with all that, Azeira brought something out of you I haven’t seen since you were a kid.” My silence prompted her to continue. “Feelings. She made you feel. That girl might be too cheery for me, especially given the situation she’s in, but it’s clear she’s grown to have feelings for you and cares about you. When I took her food she looked completely distraught, but I don’t think it was because she was locked up. I believe she was hurt that you would take you two back so many steps.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. It felt like I had a sudden case of heartburn in my chest. Feelings were something I had long ago learned to bury away. Hearing Lillian mention them to me caused a bad taste in my mouth, but I couldn’t deny it. Azeira brought out things in me I never experienced before. On my drive home from Nolan’s I couldn’t get his words out of my head. Azeira did have me acting irrationally. Hearing Lillian confirm it didn’t sit right with me.
“I’ll be in my music room,” I told her, not bothering to respond. The urge to go down and see Azeira, to take her and cover myself in her scent and essence, was strong but I fought it. I needed her to need me. To be so desperate for me that she would never think of leaving me no matter what happened.
I pushed the door open and stepped into the room, staring at Azeira curled in the bed. Her wild hair was sprawled all over her head. My nose twitched at the foul scent coming from her. Azeira hardly ate when Lillian brought her food, she barely left the bed. All she did was stay tucked under the covers. I had come down here at night and watched her sleep, unable to truly stay away from her.
My throat tightened at what I was about to do. My stomach recoiled. Gritting my teeth, I stomped toward the bed and snatched the covers off of her.
“Get up and shower,” I demanded, tossing things from her room on the bed.
Her eyes fluttered open and she squinted. A stirring formed in my stomach.
“Get up!”
She stared at me blankly, her face still and pale. Her skin had lost the glow and luster it once held. Her eyes no longer beamed and were shadowed by dark circles.
“Why should I?” she rasped.
“Unless you want to stay locked down here, I advise you to listen to me.” That caused her eyes to buck. She sat up slowly and turned toward me.
“You mean it?” Stiffening my spine, I nodded, stepped back, and spun to leave the room.
“.” She grabbed my hand. “Thank you,” she rasped in a low voice.
Instead of responding, I pulled away from her and left. I didn’t want to think about what was about to come.
Azeira took less time than I expected to shower and clean herself up. When she came into the foyer she looked refreshed. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and her face was clear.
Azeira slowly walked toward me with hesitation written all over her face. Her eyes bounced around the foyer and froze on the bags near the door.
“What’s going on?” she whispered, stopping in front of me.
Chewing the inside of my cheek, I gazed down at her, unmoving. “You’re going home.”
Her eyes ballooned and her lips parted. “What?”
I nodded stiffly and shoved my hands into my suit pockets, resisting the urge to take her into my arms and tuck her away again.
“Your dad paid his debt. You’re free to go. Crusher’s gonna take you home.”
Just as I spoke, the door opened and Crusher stepped in to grab the last of her things to take to the truck.
“ I—” She blinked slowly and her forehead creased. “When?”
“When what?” I replied, my voice void of emotion.
“When did he pay?”
I stayed quiet. She watched me as I watched her, knowing when the realization formed for her. “That’s why you locked me up, wasn’t it? You panicked and threw me in the basement so I wouldn’t leave?”
Refusing to confirm or deny, I pulled one of my hands out of my pocket and reached for her left hand. Lifting it, I looked at my last name on her ring finger. The rational part of me was slowly starting to fade. Possession burst through me. Knowing my name branded her skin made the blood rush to my dick.
Brushing my fingers over the tattoo, I flicked my eyes up to her face when she inhaled sharply.
My nostrils flared.
Quickly I dropped her hand and grabbed her by the neck. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened. I pulled her into me and crashed my mouth into hers, taking it hungrily.
One last taste .
I wanted to make sure I was so entangled in Azeira that she felt me under her skin, wrapped in her soul, and pouring through her blood. My kiss became harder, savagely. Azeira moaned into my mouth. Her body submitted to my kiss.
My hold on her neck tightened as my tongue explored her mouth.
Suddenly, I yanked away from her. She panted, staring up at me in a daze full of lust.
I released her reluctantly. “Go.”
Everyone was right. Azeira was starting to change me. As much as I hated to admit it, Father was right when he said you had to run this business without feelings because they made you weak. As long as Azeira was around me, my feelings would keep creeping to the surface and I couldn’t have that.
Hurt flashed on her face.
“,” she said lowly, the singular word embedded in sadness.
My face hardened. “Go!” I bellowed, causing her to flinch.
Her eyes misted and she tucked her lips into her mouth. Her eyes shifted to the door. When she noticed I wasn’t gonna budge, her shoulders sank forward and she nodded.
My hands balled as I watched her walk to the door. Her movements were slow and she kept her head low. Once at the door, she reached for the handle but stopped.
“You know, all you had to do was tell me what was going on. You should have trusted me,” she started. Her voice shook as she spoke. “If you would have given me a choice, I would have chosen you.”
I didn’t respond, causing her to open the door and walk out, leaving nothing but a shell of me behind.
I turned and stormed up the steps. I already missed her presence and already wanted her back. Stepping inside her bedroom, I inhaled. She had been staying in my room before I locked her back up, but the room still had a faint scent of her inside. My eyes circled the room, pausing on the rose. It was wilted with the petals scattered around the vase she had it in. My jaw clenched and an empty feeling filled my chest.
It seemed as if it was near the end of its time, just like my time with Azeira.