Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
GRIM
The sun had risen into morning when I got back to the Wharf. I immediately clocked something was amiss. A sleek black Rolls-Royce was in the middle of the regularly empty parking lot. The driver inside didn’t turn to look as I walked past him.
Whatever high I had from seeing Gemma vanished.
The club was quiet with daytime. I already knew who would be waiting before I saw his back, salt-and-pepper hair illuminated under the bright overhead lights. My three brothers stood in front of him, arms folded. Upon hearing the door open, their eyes lifted over his head, to me.
“Why the fuck are you here?” I said.
He turned around, a smile spearing his lips that didn’t meet his eyes. “The man of the hour.”
I shared another look with my brothers. It was the second time in less than a month Vander Archeron had paid us a visit. The most he showed up was once every six months, if that.
Unmarked, unclaimed, not off limits.
He left that night without another word, so I never found out why he was talking to Gemma Crowne. What he wanted.
“What the fuck do you want?” I repeated.
He rubbed the side of his neck. “Just checking in.”
I bit my molars, jaw tweaking. “Checking in.”
He smiled, and this time it did reach his eyes. “You any closer to closing the Crowne girl’s contract?”
I shifted. “I’ll close it when I close it.”
He laughed, reaching inside the breast of his jacket. “Sure you’re not getting business mixed with pleasure?”
He pulled out a small, square photograph. It appeared to be taken far away, probably with a drone, but what you could see was clear: me with Gemma Crowne, on the beach yesterday.
Closer than we should be.
Shit.
Tension buzzed in the room. Lock pushed his tongue into the back of his teeth, and Raze clenched his jaw, nostrils flared. Wraith…well, he didn’t seem mad or surprised, but it was impossible to know for sure with him.
“I was checking in on a contract,” I said, voice even. “Isn’t that what you’re doing?”
Silence settled, then he shoved the photo back into his pocket. “Sure. How is everyone else doing? Your sister—Sabrina, right? She’s doing good?”
Something unhinged fell across Lock’s features. He took a step forward when Raze grabbed his elbow.
Vander laughed again. “I’ve given you five years to figure this out. Might be about time I choose for you.”
With those parting words, he left. The metal door slammed shut behind him, briefly illuminating the club in white before being snuffed out.
“So…” Lock started. “You’re lying to us now?”
If I didn’t know better, I’d think Lock sounded worried.
I was always the one in control. Raze’s anger got him into trouble.
I couldn’t count the number of times we’d had to clean up some mess because Lock had no control over where he stuck his dick.
And Wraith? Wraith was like trying to keep a pet jaguar—the minute it was free, it would maul your face off.
“Are you fucking her?” Lock asked.
“No.”
“Good. You can’t fuck her.”
I laughed, caustic. “I know you’re not about to tell me where I can put my dick.”
“Are you planning on fucking her?” Lock continued, undeterred.
I thought to what I’d left on Gemma’s dresser. My come leaking and staining her pretty, perfect things.
Whenever I closed my eyes, I could still feel her perfect, soft cunt. Could still picture that pouty princess act slip into perfect surrender as she stretched for my cock. One night on the beach wasn’t nearly enough.
There’s still so much I need to do to her.
Finally, I answered. “No.”
Raze exhaled, rubbing a hand across his face. “It feels a lot like five years ago.”
A sludgy, foreign sensation filled my gut—guilt.
There were a lot of rumors surrounding the why of us. We were born into some top-secret, illuminati-style crime syndicate. We were a sex cult. We were the muscle of some shadowy power.
The truth was, we were just as indebted as whomever was inked on our skin. But five years ago, we were almost out.
I rubbed my neck. “What are you saying?”
“We were almost out. No, we fucking were out. Then you took her contract. I’m not doing another five years of this.” He shoved his hand toward the door Vander had just left through.
“And you think I want that?” I said.
“I don’t know,” he said. “This is the second time in a month he’s shown up. Are you any closer to closing her contract?”
Silence stretched again, thick and sticky.
“It’s us,” Raze said. “We know you, man. We know that you’re acting differently with her. You treat her differently.”
I rubbed my jaw. Not able to deny it, but not exactly going to confirm.
“You can’t see her anymore,” Lock said.
I stopped rubbing my jaw, hand frozen.
“Dude, you know I’m right,” he continued. “Until we can figure out a way to get you out of her contract, you stay away. We don’t need to give that asshole more ammo. We can handle any interactions. Don’t let a fucked-up socialite be the reason ten years goes up in flames.”
He was right. I should have stayed away years ago. There were already too many secrets I’d been keeping from my brothers because of her.
Too many times I’d gone to her and lied to them.
If there was ever a time when Gemma and I could have been something, it died the day we took our ink.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll keep my distance.”