I brush my hair and braid it quickly before I leave the bedroom. There isn’t a soul in sight as I walk down the long hallway. This place is breathtaking. Blood money buys you the nicest things. After all, my parents had a beautiful house. I wonder if their blood still stains the grout.
I descend the stairs. Again, men block the two giant doors that I know go out to the front. They’re not the same guys from earlier. They watch me closely but don’t make a move. I watch them back as I continue down the stairs. I force a warm smile, making sure it meets my eyes.
“Hello.” I keep my tone bright.
They both give me a nod. I turn my head when a door opens. My eyes meet Cato’s before I take in the room with plastic on the floor. A man steps out and swings the door shut behind him.
His lip drips with blood, and his face has the look of a misshapen pear, as if someone had beaten him within an inch of his life.
“Are you okay?” I take a step toward him. He looks surprised by my question.
“I’m fine.” He looks anywhere but at me.
“Are you sure? I can fix that for you.” I keep a warm smile on my face. “Did Cato do that to you?”
“I did it to myself.”
I have no idea what the hell that means. If he did something against Cato, I’m sure he’d be dead.
“Did you know my brother?” I have no doubt everyone knows who I am already.
“He was an honorable man.” He finally meets my eyes and stands up a little taller when he talks about Carter. I hate them all, but it warms me to see his respect for my brother. I remind myself that this man could be someone else's Carter. That he could have a family out in the world. The same way that Carter had me.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to look at your lip?” I try again. It wouldn’t hurt to earn a favor or two from Cato’s men. Being mean gets you nowhere. Not when you’re standing where I am. You have to use what you have. Take advantage of every opportunity when it presents itself.
The door opens again.
“I gave you an order, Nico. Why are you still standing here?” Cato asks him, though his eyes are on me.
“I was speaking to him.” I say before the man can respond, and I lift my chin. I enjoy challenging Cato. I also know from the small glint in his eye he likes it, too. He likes me. He’ll regret that.
“Sorry, sir.” Nico nods and walks away. Cato and I lock eyes. A stare-off ensues. God, why does he have to be so attractive? All dark hair and dark eyes and broad everything. A devil, that’s what he is. Even though I don’t break eye contact, I notice his white button-up shirt is spotted with blood. I tell myself that isn't sexy, either. It’s a lie.
“Do you need something, Apollonia?” he asks and takes a step out of his office.
“A knife?” I smirk. He only smirks back.
I hate how sexy it is. What is this attraction I have for this man? “I guess I’ll check the kitchen.” I drop my eyes dismissively. If he has nothing for me, I’ll find it myself.
“I’ve got one.” He moves closer, his steps as silent as a predator’s in a dark jungle.
Of course he does. He’s all too eager to please. He wants to please me. How have you gotten so far, Cato? You’re showing all your cards. I already have you in the palm of my hand.
He reaches behind him and pulls a knife out. The same as Carter would do. He flips it and comes toward me, offering me the handle. “Careful, it’s sharp.” His eyes still hold the same challenge I know resides in mine.
I take the blade. I hate that he surprises me with his response.
“Anything else I can do for you, little lioness?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to say ‘’die.’’ Instead I bite the inside of my lip. His eyes drop there. I inwardly smile. Another small win for me.
“Thank you.” I give a small glare before turning and going back up the stairs. I tighten my hand around the end of the knife. I still can’t believe he so easily gave it to me. He’s not scared of me. He’s a cocky asshole, that’s why.
He does also know he has me over a barrel, though. I can’t just walk up and stab him. It would mean my death. But he knows that’s not his trump card. It’s little Carter. I’m not going anywhere without him. Death would be the only thing that could keep me from that boy.
I failed my brother, but I will not fail his son. I walk into my bedroom. At least I’m guessing it’s my room. I kick the door closed behind me and fall against it. I open my hand and look down at the knife, then the scar on my palm.
It’s from the time I’d grabbed Carter’s knife right off his desk in his room. I learned quickly that day how sharp a knife could really be. He loved knives. I never saw someone handle one like him. The day I got this scar was the same day that Carter made me learn how to use one. He had taped up my hand, then schooled me in the art of blades.
He could throw a knife and hit anything. To this day, I’ve never seen anything like it. I laugh thinking about how badly I wanted to do it, too. To impress him. The first of my throws had been a mile off the target. Carter didn't laugh. He retrieved the knife and handed it to me again. Making me repeat the same thing over and over again. I was twenty throws in and hadn’t gotten any better.
‘You going to quit?’ he’d asked.
“Never.”
I’d thrown that knife until I couldn't lift my arm. I still sucked. But I never quit. I flip the knife up in my hand and catch it. Test the weight. It’s been years. But my brother always said it was like riding a bike. Once you got it down, you never forgot it. I toss it again. I should have known when Cato pulled it from himself it would be a good blade. I toss it again and again. Over and over.
Cato isn’t as smart as he thinks he is. He wants me. It might only be for a fuck, but he wants me I’m some sort of a challenge to him. Maybe he’s tired of the easy women who fall on their backs with their legs open for him. That mental image smarts, though it shouldn’t. He’s my enemy, after all.
I’ll use his desire for me against him. He’s brought me into his home. Dropped me right in the center of his world. The man who thinks the only way to hurt someone is physically.
He’s wrong, though. The worst pain comes from the heart, and I plan on taking Cato’s. I’ll burn his world down from the inside.
I toss the knife up again and catch it before I flip it across the room. The blade pierces the headboard dead center.
I’m going to make Cato fall in love with me. Then I’m going to take it all away from him. The same way he’s taken everything I loved away from me.
6
Cato
I wipe the blood from my hands as the last soldier is dragged from my office. All day I’ve spent interrogating and torturing. My men are as loyal as they ever were. None of them broke. Not a single one. And when I was finished with them, each one dropped to his knees, even if it was into a pool of his own blood, and swore fealty to me.
“Have Dr. Constantine make a house call and patch up the ones that need it.” I clean my blade and replace it, though one is conspicuously absent from my kit. The one I gave to my lioness. Her new claws.