ALEXANDERMy knuckles were tight on the steering wheel as I fish-tailed the black BMW in the traffic, careful to keep my eyes on the road this time and struggling to see past the wash of fluorescent that the other drivers blinded me with.“Calm down Alexander, It...It might be nothing, You can't get in the manor without a key card,” Darlene’s wispy voice coaxed from the passenger side so that I turned to stare her in the eye, cringing when she recoiled into herself, back to her shell.Goddammit, why did I have to be such a fucking asshole and lose everyone around me? I still couldn't get the bloody image of Priest’s body out of my head and my brain scrambled when I tried to remember if he had a wife.I didn't think he did, but with the way the ringmen were, it was obvious that I was the only one with my life out in the open, my cards displayed, face up.I knew nothing about the other men’s personal lives, but somehow, they seemed to know everything about mine. I watched Darlene open a
FREDERICK“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I bellowed, knocking my hand into Ghost’s stunned face and watching his head whip back to crack against the wall in satisfaction.“How fucking dare you?” I ground through clenched teeth, the bitter feeling of bile rising in my throat as I watched the gray-eyed man rub his hand over his face before staggering up to flash me a bloody grin.“Geez Ricky, calm the fuck down, will you? I was only sightseeing, heard a lot about your manor here, and wanted to come to see for myself,” He chuckled evilly, glancing up at the staggering mass of the manor behind me as I clenched and unclenched my fists, aware of the harsh rise and fall of my chest.I felt the rage bubble so hard in my chest that I shuddered, remembering how I had caught the bastard peering into my parent’s room clapping a hand around his mouth and marching him to my room with freezing hands.I would have dropped him then and there, put a tidy 22’ caliber bullet in the back of his head i
DARLENEMy heart had not stopped pounding in my chest since the scene in Alexander’s parent's room. I watched William McKenzie pace the cool tiles of the living area, his rubber uggs slapping loudly on the floor as he paced from end to end, the bright wash of fluorescent light making his shock of blonde-dark hair appear ghastly.“What the hell is taking the boy so long?” Alexander’s father whispered and I felt Alexander squeeze my hand tightly, turning to see the clenched line of his jaw working silently.I pricked his fingers with my pinkie, my heart thudding oddly in my chest when his almond-shaped green eyes swept down to me, the rage in his expression clouding over when he caught the pinched look on my face so that his other hand came around to wind through my hair, pressing my face into his hard shoulder before I felt his lips press into my hair and my heart warmed over.“Should we tell them?” I whispered, knowing that his parents must have noticed the blood-soaked shirt I had bee
ALEXANDER“Who the hell is that?” Darlene whispered when her hazel eyes met mine and I inhaled sharply, feeling something hot press against my chest.I felt her cold fingers press into my arm as we stepped out into the hallway, my heart hammering way too loudly in my chest when the sound of fists rapping frantically on the front door suddenly cut off.“Mom? Dad? What the hell is going on here?” I growled, feeling the furrow in my brows deepen when I took in the cops that had gathered at the front door, Detective Bowler’s grinning face leading them as he marched right into our living room, swaggering with his hat tipped back, as though he owned the place.The chills ran down my spine in torrents as my brow knotted over so much I was certain the dark lines had tangled.“Oh, look who it is! Alexander, McKenzie Junior himself! Looking a tad hard on the eyes are you?”Detective Bowler drawled with a fake cheer so that I felt my lips curl as I watched the man swagger into the room, folding hi
FREDERICKThe Ghost was dead. It was the only thing I could think of as I staggered along on the dirt path beside the highway, hooking out my thumb as yet another wash of yellow headlights blinded me and sped past, blowing dust in my eyes.“Bloody hell,” I groaned, struggling not to breathe too deeply as my lungs burned from the pain that had not stopped tearing at my sides and back.I fisted the phone I had fished from the gray-eyed man’s shirt pockets firmly in my hand, the memory of the pike thrust firmly through his open mouth and shooting out the back of his head and chest as his bloodied eyes stared on sightless burned into my scalp.“You’d done what any man in your position would do Frederick,” I whispered to myself, patting my matted hair and chest as I limped on, feeling like I had just stepped on a landmine and walked away without a scratch.I hadn't realized it then, when I first left the scene of the accident and found myself at the penthouse, how awfully inconvenient it wa
ALEXANDERI felt the sweat gather on my brow as I paced the length of the modern furnished study in the McKenzie manor, shrugging off my best friend’s hold when he went to put his arm around me.I was going mad, trying to figure out who could have put the fucking tape in the penthouse, when the sound of the news presenter’s voice echoed from the plasma television that had been fitted into the walls.“Darlene McKenzie, wife of the billionaire mogul and first son of the McKenzie brother has just been arrested for suspicion of murder in the couple’s mansion in New York, we have our correspondent on the line, Andrew-” The botox-faced woman warbled in that robotic voice the newsmen always had before I snapped at Dennis like a hound dog snapping at red meat.“For fucks sake! Turn that shit off!” I roared, glowering at the copper-haired man as he fumbled over the bag of chips he had been holding, ambling for the remote when I cut him off.“Wait!” I barked, narrowing my eyes at something odd s
