Chapter 30 Kage
Kage
THE EXECUTIONER
It’s been two weeks since that first night Wren got here and it’s been about as close to heaven as a devil can get.
There hasn’t been a day where the three of us haven’t had sex at least twice or ended with all of us curled up in the same bed.
Waking up to Wren and Nox has been a dream I never knew I needed to come true.
I always knew I needed Nox, but having Wren with us has been a more than welcomed added bonus.
Aside from all the great sex, Wren has been asking for updates on her apartment and the owner, Chen, every day.
Unfortunately, we never have answers for her.
How do you tell the person you care about that the reason why you never called the cops is because you kill people for fun on a random Tuesday?
It’s not an easy conversation to have, but it’s one that needs to happen sooner rather than later.
I can tell the unknown is eating away at her.
Almost every night Wren wakes up screaming, drenched in sweat and clawing at the sheets like she’s trying to physically crawl out of her nightmares.
Every time, she asks for her teddy bear she had as a kid.
Says it’s the only thing that’s ever helped her get through them.
Unfortunately for us, we don’t have a damn idea where the hell that damn bear is.
She mentioned having it before her apartment was broken into, which is why she’s been asking us to take her back so she can get the bear along with some more clothes, but we won’t let her out of the house.
It’s been a fight almost every single time.
She doesn’t understand why we don’t want her to leave.
Now because of all the arguments with Wren, Nox has been getting angsty about her finding out the truth about us, but the deepest part of me knows she’ll get it.
Wren’s not like normal people; I can feel it.
Darkness lingers beneath her skin, waiting for the right moment to crawl out and let the world see exactly what she's capable of.
“Nox, you know I’m right,” I urge, annoyance evident on my face. “We have to tell her now before something comes up and she finds out from someone else. And fuck if someone tries to kidnap her to send us a message.”
The very thought of someone else putting their hands on Wren already has me seeing red. It’s not even something I want to think about, but it’s a very real possibility and he’s fucking stupid if he doesn’t realize that.
“No one is getting past all the security we have around this place. It’s a damned fortress. And if by some miracle they do, they won’t last long,” Nox says matter of factly, as if that’s enough to satisfy me when it comes to my little bird.
“I’m not willing to take that chance. Not with her. And you shouldn’t be either.”
Wren’s been taking a nap upstairs in her room for about an hour now.
She shouldn’t be coming downstairs for a while.
Pulling out my phone, I scroll to Jimmy’s contact and hit dial.
He’s been trying to get dirt on Richard for weeks now, but the guy has a clean slate.
I don’t fucking get it. There’s no way this piece of shit was popping up randomly the way he was and there not be a single thing on his record. That shit’s not possible.
It didn’t take long after I saw that Dick was still trying to contact Wren that I went into her phone myself and blocked the fucker. If I had it my way, I’d get her a brand new phone with a new number. At least I know that way none of her ex’s would have a way of contacting her.
After two rings, Jimmy answers the phone, straight to the point as always.
“Yo.”
“Jimmy the Unholy Informant. The Snitch of the Seventh Circle. The Whisperer of our Woes—”
Click.
The line goes dead.
Pulling the phone away from my ear, I stare down at it, dumbfounded.
“Did he…did he just hang up on you?” Nox asks, blinking at me in disbelief.
My brows draw together. “He…he hung up on me.”
“You earned that,” Nox says flatly. “You so earned that.”
“I wasn’t even half way through the list.”
“You’re lucky he didn’t detonate your SIM card.”
My eyes narrow. “I’ll just call him back.”
“Don’t,” Nox demands, but I’m already dialing, ignoring his groan as I wink at him.
“Jimmy Jam. You good, baby? You go through a tunnel or some—”
“IF YOU GIVE ME ONE MORE NICKNAME,” Jimmy roars so loud I have to hold the phone away from my ear. “I’M GOING TO CLONE YOUR NUMBER AND SEND YOUR DICK PICS TO THE FBI!”
I grin. Someone’s feisty today. “So…you’re fine?”
“I’m too old for this shit, Kage. What the fuck do you want?” There’s a growl on the other end, but I cut in before Jimmy can hang up on me again.
“Listen, sweetheart, I need info on Dick asap. Tell me you got something, because my patience is wearing real thin,” I say as I begin pacing around the room.
The line goes silent for a beat, causing my heart rate to pick up before Jimmy finally says something.
