up at me, and I can tell he’s more fearful of my wrath than my brother’s stupidity. He was around when my brother decided to fuck over the family to join a fucking motorcycle gang. He took the word of murderers instead of his own flesh and blood.
He became someone different. Someone I didn’t know, and the more time he spent with his new family, the more he’d forgotten about his lineage. I never forgot, though, and if he thinks he’s going to steal my payment, he has another thing coming.
“Make sure the girl is safe and stays indoors,” I tell Gray. “And if my brother goes near her, I’ll kill him myself.” I have a feeling my sweet little red isn’t someone who’ll obey the order to stay indoors. Only, she doesn’t know just how feral the predators on the outside are.
“Yes, sir.” Gray turns to leave, and I face the mirror once more. I know Darius will do something. I have a feeling the asshole is here to fuck with me. But what he doesn’t know is I have ways and means to ensure he can’t go near her.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and when I pull it out to find an unknown number, I’m sure it’s my brother. Swiping the screen, I press the device to my ear.
“You know, she’s quite the looker,” he tells me, the familiar voice ringing in my ears. As much as I hate him, I love him. There’s a fine line between the two emotions, a very fragile line.
“She’s mine, Darius,” I inform him, attempting to keep myself calm but failing when my fingers tighten around the cell phone. I only earn myself a chuckle in response.
“And you think the Bardots are just going to let you take her? She’s quite curious, isn’t she?” He’s testing me to see what I’ll do, what I’ll say. The thing about it is, my brother no longer knows who I am, but I know exactly who he is. I’ve seen him over the years, had people watching him, and I saw him turn into a monster. My intel has been wrong. He must’ve known I had eyes on him. The moment I’m done here, I’ll have my team fired for fucking this up. They should have known he was in Crimson Falls.
“Darius.” His name is a threat on my lips, the tone of my voice giving away just what I’m feeling right this second—pure rage. “I’m not your little brother anymore. I’ve welcomed the violence that you told me I couldn’t find within myself. And as a Shaw, I don’t give a shit about family anymore. I will kill you if you go near her.”
“From the garden, I can see into her bedroom,” he informs me coolly, as if he’s telling me about the fucking weather, which certainly doesn’t help my anger. My feet carry me out of her room into the hallway. I’m already pulling the gun from my shoulder holster when I reach the ground floor of my house. “She looks so beautiful in her little tank top.” His taunts continue with amusement tainting every mumble. My blood boils with every word he utters. “I wonder just how she’d feel squirming under me.”
“You’ll never find out,” I grit, my jaw ticking with feral rage as I pull open my back door and head out into the garden.
“Oh? Perhaps I should lure her outdoors with a pretty flower. And when I do, I’ll open her with my blade, just like a blossom being cut from the stem. Do you think she’ll bleed red or blue? I can wait to taste.”
“Over my dead body.” The words are out of my mouth before I have time to focus on the fact that he’s so close by that I can practically smell the violence he emanates. My feet move swiftly across the thick lawn.
What I loved about this property is it connects to the Bardot Manor. Our gardens overlook each other, and I can be on their land in about ten minutes. There is a thick outcropping of trees before reaching it, but I’ll get to him, and I’ll kill him once and for all.
“Perhaps I’ll find out sooner,” he tells me. “As you know, curiosity kills the kitten.” A scream pierces the speaker before the line dies. Asshole. I can’t hear anything from where I am, but I quickly make my way down the garden toward the forest that backs up against my property.
I’ll find