“I’m not going to repeat myself again, boy.” The threat hung in the air, and I worked my way into the seat he motioned to across the desk. I must’ve looked like a scared, pitiful thing because the first thing Ternin did was sigh and sit back in the chair like a tired old man. “Look, kid, I’m not going to harm you. In fact, I’m here to offer you a job.”
My eyes narrowed, my distrust of his words evident, and he laughed in my face. “Oh, I knew I liked you. You’re perfect.” He flipped the switch and crossed his arms on the desk, his face turning into the smiling Desmond boss I now knew him to be. “I want to offer you a job, and you can accept or decline it, no repercussions if you decline. I’m not in the business of taking people who don’t choose to be loyal. It’s counterproductive in my line of work.”
When I folded my arms and sat there, waiting to hear what this man could possibly want from me, he smiled one of his crazy smiles, the one I now knew meant he was cooking up a ludicrous idea.
“Do you know who I am, kid?” When I shook my head, he continued. “I am Ternin Desmond, the vampire boss of the criminal underground. What I do for a living is unsavory, dangerous, and downright deadly. It’s also violence of the worst kind, requires unending loyalty, and once you are in, you are in for life. There is no way out.”
He waited for me, giving me a second to take in the gravity of the situation, but I wasn’t a dumb kid. I’d lived on these streets, and I understood what he meant and the commitment he was looking for. “And the job?”
His eyes widened at my cool and calm question, the demeanor of a child who had seen way too much at too young of an age and wasn’t fazed by much anymore.
“I need you to protect my daughter.” This time, I was shocked as I leaned back, mouth opening and closing before he continued. “You will stick to her like glue for the rest of her life. You will be the one to take a bullet or a knife to the neck if it comes toward her. You will be the one who, if she gets harmed, I will be placing the blame on.”
I rolled my eyes, slouched in my chair as I said in a cocky voice, “So, you want me to be a babysitter.”
Up to this point, he had been a calm and sane person, which gave me this false sense of ease. That was until he showed me his true colors. He slammed both hands onto the table, growling as he leaned over the desk and into my face with vampire speed, clenching his teeth with murder in his eyes. “No, you fucking idiot. I need more than that, you little cocky shit. I am asking for your life. I am demanding your devotion and loyalty. I am chaining you to the Desmond name.” I was breathing hard at that point, gripping the armrests in a death grip as I faced a man that could be the grim reaper with how he was looking at me.
He settled back into his chair, folding his hands like a movie villain. “Now, I am not asking you this for nothing in return. I will adopt you as my son. You will be the brother to my daughter and will be treated as such. Everything you could want or need will be given to you, no questions asked. You will be trained by the best, you will go to school and get an education, all alongside my daughter. You will have your own bank accounts with more money than you will ever need and all the best that this life has to offer. You will never go hungry, and you will never be left wanting... but don’t mistake this—you are selling your soul to the Desmond clan.”
The next thing I knew, he was standing and walking to the door as he said, “I will let you think about—”
Before I knew what I was doing, I mumbled out, “I’ll take it.”
He stopped in his tracks, not facing me as he called out, “I don’t think that’s wise. If you are as smart as I think you are, you should take at least twenty-four hours to—”
I doubled down, shooting up to stand and face him, my voice filled with my conviction as I repeated myself, “I will take the job... or, really, the entrance into your family with rules.”
This time, he turned around, staring at me with a straight face, gaze roaming over me as if he was trying to figure me out. Then he smiled one of those crazy smiles of his as he said, “Maybe there’s a little Desmond in you.”
He told me to pack up, which I told him I had nothing I needed, and he frowned at me but nodded as he told me to get into the black SUV. He talked with Veronica for a second and then joined me. The car ride wasn’t long, and, yet, it felt like the silence in the car went on forever until we got to a large black steel gate, and the driver put in a code, and the gate opened.
“I am taking you home. You are now Cosmo Desmond, and all your records and paperwork will be filed and completed by tomorrow. From this moment on, you are my son and the brother to my daughter.” I nodded, feeling like I was in a dream as we soon rolled up to a huge mansion that looked like a king’s palace.
I was so lost in awe over the place, Ternin paused, giving me time to take it all in. This was huge. I never needed to worry again about being a waste of space in this life, of not being able to work up to my potential. From now on, I would have all the opportunities in the world, and all I needed to do was be a part of a powerful family, babysit his daughter, and prove my worth.
Through the blacked-out window, I saw two massive double doors open, and my eyes were glued to the little girl with white bouncing pigtails and a scowl on her lips. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen in my short existence. I remembered not hearing a word Ternin said until his voice was right above my ear and his hand circled around the back of my neck.
“That is Rayla. She is the light of my world. My sunshine. I would murder every single person in this world if it meant keeping her safe.” He grabbed my chin and forced me to face him, his eyes drilled into mine as his voice took on a low threatening tone. “This is also why I am bringing you in as my son, her brother. I need you to be her loyal dog, her yes man, her savior. I need you to love her above all else, but know this, she is off-limits for you. You are not worthy of her, and you never will be. No matter how loyal, how good, how excellent you are at this deal, it can all be ripped away from you. If I even get a hint of you thinking of her in a way that is not brotherly, I will disown you and throw you back into the streets where I found you. A person like you will never be good enough for her. Do you understand?”
I nodded as the whole car filled with his rage and the promise of pain if I didn’t agree to this right now. His words took over my body and sank into my skin as an invisible brand over my heart. I watched as the ethereal being that she was stomped from the house and over to our car as my throat closed. She was already yelling something, even if we couldn’t hear it, and all I could do was think she was even more stunning screaming at me.
I snapped out of it as soon as Ternin opened the door and whispered, “You are to never speak of this to Rayla. This is the one and only secret you will keep from her. Got it?”
I nodded as he hopped out, greeting her with all smiles and exuberance as he called her his sunshine. I followed him out, and she stopped talking and stared at me.
I had lived in a cutthroat orphanage and felt less insecure in all my time with them than being scrutinized by this one girl. “What is the meaning of this?” Her question had been full of sass and loathing, and I still couldn’t help but think she was beautiful.
“This is Cosmo, your new brother.”
I cringed inwardly at that memory. It was bittersweet. While I will always remember how gorgeous Rayla looked that day, how at only seven she already commanded everyone’s presence, it was also the first secret I kept from her. I thought it would be the only secret I kept from her, but little did I know I was to keep an even bigger secret later, one that haunted me to this day.
“Sir, we didn’t find anything.” My men climbed back into their cars, and I realized what time it was.
“Okay. We need to head back anyway. Let’s go.” My voice was strong and steady, reflecting the power of the Desmond name, but on the inside, I felt like a failure. Since my phone didn’t ring, I assumed that the others didn’t find Lex, either. I knew it would not be easy, but one of us should’ve bumped into him by now.
Maybe when I got back, I could pull Rayla to the side and come up with another plan. Maybe if we used the heirs as bait? I thought back to the night Rayla said he showed up. If he was the lost heir and wanted to come back into the fold, then why did he make himself known only to her?
She told me when she was younger, she immediately clicked with Lex, but he was a grown man now... what was his angle? What made him only talk to her and not to anyone else?
