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Chapter 21
Alexi
The anger and frustration bubbling in my veins, which has been there for what feels like an eternity, slowly ebbs as I focus my attention on the woman triggering those exact feelings.
Harmonia.
Sorrow burns in her pink eyes as I see the truth in her words swarm wildly in the darkening pools. She truly cares more about the fact that we would have to kill her than dying.
She’s crazy. She’s confusing. She’s careless. Yet she’s also… mine.
Running my fingers through my hair, like I have every second of every minute since all Hell broke loose outside of the office, I take a seat on the sofa to Harmonia’s right. Malik and Talon drop down onto the soft cushions too, but they have to find a spot on the other side of Harmonia’s mom.
The three of us have been going around in circles trying to understand how this is happening and we’re ready to head out and get answers, but I can’t do any of that until I’ve eased the tension building in Harmonia.
I want to take her into my arms again, place her on my lap and hold her against my chest. Just like I did in the office, but I get the feeling that if I do that again, I won’t be able to stop what else could come from the embrace.
Without thinking, I grab her wrist, a shiver running from my fingertips straight to my dick at the feel of her soft skin against mine. Forcing myself to tamp down my emotions and focus on the task at hand, I turn her arm slightly so I can get a full view of the mark.
“To an unknowing eye, this would look exactly like the Mark of Death,” I explain, my voice hoarser than I would prefer as I trail my finger around the black markings. “The main difference here, which we’ve only seen twice before, is this,” I add, my gaze flicking to my brothers as I remember Noose, the leader of the Redvellions, placing the slab of flesh on the table a few days earlier.
I focus on the way the top flick of ember is facing the wrong direction. This marking isn’t for us, this is someone else entirely, and when I find out who the fuck is doing this—and how—they’ll pay the price.
Fuck the consequences. They don’t get to do this. Especially not to her.
Releasing her wrist, I scrub my hand down my face before looking at Malik and Talon again. They’re surprisingly quiet right now. I can’t decide if that’s because they don’t want to interrupt me being semi-decent to Harmonia, or because they know they won’t be able to control their emotions if they open their mouths.
Our frustrations are being taken out on each other, not on purpose, but because we need an outlet, and there’s nowhere safer than within these four walls.
Talon taps his wrist, hinting at the time and for me to get a move on. I nod subtly, exhaling heavily as I turn to Harmonia’s mom. “Are you able to stay a while longer? We need to step out for a bit and it would be nice if Harmonia had a… distraction.”
Harmonia’s mom pats at her neat and tidy hair like there’s a strand out of place before nodding and smiling at her daughter. “Of course.” I know without looking that Harmonia isn’t happy with this revelation, especially with the way her mom murmurs the words and her brows pinch together slightly.
Rising to my feet, I brush my hands over my pants, removing the invisible lint before I finally turn my attention to the woman in question. To my surprise, she’s standing too, foot tapping as she plants her hands firmly on her hips.
“If you call that an explanation, you’re sorely mistaken,” she starts, and I’m sure I hear Talon scoff to my right but I don’t pull my eyes from hers. “How is it possible for there to be a fake mark? Where the Hell did it come from? How do I get rid of it? And where do I find the motherfucker that put it there?”
I bite back the grin attempting to take over my face. I can’t deny that I love it when she’s riled up, and for once, it isn’t because of me.
“Harm, we don’t have answers to any of those questions,” Talon interjects, stepping in to wrap an arm around her shoulder as he presses a soft kiss to her temple. “That’s why we need to pop out, but we won’t be long, I swear.”
I watch as she physically relaxes in his hold, softening against him, and my chest squeezes. It must have been the conversation I had with the guys at the gym that’s triggered me, making it harder for me to remain mad and angry with her. Instead, I’m softening. Me. For her. I want to say after all this time, but I know it’s never fucking gone away.
“And you’re sure I can’t be there to help get the answers?” The question almost feels rhetorical, like she already knows the answer before any of us speak. She also looks tired, drained, and in need of a break from all of the crazy.
She needs to let us handle the situation. For once.
“We’re going to try our best to get some answers for you,” Malik chimes in, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear before tilting her head back and offering her a small kiss.
My gaze slips to Harmonia’s mom, who is trying to cover a knowing smirk, before I look back at the woman driving me insane.
“Okay.”
With that one word falling from her mouth, I decide it’s better not to tempt fate or give her a chance to change her mind, so I nod, turning on the spot and marching for the door.
I can hear the footsteps of my brothers behind me, determination in every stride, but as I reach the doorway, I hear Harmonia’s mom call my name. Pausing, I glance back over my shoulder to see her standing side by side with her daughter, a quirk to her eyebrow as she stares me down.
“I expect you to get her a phone. If she needs me in the future, she shouldn’t have to go through the three of you for that to happen.” My brows furrow together for a second, my brain processing what she’s saying before I snap my fingers, producing the phone I arranged for Harmonia this morning.
