"Do you remember who Sun Yee On is?" Kieran asks."Ya, I think so. They were the group that was helping the Cobras to get Mom.""Yes, but there's a lot more to it than that. As you know, Kevin, Mom's old boyfriend, was involved with the Industrial Guild. At the time, Kevin was the second in command. Chase was Kevin's stepbrother and partnered with Chase to go after Mom, as Kevin also hated Mom for not taking him back." Kieran explained."Why would she? He was the one that ghosted her. Why would he even think that Mom was his?" I interrupt."You don't need to ask us. None of us really know, but we guess that it has something to do with his ego. In Kevin's mind, Mom was his, and it didn't matter how badly he treated her or how long he left. He assumed that Mom would be there for him when he got back. So when she wasn't, but had also moved on, Kevin wanted his revenge." Zander answered."Men are stupid." I reply, rolling my eyes at them."Keep remembering that." Kieran replied, smiling.
After we all had a minute to calm down, I turned back to Zander, a question on my mind."What does all of this have to do with protection?" I ask."Basically, what we realized, is it doesn't matter how much money we have. You will still be vulnerable. Look at the number of times Chase got to Mom. Money never solved anything. Even when Kevin managed to get to you, money wasn't the problem." Zander commented."Then what was?""Loyalty." The twins replied at the same time."There will always be someone that will be swayed by a larger sum of money. But if we can solve our problems by making sure people remain on our side, then we will have the upper hand, which is why we're the devils. We want to ensure that no matter where you or anyone from our family are, you will always be safe. We want others to warn us of danger, not send us directly into the flames." Kieran answered.I nod my head in understanding. "But in order for us to make sure you're safe, you can't be out risking your life."
...Ace POV...I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. Out of nowhere, Firecracker had shown up and made an entrance like she always did. Without anyone even knowing her true identity, she managed to take the attention of the entire room. She was confident, that was for sure. She never let anyone or anything get in her way. I couldn't deny how much she impressed me, but I was worried about what Hunter would say about all of this. While he had never said what his intentions with her were, I could tell something was going on. He's never cared about someone dying in the ring before. But the moment Sienna was close to death, he rushed her out of the ring in hopes of saving her. Even had a doctor perform surgery on her in the middle of nowhere. I knew there was no talking her out of it. She was as stubborn as they came. She reminded me a lot of Hunter. He was just the same. I hadn't known him for long, but I could tell he wasn't the type to bow down to anyone. The more people tried, the
...Hunter POV...I hung up the phone on Ace as I started to question why Sienna had shown up all of a sudden. Was she looking for me? Or was she just looking for trouble? How did she even get into the club in the first place? Ever since her first appearance, I had increased security, making it impossible for anyone to enter the premise I hadn't approved of first. Any unknown people were immediately turned away. That even included significant others or dates of those that regularly frequented the club. So if she managed to get in unseen, she must've found another way in. I sat in silence as I pondered that idea for a moment. Javier knocking on my door took me out of my thoughts."¿Que es, Gonzalez?" What is it, Gonzalez? I asked."Pensé que podría estar interesado en esto." I thought you might be interested in this. Javier remarks, handing me a tablet.I furrow my brows but reach out for the tablet. It seems to be a digital newspaper about a famous painting. "¿Qué significa esto?" Wh
...Hunter POV...Javier left my office as my phone began to ring once more. I look at the caller ID and immediately frown as I see Ace's number appear. I roll my eyes and huff in annoyance before accepting his call."You better have good news." I state, getting straight to the point. "Well, it's not all bad news. He remarks. I sigh into the phone, mentally preparing myself for what I'm about to hear."I hope for your sake that you're not calling because she's hurt." I state matter-of-factly."No. Actually, she won the fight. Even complained at me because she found her opponent to be weak." Ace remarks, making me laugh."Well, she's not wrong. The men are pretty pathetic. I don't know where you found them, but you need to get better ones." I state, mentally applauding her. I found myself smiling as I pictured her knocking her opponent out and then yelling at Ace for the lack of competition she experienced. The entire situation was comical enough that I found myself holding back a laug
...Sienna POV...I went home frustrated. I really don't know what I was expecting, but I guess I was hoping to see the Reaper when I was there. I can't explain my inner desire to cross paths with him again. He had this sort of aura that I found myself drawn to. The only place I knew where to find him was at the fight club. So to find out from Ace that it was unlikely to see him again, I felt a bit deflated. However, a thought came to mind. Something Ace had said began to ring loud in my mind. If I can't find the Reaper myself, then I'll have him come to me. From what I did know, the Reaper owned the fight club, and Ace seemed to be the one that managed it. But what would draw the Reaper out? I began to pace my room when it suddenly dawned on me. I would smoke him out. I was certain that Ace would've already told the Reaper of my sudden appearance. Any security breach like that would warrant a call to the boss. So what if there were a few more isolated events?I surpassed a laugh as