“I did find something, actually. It took a lot of digging around. These guys know how to cover their tracks.”
“Spit it out Jimmy, we don’t have all day.”
Sighing, Jimmy reluctantly tells me what he’s found. “Apparently, your boy Richard is directly related to Donnie.”
I freeze mid-step, my grip tightening on the phone. “Directly as in—”
“As in his father,” Jimmy deadpans.
What the fuck? This can’t be right. Not only is Richard apart of this sick ring, but he’s the fucking heir? We should have known. All the signs were right fucking there, how did we not know?
“Listen, I think that attack on your girl's apartment was some kind of set up. I don’t think they were after Chen. I think they were after her.”
I feel the moment my blood begins to run cold.
The moment that last small strand that had me tethered in place snaps.
They were after Wren, and they used Chen as bait, knowing he meant something to her.
I don’t think I even want to know why they want her, because right now, all I can think about is the sticky feeling of Dick’s blood seeping into the palm of my hand.
“Jimmy. I need you to dig up more on that damn building. Anything you can find,” I snap, my anger getting the best of me. “Old floor plans, cameras you can hack into. I don’t care what it is, find it and bring it back to us.”
“You got it.”
“And Jimmy…”
“Yeah?” I can hear his fingers tapping away at the keyboard in the background.
“Look into Wren too. Her last name is Daniels. Find out why they want her.”
“Heard.”
Hanging up the phone, I relay the conversation back to Nox, not leaving out a single detail.
If this won’t convince him that Wren needs to know about what’s going on, I don’t know what will.
The one thing that Nox and I have been able to agree on when it comes to Wren is her safety, and right now that safety is hanging on by a thread.
I toss my phone onto the couch, the weight of everything happening around me dragging me further underwater until I can’t fucking breathe anymore.
“I’m gonna go wake her up,” I murmur to Nox, and he just nods, already following me up the stairs.
Pausing when I get to Wren’s door, I watch as she finally rests peacefully, curled beneath her blanket. I need to know what happens in those nightmares, because watching Wren fight battles I can’t touch fucking destroys me and I can’t take it anymore.
Taking a few steps into her room, I sit carefully on the edge of the bed, brushing my knuckles with her cheek.
“Little bird,” I whisper, watching her eyebrows pinch together.
Her eyelids seem to flutter slightly in her sleep, and I wonder if she’s dreaming again right now. Wren makes the faintest whimpering sounds as her body barely starts to tremble. What the fuck is happening right now?
“Wren,” I say a little louder, shaking her shoulder to hopefully wake her.
Wren’s eyes fly open, wide and wild, a scream ripping from her throat as she jerks upright. Instinct kicks in and I grab her shoulders, pulling her into me so she doesn’t hurt herself.
“Baby, it’s me,” I soothe, rocking her slightly as she gasps for air. “It’s just me, baby. You’re safe.”
“Safe,” she echoes, her voice trembling.
Nox crouches to her side, his hand gently brushing the damp hair away from her forehead.
“Same nightmare?” he asks softly, letting Wren melt into his side clinging to him desperately.
“Talk to us, little bird,” I urge, tipping her chin up so she has to look at me. “We need to know what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
Her lips part slightly, and for a second I start to think I actually broke through to her. But just as fast as she parted them, she shuts her lips once more, holding back and fighting her demons all on her own.
“Please, Wrennie, I—”
“Don’t!” she screams, her whole body jolting like I hit her. Wren’s eyes go wide with terror as she scrambles backward on the bed, desperate to get away from me. “Don’t fucking call me that!”
I pull back, holding my hands up as I stare at her with sympathy. “S-sorry. I’m sorry, baby, please. Please don’t shut us out.”
Wren watches me with cautious eyes, her chest rising and falling with every harsh intake of breath. Nox looks between the both of us, his hand on Wren's thigh, ready to protect her at all costs. Good. As he fucking should.
Holding my arms out for her once more, I silently beg her to let me hold her, needing it more than she does. Wren is not the type of girl to cower away from things that scares her. She faces that shit head on, so for her to be acting like this, that dream must have really fucked her up.
She nods before crawling back into my arms, allowing me to hold her while she sobs violently in my arms.
“I don’t understand why,” she wails. “Why do I keep dreaming about him? I thought it was finally over!”
Nox and I share a look. What the fuck is she talking about?
Who the hell is him?