Stunned, I stood wordless, then eyed Dorin. He went rigid, a muscle jumping in his jaw. He looked like he was ready to murder him. None of them would do anything without my command.
I can’t believe he just called me a whore. Does he even know how his brother acts??
“What????? Noooooo, broooooo, but I would gladly be her whore.” Cezar started trembling with laughter.
“I do not appreciate you talking to me like that. You don’t even know who I am. You know nothing about me,” I stated, looking right into Codrin’s eyes, my arms folded. I think that was when he realized I wasn’t alone and the people lingering around belonged to me. He backed off.
“I didn’t mean to assume. It’s been a long night. I will take my idiot brother and be off.” Trying to escape the situation with their bodies intact was a smart move on his part. As they disappeared down an alley, I found myself wondering where they were headed. I ordered my subordinates to tail them. Maybe I could go there too.
The club was packed, and I was annoyed. The last thing I wanted to do was deal with men hitting on me all night, just to hopefully overhear something that would help us. I endured it for a while until my people returned.
“The two are staying at this hotel,” they reported, handing me a piece of paper with the name and address. Time for some real fun. Dorin was looking at me like he knew exactly what I was going to do. He was wearing that disappointed grandpa face again.
“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun.” The smile barely lasted before I was already making my way out the door. Most of the people I had brought stayed behind to try and gather more information while I hauled Dorin with me to the hotel.
Dorin, being on the cautious side, called a few more guys to meet us there. Always good to have backup.
“Listen, I am going to go up alone. There is a balcony, which is how I will get in.” I was already changing in the car parked across the street from the hotel.
“What if that isn’t his room? What if the brother is waiting for you, I mean, what the hell are we doing, Adelina?” Dorin doesn’t say my real name a lot. It was nice when I heard it. I was waiting for the day when that would be normal again. When everyone learned the truth, I’d take back what had been stolen.
“Dorin, everything will be fine. I know you got my back. And with the lights out in that room only, from what we can see, he is probably in there. I mean, he was pretty drunk a couple of hours ago.” I smiled and opened the door. All of the training and exercises I did with Stefan helped pay off when one had to climb to get into the bedroom of someone they kidnapped not too long ago.
What am I doing though…
It didn’t take much to get into the room. Cezar lay on the bed, quiet for once. I never took a night I actually slept for granted.
I sat there for half an hour or so. I didn’t hear much going on outside the room either. It wasn’t that late. Codrin was watching a fishing show. As time went on, I became more intrigued and really wanted to know what the fuck kept eating their damn bait.
Eventually, Cezar started to toss and turn until he shot up and headed for the bathroom. He didn’t make much noise, so I figured I was all right to stay put. Codrin cared about his brother, but I didn’t think he would come in here to pat Cezar on the back while he puked since the idiot drank too much.
I caught a few glimpses of red stains on the back of his shirt as he walked toward the bathroom. The light in there was the only one on, so it was hard to tell what exactly I was seeing.
Blood?
It felt like he had thrown up for hours before he finally emerged from the regretful night he put himself through. “Ugh, fuck me.” He stumbled through the room, trying to find something to drink. That was when he noticed the glass of water I had set on the dresser.
I had no idea why I did that. Maybe because he reminded me of a dog.Yeah. That had to be it.
He grabbed the glass, took a long swallow, and then saw me sitting in the corner with my dagger on my lap.
Cezar stopped mid-drink. “Did you poison this?”
“And what if I did?”
“You can do better than that, Petal.” He smiled and took another long drink. Then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You set water out for me?”
He eyed me for a moment with that annoyingly observant expression. Then he tilted his head when I asked him, “How did you know it was me who left the water?”
“Because I know my brother and he would never.” Cezar let out a short, tired laugh. Something amusing and a little too aware. Then he sat on the bed, glancing between the door andme. I could see the worry lingering in him. Probably for his brother. Yet he still looked almost pleased to see me.
He was an odd one. A dangerously odd one.
“Don’t worry. It is just me.”
“Bold.” He looked more intrigued now.
“Don’t be delusional, Cezar. Your existence is the result of my choice to spare your life. You live because I haven’t taken it from you… yet.” I uncrossed my legs and angled my whole body toward him.
