Chapter 20
“No one is allowed entrance,” Sarang commanded to the four guards he’d placed outside his suite.
He’d locked the door to his bedroom before leaving, so he doubted Shiloh could call for help, but just in case…
“If you hear the prince, ignore him. If any of you let him out, I’ll kill you, is that understood? ”
“Yes, underboss.” They all gave him a deep bow as he shoved his hands into his pockets and headed down the hall.
Tull was waiting for him by the elevators, a pinched expression written across his face. “How is he?”
“Fine.” Sarang slammed the button and waited.
“With all due respect,” the other man stated, “he wasn’t fine when I found the two of you. When Kian finds out—”
“Kian is busy searching for his other brother.” He set a steely gaze on Tull. “Don’t distract him with unimportant matters.”
“You violently accosted the prince,” Tull hissed. “That’s serious!”
“Shiloh is fine.”
“Then let me in there to talk to him.”
The elevator arrived and Sarang stepped forward, the other man hesitating before cursing and following suit.
“I didn’t risk my neck saving you just so you could get revenge,” Tull said. “I get that you’re mad—”
“I’m not mad.” He was enlightened.
There was a difference.
He’d meant every word he’d exchanged with his omega back there, including the ones about his father. Sarang had been too focused on being a righteous person to notice how Shiloh had been leading him by the nose. For years, he’d seen exactly what Shiloh had wanted him to see.
Mostly, anyway.
Admittedly, despite his resolve, he felt a little bad about triggering Shiloh’s dormant fear. But he’d needed to be sure. The omega had kept his cool, kept his weaknesses close to the chest, and Sarang was left grasping at straws now that he needed them.
Before the death of the previous Dominus, there’d been occasions where her anger would get the best of her, and Shiloh would noticeably retreat within himself to escape.
Had he gotten flashbacks while watching Sarang destroy the hotel room?
He doubted it.
It wasn’t the act of destruction itself that bothered his omega, it was the lack of control.
Shiloh liked guessing what other people would do, how they’d react.
He enjoyed playing them to his tune, seeing if he could get the results he desired.
It was all a game to him. All of them, from Kian to Sarang to Tull, hell, probably even Sloane to a certain extent, all of them were part of a game.
“If this isn’t revenge, what is it?” Tullius demanded.
“He thinks he’s unlovable,” Sarang revealed. There was no point in hiding it, and it wasn’t like Tull would judge Shiloh.
Tull had put together a few loyal members and tracked Shiloh’s secret business down. They’d broken in to rescue him, but ended up getting beaten up for it since Sarang had been too lost to his rut to tell friend from foe. They did it because they were friends and he was the underboss.
But that didn’t mean they’d turn their backs on their prince.
“What?” Tull frowned.
“It’s why he put on this farce,” he said. “He thought if I knew, I wouldn’t want him.”
“Do you want him?”
Sarang tipped his head. “Tell me, you’ve been here longer than I have. Have you ever seen what he’s truly capable of?”
Tull glanced away. “Do you really want to know?”
“Tell me.”
He blew out a breath. “When he was thirteen, Dio caught him skinning the neighbor boy. Alive.”
Sarang grimaced. “Why?”
“The kid was a couple of years older and had already presented as an alpha. He took an…interest in Sloane. Put his hands in places that he shouldn’t have. You get the idea.”
“So he was protecting his sister.”
“He could have shoved the kid off or even bashed in his skull,” Tull pointed out, “but he chose torture instead.”
“Did he survive?”
“Of course not. As soon as Dio found them, he put a bullet in his head.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as the elevator finally came to a stop and they exited onto the second floor. “Which reminds me, what are we going to do about the Butcher?”
“The position is going to have to be refilled,” Sarang stated, leading them to his office.
He pulled off his jacket and draped it over the back of the chair before settling in.
With a few clicks, he had the live feed from his bedroom up on the screen, tilting it at an angle to prevent the man dropping down into the couch across from him from seeing.
He had no recollection of the café where Tull and the others had found him and Shiloh, but he’d been read into the situation as soon as he’d woken at the hospital.
“Do we know why the two of them were meeting?” All he had was a message from Shiloh’s multi-slate inviting the Butcher out for coffee.
“No,” Tull said, “but I bet you Bishop knows.”
“And we still haven’t located him?”
“He’s in the wind, so to speak.”
Sarang watched Shiloh shift on the bed, trying to get comfortable. “He won’t abandon the prince.”
“On that we agree. If Bishop was alpha, he’d give you a run for your money.”
“What about Dio?”
“What about him?” Tull made a face. “Hell no. Shiloh’s never once looked at him the way he looks at you. You have nothing to worry about there.”
Sarang pulled his gaze off the screen. “I meant, will he come knocking if he can’t get in touch with the prince?”
Tull thought it over. “You’ve got his multi-slate, right? Can’t hurt to shoot him a response now and again to keep him in the dark.”
Shiloh had been brought in during the early morning hours when the club was the quietest and most of them were sleeping. Only the guards, Sloane, and Tull knew he was here, and they’d been ordered to keep it that way.
Surprisingly, Sloane had been relatively easy to convince. She’d merely nodded, said, sure thing, and shut her door in Sarang’s face.
“Kian’s been informed of Rhovan’s death, and we’re looking into who those guys were who went after him and Shiloh. Since they shot Rho in the head right away, I think it’s safe to assume they were targeting the prince, and not there to take his life.”
Sarang had guessed as much as well. They’d been talking when he’d arrived, but in his feral state, he hadn’t been able to process their words.
It was something he’d have to ask Shiloh about, but he’d wanted their first conversation to be solely about the two of them and his expectations moving forward.
His time as the prince’s captive had taught him a valuable lesson.
