“Okay, let’s go see him now, then.”
Nathaniel nods.
About twenty minutes later, the four of us are in the familiar white car that I assume to be Nathaniel’s as he is driving instead of Tonia. Liam stayed home to finish his breakfast before going to school. While in the car, I feel the anxiousness rise again. I turn to Damian, but he is just looking at his phone, his hand on mine. It seems like he is reading emails, probably working.
I try thinking about something else instead. Looking at Nathaniel in the mirror, I suddenly remember the she-wolf from yesterday. She mentioned him specifically, even referring to him as “Nate.” Aside from Liam, no one seems to call him that. Now that I’m reminiscing about her... something does feel familiar. No, it smells familiar! It’s her smell, I’m sure of it. Why can I smell it all over Nathaniel’s car...?
It’s a bit disturbing, now that I’m focusing on it. It’s definitely that she-wolf smell... Doesn’t that mean she comes in here often? But if she’s close to Nathaniel, why would she hide from him that she intervened last night to save me...? What could be between those two?
Moreover, her relationship with Nathaniel aside, I still have to understand how she could mind-link with me. That was my first time experiencing it for real, and it felt sonatural, so clear. I wish I could hear her voice again. She said she would find me. How? She sounded confident, but I’m guarded non-stop by either Damian and his brothers or Tonia and Bobo. Is she okay contacting me with them around? Will she?
While I’m lost in my thoughts, the car finally stops in front of a large, modern-looking company building. We have arrived. For some reason, I was expecting something more secluded, maybe a warehouse, like in Tonia’s action movies.
Damian opens the door for me and takes my hand to guide me in the building. There’s even a middle-aged doorman, and he politely inclines when the brothers walk in. He’s not a werewolf though, is he? The building looks pretty standard, against all my expectations. We walk into a lobby, and two ladies welcome us from behind the reception desk. Gosh, this is a bit intimidating... Isn’t this an office building? I’m glad I dressed up a bit more than my usual hoodie. I’m wearing a white sweater and a pair of dark jeans, but I wish I had put heels on instead of my sneakers... Well, Tonia is wearing a jean ensemble and her usual sports bra, so I guess it’s okay.
There are a lot of office workers despite the early hour, but nobody really pays attention to us. Damian leads us into an elevator. Some people that were queuing to get in immediately step aside to let us through. Why does everybody turn so silent as soon as they notice Damian? It’s like he’s some mafia boss; we walk out of the elevator, and once again, a lot of people turn around or politely salute him wherever we go. It’s a bit embarrassing. Nathaniel and Tonia don’t say a thing, and Damian still hasn’t let go of my hand, caressing it with his thumb.
“Is this your office building?” I finally ask.
“One of them,” answers Nathaniel. “Damian and I work at the headquarters; this is just a secondary office. We have a dozen like this across the city.”
I had no idea... I should really start learning more about the Black Brothers’ businesses, I hate feeling so clueless like this. We are now on the eighteenth floor, which looks empty. It’s frigid, with grey walls, empty open spaces, and almost no decorations. Nathaniel guides us through several corridors until we finally enter a large meeting room.
I gasp. It’s reeking of blood here! I cover up my mouth, feeling immediately disgusted by the smell. But I have more to be concerned about.
The room is almost empty, except for chairs. There are three people already present. A large and tall guy, the exact same skin tone as Tonia, is leaning against a wall, playing with a knife. His hair is completely shaved, he has a ring piercing on his eyebrow, and with his black suit, he could be the protagonist of any spy action movie. He salutes Damian as soon as we enter the room. “Hello, Boss.”
Is that Neal? He looks a lot like Tonia and older. Plus, Bobo is there, too, in his wolf form as always, sitting in the corner of the room. He sees us come in but doesn’t move. Neal walks up to us, but I don’t care.
All I can see is Alec, sat up in a chair in the middle of the room, looking like he just came back from hell.
I’m not exaggerating. My brother has a lot of blood on his face and his clothes. As I noticed back at the mall, he’s a lot thinner than before. His upper lip and one of his eyebrows have significant cuts, still open and bleeding, and he has a black eye. His shirt is ripped open, and his chest shows contusions and large lacerations. He’s a total wreck. Theyeven actually put a large plastic cover under his chair so all the blood wouldn’t stain the floor!
“You promised not to hurt him!” I yell, furious.
I want to run to Alec, check on him, but Damian holds me back. I glare at him, but he won’t let go of my hand.
“Oh, Damian didn’t,” says Nathaniel.
I stop and turn to face him. The second brother is smiling at me with a look I don’t like at all. He walks up in front, and he and Neal both raise hands.
“We did, princess. You can be mad at us, but we didn’t promise anything.”
Who are they kidding? They just took advantage of my own words! I glare and even growl at both of them, furious, but they obviously don’t care. Neal has a blank expression, and Nathaniel keeps his annoying smile on. They act like this is some funny joke, but I’m miles from being entertained right now!
“Stop laughing! I didn’t want you to hurt him!”
Neal rolls his eyes. “Oh, please. We were already nice, considering what he did to you and how much he struggled. If it wasn’t for you, this would be settled already.”
I know what he means by “settled,” but I’m not scared by their words. I’m too mad right now. Are they telling me they didn’t go all the way to kill Alec for my sake? How is that supposed to be a proper explanation for his current state? Before I can add a thing, a laugh starts from behind them.
All eyes turn to Alec. My brother is laughing like a mad man while looking at me. “There she is... My precious little sister! What now, huh, Nora? Don’t you want to finish the job and kill me yourself? You must have wished for this all these years...”
Is that really my brother? I look at him, disgusted. He has that crazy look in his bloodshot eyes, in the way he stares atme that makes me really uncomfortable. But I can’t step back now. I’m done being intimidated by Alec or his words.
“Enough with this, Alec. I never wanted you dead.”
He scoffs and suddenly stops laughing. “Too bad. Because I want you dead.”