Chapter Thirty
Greyson
Now that I’ve found myself at something of a truce with Max, all of the animosity I have left is directed squarely at Cain. Even being in the same office as him is enough to infuriate me—the only reason I didn’t go for his throat at dinner was because I was focused on Scarlett.
Cain, however, doesn’t seem to realize that I’m imagining tearing his throat out with my bare hands.
He prattles on about the operation I won’t be a part of, which is now just a couple of days away.
He goes over lockdown and safety protocol for me, goes over who will be going on the op and who will be staying behind.
“Your unit will be first line of defense,” he says, nodding at me.
“Max, you have the option to also stay behind, if you’d like to lend support—but I don’t think it’s necessary.
I don’t foresee any break-ins, and our ground-to-air defense systems are up and running.
Any aerial attacks will fail, and I doubt Luther will risk the manpower for a ground attack—especially when his forces are already somewhat divided.
But, just in case, there needs to be manpower here. ”
“Luther has a force of at least fifty Widowers at their headquarters at any given time, according to Eric,” I say. “You’re going in with just under three dozen men. You’ll be outnumbered.”
“Before we go in, our bombs are going in,” Cain says.
“I’ll need Tobias to get into their defense system remotely and disarm it.
I received the weapons that Eric promised, so we’ll have a jet drop those, wait for the explosions to kill most of the men, and then go in.
We’ll also be demolishing Luther’s primary residence. ”
“Be careful not to drop the bombs on any weak points in the tunnel system Scarlett told me about,” I say. “I should have a map of them for you by the end of the day—Tobias is digging through old archives and records to find them.”
“Dropping them on the tunnels might not be a bad thing—it’ll trap any men who flee there, forcing them to head towards the escape—which spits them out in the middle of the forest. We’ll have men waiting for them at the exit.
” Cain nods. “I believe we’ve prepared to the best of our ability.
Once we succeed, we’ll be the strongest organization of assassins in the world—unrivaled and uncontested.
That will mean more money, more power, and more influence in the underworld, which will be conducive to expansion.
” He glances between me and Max. “Any questions?”
Max and I both shake our heads.
“We leave in three days,” Cain says. “As for their new headquarters, we’ll bomb the place to kill off whoever was working on it. In less than a week, the Widowers will be no more, gentlemen.”
“Good,” I say. “If that’s all—”
“It isn’t.” Cain watches me carefully. “Max, you’re free to go.”
Max casts me a quick glance, arching an eyebrow, silently asking if I want him to stay. I shake my head slightly, and as soon as he exits the room, Cain opens his big mouth and starts filling the air with the infuriating sound of his voice.
“I gave you a single trial before the ritual. Have you completed your task?”
The task of getting Scarlett to fall in love with me, to ensure she’s too attached to me to ever want to leave. I don’t know that she’s in love with me yet, but I’m certain she feels something for me that’s more potent than lust—she cares about me. I think she empathizes with me.
As for love… I don’t know if it’s possible for her to ever love me. I know that, even if she did, I’ll always love her more—and while earning her love is one of my greatest goals, I’m under no illusion that I’ll succeed. But, in any case, having her care will be enough.
“She’s attached to me,” I say. “I don’t think she’ll leave me.”
“Attachment isn’t enough,” Cain swiftly responds. “I need to know that she’ll go through with the ritual—with pledging herself to you, me, and the Nighthawks. If she fails, you know the consequences. I might not be able to kill her, but I’ll certainly make her wish she was dead.”
“With her brother now breathing down our neck, I don’t think that’d be advisable,” I snap. “As for the ritual… I’ll make sure she’s ready. Even if she doesn’t love me, she won’t leave me.”
I expect Cain to argue. To threaten my life as well as Scarlett’s yet again—but he doesn’t. Instead, he lifts his shoulders slightly. “Very well. If she fails, you’ll both pay the price. The ritual will be in exactly one month.” He jerks his chin at the door. “You’re free to go.”
I don’t wait around for him to change his mind and try to feed me some bullshit. I make my way to the door, pausing with a sigh when he calls my name.
“You do understand that I’ve done everything in my power to help you, don’t you?” Cain asks.
I glance at him over my shoulder. “No, Cain. You’ve done everything in your power to help yourself. Any benefits I happened to reap were accidental, not intentional.”