"Care to explain where you were?" Zander asks, getting straight to the point."I don't know what you mean." I state, hoping to end this conversation. I walk over to my dresser, grab a pair of pyjamas, and put the shirt on over my towel. I then pull the pants up from under my towel. Once I'm fully clothed, I pull the towel away and walk back to my bathroom to hang it up."Sienna. Stop. We're being serious. Where were you?" Kieran asks, walking over to me."I don't have to tell you anything." I state a bit too firmly. I didn't realize how much the Reaper's lack of appearance had gotten to me. I was taking my frustrations out on my brothers, and they didn't deserve that."You're right. You don't have to tell us. We just wish you would. We just want what's best for you." Zander replies, coming over to sit down next to me. I look him in the eye and see the concern coming from him. I look away, unable to stay under his gaze. I can see he truly means well, but the more I look at him, the gui
...ACE POV...I was beyond frustrated. I had spent the entire day setting up the new security system Hunter had requested. I was a boxer, not a tech nerd. I didn't know a single thing about any of this. But Hunter wanted it, so I had no choice but to oblige. This is why I spent the day verifying their qualifications while also performing background checks and security checks on each member assigned to set up the system. We couldn't have just anyone enter the premises. It was a paperwork nightmare that Hunter had so kindly slapped me with. I knew he was getting back at me for Sienna. He was pissed that she had managed to enter the premises without him knowing. But mostly, I think he was worried about her. He never confirmed it, but he neither denied it. It was clear as day that he took a liking to her. No one else would ever get away with challenging him and live to tell the tale. I had to admit, I was upset, as I had set my eyes on Sienna first. I had hoped that I could work on getti
About an hour later, Silvio reenters the room, looking directly at me. Though the odd thing is he seems neither surprised nor upset to see the sudden disappearance of Ash and Hunter. Were they captured? Is that why? I wonder to myself. "Ah, good. I see we're right on schedule." Silvio comments, making me turn my head to look up at him. "Don't look at me like that. I know you're a smart girl. You don't actually believe that I would be as stupid as to confess my ultimate plan with you, then to let you escape?" Silvio asks, making me quirk a brow. I remained silent, unsure of what to say. I didn't understand what was happening. I could feel my mind working to figure out what I had missed. "I told you what I wanted you to know." Silvio comments, making my eyes go wide. A thought suddenly comes to mind. Silvio had gone into detail about his plan and then left us unattended. He wanted us to escape, which could only mean one thing. Hunter and Ash's freedom was nothing but a delusion. Si
“Mariposa.” Hunter comments, making my desire for him increase. It’s been so long since Hunter last called me that. He used to only ever call me that. But with everything happening lately, he switched to calling me by my name. I couldn’t even be mad either, as I would’ve done the same thing if I were in his shoes. He tried desperately to give me the benefit of the doubt, regardless of how much incriminating evidence there was. So to hear Hunter calling me his Mariposa once more makes me far happier than I could imagine.Without realizing it, I had closed the distance between us. My lips found Hunter’s with no abandon. Time seems to freeze as we deepen the kiss. So many unspoken conversations are taking place in unison with this kiss. I can feel all of Hunter’s emotions. His desires, his anguish, but most importantly, his love. I can feel his uneasiness when it comes to my plan. As well as the dread he feels knowing that this may be our only chance. While he may have put up a fight abo
The more time I spent in this room, the more familiar it was becoming. I just couldn’t place how. I’ve never been here before. So why does it look so familiar? I looked around the room, trying to pinpoint what it was about this room that looked so familiar. Which is when one thing caught my eye. The chair Hunter is sitting on is the same chair Ash was sitting on in the video that Silvio and Kevin had shown me earlier, which could only mean one thing. Silvio’s taken us to where Ash was tortured. This could end up being a good thing. Silvio hasn’t said a word about Ash which probably means that Ash is still alive. If Ash were dead, Silvio wouldn’t hesitate to let me know. So the fact that Silvio has remained quiet about Ash’s presence means that Ash is very much alive and could be our way out. I’ll just need to make yet another distraction. This one, however, will have to provide us with a lot more time. I’ll need to figure out how to get Hunter out of here. I already have an idea in m
