He says and I go to my room shutting the door in Damian’s face. “Are you really, ok?” Ian keeps asking knocking on the door and I scream “Fuck off,” before opening the bathroom door and putting myself understeaming shower water.
My mind takes me many places, to my childhood where I learnt you can trust no one but yourself. My brother is the exception to the rule. During my teenage years, nothing excited me, only getting drunk and high, unfortunately I didn’t have an angel to rescue me like Rian did. I was rescued by the devil and his sidekick, Stephanie and Spencer. They made up my already viciously destructive mind on war. On overpowering all enemies. When our only real enemies were Denfell’s and Kane’s.
I thought I was the one in control, I thought I was over the water but I’m drowning in the pool of the blood I reaped. I’m breathing the blood in and asphyxiating on death. And I know the reaper came to reap me. The reaper will be reaped because there’s no way in hell I’m leaving Love.
I grab the reaper’s shirt and smash him against the mirror until it turns too real. Too vivid. I blink several times while breathing in deeply and close my eyes for some seconds. When I open them, I see Damian against the mirror. My hand wrapped against his shirt. It’s not the reaper.
It’s not my time.
“Sorry, man,” I say letting go of him and grabbing a towel.
“Jesus, what took over you back there?” Damian asks following me, is he slightly suicidal? I’ve seen the pattern that he either loves the adrenaline or doesn’t think he has much to lose with death. He takes risks. But I’m not going to intrude. Damian has been the only friend I have here, and I’m not ruining it by turning us into ventbuddies.
“Darkness, man, I’m fine though. Now leave before I take a piece of that mirror and slit your throat,” I say in a language he recognises.
“You’re such a freak,” Damian adds before disappearing behind my now closed bedroom door.
I still don’t get it. Love left. She wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t mandatory and Josh being preoccupied was never it.
“What’s up?” I say picking up my phone as soon as it rings.
“Did you get my message?” James asks and I chuckle.
“Does it look like I did? I don’t have the habit of waiting religiously for your messages,” I say and James says something muffled.
“You should. It’s important,” he says and I think ‘What the hell did he get himself into this time?’
“I’m listening,” I say and can tell James is uncomfortable by his huge sigh and hard swallow. “Spit it out,” I scream impatiently. I have to check on a little Cherry that keeps running the fuck away from me.
“I might have someone locked up in our basement,” What. The. Hell. “Your alliance won’t work and we need to get in power”
“Abort the fucking mission,” I demand, James laughs. “The hell are you laughing about?”
“What am I supposed to do? Let him go? You know I can’t. Stephanie misses you by the way,” more like misses being seen with me, and probably getting laid.She’s always loved the attention. Nothing more than the attention. It was mutual, though. Never liked her, never will. Just tolerate her presence from a distance. The farther the better. Don’t need opportunists by my side. A-fucking-men.
“Stephanie can go to hell. And so can you if you don’t let the guy go, before you do something stupid,” James’ breathing becomes erratic. “What did you do? And who the fuck is in our basement?” I ask him getting dressed and getting my car’s keys.
Josh pretends he doesn’t know I was a spy because he knows I’m his ally now. He asked me to keep it between us. I screwed up, now Love knows. Josh and I have a simple relationship, I help him, he pretends he doesn’t hate my guts from the beginning. I know he considers me a friend now. Or more like someone he can rely on. An ally would be the kindest word he’d use. But nothing erases the fact that I was sent here to destroy his sister and family.
From the moment Love and I connected, Josh threatened me. He clearly doesn’t know me, threats only make me want something more. Not that I needed further incentive. I was hooked on Love from the moment I saw that she's this genuinely angelic presence. It’s different from anyone in our business and it surprised me to say the least. When I discovered she killed Max Denfell.
I knew she’d do anything for the ones she loves including killing. That’smygirl.
“Marcus Whit,” Josh’s best friend, this keeps getting better and better. “I broke his hand”.
“I’ll be there in thirty, you better not worsen thesituation for your own sake. If Josh doesn’t kill you I will,” I kindly inform him of his most imminent future. “And no Stephanie or Spencer when I arrive!” I exclaim and know I need to have his confirmation. “Was I clear?”
“As clear as water,” after I get those words out of him, I hang up. I look outside and see Josh near his car. When his greenish eyes land on me his fist closes and he lunges in my direction.
Love tries to hold him but he shakes her off, three consecutive times.
“My brother has Marcus but I had nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, he clearly has a death wish. And chose to mess with us. He’s bored. If you want revenge on him, go ahead. Just don’t kill him, I’m responsible for his life,” I say, Josh hits me, I take the punch and it reopens my busted lower lip. “Are we even now. Can we go get him before James does something stupid?”
“Oh, this wasn’t stupid?” Josh asks and grabs me by my shirt’s collarbone. “This was an attack Dominik. If you can’t keep your brother on a leash, I will. He won’t like it and neither will you. This is James’ last strike. The next thing he does? He’s gone. For his well-being, pray Marcus is intact,” well, I know the more I pray, it won’t change his hand’s state.
“You have a brother?” Love asks I try to analyse her, but the more I do, the more unclear her intentions are to me. Love is anything but predictable.
“Yes, younger brother,” I say entering my car. “Follow me,” I voice to Josh and Damian. Rian is here too but I choose to ignore his ignoble presence.
