“I’ve got your check for the night,” Kaius’s voice broke through the silence, low, smooth, and too damn close.
I glanced toward the doorway leading to the back office. He leaned against the frame, one shoulder braced lazily, a white piece of paper stuck between his fingers.
I nodded once. “You could have just added it to the next round of checks.”
He stepped from the shadows, coming closer to where I stood. “Didn’t know if you would still want to work here after Astoria almost set you on fire.”
I didn’t look at him. Instead, I focused on a particularly stubborn spot on the counter, scrubbing harder than necessary. “Nolan saved the day on that. Unless you are rescinding the job offer.”
“The job…” Kaius paused. He was only steps away from me now.
I bit my lip, mind spiraling on how working for him could end very badly for me. A sigh slipped through his lips before he spoke again. “It’s still yours if you want it, and probably the best one you are going to get in Lovelen. I pay my employees well, Acelynn, and there are no strings attached to your employment. All I ask is that there is a mutual understanding that what happens behind closed doors stays here.”
“You mean what your club does?” I said quietly, my hand pausing mid-swipe.
I knew what the Knights were capable of, and that terrified a part of me, even though I had grown up around the life. But my brother, Alec, and my father had kept me at a distance, never letting me see the worst parts of it, never letting me touch what Alec used to callblood money. I was probably the most sheltered club daughter to ever exist.
Thinking of my family twisted something sharp in my chest. My throat tightened, but I refused to cry in front of their killer.
Kaius closed the remaining distance between us, his hand resting gently over mine. “Yes. Anything you witness stays behind these walls, Acelynn.”
There was a hard edge buried in the softness of his voice. The darkness of the unspoken threat caused the hairs on the back of my neck to rise. I turned my gaze on his. It was blazing with a fire that told me he would do whatever it took to keep his family safe.It was the same spark that was burning me alive as I clawed my way toward justice for mine.
“I understand, Kaius,” I said, tone void of emotion.
A beat went by as we just watched each other, both examining the other for the deceit buried beneath our words. I ripped my hand out of his grasp, feet moving back toward the sanitizer bucket.
“Glad we could come to that agreement,” Kaius called toward me. The sound of his knuckles knocking against the bar signaled his departure.
“But there is one thing I want in return,” I said, peering over my shoulder at the man.
He paused mid-step, but didn’t turn to look at me. “Name your price, kitten.”
“The club’s protection,” I announced.
The muscles in his back tensed underneath his dark T-shirt. When he didn’t respond to me, I continued on, “I clearly don’t have the best track record in this town at not making enemies, and if that doesn’t tell you that I might have been running from something bigger in Raleigh, then you’re dumber than I took you for.”
Kaius finally turned back around to face me, part of his face shadowed in the dim light of the bar. I waited for the killing blow to come, but he only nodded once. “Agreed. We can discuss the particulars tomorrow.”
It was just past three in the morning when I finally pulled into my driveway. Exhaustion settled deep in my muscles, but the adrenaline that was still pumping through my veins had me on edge. Cutting the car’s engine, I quickly gathered my things andmade my way up to my front door. The jingle of my keys rattled against my door as I twisted to unlock it, but I realized it was already open.
My heart dropped.
I always triple-checked that it was locked. Paranoia had become routine. Carelessness got you killed.
I reached into my purse and pulled out the pink can of pepper spray my brother had purchased for me when I left for college. Not that it was going to do me much good if it was who I thought it was.
Slowly, I slipped through the doorway, careful to keep my steps silent. The kitchen was untouched, dishes from earlier still in the sink waiting for me to place them in the dishwasher. But the hallway glowed with faint light from my bedroom.
With every step, my heart pounded in my ears louder. If I were smarter, I would be running in the other direction, but he knew I couldn’t resist the temptation of finding out if he had survived the night my brother and father carved his club tattoo from his skin in front of me.
Using the toe of my boot, I nudged open the door. It hit the back wall with a bang and revealed a horrifying scene.
On my bed, centered nearly on the white comforter, was a chessboard. Each piece was coated in fresh blood that pooled beneath the board, staining the sheets below.
But the worst part was the rattlesnake that sat coiled in the center of the game. The reptile was trapped under the glass dome of a cake stand. Metal brackets bolted it to the chessboard to keep it caged, but not calm. It struck at the glass with terrifying precision, fangs slamming against the glass surface in a deadly fury.
I jumped back at the sound of its rattle, a warning of imminent danger. My breathing was coming in short andshallow gasps as I watched the snake continue its endless pursuit to get to me.
