Chapter 14
Phoenix
I don't get it.
I thought they'd be over her by now. Had their fill and moved on. It’s been two fucking weeks!
But she got under their skin without even trying. If she knows what she’s doing, she’s a mastermind. If she doesn’t… it’s even worse. That’d make her a complication I can’t predict.
I don’t have time to coddle a stray the boys picked up. Someone has to think with their head instead of their cock, so I’ve kept my distance.
Curiosity is their luxury, not mine. They can distract themselves with a new toy, but I’ll keep this place running.
Vulnerability is a goddamn curse. It's a noose around your neck the second you let yourself care.
But the last few days, I’ve kept hearing Zane’s voice. The tension in it. As if he’d been wounded by her ‘offering’.
It’s a perfectly logical trade. She's clearly already accepted that's the only reason she’s still alive.
Yet, he walked away from that like it broke his heart. Zane—the most lethal man I've ever met—ran like his skin was on fire.
Might’ve been antagonistic to encourage him to accept it, but what can I say? Zane needs the outlet and Myles needs someone to burst his bubble.
What is it about her?
Is she really that special?
And is that the kind of offer she'd make to anyone?
As soon as the thought pops into my mind, I snuff it out. I hate myself for even wondering.
No. I’m not curious.
After spending years cultivating control and building walls, I refuse to see them crack because of a slight disturbance.
Exhaling my frustration through my nose, I look towards the cell again. Clenching my jaw, I turn and walk toward the armoury.
This will burn out, like everything else. I just need to be patient.
It's past midnight when I finally give in.
I told myself I wouldn't go. Spent the whole night sharpening blades that didn't need sharpening. Checking weapons we haven't used in weeks, I found excuses to stay away.
Then I snapped the tip off one of the knives because I wasn’t paying attention. Didn’t even realise I’d drawn blood until I saw it dripping from my palm.
Her cell’s been quiet. Zane fighting his urges. Myles licking his wounds.
And that silence is louder than I expected.
Before I know it, I’m making my way down the hall like a ghost, breathing slow, treading lightly. The building hums softly around me. The distant rattle of the wind against boarded windows. The kind of hush that makes your own thoughts sound like thunder.
I reach the end of the hallway, carefully opening the door to the holding room.
And there she is.
Closing the door quietly, I inch closer until I can see her properly in the darkness.
She’s curled into herself, one hand tucked under her cheek, the other lost somewhere beneath the massive hoodie swallowing her frame. Her knees are pulled up, baggy tracksuit pants bunched around her legs. She looks like she's hiding inside her clothes, as if the fabric is the only armour she has.
To my annoyance, I can understand their fixation now.
Even like this… she is beautiful.
Not the kind of beauty that shouts.
The quiet kind. Classy. Innocent. Sweet. Dangerous.
Shiny blonde hair spills over her shoulders and onto the pillow, catching slivers of moonlight like threads of gold.
There's a small crease between her brows, full lips parted slightly. Her chest rising and falling in the slow rhythm of someone who doesn't trust sleep enough to fall deeply into it.
There's a light dusting of freckles across her cheeks I hadn’t noticed until now. It makes her look more innocent than she probably is. Softer.
Soft.
I hate that word. It's just another variant of vulnerable. Breakable. And breakable gets people killed.
Myles loves my dominance, but he did always like submission in girls. It makes sense why he’s obsessed with this one.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean against the wall beside the bars, telling myself I'm just making sure she's still breathing. That I'm assessing her health. It's routine.
So, this is the little creature that’s been driving my men mad.
Looking at her now, it's hard to reconcile the image that Zane painted. She looks too sweet. Not manipulative and calculated. Just… powerless.
But obviously brave enough to continue trying to survive.
A tight knot begins to form in my chest. I can't tell if it's frustration, guilt, or something darker.
The cut on my palm throbs as my pulse picks up. I couldn’t feel anything over the noise in my head earlier, but I feel it now.
As I watch her sleep, I can’t help wondering what her body looks like without all those clothes. Or what her voice sounds like when it isn't shaking. What would it feel like to touch her hair? To see those lips part not because of fear but something else…
She’s not just a threat to the group—she’s a threat to me.
Fuck, I shouldn't be thinking like this! Not when I know exactly what men like me become when we let those kinds of thoughts slip through. Not when I know she won’t last long in this world anyway.
This is how it starts. First, a thought. Then before you know it, you’ve done something you can’t undo.
Dragging a hand over my face, I curse under my breath.
It was a mistake to come in here. She's not my problem. Not part of our group.
But I’d do a damn good job keeping her breathing. If I wanted to…
No, I can't go down this road again. She needs to go. Soon.
I don’t know how she’s survived this long but she can keep doing whatever it was before she started leeching off us.
Then I wonder, just for a millisecond, what it would be like to see her with her eyes open again. Awake. Looking at me.
Would she act scared?
Try seducing me like she did with Zane? Would I actually consider it? Or just take it before she offered?
Something tells me she hasn't made that offer to Myles. Would she choose me over him?
What a stupid thought. As if it fucking matters.
The questions burn low in my gut.
So I push off the wall and turn away before it catches fire, and burns down everything I’ve built.