Chapter 9
Kael
The rain was coming down in sheets, drumming relentlessly against the corrugated roof of the shipping depot. Crates lay open with enough black-market munitions to supply a small militia.
I checked the slide on a modified Sig Sauer before dropping it back into the foam molding. Across the table, Malachai stood with his arms crossed over his massive chest. He hadn’t touched a single weapon. He hadn't even looked at the manifest.
He just stared into the dark perimeter, his jaw set so tight the muscle looked like coiled wire. He had volunteered to help me tonight, which was unusual. Malachai liked using guns more than selling them.
“You look like you’re ready to kill someone,” I said, not looking up as I moved to the next crate.
Malachai let out a rough breath, his shoulders shifting under his heavy coat. “My daughter’s party is soon. I want Indigo to disinvite Cooly and Diamond this year, but I don’t want to give her yet another excuse to bring up Sasha.”
I paused, my fingers lingering on the barrel of a rifle.
The mention of the ongoing feud between Malachai and his wife was a headache I didn’t envy.
Everybody could see that Indigo was keeping Cooly around simply because it pissed Malac off; she was holding onto the bitterness of her dead baby with both hands.
Old wounds sometimes took longer to heal.
“Just finally kill him,” I said, shrugging.
“It’s been almost a year since you two beat each other half to death.
That's a fucking lifetime and a whole list of enemies. He’s already got bodies.
He’s obnoxious. He’s probably pissed off enough people that someone else wants him dead anyway.
Make it look like one of them finally got him. Just don’t get caught.”
Malachai gave a short, humorless laugh. “You make it sound simple.”
“It is simple,” I replied. “You’ve let him live this long because of Caine.
At some point, you have to decide if keeping the peace with my cousin is worth the risk of him still breathing the same air as your family, because one day his little obsession with his midnight is going to push him to do something extreme. ”
Malachai’s eyes cut to mine. Something dark and dangerous sparked in them, but he didn’t disagree or agree. He just rolled his jaw, absorbing the advice.
He leaned against the edge of the crate, changing the subject. “What about you? How’s the addict?”
The image of Bunny—sweat-slicked, trembling, and begging me to make the pain stop—hit me like a physical blow to the chest. I adjusted my cuffs, forcing my voice to remain perfectly level.
“I have a nurse on-site now. Zia wouldn’t come, but she sent someone.” I checked my watch. The numbers glared back at me. It had been nearly twelve hours since I’d left the house. “Actually, I need to get back. I haven’t seen Bria all day.”
Malachai gave me a slow nod. “Go.”
The entire drive back, my chest felt tight with anxiety. I wasn’t used to rushing back to anything. I was a man who moved on his own timeline. But the thought of Bunny locked in that room, fighting her own mind, had my foot pressing harder on the gas.
When I made it through the front door, the house was dead silent.
I crossed the hardwood floor in long strides, heading straight for the stairs. I was halfway up when a shadow moved at the top of the landing.
Lena stood there. She had changed out of her fitted scrubs into a fresh set, her dark hair still pulled back perfectly. She didn’t look surprised to see me.
“Mr. Voss,” she said quietly, stepping down a single stair to block my path. “I'm glad you’re home, but I need you to keep your voice down.”
“How is she?” I demanded, my hand already resting on the banister, ready to push past her. “I’m going up to check on her.”
“No,” Lena said, her voice firm.
“What the fuck do you mean, no?” She didn’t flinch as I stepped closer into her personal space.
“She’s resting,” she said. “Her fever spiked again this afternoon. I had to sedate her lightly so she wouldn’t hurt herself during the tremors.
It’s best if we keep her in a controlled state for the next few days to a week.
Her body is under extreme stress. Any additional stimulation right now could set her back. ”
I frowned. “I want to see her. I just want to look at her,” I muttered, my voice dropping into a rough register. “Make sure she’s breathing.”
“Mr. Voss, with all due respect… right now she’s mostly delirious.
She’s been calling for you, but she’s also been hallucinating.
Seeing her like this will only distress you,” Lena countered, her tone dripping with calm logic.
“If you go into that room right now, you may trigger a hypertensive crisis. If you want her to survive this with her mind intact, you have to let me do my job and stay out of that room. Let the medication do its job. I’ll monitor her closely.
You should get some rest yourself. You look exhausted. ”
I stared at her, scanning her face for a tell, a lie, a slip. I looked up past her shoulder, toward the heavy, locked door at the end of the hall. The thought of Bunny lying in the dark by herself hollowed me out. Every instinct told me to go in anyway.
But Lena was the professional. Zia had sent her. And Bria had been getting worse.
Slowly, reluctantly, I stepped back down the stairs.
“A week,” I growled, the word tasting like poison. “Not a day more, Lena. Keep me updated on every change.”
“Of course.” Lena’s full lips curved into a soft, reassuring smile, and her eyes deepened just slightly. “I’ll take excellent care of her. I know exactly how to handle her, Mr. Voss. Trust me.”
I turned and walked away, fighting every instinct not to. Unease crawled under my skin as I headed down the corridor toward my own room. Something felt off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Bria needed rest. That was what mattered.
Still… I glanced back at the closed door once before disappearing into the dark.