His sigh fills the room as he glances back to his computer and thoroughly reads everything I’ve just explained. Scanning every detail, and then, when we think he’s done, he reads it all again, searching for the slightest inconsistency, the slightest error on my part, but mainly any error on Vic’s. He won’t find any, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. I grit my teeth and wonder why we must do this every time. Why do we have to go through this discomfort? I know why. It’s for him to fuel his ego and remind us of our place. We sit in silence till he turns to me.
“Satisfactory.” His eyes flick to Vic’s, but she doesn’t react or respond. “Here’s your next assignment. Please use a little more decorum with this one!”
We all rise. I pack away my laptop and step towards Father. I take his hand in mine and kiss the backbefore bringing it to my forehead. I close my eyes for a second before relaxing. It’s how he likes us to show respect, to show we’re submissive to him, and I tolerate it for an easy life. I don’t want to rock the boat. He holds his hand out to Vic, but she nods, turns, and walks away. The door shuts louder than needed, but not quite a slam as she hurries.
“Tighten her leash, Six. I will not keep tolerating her continued insubordination and disrespectfulness. It is unacceptable. There will be repercussions if she continues along this avenue. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Father.” I nod before I follow her out. She’s already in the car before I catch up, and I groan as I climb in. She’s staring through the front window, arms folded across her chest as I sigh. “Vic?”
“NO!”
I blow out a breath as I start the car and take us back to our apartment. She’s tense. Her jaw ticks as she stares out of the window. I know what she’s doing. She’s torturing herself. She’s over-analysing everything she did in case it was something she did to make him… just be like he is towards her. She’s the best we have, but she’s never been even remotely good enough for him. Nothing she achieves ever reaches his inaccessible standards, and he rides her harder than anyone else. He can be brutal sometimes. When we pull up in the car park, she climbs out without a word, slamming the car door and storming inside.
“Fucking fuck my fucking, fucked life,” I mutter as I rest my head on the steering wheel for a few moments to gather myself before I follow her inside.
Vic
Chapter III
I storm into the apartment and head for the bedroom door. I pull back, and with all my might, I punch it open. The wood splits from the force; it’s just another hole to add to the accumulation of all the others. I storm into the ensuite, stripping out of my clothes and tossing them on the floor. I climb into the shower. I turn the temperature up as high as I dare. I rest my head against the cold tiles and grit my teeth as I count aloud, taking a deep breath between each cursed number.
“One.” I blow out a breath. “Two.” I huff through my nose. “Three.” I breathe a little deeper. And so on.
I clench my fists at my side and keep up the process, trying to calm my racing heart and the anger that wants to spill out of me.
“Four,” I grit out, grinding my teeth hard enough to crack them. I fucking hate that guy. He’s not our father;he’s just a fucked-up narcissist who stole us as kids and trained us to be abominations.
The door opens slowly, but I continue breathing and counting. I hear the sigh and the rustle of clothing as he picks up my clothes and drops them into the laundry basket. I hear him remove his, and he steps in behind me, encasing me in his warmth as he wraps his strong arms around my tense body and holds me tight against him. I can feel the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat against my back. I continue with my ritual for a while longer while he just holds me, not saying a word. Eventually, I sigh and stop counting.
I take another deep breath before sighing again.
He kisses the back of my neck where my tattoo is, and I relax into his arms and rest my head against his shoulder. His arms squeeze tighter around my waist, and he just continues to hold me till I turn and give him a chaste kiss on his cheek. He nods, steps out of the shower, and retreats into the bedroom. I stay under the water while I calm myself further before stepping out and following after him. He doesn’t speak. He just lifts the covers, and I slide in. He wraps me up and pulls my back to his chest as he kisses my tattoo again.
“Sleep, Vic.”
And I do.
Xav
Chapter IV
I’m sitting at the table, researching the next mark, when she steps out of the bedroom. “Why didn’t you wake me?” she grumbles, and I grin.
“I don’t normally have to wake you, Vic. You normally wake when I do, so you must have needed your sleep.” She scoffsat me as she pads into the kitchen and fires up the coffee machine.
Sliding a mug across the table, she drops into the seat opposite and brings hers to her lips before casting her assessing gaze over the top of her steaming coffee at me. Her piercing blue eyes sear into my soul with her all-knowing gaze. “Are we a go?”
I nod. “Gangbanger. Despicable human.”
She nods. She doesn’t need anything else yet. I do the assessing. I decide whether the kill is justified,she decides how to kill them, she trusts me, and I trust her. We are all each other has in this world.
I turn the laptop to her, and she glances over the details I’ve highlighted and nods.
“When?”
“Three days.”
“Where?”
