Chapter Five #2
“I don’t need the power of the ruling families to ensure my family is protected,” I replied.
“Tobias overreached his power and thought he could fuck me without buying me lunch. He learned a valuable lesson today about not touching what didn’t belong to him.
Isn’t that right, Tobias?” My gaze never left his, and I knew I had won when he glanced away.
“Bigger men than you have been dethroned,” Tobias muttered.
“I’m sure that’s true, but my throne is secure and my kingdom is protected by my tyranny.” I shrugged one shoulder, setting my glass down. “I have no intention of apologising for that.”
“Rocco, we’re leaving,” Tobias snapped, waving his son to follow him. “We have a funeral to plan.”
They stormed across the room toward the main door. He had come here to garner an army against me, and his plan hadn’t worked. Someone like him wanted me to deny what I had done, and instead I had justified it.
Rocco tried to slam me with his shoulder on the way past. We weren’t allowed to shoot or stab anyone. I had read the accords thoroughly and knew how to navigate my way through this quagmire of shit and prejudice.
I grabbed the wrist of the arm he tried to hit me with, twisting it up his back until his shoulder popped. He lunged forward when I kicked the back of his knee.
“This is a place of peace and sanctuary,” I hissed. “Respect the values we hold or don’t come back.” I pushed him onto the floor, stepping back and putting my hands in my pocket to stare down at him.
“I advise you to teach your son what is permitted in this place,” Enzo said, waving security at the door forward. “We do not allow this type of behaviour here.”
Technically, I had been the one who committed violence, but there was no way Enzo would move against me because he knew how much power I wielded outside this room. All my people were loyal, and there was no weakness in my empire that he could exploit.
Tobias nodded to his son, and one of his men moved forward to lift Rocco off the floor, and usher him out with his dislocated arm hanging at an awkward angle.
I spun toward Dad, but the expression on Olivia’s face caught my attention.
She had avoided me from the night I killed those two men who were trying to abduct us.
They would have taken turns to traumatise her, relishing in stealing her innocence, and ensuring she had trauma for life.
I would never have allowed anyone to touch my innocent little lamb.
Her gaze met mine for a brief moment before she looked away.
I knew I was a monster, but knowing that and seeing the horror in the eyes of someone I cared for was another matter.
“I need a drink,” I muttered, heading to the bar to order a double whiskey since today had been a fucking nightmare.
Everyone had returned to their own discussion since the drama was over, so I took the opportunity to wander out onto the smaller balcony that Tobias hadn’t occupied earlier. The fresh air washed over me, and I closed my eyes as I sipped the fiery liquid in the hope it would numb my senses.
I used to wish I could escape this life, now I spent every day navigating the chaos of this existence.
The only reprieve I had been awarded was ridding the world of the creatures who had formed the camps my sister had been kept in.
Eradicating the world of that evil brought a smile to my face even now.
“Trouble seems to follow you.” I froze at the female voice in the darkness.
“It must be my charm and good luck,” I replied without turning around.
“Or your ability to piss people off.” Olivia appeared beside me. She took the glass from my hand as if five years hadn’t happened, taking a sip from it. She grimaced and handed it back to me. “What happened to no hard liquor at these events?”
“I’ve had a bad day.” I stared into the darkness that allowed the lights of the city to look like stars. A bad day was an understatement, it had been fucking horrendous.
“Must be the date for bad days,” Olivia said, leaning against the rail, her head on top of her arms. “I hate my life.”
My lips twitched at her tone. I doubted she had someone put a gun in her face today, or someone tried to strangle her.
“Must be awful getting your hair and nails done before picking out an expensive outfit,” I commented.
Olivia’s head snapped toward me, her green eyes narrowed in anger. “If I thought shaving my hair off and breaking my nails would stop Roberto marrying me off to some rich fuck with a sadistic streak, then believe me I would do it tonight.”
My eyebrows shot up at her outburst, moving so my ass was braced against the rail to stare down at her. “Problem?”
“Same problem, different day,” Olivia said.
“I heard about Dale,” I replied.
She glanced away, tucking her hair behind her ear. Obviously the rumours were true and Roberto had been involved in his death.
“My condolences,” I continued.
“Thank you, he was a decent soul,” she replied. “We had planned to leave this life and live in the country.”
No mention of love or grief at the loss of her fiancé.
Interesting.
I nodded silently, and took another sip from my drink. Olivia took my glass and drained what was left in it before placing it back in my hand.
“Not everyone in this world is an asshole,” I said.
She gave me that stare that women seemed to be taught at an early age that said she thought I was mad, or had spontaneously started speaking a different language. I raised an eyebrow since arguing with that stare was pointless.
“Name one,” Olivia demanded. “One man that won’t rape me every night and beat me every day.”
Her words stumped me. It never occurred to me what awaited the women who were married off between the families. I didn’t think they lived in marital bliss, but neither did I imagine that they lived a life of misery and abuse.
I opened my mouth and shut it again, then cleared my throat. “I’ve never laid a finger on a woman in anger or against her will.” I sucked in a deep breath. “I can’t say the same for everyone else.”
“All I wanted was to be free,” Olivia replied. “To live my life without someone waiting to punish me or force me to do what goes against my ethics.”
“None of us are free in life. We pretend we have options, but in reality we do what we need to thrive or survive.” I trailed my fingers through my hair as I tried to suppress my emotions. “Sometimes that still isn’t enough.”
“Ten years, and we’re still trapped,” Olivia said in a low voice, and it sent a shiver down my spine, almost as if the spirits of my ancestors stood watching.
“We’re both still hiding at parties.”
“Is there anyone else worth talking to?” Olivia asked, igniting that warmth in my chest she always did. “That room is filled with predators and deviants.”
“Sounds kinky,” I retorted. “Technically I’m supposed to belong in that room.”
Olivia turned to face me fully. “You are the biggest predator I know,” she said, the expression in her eyes intense as she stared at me.
“But there is no cruelty in your actions and you take no joy in the pain of others. At one point in my life, I had you labelled as my best friend. Don’t let them change you. ”
She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to my cheek, and every nerve in my body froze at her touch.
Something broke inside me as I watched her walk back into that room filled with villains and assholes.
I had missed her for five years, looking for her in shadows at these events, and standing on balconies in the hope she would appear like a ghost and speak to me.
Olivia had been the only person I had let see the real me.
I stood watching over the city until the beast that roamed inside me settled, and the urge to kill everyone next door subsided.
Disappointment flared in my chest when I finally re-entered the ballroom to discover Olivia and her family had left.
Every conversation was colourless, and every interaction faded into insignificance as her words reverberated inside my head.
For the first time in forever, I re-evaluated the world through the eyes of someone else, and what I saw left me disgusted and sickened to the depth of my soul.