He plants his hands on top of the SUV. “What do you mean?”
I give my head a shake. “I’m not really sure, but something seems off about tonight.”
“You think he’s plotting something?” he asks. “A punishment?”
I flick my cigarette butt onto the ground and shrug. “Probably, but I can handle it.”
He nods but doesn’t move, and when his eyes slowly drift up to my bedroom window, a sinister sensation creeps down my spine, making my throat clog with an unfamiliar feeling of fear.
“Stay,” I say with absolute confidence, not even needing to second-guess it.
“What?”
“Stay.” I glance up to my bedroom window. He can read between the lines. I want him here as her protection, their protection. Hers and our baby’s.
He licks his lips and nods. “Okay. If you’re sure.” This is true loyalty, putting yourself in the firing line without question.
“Absolutely.” I already feel better for having made the decision.
My shoulders relax at knowing they’re in safe hands. Something tells me tonight is not going to go down the way I planned it, and this punishment might just be my greatest yet.
Chapter Forty-Four
Azrael
The drive over to my father’s is filled with a sense of foreboding. I might be overthinking it, but something in my gut told me to leave Jensen at home with them. I drag a hand through my hair, torn about my decision. My own right-hand man, for Christ’s sake. The one man I can rely solely on—and he’s not even part of my protection team. No, he’s at least an hour away now. Have I just thrown myself to the wolves? Who am I kidding? I’m part of the fucking pack, and I’d rip them apart if they so much as tried to turn on me.
One thing is for sure: I’m not afraid of them, not in the least. What I am afraid of is my father’s ability to hurt Hevan and our unborn child. I may not want to bring a child into this dark world, but my own childhood is a prime example of why I think that way, and I’m hoping Hevan can understand that.
My leg bounces and my jaw tics, my mind at war with itself.
The SUV comes to a stop, and I glare up at Casa Forte, my nemesis. This mansion is a place of nightmares, and our father is at the center of them.
My feet hit the gravel, and I already have an overwhelming urge to smoke another cigarette, but Father will have the cigars out before dinner is served, so I opt for taking a deep breath and steeling my shoulders, then head up the stone steps into the mansion.
Vector’s spine straightens the moment I enter, and his beady eyes scan over my shoulder, his forehead creases, and his Adam’s apple bobs. His usual cocky gaze doesn’t hit mine, and he immediately bows his head, and that strikes me as odd. Where’s the sly taunts he usually throws my way?
“Is he in his office?” I query, heading in his direction.
He lifts his head to face me. “You’re early.”
“I didn’t ask you to explain my punctuality. I asked you if my father is in his office?”
“No, he’s on his way back from a meeting.”
Punctuality is something that has been drilled into us since birth. Our nonna said he nearly put a bullet in Sienna’s head because she was born a week late. So, to find myself here before him is surprising, and without Vector, even more so.
I stop in front of him, toe to toe.
“Did he not deem you worthy of protecting him tonight?” I snipe.
“Did you not deem Jensen worthy of protecting you?” he quips back, and I sharpen my gaze.
“No, he has family to attend to.” It’s not lost on me I referred to Hevan as my family, but it is something I need to become more careful of, especially to sadistic pricks likeVector. Hell, I’m practically handing over the fact I’m emotionally invested in her to the wolves.
“So, I hear,” he replies, and triumph takes over his face. “A woman and a daughter.”
Shock tightens my body, but I quickly mask the surprise. He thinks I was referring to Jensen’s family, and why wouldn’t he? The truth is, he shouldn’t know a damn thing about Jensen’s secret family. Jensen knows people who have hidden his background, so how the hell is he aware of a family?
