Page 5 of Alive and Kicking
I jump, confused about how he got into the room without me hearing anything. The screen of my computer is clearly in his view, so no lie I come up with will work, and I don’t like the idea of lying to him anyway. “I’m leaving. It’s the best thing for everyone.”
I’m pretty sure his eye twitches as he stares at me like I just told him that I have a therapy appointment tomorrow. I’m not a sadist. If I ever went to therapy, then my therapist would need therapy and their therapist would need therapy. It would be a never-ending cycle of therapists needing therapy. “You’re not leaving,” he tells me, with that dangerous look in his eyes.
I knew he was capable of it. I saw it when he found out that I lost my virginity, but that look hadn’t been directed at me. Not like this anyway. It was more about the situation then. But now that the full force of his psychological divergence is pinned on me, I realize how wrong I was when I thought he looked murderous then.
Excitement courses through my veins as I slowly get to my feet. Flicking a knife into my hand from my waistband, I step slowly toward him, canting my head to the side. If he’s letting his fun side out to play, I might as well too.
“Are you going to try to stop me?” I ask, stopping in front of him.
He breathes deeply when I press the tip of my knife into the center of his chest and slowly trail it down. “I will if I have to.” He stiffens his stance and leans into my blade, and I follow the path of my knife with my eyes to see that it has split the fabric of his shirt.
A husky laugh breaks free of my chest. “I’d like to see you try. I might love you, but I’ll still stab you if you piss me off.”
A surprised grunt leaves him. Then he takes a step toward me, and I have to decide whether to let him impale himself on my knife or relent to his approach. My hand falls to my side with my knife firmly grasped in it even though I’m not sure what Zane intends to do. The thing about people like us is that we’re broken in a fundamental way that makes us react unexpectedly.
His hand cups the back of my neck and he pulls me into a blistering kiss. I’m frozen for a moment before I sink into it. Tossing the knife across the room, I let my hands grip his biceps before they find their way up to bury themselves in his hair.
When he pulls away, he lets his forehead rest against mine as we breathe deeply. “You love me?” he asks softly.
I scoff, “Of course, I love you. Why else would I be here?”
A chuckle rolls out of his throat, “You’ve never said it before.”
I think back on that and realize he’s right. I haven’t told him I love him. Looking up into his eyes, I take a deep breath and decide to be vulnerable for a moment. “I grew up in a family where I was loved. That love came from men like my dad and Enzo, but I knew I was loved. We never talked about it. It was just kind of implied. I’m sorry if you didn’t realize how I feel about you.”
“I love you too, but I’m not going to let you leave. This is your home now. You belong with us.”
I groan, pulling away from him to rub my hands over my face. “I can’t stay. When my dad announces that I’m the next head of the family, that will put a target on my head. Anyone with a problem with my family will come after me thinking I’m the weak link, and none of my father’s allies will see a problem with it. If I can’t protect myself, they’ll just consider me unworthy of leading the family.”
“All the more reason for you to stay. We’ll protect you.”
“You can’t protect me from this. Luca was one thing. He was an idiot. We’re talking about highly skilled criminals who you have no business going up against.”
A dark chuckle leaves Zane as he smirks down at me. “Baby, you have no idea who we are.”
My eyebrows squish together. “No idea who you are. What’s that supposed to mean?”
A toothy grin spreads across Zane’s mouth. “We’re mercenaries. Those jobs we’re always talking about are the jobs we take on to take down criminals who have gone too far. Nox does all of the hacking and surveillance, Cain makes plans and keeps us out of prison, Sloane is the muscle that doles out threats, and I… Well, I get involved when we need someone to disappear.”
I blink rapidly at him. My voice fails me, and I can’t even think of something to say to that. They’re mercenaries. “Mercenaries,” I repeat slowly.
This time, the smile on Zane’s face is knowing as he lifts his chin a bit. “We’re known as Shadow. The organization of criminals who can be hired to take down other criminals.”
“Holy shit. You guys are like, legendary.” I gape at him like he’s about to transform into a six-foot-tall, pink bunny.
At this point, him becoming a mutant wouldn’t actually surprise me in the least. I’ve been hanging out with and fucking half of the vigilante group known as Shadow. Of course, the group of guys I’ve fallen in love with would be the same group that Enzo warned me about never crossing. I know they only formed about three years ago, but they’ve made a big name for themselves. I take a few steps back until the back of my calves hit my bed and collapse onto it in a crumpled mess.
“Why the hell would you guys stay involved with me after you found out who I am? My family is nothing but criminals.”
Zane crouches down in front of me. “Cain was on the fence, but not because your family runs a criminal organization. He was worried that you would bring attention to us, but he got outvoted. Nox, Sloane, and I don’t care. If you bring danger to our doorstep, we’ll deal with it together. I’d rather that than you dealing with it on your own. You’re part of this family now. Nothing will ever change that.”
My knees support my elbows as I hold my head in my hands. I can’t help but feel sad that Cain was the only one who didn’t want the guys to be involved with me. He has been such a big part of my life that the rejection hurts on a deep level. I shouldn’t blame him though, since everything Zane said is true. I have brought more attention to them, and I still will if we stay involved. Besides, I’m going to run an entire crime family in three years, so of course dating vigilantes is a bad idea.
“If I stay here, people will come here for me. They might find out about who you are,” I explain carefully.
Zane shrugs, reaching forward to cup my shins. “I don’t care. Let them find out. We’ll keep each other safe.”
I huff, reaching over to snap my laptop closed. “I’m not agreeing just yet. I need confirmation from the others that they’re okay with this.”
