Elijah Russo is fucking insane.
I’ve known it since the first time I heard his name uttered when I was a kid. Everett used to tell us stories about his cousin who liked to play with knives and fire, two things I knew you were meant to stay away from.
We’ve had encounters over the years, usually from afar, and usually I don’t pay him a lot of attention. I’m surrounded by men who could end a life in five seconds flat and not blink an eye, I don’t need anymore, but there was always something about him that I couldn’t put my finger on.
Perhaps it’s the way his moss-green eyes captivate me each time they meet mine or the way his dirty blonde hair looks both perfectly styled and like he just rolled out of bed at the same time. Or maybe it’s how each time I’m around him, my body feels a pull I’ve never felt before. There are so many reasons that’s fucked up, but I don’t have the time to debate that in my own mind at the moment.
I have to deal with the much more pressing issue of him thinking he has some fucked-up claim over me, and I don’t quite know how to deal with that. He seems dead fucking serious about every word he’s saying, but surely he doesn’t expect me to call my brother and lie through my teeth.
Elijah sighs, his hands moving from where they caged me in up to my thighs. His touch is electric, sending shock waves through my body. “We will have plenty of time to discuss our relationship and what it means, but right now, we need to deal with your brother. I do want to make something abundantly clear though, we do have a relationship. That’s why you’re here.”
The blood drains from my face, and my mouth drops open. He cannot be serious. Please, God, tell me he’s not serious.
“What are you going to say to Storm?” he asks.
I stare at him, unable to put words together as a new level of panic rages through my veins. I have to tell Storm I’m in danger, I need him to come rescue me, but I don’t think I can tip him off without Elijah knowing.
“Snowflake, I’m going to need an answer.”
“Why do you keep calling me that?” I whisper.
The corners of his lips tip up in a smile as his thumbs brush across my thigh, the contact making my heart race. “Because snowflakes are beautiful. On the surface they seem fragile, but in order to make it from the sky to the earth, their strength is tested. And when they land, they hold their shape.”
“And that’s how you see me?” I ask.
“Everyone thinks you’re fragile, but really you’ve always been stronger than any of them have been able to see.”
My heart does a painful somersault in my chest, the compliment unexpected. I’d like to blame the fact that I’ve been constantly underestimated for the last twenty-three years of my life, but there’s something in the back of my mind telling me that’s not why I’m preening under his attention. Perhaps it’s self-preservation. The longer I can keep my captor happy, the safer I’ll be, but then again, he has to have taken me for a reason, and how safe can anyone really be when they’re locked up by one of the most ruthless men in the city?
“I’m going to tell Storm that we’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks, and I’m staying with you for a while to make a go at it. I’m going to say that having a security team is unnecessary while I’m here because you have your own, and it’s just doubling resources that could be used elsewhere.” The words slip from my lips, but I’m almost not conscious of them. He’s not giving me any other option than to do what he’s telling me, and how much sway do I really have with the crazy man who’s torn me from my life?
A pleased smile tugs at his lips, and he nods slowly. “Good girl.” He hands me the phone already unlocked with my brother’s name on the screen. “Remind me what happens if you decide to do something stupid?”
My stomach drops, and my eyes rise from the phone to his green ones. “You’ll hurt someone I love,” I whisper, afraid my voice will crack if I speak the words too loud. Our family has been through so much, I can’t put them at risk again. Emerson is still recovering from the trauma Elijah’s father and uncles put her through, and Wynter was held captive by a sociopath only a month ago. I don’t want them to have to endure anything else.
“Exactly. See, you’re starting to see how this is going to go. Now, I want you to put the phone on speaker so I can hear all the delightful things your brother is going to say when you tell him we’re dating.”
I take a deep breath and steel myself for the words I’m about to say. “I’m going to do this regardless, you’re not really giving me a lot of choice, but I hope you know that no matter what I say on this call, no matter how convincing I am, my brother is going to show up here to take me home. Rayne and Storm have never let me date, and the only way I’ve ever had any semblance of normalcy is when I sneak out.”
Elijah’s eyes flash with something resembling pity, and I fucking hate it. “That’s why I’m going to be right here, and if he gets too mad, I’ll take the phone so you don’t have to deal with it, okay?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not a fucking child. I can deal with my brother being an overbearing asshole. I’ve been doing it all my life. I’m just saying if I were you, I would be expecting one, if not both, of my brothers and probably your cousin on the doorstep within hours of me making this call.”
He shrugs. “Then you’ll have to convince them how happy I make you in person.”
My mouth drops open, and I stare at him for long moments. I thought reasoning with Storm was difficult, but Jesus, Elijah is a whole other kind of unreasonable. “You’re insane,” I mutter, my finger hovering over the screen. Can I really do this? Can I really convince my brother I’m dating someone we considered an enemy up until a few weeks ago?
“You don’t know the half of it,” Elijah says.
I ignore his comment and press Storm’s number. If I don’t do it now, I’m just going to keep putting it off, and the longer I do that, the worse it’s going to be.
“Elijah, I swear to God I’m about two minutes from—”
“Storm, it’s me,” I whisper.
He breathes a sigh of relief and some of the anger dissipates from the line. “Snow, are you okay? Where are you? Everett’s been working on your location all night, but that psycho has you hidden pretty well.”
I close my eyes and steady myself before bringing the lie to the surface. “I’m fine,” I tell him. “I’m here of my own free will.” The lie is bitter on my tongue, and my body screams at me to tell the truth, but he hasn’t left me a lot of options.
“You what?” he growls.
My eyes move to Elijah who’s watching me carefully, a knowing smile plastered across his full lips. In all the times we’ve met, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him seem so… dare I say it, happy. “Elijah and I have been seeing each other for a few weeks.”
Silence meets me on the other end of the phone, but I wait for his reply. All my life, my family has been disappointed in me, but this will be a new low, even for me. “Come again,” Storm’s words are so deep and angry I almost can’t reconcile it with the man I’ve looked up to my entire life.
“We bumped into each other at a bar not long after we made the alliance, and we’ve been seeing each other ever since. It’s still new, but I really want to explore it.”
“You have got to be kidding me, Snow. Out of all the bullshit you’ve pulled for attention, this has got to be the worst.”
I flinch at his words.
“You cannot date Elijah Russo. Just because we have an understanding doesn’t mean he can be trusted. I barely trust him with his word, let alone my baby sister.”
The phone is wrenched from my hand, and my eyes go wide when he brings the phone closer to him. “That’s enough,” he barks into the phone. “Snow is old enough to make her own decisions, and I am not going to allow you to treat her like she’s an inconvenience in your life.”
Deafening silence greets us on the other end of the line, and my fingers tangle together in my lap. Logically I know I’m telling a lie to keep my family safe, and the last place I want to be is locked up here with Elijah, but the way my brothers always assume the worst of me, always assume every time I act out is because I want attention, only makes me want to defy them more.
“Put my sister back on the phone,” Storm finally demands.
“No,” Elijah replies. “You’ve already upset her, and I’m not going to let you continue to do so. When you’re ready to have a civilized conversation, let me know and we’ll organize another time.”
“Why is her phone off?” he asks.
“Because I knew you were going to be like this,” I say, nothing but strength and resolve in my voice. I may not want to be locked up in Elijah Russo’s fortress, but right now, I’d take it over being anywhere near my brother.