Cain’s jaw clenches, he turns his head to gaze out the window.
“I won’t deny that I have my goals. I won’t even deny that, most of the time, I’m an unfeeling psychopath.
But I’ve factored your future into my actions more times than I should have—and what I did to you was for you.
It had the exact outcome I knew it would, and one you’ve benefitted from greatly.
I give you leeway that I don’t give anyone else, Greyson. Believe it or not, I have your back.”
“You have no one’s back but your own.” I don’t bother telling him that I know he’s nearly killed me twice—once when he gave Scarlett oleander flowers, and then when he whipped me with a fucking nail. Without waiting for him to respond, I leave.
I’m once again stopped on my way back to Scarlett. This time, by Toby, who pauses when we pass each other by the hall.
“I have a quick question for you,” he says.
I withhold a sigh. I want to get back to Scarlett and continue my quest to get her pregnant as soon as possible.
Once she’s knocked up, we can start planning for the future—but step one is getting her there.
However, I always make time for the guys in my unit, so I fold my arms over my chest and face Toby. “What’s up?”
“I’d like to submit myself for consideration to partake in the tradition of Chosens,” Toby says. “I already have my woman selected. I’ve been watching her for years. We have… a history.”
My eyebrows inch upward. This is not the request I was expecting from Toby of all people—he’s never once struck me as a guy who would spend his time chasing tail or obsessing over women.
Then again, he’s an introvert who doesn’t talk about himself or his past very much, so I shouldn’t be entirely surprised.
“Who is she?” I ask. “What’s the history?”
His throat works as he swallows. “She’s my foster sister.
As for the history…” he trails off. “We were both foster kids together. She was adopted; I was run out of the house. Our foster father was…” he shakes his head.
“He did some fucked up shit nobody else knew about, so I tried to kill him. I was only eleven, and I failed. She turned on me and refused to provide an alibi or tell a story that vindicated me. I’ve seen her a couple times since, but she’s…
” he trails off, shrugging. “She doesn’t see me in a good light.
I think that, given some time and isolation, I could change that.
” He straightens his spine. “Choose me next. Let me have her.”
I furrow my eyebrows, considering him. I assumed that Tobias came up the rough way, but I was never sure. It sounds like he’s led quite the interesting life.
“Foster sister, hmm?” I murmur. “You need to understand what this tradition means. You will be stealing a woman away from her life. It will devastate her. It will rip her away from everything she’s known.
You will be the architect of her demise, and you can’t give her much time to grieve.
You will have to train her to become what you want, sexually and otherwise, without breaking her.
This is a lifelong commitment. It’s far more serious than marriage, because here, there’s no such thing as separation or divorce.
Before you move forward, ensure that this will be what’s best for both of you. ”
“I’ve looked at all the angles,” Tobias says. “It is what’s best for both of us. She’s an introvert, so isolation from society won’t be the end of her world. As for our relationship…” he shrugs. “I’ll figure it out as I move along. But she’s the one I want.”
“Take a month to think it over. Come up with a plan, and run it by me once you’re ready. If I think it’s sufficient, I’ll approve it; if I don’t, we’ll talk through any changes that need to be made. But, Toby, consider what you’re committing to and the difficulties it’ll create.”
He nods. “I will, thank you. I’ll have my proposal to you before the month’s end.”
Finally, I successfully make it to my room.
Scarlett’s precisely where I expected her to be; sitting on the couch, her shiny new laptop on her lap and her phone laid on the coffee table.
The furred demon is lazing on the spine of the couch, head resting on Scarlett’s shoulder, watching her as she works.
She’s so immersed in whatever she’s doing, she doesn’t even notice when I close the door behind me.
I check the time on my phone; it’s nearly midnight.
“It’s late, baby,” I say. “Go to bed and take off your clothes. I’m gonna fuck you at least once before we go to sleep.”
One round turns into three, because I can’t seem to keep my hands or cock to myself when it comes to Scarlett. I only ease up when she’s too tired to even scream, knowing I need to let her rest for a few hours.
Unfortunately for me, my phone starts buzzing with an incoming call just as my eyes are drooping and I’m starting to fall asleep. The only people who have my personal number know not to use it at night unless it’s an emergency, so I can’t very well ignore it.