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“You still haven’t heard from him since that night?”
The same night Hunter had been drugged, Isa Frost had paid his first visit to Club Cherry. Until that point, they’d sort of had a silent understanding not to tread on each other's turf, but Odin supposed he’d opened the door for this sort of thing when he’d attended the Octu Gala held at Faraway Mansion, Ira’s current home.
The one he’d stolen from Odin and his family all those years ago.
Odin had gone intending to use Hunter to set Isa off. Sort of a, look what I have now that you don’t. However, that plan backfired when it became apparent that Isa had never cared for Hunter as Odin had mistakenly believed. Still, it hadn’t been an entire bust. By exposing him, Odin effectively trapped Hunter with him more firmly.
If Hunter ever really did try to escape and made it out of the Red Light District, he’d have the Frost family to deal with.
Odin was the lesser of two evils, and they both knew it. More so now.
Hunter was his Whisper. He would never hurt him. At least not outside of the bedroom.
“Isa’s pride won’t let that kind of insult stand,” Wren warned. “The fact you haven’t heard from him already makes me more nervous than not. He’s planning something.”
“He must be,” Odin agreed.
“And your plans?”
“They’re coming along.”
“To clarify,” Wren stated with a smirk, “I meant the ones you have for revenge, not the ones involving Hunter.”
“I’ve had to change some things,” Odin admitted. “But I’m working on it still.” He’d been in the process of secretly buying up businesses in Isa’s territory. The goal had been to be able to stake a claim there afterward, but during his surprise visit, Isa had informed him he’d been aware of Odin’s actions. He’d even had the gall to claim he’d allowed Odin to do it.
He’d considered putting a pause on the final couple of purchases he’d had planned but then reconsidered. He wouldn’t bow out just because Isa said he knew what was going on. If anything, that was only more incentive for Odin to continue moving forward.
He could think of no better way to give his step-brother the proverbial middle finger than by doing so.
“Vetle and Jita are taking care of that,” he said.
“While you keep yourself busy with—”
“Goodbye, Wren,” Odin cut him off and headed toward the metal staircase on the other side of the office. It led up to a row of books and a door that would bring him directly onto the third floor. “Make sure to talk to Loni about that boy you saw. Clearly, you need to get laid.”
“Because I have so much time to think about other people’s relationships?” Wren caught on, laughing when Odin made it to the top of the stairs and paused to glare down at him. “Good luck, Snow.”
Speaking of the middle finger, Odin flipped him the bird and then left.
He had a Huntsman to see.
* * *
He was in the shower when Odin arrived. He could hear the sound of it going, and even though the bathroom door had been shut, it wasn’t locked. Not that the lock would have kept Odin out anyway, a fact that Hunter knew.
The keypad at the side of the door could easily be activated by Odin’s multi-slate. The only reason he hadn’t completely gotten rid of the lock was to provide Hunter with the illusion of privacy and a safe space.
Odin didn’t feel even slightly guilty. He wasn’t a good person, had been raised since birth to take over the Brumal mafia. Had been trained in the art of torture and manipulation and taught how to kill without flinching. Having been a part of that world when they were teens, Hunter was aware of this fact better than most.
In some ways, that was nice because it meant Odin didn’t have to hide who he was. In other ways, it meant Hunter was often terrified of him and what he might do next. Sometimes, that worked in his favor; other times…
Odin entered the bathroom with little preamble, stripping out of his black fishnet t-shirt and dropping it onto the heated tiles as he moved. He could see Hunter through the frosted glass walls of the shower stall, made out the second the other man realized he was no longer alone, his hands still in his hair.
He was naked by the time he pulled the stall door open and stepped inside, settling behind Hunter, who didn’t bother to turn to see who it was.
Part of Odin preened at that fact, knowing that Hunter at least trusted him to keep him safe if nothing else. No one else had access to this room, and so long as Hunter continued to use it with him, no one ever would.
“How long did it take you to crawl your way in here?” Odin teased, laughing when Hunter snorted derisively.