DARLENEI shivered when I placed my back carefully against the polished brick tile of the cell, keeping my eye carefully on the crazed-looking woman that had been muttering to herself on the other side of the room.I hiccuped, wiping at the tears that streamed down my face that had dwindled to whimpers as I wrapped my hands around myself, trying to still the quiver that wobbled my bottom lip.“Rise and shine pussy cat!” Detective Bowler cried loudly, startling me enough that I jolted, whipping my head to the hallway outside the wrought-iron bars just in time to catch his baton knocking against the steel and setting my teeth on edge.I hadn't slept a wink the other night, the memory of the bloody scene in the penthouse attic bathroom plaguing my dreams enough that I woke up screaming multiple times, tossing and turning on the uncomfortable prison bunk, encased in my own sweat.“You bastard, let me out of here! My husband would never let you get away with this!” I growled, scrambling to
ALEXANDERI rapped my fingers against the hard leather of the steering wheel, aware that my breathing was ragged, with the muscles under my eyes twitching as I watched the station’s glass front doors.Dennis’ warm hand brushed against my thigh and I resisted the urge to smack his hand away, feeling the darkness welling inside me shift only a little.“Xander,” He started before I cut in coldly, feeling my lips curl with distaste.“What the hell is taking so long?” I muttered, ducking my head to peer through the glass at the string of blue-uniformed officers milling around, their teeth flashing even from the distance.A jolly good time they were having while I sat outside and waited for the ring chief to work his mysterious brand of fairy magic.Fucking Bullshit. It was my thing with Prince Charles, the way he did things casually like it wasn't my wife’s life we were talking about.“Uh, Xade, you might not want to look now, but I could have sworn I just saw your brother shake hands with
DARLENE“Rise and shine sleepy heads! Breakfast’s ready!” Prince Charles’ booming baritone cracked through my skull before a wash of yellow light bored through my closed eyelids so that I groaned, breaking into a chuckle when Alexander groaned beside me.“Fucking hell Charles, did your parents not teach you to knock?” My husband hissed, throwing the soft white duvet away from his hard body and stretching to his feet to snatch the coffee mug the purple-eyed man held out like a peace offering in one hand, his gaze sliding over to me and darkening a shade before he smirked.“I don't believe they did,” He whispered breathlessly, nodding his head to the door where the strawberry blonde-haired man was leaning against the doorframe in brown capri pants, a pearly grin stretched across his smooth face.“Have some decency Frederick, my wife’s in the room,” Alexander whispered, scoffing loudly and sipping his tea as I stretched a yawn and shimmyed away from the bed to rest my head on my husband’
FREDERICK“Die motherfucker,” I gritted, pressing my finger into the claw of the trigger and feeling the gun jerk in my hands, the impact pulling me forward so that I tumbled into the stone flooring.“Come on! Go go go!” I screamed through gritted teeth, waving my hands wildly at Darlene and pushing her around the car as she surged through the barrage of shots pummeling us and firing off a few more rounds as the Umbrella man roared with pain, tearing the knife from his eye with an impossibly loud sucking sound.“I need to get closer,” I hissed through my teeth as I rounded the bend of the car to meet Alwxander’s tense body where he was hunched, hiding from the rain of bullets with Darlene curled in his arms.I swallowed the bile that had risen in my throat, jabbing my fingers into my palms to battle the wooziness that stabbed the sides of my head and peering through the rim of black sedan to see that the man now had a gaping hole in one eye that still spurted blood as he glared around
STEFAN MCCOYMy knuckles were white on the trigger as I watched the man’s hard body as he walked slowly into the room, his eyes never leaving the gun I had pressed dutifully against his wife’s empty ass head.“No sudden moves Alexander or I’ll have the woman’s brains plastered across the floor,” I growled through clenched teeth as Alexander staggered into the room with his father and more of my men surrounding them.I had known something was off the minute I left the penthouse, even before the sound of gunshots echoed out behind us and I asked Markov to turn the car around.The white penthouse with its flashing lights and tall pine trees loomed as ghastly as ever, as I motioned the men every which way, feeling adrenaline rush through my veins when the sounds of gunfire exploded around the sides of the house as my men sniffed the bastards out like the rats that they were.“Please, McCoy, don't do this, My wife has nothing to do with this okay? I’ll, I’ll give you whatever it is you wan
