Page 12 of Explode
But what would it take for them to agree to that?
I had money, granted it was Kai’s money, but even if I offered themevery cent he left me, would that be enough? Besides, Miles was right, we couldn’t trust them. If they didn’t kill us on sight, there was nothing stopping them from killing us at any point.
I needed to take a leaf out of the Kai Wolfe book of blackmail. He’dconvinced me to agree to his deal on the basis of making Angel’s life better. Ultimately, we needed to find something to offer the Bianchis that would make their lives better.
But what did you offer a Mafia family who already had piles and pilesof cash, more power than anyone could ever dream about, and control of their own city?
Movement across the grounds caught my attention, and I snappedmy head to where it had come from. Seconds later, a figure dressed from head to toe in black clothing emerged from the treeline in the distance. It was too far, and too dark for me to see who it was, but it would be one of the guys.
They were only a small team but worked like a well-oiled machine.
They rarely slept, and when they weren’t being badasses by helping us to capture and torture our targets, they were either in the gym pumping iron, or teaching me how to shoot or fight.
I’d gotten to know them over the time they’d been living with us, andthey were all decent guys. They were all ex-military but had left their jobs to join Apollo. Apparently, the working conditions were better.
Aside from Jack, Tank, and Ash, there was Dan, who was theyoungest of the group but just as skilled as the others. His best friend was Travis, who would spend most evenings playing his guitar, which would have been enjoyable had he not been so fucking terrible at it. Then there was Oz, which wasn’t his real name, but nicknamed that as he came from the land down under, and finally, the twins, Seb and Liam.
The best thing about the team was they all held the same values- ridthe world of evil, and every single one of them was committed to ridding the world of Max Thorne and Hendrix Becker.
It was somewhat ironic. Kai hadn’t exactly been an angel, yet theyhadn’t batted an eye when it came to his crimes. Miles’ too for that matter. Come to think of it, it wouldn’t be long until they were turning a blind eye tomycrimes, because how on earth was someone supposed to rule a city without committing the odd crime?
It wasn’t unusual to see one of the guys patrolling the perimeter. Infact, I was used to it by now. Kai’s penthouse had always been protected by armed men, and when we stayed in Kai’s family home, he’d hired the Apollo team for protection. For me, it was now a source of comfort knowing the house was constantly being protected. That was without mentioning the crazy security measures in place.
What was unusual though was the way this person stopped inamongst the tree line, and appeared to be staring up at me. It was too dark to tell if he really was staring, but the feeling of being watched swept through me, and a chill ran down my spine that hadnothingto do with the cool breeze.
I took a breath and shoved the paranoia back down. That’s all it was,paranoia. The security around the house was tighter than Fort Knox. No way could anyone waltz onto the grounds without someone knowing.
But given a number of Kai’s former employees had turned tail whilehe was still alive, paranoia that someone would betray us was at its highest, no matter how much Jack assured me his men would rather die than betray the man who was behind Apollo.
Ignoring the fear, I raised a hand and waved to whoever it was. Butwhen he didn’t wave back, didn’t so much as move a muscle, but continued to stare in my direction, the fear grew a little bit more. Like the chicken I was, I retreated back into the safety of my room, shut the doors, and triple-checked the locks.
Debating with myself as to whether I should tell someone, I eventuallyclimbed back into bed and told myself to stop being so damn silly. No one was trying to get me, no one was going to get past those big, scary mercenaries without being pumped full of bullets. I was just on edge because of the latest news with the Bianchis, and because Hendrix now knew Miles and I were behind the murders of his men.
With that thought in my head, I finally drifted off to sleep. It wasanything but peaceful though, like every night for the last six months, nightmares plagued me.
It was always the same, a constant replay of what happened the nightKai was shot. We’d be back in the warehouse, Kai would beat the ever-living shit out of Max, and Hendrix would barge in and fire two shots at Kai. Hendrix would drag Max out, leaving me to do what I could to plug the holes in Kai, and my entire body would become soaked in Kai’s blood. The worst part though was when Kai turned his eyes to me. Eyes usually filled with nothing but love, but in my nightmare, his eyes were always empty.
Dead.
I’d wake up dripping with sweat, and would have to turn the light onto check that I wasn’t covered in his blood. After, there’d be no chance of getting back to sleep.
But for some reason, tonight the nightmare was entirely different.
There was no warehouse, no fight, no shooting. Instead, I was lost inthe dark woods, scared out of my mind because I didn’t know where the fuck I was or how to get back to safety. Someone was following me, twigs snapped behind me, owls hooted under the glow of the moonlight, and the sound of footsteps gained on me.
Tremors consumed my body. I spun around to find where thefootsteps were coming from, but a figure clad in black slammed into me, knocking me off my feet. My ass hit the ground hard, and my head smashed painfully against a rock. I lay on the rough ground, dazed, and staring up into the night sky, trying to call for help but paralyzed by fear. I didn’t know what hit me or where it had gone.
Seconds later, footsteps sounded again, and fear coursed through myentire body. I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut in hopes whoever was coming wouldn’t see or hear me, even though I was exposed in the open.
The footsteps grew closer and stopped next to me. I didn’t dareopen my eyes, fear of what I would find stopped me. That was until the softest words were spoken by the voice of someone I thought I’d never hear again.
“Star, open your eyes,” he whispered before the lightest touch of afinger ran down my cheek, warming me from within.
Butterflies erupted in my stomach, my heart beat wildly, and my brain tried to make sense of what the hell was going on.
I refused to open my eyes because I knew the second I did, he wouldbe gone, and my heart would break all over again. When they didn’t open, his lips brushed delicately against mine, his intoxicating scent wrapping around me. It took all my strength not to reach up and grab him, and hold him against me forever, but even in my dream, I knew it wasn’t possible.
As quickly as he had appeared, he was gone again. My eyes slowlyopened, my dark room coming back into focus.
