Page 29 of Savage
“Elio, I know you’re…Well, I don’t know what the fuck is happening in that head of yours, and I honestly don’t want to understand. But most people don’t like when some random person takes their shit and moves it.”
I grimaced as my chest tightened. I wasn’t some random person. I couldn’t ignore the burning in my chest no more than I could ignore the fact I enjoyed killing. Ken didn’t understand, but neither did I. The only thing I knew was that they felt like mine.
“I’ll handle it when that problem arises.”
Ken sighed. “I feel like this is a shit idea, Elio.”
I walked up from the cellar in the warehouse. “Novak, go clean up the mess downstairs and send a reminder to the rest of his friends.”
He was up along with his brother. I forced myself to take a measured breath, but it didn’t ease the knot in my stomach.
“They are mine,” I declared. There was no point in holding back anymore. I’d lasted five days trying to ignore what I already knew. No more.
Silence greeted me through the phone, but I didn’t mind. I climbed upstairs, knowing I needed to wash the blood off.
“Okay. I’m going to follow them as you said, but you know if you keep showing them interest, people will notice,” Ken said.
Why would I care?Placing the phone down, I hit the speaker as I stripped down.
“People who hate you, Elio.”
I froze in my tracks as something icy cold crawled down my back. The idea of someone touching them or attempting to hurt them filled me with rage. It battled the cold that tried to grip my heart.
“I’d kill anyone who dared touch them.”
“Even your family?” Ken asked.
I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t answer. My whole purpose was to serve the head of the Laureati family. I took out the trash of those who’d put the family at risk.
“Never mind, Elio. I have to go. I’m going to keep track of them but think about it before you come out here and uproot them from their lives and thrust them into a bloodier one.”
The line went dead. Before I knew what I was doing, my fist cut through the air as it landed on the mirror, shattering it. Glass cut into my flesh, but it did nothing to quell the unease inside me. I wasn’t used to feeling any of these things, all because of three men I was dead set on having.
I stared at my fractured reflection. I wasn’t a good man and never would be. My hands were drenched in blood, but I still wanted to hold them.
ChapterNine
SAYGE
Laughter bubbledout of us as we linked arms down the sidewalk, making our way home.
“You have to admit it was a lot of fun,” Dar said.
I shook my head. It had been the most fun we’d had in a while. If I wasn’t counting the time with Elio, but I didn’t bring that up. Calvin was still firmly denying it ever happened.
“Yeah, it was well worth it,” Calvin said, grinning from ear to ear. It was always better when he relaxed. We knew we were only alive because Calvin had taken on the brunt of the work. He made the decisions and kept us from ending up homeless again or, worse, dead. Still, we knew he was hurting. All the responsibility on his shoulders had to be heavy, and no matter how we tried to help, it never lasted long.
“Can’t wait to get back home and watch a movie,” Dar said, twisting from under my arms and jumping in front of us. “Movie night?”
“You have the energy of a thirteen-year-old,” Calvin said.
Dar shrugged. “The last time we had a tv was like six years ago from the pawn shop. Sue me. I like our brand new tv.”
Calvin’s shoulders tightened under my arm, and I pulled him close and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry about it.”
“He knows where we live,” Calvin whispered.
I thought that was perfect, but Calvin wasn’t too happy. He’d already attempted to find us a new place to live, but not many people were willing to rent out a place to three men in their mid-twenties without official employment.
