His eyes narrow. “Forget it then. I only want it with strawberry jelly”
Stubborn little thing. He’s testing me, seeing what he can get away with.
I shake my head, set the plate down anyway.
“This might be a long night,” I mutter, mostly to myself.
I sit across from Eddie. He decides to swallow his pride and take the fresh slice, eats in silence, watching me from under his lashes. When the toast is gone, he licks jelly from his thumb and picks up his stuffie and hugs it tight.
“His name is Goldie,” Eddie says, defiance in his voice. “And he thinks you should have given me strawberry jelly.”
I lean forward, elbows on the table.
“Here’s how this works,” I say, not rising to the bait. “I’m going to keep you safe. But you’re in my world now, whether you asked for it or not. That means you obey me. Every order. No questions. No arguments. Your life might depend on it.Understand?”
He swallows. Nods slowly.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Eddie looks toward the hallway. “I… I want to go to bed.”
I stand, point toward the wide staircase at the far end of the living room.
“Upstairs. We’ve got six or seven guest rooms. Pick whichever one you want. Clean sheets. Towels in the bathroom. Don’t open windows. Don’t touch the alarm panel in the hallway. And, this should go without saying, do not leave the house for any reason unless it is on my direct instruction.”
Eddie gives me a look of acknowledgment, slides off the chair, grabs his backpack and stuffie. I watch as he trudges toward the stairs like he’s carrying the weight of the night on his shoulders. And, hell, maybe he is right now.
I watch him go.
Small frame. Messy hair. One sock slipping down his ankle.
Definitely a Little.
The thought settles in my gut—warm, possessive,dangerous.
I wait until his footsteps fade on the upper landing, listen until a door clicks shut.
Then I walk to the window, stare out at the black lake.
This is the worst moment I’ve had as Pakhan, and it’s not even close.
I’ve killed. I’ve buried friends. I’ve stared down barrels and walked away.
But betrayal from inside? That’s different.
I don’t know who to trust.
Niko?
My driver?
The men who were supposed to be working my security?
Right now it’s hard to contemplate trusting anyone. Even Alexander as he guards the house doesn’t get an entirely free pass. For all I know, he’s letting my enemies know where I am right now. Fuck. This isn’t me. This isn’t how I’ll beat this situation. I need to lose the paranoia and look at the cold, hard facts.
I pull out my phone. No calls yet. No panicked texts. That’s either very good—or very bad.