DARLENE“Something’s wrong,” I whispered breathlessly, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight as I watched the man with the Jerry curls stride away from the large lattice silver gates, a gun held tightly in his right hand.“What the fuck do you mean something’s wrong? McCoy’s going with most of his men! This is our cue to go in, grab the twins, plant the bombs, and hightail the fuck out of here in time for Mrs. McKenzie’s dinner special,” Erwin snapped blithely from his crouch beside me, the rim of a sniper rifle held tightly in his hands, as he peered through the scope.“Lassie’s right, this seems too easy, they must have found out about the decoy car approaching already, that's the only reason for him to leave...and yet,” Williams McKenzie growled on my right flank, raising the tight hulk of his frame into a low squat and inching to slap himself against the tree, the burnt orange blackness of the forest blending perfectly with our camo gear.“We should-” Erwin start
ALEXANDERThe bright fluorescent lights tore through my eyelids to fry my eyeballs before I had even opened my eyes. I groaned, the soreness in my arms and stiff legs making me groan louder as I let my head fall back into my chest.What the hell did the bastard hit me with? Fucking hulk?“Ugh!” I groaned, screwing one eye open to lock gazes with my brother’s blanched face and watching him sag with relief when he saw that I had opened my eyes.“Alexander? Fuck! Thank saints you're okay,” He rasped breathlessly and I felt the scowl deepen between my eyebrows as I glared at the swollen purple bruises on his face that had left the skin of his face puffy and red.“Your buddy didn't take too kindly to you I reckon, stabbed you in the fucking balls just like you did to me you piece of shit!” I barked acidly, watching my brother rear back on the chair that he was strapped to like he had been slapped.I looked down to see I was lying on some makeshift gurney table, feeling my heart pound wildl
DARLENE“Where is he? Where’s my husband?” I whizzed when I caught up to the ring chief scowling in the middle of the road, his hands fixed patiently on his narrow hips.“He’s gone Dar, that McCoy took him,” Prince Charles gritted, eyeing me carefully before I noticed his hand cupping the large gash on his chest, the trickle of blood pooling on the purple suit staining the area black.“Here, let’s get you to the car,” I gritted through clenched teeth, managing to push the words past the lump that had grown in my throat and tugging the man’s hand free when he resisted before hooking it over one shoulder, grunting when he leaned his weight on me a little.I could hear the whirl of sirens in the distance as they got closer and I yelped, slamming to a stop when the purple-eyed man stopped suddenly in his tracks.What the hell was it with mafia men and having death wishes? I tried not to look at the nasty knife wound on his abdomen or the purple and red bruises on his chin and focused inst
FREDERICK“Did you have to do it that hard?” I whispered, feeling tears gather in my eyes as I watched the Umbrella Man tower over my brother’s limp body, his brown eyes almost luminescent in the dark.“Quiet Frederick, you're ruining my groove, take him.” Stefan McCoy growled and I felt my heart hammer in my ribs as the masked ninjas dropped from the trees like banana monkeys, hooking my brother’s hard body onto the stretcher as I watched on with widened eyes.“Is he dead?” I rasped breathlessly, feeling panic burn in my chest as I trotted after the men, the crunch of dried leaves under my feet sounding loud in the silence as the masked men marched my brother to the large white van that had been parked off to the side of the highway.“Not yet,“ The Umbrella man whispered, rubbing his hands together in glee as they loaded him into the van and I felt a flicker of doubt spark in my chest.“So it’s all good now right? Everything will go as planned now?” I coughed, scarcely trusting mysel
ALEXANDERIt took longer than I would have liked for my eyes to adjust to the near blackness as I entered the forest.“Where are you? You son of a bitch,” I ground through clenched teeth, waving the gun this way and that and aware of the way I was panting loudly, carefully placing one foot in front of the other.My arms were starting to get sore from holding the gun up and high, my knuckles white on the trigger as I crept along the line of trees, freezing when I thought I had heard the distinct sound of a tree branch snapping.Could this get any fucking worse? Did the motherfucker have to pick the shittiest forest in the whole of New York to make his dramatic comeback?“Go on and run away like the coward that you fucking are McCoy, I can smell that cheap perfume from a mile away,” I jeered loudly, feeling goosebumps rise on my skin when my distorted voice echoed back to me in the blackness.I tried to focus past the hum that had started in my ears but my mind was not following my eyes
DARLENEMy husband hadn't made any sense when he got off the phone with the purple-eyed man and it made even less sense now as we sped toward the edge of town with his knuckles white on the steering wheel.I braced myself against the cool leather of the dashboard, trying to calm the staccato beating of my heart in my chest as we sped through the stretch of asphalt and felt a wave of nausea press insistently against the roof of my mouth.“Are you sure about the address?” I wheezed, unable to bear the silence any longer and risking a glance at the chiseled line of Alexander’s jaw, the way his piercing green eyes were starting dead ahead, his flock of obsidian black hair falling over his face as the muscles of his shoulder and bicep flexed when he fishtailed the steering wheel.“White Villa at Maple Street, I didn't know he lived there, there's only one of the kind, you can't miss it,” He whispered, and even though I knew the steel in his voice couldn't have been meant for me, it made sh