Entering my living room, I saw Cade waiting for me, lying down on my black leather sofa with his shoes on top. Damned son of a bitch, he knew how much I hated when he was doing that. "Next time, you will reupholster my sofa with your bare hands."

Cade laughed without making an effort to move even an inch. "Normal people buy new sofas, not reupholster the old ones."

I lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. With quite good satisfaction, I exhaled after that. "Normal people kill the bastards who don't respect the other's properties. Think about that."

Cade pleasured himself with a big stretch, causing my blood to boil in my veins. Why did this man love so much to get on my nerves?

"Don't freak out, man," he said, finally getting up. "The stress is not healthy. Wrinkles will form on your handsome face."

"Do you have something meaningful to say, or are you about to get out of my house?"

"Let me think about it... Nah, I am excellent here. How did you know it was her?"

"How many women do you think are running around with bloody wedding dresses just right after Grayson was stabbed by his bride?"

"You never told me how did you know that Grayson was injured. There is still nothing on the news."

"I'd got a sixth sense about that," I answered, extinguishing my cigarette in the ashtray.

"Bro, the girl looked terrified. To think I could have run her over with the car...  I'm glad she got away with only one broken rib."

"And since when did you have a conscience, Cade?"

"I would never hurt a woman on purpose, Ax! Although she is obviously not so innocent since she'd raised a hand not to someone else but Grayson Hall."

"I don't care about the story behind," I said casually, though I couldn't deny that I was pretty curious about that.

"Why do you want her to stay?"

"If Grayson has let her close to him, to the point that he has been vulnerable, so for some reason, she has been important to him. If that's the case, then I can use her against him one way or another at some point."

Cade went to the bar and poured himself a glass of scotch. "Mhm, typically in your style," he muttered, smelling the golden liquid at the same time. "Let's see how this combination will play out."

I moved to him and took the glass from his hand. "What are you on now, you idiot?"

"I tested the new batch."

I hated his answer and clenched my fists tightly. "I gave you all strip clubs, and you still deal with that garbage?"

"We should keep the streets, Ax! While you play as an honest businessman, new players appear on the street every day." Cade took out a small package from his pocket and reached out to me. "Do you want to try the new formula?"

With a quick swing, I grabbed my gun and pressed it to Cade's temple. "Don't you ever dare to take out these shits in my home again!"

Cade took the package back to his pocket, but not before he reached inside and rubbed the vile substance on his gums afterward. "You are such a killer of the fun, bro." He motioned with a hand to move the gun away from his face.

I looked at my watch—I didn't have more time to deal with him right now. "Go and fuck something to lose some energy, you moron."

"Dahlia is waiting for me at home. She is enough."

"I wonder how the poor girl hasn't broken off her engagement to you yet."

Cade walked down the front door, raising his hand high with his middle finger up. "Fuck you, Axton Dark!"

I chuckled slightly. Going overdramatic was not my thing, unlike Cade's sometimes too-sensitive soul.

More work was awaited for me; the evening was still young. I rushed out of the house.

***

I parked my matte-black McLaren 720S next to the trackage. Only a minute later, the door opened up, and Sebastian came in.

"All clear," he declared.

"Good."

"I am sorry that I had to bring you the news on the phone yesterday, but the tension in the house was mad."

"It's all good. Is Grayson still alive?"

"You know him—he has nine lives, like a cat."

"Tell me about the girl."

"I can't tell you much. I have no idea where she came from. There were rumors that she had been a waitress in a restaurant Grayson used to go to. But I can't tell how accurate this information is. Anyway, one day, a few years ago, she just showed up. Grayson was obsessed with her. What you can think of, he bought it for her. But she... She was... I could tell back then that she was not happy with him. She looked like a good, innocent girl. I didn't know what kept her with him. We talked with the boys, you know, over drinks. Everyone knew she was not a good fit to a mobster. But despite all... No one could predict that she was capable of that..."

"What happened exactly at the wedding, Sebastian?"

"It was right before the ceremony. Someone said that something was going on with the bride. That she was crying in the makeup room. Grayson went there, and we stood in front of the door. He locked, and I guessed he would... he would do whatever he was doing with her. But a few minutes after that, a shout was heard. The voice was not female; it was Grayson's voice. We spent a few minutes until we broke the door, and when we went inside, Grayson was lying on the floor, covered with blood. A knife was thrown beside him. The window was open, and Ella was gone. That was pretty much all I saw."

"Did someone go after her?"

"Numerous men went to chase her, but all in vain. She just disappeared like into nowhere."

"Okay. Thank you, brother."

"No need to thank me, Ax. I owe you my life."

"One thing is to be grateful to someone; quite different is to double-cross Grayson, Sebastian."

"Let me carry alone this responsibility, Ax. Stay safe, brother."

Sebastian went out, and I put my hands over the wheel. My head rested on the back of the seat.

"Stay safe, too, brother," I whispered.

Once, not a long time ago, but long enough to be felt like a lifetime ago, Grayson was also my brother. But what brothers don't ever do, is to fuck off one another.

The engine roar smoothly switched the vibes, and I flew down the highway back home.

Once the camera detected the vehicle number plate, the large iron gates opened, and I parked the car next to my orange Lamborghini.

Opening the vast automatic glass doors followed, leading me directly into the living room. From the couch, which Cade was trying hard to ruin, one could enjoy my proudly owned collection of beasts.

After a few steps inside, my housekeeper, Mrs. Giselle, welcomed me. "Mr. Dark, your guest kindly asked to talk to you."

"Okay. Thank you, Mrs. Giselle."

I went down to the basement floor and unlocked one of the doors.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, looking immediately into the girl's eyes. Why?

"I am not good," she answered. "But that's something I am to be concerned about."

She looked pretty more confident now. Maybe the rest she had taken had brought her some strength.

I studied her features—some strange natural beauty described her face. Not hyaluronic lips, just simple, relatively small ones, yet inviting and juicy somehow. Her skin looked soft, and fuck, it felt soft under my fingers when I got to touch her cheek earlier today.

Her brown eyes also didn't look away from mine, still wet, carrying deep within a tiny spark that seemed to be extinguished a little at a time.

She moved timidly toward me. Very slowly, I knew she was hurt. Her movements caused the silk fabric that fell down her body to outline the perfect shapes she had. A long, messy chestnut hair caressed gently the velvet skin of her bare shoulders.

Despite all that couldn't be denied about her look, she was not at all a typical match neither to Grayson's nor to my taste or to either of our lifestyles.

"Do you really know who Grayson Hall is?" she asked, obviously doubting my words.

"I am the one who asks questions here. You only answer to them. Clear enough?"

She looked down the floor. "How could I know that you can really protect me from him?"

"What do you think am I already doing right now?"

"I accept your offer," she mumbled almost without a voice.

"That's a smart decision, Ella Zanova," I said shortly, trying to suppress the strange urge to touch her face. "Mrs. Giselle will shortly come."

"Okay. May I ask something now?"

"No. But you'll do it anyway. Go ahead, tonight I am in a good mood."

"What is your name?"

"Dark. My name is Axton Dark."

I walked out, not locking this time.

Can't tell I was surprised about the decision she made. No one can save themselves from Grayson alone, let alone a little thing like Ella Zanova.