…Sienna POV…This was beginning to feel like a pattern. Being knocked unconscious and waking up somewhere else. Though this time, I couldn’t figure out where I was. All the other times, I had known that Hunter was behind it, and I was at his estate. But now? I couldn’t say the same. For whatever reason, something felt off about this. I don’t know why, but it was as though I could tell that I was no longer in Colombia. Which made me question how long I have been out.Shouts of anger and aggression can be heard from somewhere in the distance. My head is slightly dizzy, and I feel partially lightheaded. However, I know I need to figure out what’s going on. I see a stream of light coming from the far side of the room. I take a quick look around to get a better feel of what I’m dealing with. To see if there’s anything nearby that I could use as a weapon. After scanning the room as much as I can, I can’t seem to find anything that would make a decent enough weapon, so instead, I focus on
...Hunter POV...I paced the floor of the hospital for what felt like hours. I had yet to see or hear from any of the medical personnel that were helping Tomás. I couldn't deny that not knowing almost seemed worse than what the final outcome would be. Every bloody scenario rang through my mind. Will Tomás make it out alive? If he does, what will happen to him? If he doesn't, am I prepared to live without him? While I may not exactly know the answer to that final question, I do know for sure that if Tomás does die, then I'm beyond prepared to burn everything around me. There's nothing that won't face my wrath. The memory of seeing Sienna standing over Tomás lifeless body will forever haunt my mind. I couldn't believe I'd been so reckless. I had singlehandedly brought the traitor into my house. I had given up my weak point to the one person I thought I could trust. To this day, I don't even know why I did that. It was as if just being near her made me feel, for the first time ever, th
....Sienna POV...The moment I saw Kevin, I knew he was here for one purpose and one purpose only. To kill me. Now that I had executed the last part of his plan, he no longer needed me alive. As they say, dead men tell no tales. So with my death, Hunter would be forced to believe what Kevin has continually fed him. I tried to move my arms and legs when I realized that they were immobile, and it wasn't just because I was once again strapped to the ceiling. Rather, my entire range of motion was gone, which made me realize that Kevin must've administered some sort of temporary paralytic. Well, I hope that it was only temporary. Otherwise, I'll be in far more trouble than I'm already in.I knew Kevin would want me to beg for my life. But I wouldn't allow myself to do that. No amount of begging would save me anyways. I just had to hope that Hunter got here soon. While there was a strong chance that Hunter would kill me, my only chance of survival relied on Hunter giving me a chance to ex
...Kevin POV...When I saw Silvio slowly crawl his way out of the dungeon, I knew for a fact that my plan was right on schedule. From the state of Silvio, I could see that Sienna happily took the bait. She must be on her way to save Tomás as we speak. The house was in an utter frenzy. From the moment Hunter opened the door to reveal a panicked Sienna, chaos erupted. Hunter started shouting commands at anyone within earshot. He attempted to get to Sienna. However, she managed to evade him. I had to hand it to her; I didn't think she'd have it in her to be able to fight back to the extent that she was. I thought for sure that her body would be too drained from the torture that Silvio had been dishing out to her for nearly a week now. It took everything inside of me to hide the smile that continually threatened to escape the more I watched from the side. Hunter was chasing Sienna out of the house toward his car. I couldn't lie; even the fact that she was able to think so quickly on her
...Hunter's POV...Javier's question had thrown me off guard. Why was Silvio in the dungeon with her? Since meeting with her, I had relieved Silvio from his torture duties. I didn't want anyone down there with her, other than Javier and myself until I had decided on what to do with her. I had reassigned Silvio to look after Tomás. It was his original assignment before Sienna arrived, so it only made sense to put him back on that task. I wanted to make sure Tomás was safe. He was vulnerable enough as it was. I didn't want to exploit that fact.No one was as stunned as I was when I opened the door to see a panicked-looking Sienna on the other side of the door. My mind was flooded with questions. Why was Sienna there? Why wasn't she tied up? How did she escape? What happened with Silvio? Did he let her escape? Before I could get an answer to any of those questions, a bloodied Silvio stumbles down the hallway behind her, taking my attention off her momentarily and providing her with the
...Javier POV...Hunter had requested that I personally see to Sienna's well-being and inform him of any changes. I could tell he still cared for her, regardless of what happened down there. It was as though he was pretending to be cruel to her to keep up a facade. Which made me wonder why? Did Kevin have a much larger hold on Hunter than I had assumed? Whatever the reason was, I knew to keep any findings to myself and Hunter. If Hunter wasn't able to trust anyone else, then neither would I.I was heading toward Hunter's office when I saw Silvio turn down the hallway to the basement. I was about to meet with Hunter, so I didn't have time to investigate further. However, his presence in that hallway had my nerves on edge. I don't know why, but something just felt wrong. Once I had finished the meeting with Hunter and the others had left the office, I closed his door and talked to him about my concerns."Hunter?" I called, using his first name instead of his title.Hunter immediately s