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“By blood,” Dare repeated, lowering his eyes and tipping his head to expose his neck.
Quinten appreciated the show of submission, but it wasn’t necessary. He clapped the side of Dare’s neck and gave it a squeeze, then moved past him toward the door. “I want you to call Vlatko Borko and tell him that if he doesn’t get his brother in line, there will be consequences.”
“He wouldn’t take Dom’s call,” Dare reminded him, opening the office door for him.
“Tell him if I have to take the time to call him personally, he will not like what happens, and then see if he knows anything of use.”
Dare nodded.
“And then I want you to get some rest. You didn’t sleep at all last night.”
“I’m fine,” Dare said, pulling his phone back out.
“You’re always fine,” Quinten said with a smile, “but do as you’re told anyway.”
Dare rolled his eyes and put his phone to his ear. “Yes, sir.”
Quinten smiled and headed for the stairs, intent on doing nothing more for the day except take off his suit and pass the fuck out. He didn’t encounter anybody on his way up to his room, the house quiet. He wouldn’t be surprised if Caden had gone back to bed after whatever adventures he and Robbie had gotten up to. His son was either camped out in his room playing video games, or he’d gone out for the evening.
He tried not to worry about him, knowing that Robbie was a grown man, but he still checked his phone to see where it said Robbie was. The tension in his shoulders eased when it showed that Robbie’s phone was right there at the house with him.
He slipped into his bedroom and didn’t bother turning on a light, stripping out of his suit and jumping into the shower to quickly wash off the day.
The hot water barely touched the strain in his muscles, but he was pretty used to that. It had been years since he was able to truly relax. He had too many responsibilities on his shoulders, relaxation becoming a luxury he couldn’t afford. He was fine with that though, even on the days when he had to deal with a nuisance like Tiho. He would rather this life than one that was monotonous.
He craved the adrenaline and the power, and he loved the money. And he didn’t care that it probably made him a terrible person, but he liked feeling as powerful as—if not more so—than the people he had to contend with. People like the Borkos or the Kincaid Pack who thought they were special or that they deserved things because of their last name or where they’d been born. What they’d been born as.
He called bullshit.
Sure, he hadn’t exactly grown up poor, but he’d still clawed his way to the top. In a world that viewed his kind as weak and indispensable, parahumans across the country feared him, and he would never give that up. It offered protection for his son, for his brother, for his tight-knit group of friends.
As he climbed into bed, he became aware of someone else breathing in the room with him just before a warm body rolled into him.
He stiffened as arms wrapped around him, naked flesh pressing to his own.
Soft lips brushed against the thin skin of his throat, a sleep-hoarse voice muttering, “There you are. What took you so long?”
Chapter Ten
“What are you doing here, Caden?”
He grumbled and pressed even closer, burrowing as deeply into Quinten’s warmth as he could get, wishing he could disappear under his skin and sleep there for days. “Trying to sleep,” he mumbled.
“Caden,” Quinten said slowly, “why are you in my bed?”
“Smells better.” His sleepy brain felt like that answer was obvious, and he almost tacked on a duh but yawned instead.
Quinten didn’t respond right away, and he wasn’t touching Caden back. His body was stiff as a board, arms at his sides, and his scent was fluctuating like crazy.
Caden lifted his head up and squinted at him through bleary eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“You shouldn’t be in here,” Quinten said firmly, but his face softened as he looked at Caden.
Pain twisted in Caden’s chest. “Do you want me to leave?” he asked quietly.
It hoped desperately that he didn’t.
He knew that as soon as Quinten wrapped his arms around him, he’d be able to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. His nap that afternoon hadn’t been all that restful, awful memories mixing with fears twisting up and producing nightmares that wouldn’t leave him be.
