DARLENE“Am I interrupting something?” Frederick’s deep voice boomed from the entryway as his jean-clad leg shot out to kick the door behind him.It was not the first time I had marveled at how handsome my husband’s brother was, the way his lithe, sinewy frame rippled with strength and power. If it weren't for the kind set of his beguiling eyes, I could have sworn the man was sweating testosterone. There was something panther-like about him, something sudden and dangerous, swimming underneath the calm exterior of his unbothered face. Like my grandma’s stroke.I felt my mouth dry at the way the curtain of strawberry-blonde hair brushed over his face before his icy blue eyes found mine and I started, working my mouth into a smile before he looked away.“Of course not Frederick! Come! Join us for dinner,” Stephanie McKenzie squealed, waving her dainty hand at the man dismissively and I felt like my chest had grown to the size of a fully grown walnut tree when the man swaggered forward.I
FREDERICKDarlene’s hazel eyes raked over mine frantically and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest when I realized I had been pulling her to myself, my fingers hooked around the neckline of her dress.I wheezed a breathless gasp, relaxing my grip and watching her lean away in fear just as my gaze locked on Alexander’s murderous face.“Shit,” I breathed as my brother’s towering figure closed the distance between us and his hands shot out to shove me back a step, my eyes meeting Darlene’s frightened expression before he tucked her behind him.“Hold on Xander, it's not what you think, I'm not here to fight alright?” I rambled, my heart pounding wildly in my ribs as I held up my hands, moving back again when he ground forward a step, looking at me like I was a stranger.“Oh how very fucking pious of you Frederick! Hear that father? Your outcast son isn't here to fight!” Alexander thundered and I reared back like he had slapped me in the face as his words felt like he had seared barbed
ALEXANDERI let out the breadth I hadn’t known I had been holding when my twin brother shouldered past me, unable to move for what felt like an eternity as we listened to the sound of the front door creaking open and closed before the hum of my brother’s BMW driving through the gates dimmed to silence.“Saints,” My mother whispered, sagging against my father’s weak hold before Darlene stepped forward, hooking my mother’s hand over her shoulder.“Come on, let’s get you upstairs to your room,” My wife whispered, throwing me one last lingering look over her small shoulders before the pair shuffled upstairs and the honeyed sound of Darlene’s cooed whispering faded into silence.I couldn't understand why my heart was thudding so wildly, what the fuck was wrong with me?“He’s different, isn't he? Your brother?” My father rasped with a hint of emotion I couldn't place in his voice and I snapped my head up, letting my hand fall from my chest where I had placed it and damned near keeping over
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
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
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
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
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