The simmering rage is still under the surface but having Emerson safe in my apartment has settled the beast at least to some extent.
I’m watching as she picks at the food I made her. I’m not much of a cook but I know my way around the kitchen enough to make an omelet and some toast.
At first I didn’t think she liked it, but each time she works up to taking a bite she lets out the little moan of appreciation that goes straight to my dick.
The more time that passes, the more color returns to her cheeks. She’s not reacting as I expected. From the way she clung to me like I was the only thing holding her together, I thought she would panic when I stepped away to cook for her, but she just watched me as I moved around the kitchen.
The only way I would have known something was wrong was the way she pushed the omelet from one side of the plate to the other. Well that, and the bruise forming on her cheek. Every time I look at her face, a new wave of anger crashes down on me. Even though I’ve seen it, even though I’ve felt the blinding rage over and over again since I scooped her into my arms, it doesn’t seem to calm the beast.
“Is something wrong with your food, sweet girl?” I finally ask, taking a long sip of whiskey. I’m hoping the amber liquid can help to calm me down, but no such luck so far.
Emerson’s eyes move to meet mine. They’re still dull compared to normal, but there is a bit more color than earlier. “No, it’s delicious.”
“Then why are you picking at it like it’s a plate full of Brussels sprouts?” I ask.
She opens her mouth to reply, but she just sighs and forces another bite into her mouth. “I thought I was hungry, but as soon as I took the first bite, I realized I wasn’t. I’m sorry for making you waste your time cooking for me,” she says quietly before taking another bite.
I reach forward and take the fork from her, not wanting her to force-feed herself if she isn’t hungry. I push the plate away from her and pat my knee.
Without being told, she stands from the chair and takes the few steps to sit on my lap. She relaxes the moment she’s settled, curling up against my chest like a sleepy kitten, her body content as long as it’s wrapped up in mine. The move makes me want to beat my chest like the fucking caveman I am when it comes to Emerson. She’s looking to me for comfort, and I’ll do everything I can to give her whatever she needs. Always.
“No time I spend on or with you is a waste, Emerson,” I whisper into her auburn locks. It’s drying in waves and all I want to do is run my fingers through it, but I’m trying my best to keep my hands to myself. She needs tenderness and that’s exactly what I’m going to give her. She feels so small in my arms, but I’ve also never felt more whole than I do in this moment. I have everything I need in the world right here. “I need to talk to you about some things.”
Emerson nods, her eyes staying on mine.
I take a deep breath, trying to think how I’m going to tell her the truth so she understands how much danger she’s in. Russo wanted her before he knew I was in her life, now that claiming her would also mean taking her away from me, she’s in more danger than even I can comprehend, and this is what I do for a living. “There are some things I need to tell you, and I need you to understand that no matter what I say, I am not a threat to you or your dad. Okay?”
“I know,” she whispers, her palm moving to rest on my cheek, and I can’t help but lean into her.
“When I was a kid, my mom and dad were dead broke. A lot of the time, we didn’t know where our next meal was going to come from. Before Storm and I were born, my dad worked for a guy designing weapons. He made a huge breakthrough, a new type of missile that would change the way wars were won. Dad’s employer stole the patent and fired him to cover his tracks. Dad was bound by an NDA and there was nothing he could do about it. Because he knew how brilliant my dad was, he also blacklisted him so he couldn’t get any work as an engineer. He went to so many interviews before someone finally told him why he wasn’t being considered for the role.” Fresh anger rolls over me and makes remaining calm difficult, but Emerson’s gentle fingers stroking the stubble of my beard grounds me. “That guy was Russo’s father,” I tell her and she stills in my arms. “He’s not going to get anywhere near you, sweet girl. I’m going to keep you safe.”
“I know.”
Her faith in me only strengthens how I feel about her, only feeds the overwhelming obsession. “Once Dad found out he wasn’t going to work in the field he spent his life building a career in things got worse. It was all he knew and everywhere he went to get an entry-level job wouldn’t give him a chance because he was overqualified. He couldn’t get a job and we were running out of money.
“Storm and I were pretty young, so I don’t remember the home that we lost, and only snippets of when we were living in our car. But eventually Dad had to start making money any way he could.
“He started working with this guy who used to run part of Chicago. He was into a lot of shady shit that Dad didn’t want to get caught up in but didn’t really have a choice.
“The money was really good and it gave Dad a chance to work on his own stuff. Weapons, software, even in those days. He got to use his education and so he could look past the… questionable things he had to do to put food on the table.