Self-righteousness wouldn’t warm his bed.
He’d resisted his feelings for the omega out of a sense of duty toward Kian and the rest of the Eumia. Had considered himself too far beneath Shiloh to be considered a good match, no matter how attracted they were to each other.
Had excused that attraction away by blaming the life-bond.
But when he’d been rutting a pillow, or fucking couch cushions, he’d come to the realization that it really didn’t fucking matter why he felt the way he felt.
All that mattered was that he did.
He wanted Shiloh.
And he’d have him.
But there were a few things they needed to work through first, like his omega’s lack of faith and his deep-rooted need to hide who he truly was. Shiloh didn’t think himself capable of warmth or love, but that wasn’t true.
Sarang had experienced it first hand, had been gifted it directly from the omega. It was clear, however, that Shiloh lumped all of those acts together.
He believed he’d been pretending, for four years straight, during all of their interactions.
His alpha would show him that wasn’t the case. Sarang would lead him to the conclusion that he was just as capable of forming a real connection with someone as Kian was. The two of them were incredibly similar, now that Sarang had been made to see it.
“Rhovan’s brother is already on a ship headed this way,” Tull said then, bringing him back to the topic at hand. “I’ll send someone to pick him up. He’ll want to check on the body and then join the hunt immediately.”
“Let him.” If it’d been Sarang’s sibling on that table in the morgue, he’d burn the whole world down searching for those responsible.
“Before you ask, we still haven’t found whoever is behind roping in our people to deal elixir either,” Tull said. “But we’re getting close. I have several guys working on it. They’ll get to the truth.”
Sarang had learned about how Shiloh had uncovered who was behind their attack that day, and how he’d dealt with it. Honestly, he was proud whenever he thought about it.
There was a very good chance he could move past Shiloh being an unempathetic, killing machine, but only time would tell. That was why he was doing this.
And, yeah, getting back at Shiloh for locking him up didn’t hurt either.
“Think they’re related?” Sarang turned his head to watch Shiloh roll onto his side.
“Would be kind of crazy if they weren’t,” Tull confirmed. “The prince wasted no time destroying Lady Luck for coming after you, and he rooted out all the moles planted in our ranks who were dealing behind our backs and breaking the rules. Someone wants him for that.”
“They were trying to take him.” Sarang was sure of it. “Rhovan got a bullet, but Shiloh was being threatened to come quietly.”
“Think he pissed off whoever is in charge of the drugs badly enough they want to kill him personally?”
“Maybe.” Or maybe there was something even darker behind the motive. “Either way, I won’t risk it. He’s safe here.”
“You could just tell him that, you know? Tell him you’re keeping him to protect him.”
“That would only encourage him to try to leave and confront whoever is after him.” While he’d had Sarang locked away, that’s exactly what Shiloh had done. He’d flaunted his true capabilities, fighting openly to draw attention and put a target on his back. “He’s reckless and cocky.”
“Well, sure, but he kind of deserves to be,” Tull stated. “He can take me in a fight easy.”
Sarang quirked a brow.
“It’s happened,” he elaborated. “I haven’t been able to best him in the ring since he was sixteen. His dominant omega pheromones make my regular alpha ones ineffective, and his skills in combat are, arguably, better than Kian’s. Just don’t tell the Dominus I said that.”
“If he’s so much better, why didn’t he become the next Dominus instead?”
Tull snorted. “You’re joking right?” His brow furrowed when he realized Sarang was serious. “Dude. He did it for you.”
“What?”
“Kian and Altair had a plan, and they weren’t about to set it aside for anything, not even familial ties.
Knowing this, Shiloh agreed to step out of the way so long as he could fit some of his own people within the Hierarchy.
The terms were simple. Kian gets to be in charge, and the members Shiloh cared about got to be protected.
Remember how Kian purged the ranks of anyone he didn’t see fit?
Notice how none of Shiloh’s confidants were amongst them? ”
“He made me underboss so he could keep a hand in the cookie jar,” Sarang corrected, only for Tull to roll his eyes.
“Why the hell would he want that? The twins have never had an interest in their mother’s legacy. I mean, fuck, practically everyone knew Sloane planned on them cutting ties and running for the hills as soon as she croaked.”
“I’ve never heard this before.” When the line of succession had been a topic of discussion, Shiloh had come to him and explained that Kian was a better fit for the role.
He’d asked Sarang to take the position of underboss to ensure his brother didn’t try to kick him or his sister from the only home he’d ever known.
“He expressed an explicit desire to remain with the Eumia.”
“Yeah, because he knew being in the mafia was how you were providing for your family.”
Sarang was in disbelief. “How do you know all of this?”
“I run the club, remember?” Tullius draped his arms over the back of the couch.
“When he was a host, there was the rule that no one could touch him, sure, but do you really think customers weren’t plying him with alcohol the second you turned your back?
The prince got drunk all the time, and Bishop and I were the only two he trusted around him in that state. ”
A flash of jealousy ignited in his chest.
“Because you knew who he really was.” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch the guy for it, or be grateful that he was sharing all of this now. “You really have no idea where Bishop could be hiding?”
“Whoa.” He tossed up his hands. “I literally went against him and the prince to bust you out yesterday.”
Sarang sighed. “So, he talks about me when he’s wasted?”
“Poor kid never shuts up.” Tull got comfortable once more.
“It’s honestly insane how he hasn’t gotten your claiming mark yet.
If you weren’t so obtuse, you would have pulled your head out of your ass by now.
I don’t know why you take your position as underboss so seriously, but let me be frank, as a friend.
Kian isn’t going to give a fuck if you mate with his brother.
You said Shiloh is the one who thinks he’s unlovable?
Try looking in a mirror sometime, buddy. ”