RAINE

My to be husband is dead.

No, not Vick.

He became old news three weeks ago. After that, it was Casper, then Gabriel, Apollo, Mikhail, and the last one...his crooked smile still haunts my dream.

Marcus. With his grey hair that put shame to Papa's, I'm surprised anyone in the family even let him court me. He was forty years my senior after all. Well, he was before even he found his way to a grave.

In words, everyone who ever wanted me ended up dead. Maybe it's a curse or a blessing.

It's something I should be happy about. I should celebrate it by throwing a party perhaps? Maybe invite guests from La Eme just to see the revolting look on Nick's face?

"You are making me depressed, Princess."

I look up from the bed and no wonder, he is still here. Not that I haven't tried to kick him out of the room but sometimes he's better than seeing Nick's disproving eyes gazing down at me as if it's my fault that my potential husbands were turning up dead on our porch.

"You made me depressed." I counter, hiding the smile threatening to come over my face as his eyes flash in annoyance. "Besides, it was you who volunteered to babysit me, Carter. Feel free to leave the room anytime."

He scoffs. "Right...so you can complain to daddy. No way."

Immediately, my mood becomes even worse. Anything related to Papa nowadays irritates me. For once, the identity of the monsters in my life is clear and I don't know what to do with it.

Should I tuck them where they belong?

Or match a light to watch them burn?

"Princess?" He snaps his finger when I don't answer. "You alive?"

I sigh sitting up. There's nothing to do once he starts talking. "I'm alive. But if you don't stop talking then maybe not for long."

His answer comes in the form of chuckles. I can't help but imagine what it feels like to be him. He's free to do whatever he wants while I'm under lock and key. Something about me being depressed to lose so many people in so short time. Papa probably forgot half the time I wished they disappeared.

Not dead though, but my wishes seemed to be tempered lately.

"So-" He sobers up quickly and his voice goes down a few bits. Almost a whisper now. For the sake of the hidden camera? "Want to tell me why do you look miserable? Don't tell me you actually felt bad for that asshole."

"I don't. All I want to know is what's happening in the family. No one tells me anything." I've begged Nick for hours but talking to him is like talking to a stone. "Please, tell me?"

He hesitates for a moment, his eyes turning discreetly at the corner so I move closer to him. It doesn't hide him from the small camera in there, but it does look like he's just sitting there, keeping an eye out like always.

"Your father is trying to get back on his feet. So, he's asking around, gathering the cartels to help Bratva. I'd say he's winning so far but that will be a lie. And your brother has been given the duty to contact with his old friends. You can only imagine what that means."

Old friends. My body shivers involuntarily.

"Xeon." The name feels like copper as it slips between my lips. "He's going back to Xeon? Isn't that a property of La Eme?"

I see a hint of a smile in his face as I mention the club's name. "You know your thing, Princess. But no, Xeon doesn't involve in that business anymore. Nick is using private connections to find help. If he's good at anything, it's collecting information."

Nick isn't the only one with information. I have many secrets too. Maybe I'll never be able to run from here but the amount of knowledge I have...I can ruin the Bratva in a second. Then again, who can I trust to keep that kind of knowledge?

Trust no one.

A voice, not mine pipes up. It's in my head, like always making a lump in my throat. A painful reminder of just how many things can go wrong. Unless...

"Carter?"

He hums as I pause, thinking of my actions. There's a dangerous thought lurking around in my mind which I should just keep there. But I can't voice it fast enough. "Is there anyone who wouldn't side with the Bratva? Anyone, you trust?"

I can't trust him. There's something about him that screams danger but he is the only option I've left right now.

"You want me to give you a list of Bratva's enemy?" He looks at me perplexed.

"Yes." Nervously, I clutch the bracelet Papa brought me two years ago. Not because he wanted to show his love, it's because he can monitor me anytime he wants.

Carter follows my gaze, not even taking his eyes off of me for once. Only when I hide the hideous thing from him that he speaks. "Your father wants the Sinaloa cartel on his side but they fled right after the raid five years ago. There have been words on the street that they might be back again in Downtown to cut deals with the Triads. They were never too fond of your father. He killed the drug lord's mother. So you can only imagine-"

I cut him off. Hope, it's such a fickle thing to possess when I have none, to begin with. "So, they will be working against us. But do you trust them?"

It doesn't take long for him to answer. "Hella lot more than I trust your little brother."

"And you know where to find them?" I can't hide the excitement from my voice. "This Triad?"

He raises an eyebrow. That doubt is still there. "Are you recording our words or something, Princess, cause I can assure you, your daddy trusts me more than he trusts you right now. Anything I say should stay within this room."

"And it will." For now. But I don't let him know that.

"Then, yes, I know where to find them. And by them, I meant the cartel, not the Triads. I don't want any trouble with them. Why are you so curious though?"

Why am I so curious?

This time it's me that can't stop the laugh. "I want to meet them."

His face shows just what a bad idea it is, but I don't care. I need to get out, plan something on my own, and what's better than to start with the enemy?

"You want to help your daddy?" He retorts, his eyes hardening. "And what do you think he'll do to me once he knows that I let you out-"

"He won't."

He can't.

"Princess, think again-" A loud shrill makes him stop and move back to take the call. Whoever called, it must be urgent as he paces around with a frown attached to his face before hanging up.

"What's wrong?" He doesn't answer my question. Instead, he starts to look around as if trying to find something. When he doesn't find what he needs, he turns to me. My heart drops. As if I'm in that hotel room again, not knowing what's happening.

"Do you have a laptop?" Laptop? My hand doesn't register plucking the object from under the bed to give him. He doesn't even waste a second to open it, too focused on his job to notice the terror in my eyes.

Rather than wallowing in the uncertainty, I grip his shoulder to get his attention. "What's happening?"

"Shh." He types faster, too faster for me to understand what he is doing until a video flashes over the screen. No, not only a video, a live one. And judging by the hiss of his tone, it's something he didn't expect.

"Someone is in the property. The security has been breached."

Someone is in the property...At least I don't have to stop the surprise from showing once I see a lone figure on the CCTV near the garden. Whoever it is, they aren't even trying to hide, making my muscles rigid.

"I-I have to go." I croak out before Carter can do something. Like, restrain me here.

"Raine!"

I make my way outside, running barefoot as if my life depends on it. Maybe it does. I can be wrong, I may be still dreaming but those eyes...only one person in the entire world can have those hateful eyes. And when I finally reach the garden, there's not enough time for me to scream as I find myself eye to eye with a devil, forcing me to inhale hard.

No...

It can't be.

I want to turn my back on him. It's instinct. It's the same old fearful Raine coming back. But this time it's me who makes him step back as I find the object on my thigh. A metal now so familiar that the coldness of it calms me instead of bringing back every morbid detail of my past. Though the man I'm aiming at doesn't even flinch as if it's just another nightmare.

"Ace."