“Around the same time he created the weapon that started Frost, the man who he worked for started getting into some really bad shit.
“Long story very short. Dad was too deep into the life to leave, but he couldn’t live with himself doing what his boss was into, so he staged a coup.” I winced at my own words. I remember that time so vividly that sometimes I still thought it was yesterday when, in fact, it was almost twenty years ago.
“Your father took over the organization?” Emerson’s words are quiet, but she doesn’t look scared… yet.
I nod. “A lot of guys that worked for them didn’t feel right about the same shit as Dad, not when they had wives and daughters at home. None of them wanted to take over one of the largest criminal organizations in the country, but they all knew someone had to take over. The Russos running the entirety of Chicago would have been dangerous to say the least, so Dad stepped up, and Frost was born.
“At first he thought if he could get the company off the ground, he could turn the entire operation legitimate. He bought up a bunch of businesses, restaurants, clubs, and shops, doing whatever he could to turn it around. He stopped most of the stuff the last boss brought in, but it was impossible to stop some of it.”
Emerson’s eyes are wide, but she doesn’t seem surprised. The wheels are turning behind the emerald irises that mesmerize me every time I look into them.
I reposition my hold on her to make sure she can’t run from me. That’s what she doesn’t realize about this moment. I waited to reveal my sins until she was locked up tight in my penthouse with no escape. She made a deal with the devil the day we met, and now her soul belongs to me. I will never let her go. She can run, and she can hide, but I’ll find her. I’ll always find her.
“Storm and I were both able to go to college, but when we returned, we needed to learn the ropes of what was now the family business. As teens, we had a certain level of involvement in both sides of the business. We did things most teens shouldn’t have to do, and we recognized that getting close to anyone was a risk we weren’t willing to take. Until you.” The words hang in the air between us, but where I expect to see fear, or at the very least questions, there’s understanding.
“What’s your role?” Emerson asks quietly. I had hoped she wouldn’t ask the question she definitely didn’t want the answer to, but I should have known better. I should have known my girl would be too curious for her own good.
“Even though I’m the oldest, Storm took the role as head of the family. He’s better with people than I am, and he toes the line between both sides of our world. My strengths are dealing with problems.” I’m trying my best to skate around what I do, because despite being the enforcer of one of the biggest crime families in the country and staring death in the face almost every day since I took my place, there is one thing that fucking terrifies me, and it’s Emerson being afraid of me.
“Problems?”
I adjust my grip on her again, making damn sure she can’t make a run for it. She wouldn’t get far anyway, Storm organized an entire team of security for Emerson and they’re stationed by the door, in the lobby, and at every exit point.
My sweet girl is trapped, whether she likes it or not.
“Problems like the man who put his hands on you tonight. He couldn’t live after touching you, and so I took care of the problem. Admittedly, he deserved a much slower, much more painful death, but all that matters is he no longer breathes the same air as you. He’s not polluting the earth with his disgusting sins.” Those words sound contradictory coming from my mouth. I have so many sins hanging over my head the devil himself wouldn’t dare cross me.
The little color that had returned to her cheeks drains as the meaning of my words seeps into her pretty little head. A moment later, the hellcat from the first time I put hands on her emerges and immediately starts clawing at me, trying to escape my grasp.
“Rayne, let me go.” She pushes hard against my chest but I don’t budge. This is a truth I hoped to avoid telling her for as long as I could. I hoped for her to be in so deep with me by the time she knew what my role is that she wouldn’t have been able to leave even if she wanted to. But no matter which way it happened, no matter which way she looks at it, this is happening.
“Sweet girl.” I brush my lips across her shoulder. “This doesn’t change anything. You are mine and fighting that fact is a waste of your time and mine.”
“You just told me you kill people for a living,” Emerson hisses, using her entire body to try to escape my grasp. “This changes everything.”
She’s thrashing around in my lap so much I’m starting to worry she’s going to hurt herself. “Emerson,” I growl, grabbing a hold of both her wrists in one of my hands. “You are going to hurt yourself. I understand this is a shock, and I understand why you are upset, but there is nothing you can do or say to change that you’re mine. I’m never going to let you go, and the sooner you understand that, the better off you’ll be.”
“Fuck you.”
“Don’t fucking tempt me. Your fire has me hard as a fucking rock, and I would love nothing more than to sink into your tight little pussy.”
