I slammed my fists down on the desk, glaring at Sal. My fingers were itching to grab my gun and blow some shit up. It was a struggle to keep my cool.
"That was sticking to the fucking plan!" Sal growled back at him. "Anyone figures her out, she is gone. You remember that rule? It's your rule!"
Of course I remembered. It was the first rule I had made when I decided to take the job of killing her, and I kept her instead. Stella was more useful alive, but we agreed to take the chance within reason.
"I'm not done with her. She has information we need," I said to the room. I didn't like being questioned.
"What, you want to fuck her first? Feel those plump little lips around your dick before you put her out of her misery?" Sal fumed.
I lurched across my desk and wrapped my hands around the man's throat. Sal was older, wiser and had seen more than I had, so he wasn't fazed. He showed no fear, just anger as we stared each other down. Releasing his neck, I pulled my hand back and punched him in the nose. The cracking sound echoed in the room and my knuckles throbbed.
"Feel better?" Sal asked, his voice muffled from his hand holding his face.
"No."
Sal straighten and looked me in the eye. "I trust you and what we are trying to do here, but don't you dare forget the consequences if this falls apart. The only weakness you have, besides that girl, is that you only see the end goal. You see the fireworks, the gold at the end of the rainbow. You never consider failure because to you, that is not an option. Unfortunately son, it is a very real possibility."
He was right. I always planned for failure, but I planned meticulously to avoid it. I never planned for everything actually falling apart. There was a good chance my dad, or anyone in the family, could hear what I was up to. An army of men trained the same as me could descend on this lake house and wipe us out before I even heard the first footstep. There would be nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
"All this is for nothing if she doesn't give us what she knows," I said.
"Get it soon, Atlas," Tony said, surprising me. He seemed against killing the girl, but he was right. Winter was coming. "Don't forget your priorities."
Everyone's priorities were made pretty clear in the living room. Every weapon drawn, pointing a flashing sign toward what mattered the most. Tony aimed at the threat, Xander. He would have shot to keep me alive. Xander aimed right at my chest, seeing me as the biggest threat to his life. Sal pointed at Stella, knowing she was weak link. I should have aimed with him. Even at Xander as he threatened to expose our secrets.
I pointed at Sal. I pointed a gun at my own man, one of the few I trusted. I protected the girl, not the mission. Not the hundreds of others who could fall victim to our kind if we didn't end it. I exposed the chink in my armor. If I had a weakness, we all shared that weakness. As much as my promise to Ace meant something to me, the guys standing with me did, too. The difference was that they were still alive and counted on me. Ace couldn't be saved anymore and if I was being honest, neither could Stella.
I walked past the guys and out to the deck. Funny how that was the selling point of the house, and I had never stepped foot out here before Stella. It was dark so I couldn't see the lake that I knew was out there. Like the monsters and evils, they were out there but you couldn't see them. I sat on the edge of the deck and hung my feet over, wondering what the fuck to do now.
When was the last time I had seen the sunrise? I wasn’t sure I had even looked around since Ace went missing. In my rage, I had only looked toward my end goal. Seeing only my revenge and the pain I would cause those who betrayed me, I didn't see what I was leaving behind. I never cared about what my actions caused.
I attended the funerals of those I had killed before. I sat behind their grieving wives and put a fake consoling hand on their shoulders. I had even taken advantage of the vulnerable state they were in before. I never ended a life that didn't deserve it my eyes. They may not have been good enough to anyone else, but my reasons were mine.
Stella didn't leave behind a distraught family. Her parents were lucky to never know the fate of both of their treasured children. Ace left this ugly world believing that I would keep my promise. And I would. Stella in my hands was better than her being in theirs. There was no doubt that it was only a choice between the two.
I rubbed my face in my hands roughly. I lost the jacket long ago, probably about last night after Tony escorted Stella out of the room. The cool morning air blew off the water and though my hair. It reminded me of the way Stella's fingers moved through my hair the night before. Most women got straight to the point with their hands, and I appreciated that. Stella was too curious; always needing to explore.
I stood from the deck and walked back to my office where the guys were waiting for me. The package from my dad sat on my desk, unopened. I quickly opened the box, sick of all the fucking games. We were either in a war, or I would start one, but I was sick of waiting.
Inside the box was a bottle of whiskey. Dust had collected on the bottle and you could barely read the label but I instantly recognized it. It had sat in my dad's study, for most of my life, on the shelves behind his desk. He had never opened it, saying it was worth too much to just piss away. So why send it to me now?
"Sweet," Xander said, reaching for it. I smacked his hand away.
"Don't touch it. Put the box down in the cellar," I told Sal. "I don't trust a fucking thing from that man."
Sal did as he was told, taking the box quietly from the room. I paced, agitated and on edge. My skin was crawling and I wanted to hit something. The whiskey was a message, not a gift. I just didn't know what he was trying to tell me. I needed to make a move.
"Where is she?" I asked through gritted teeth. It wasn’t safe here anymore. It wasn’t safe anywhere.
"Her room," Tony said. "Locked her in there last night."
"Is that so?" I asked, already leaving the office.
Anger rushed my veins as I marched down to her room. I hated Stella right then. I hated her for being here, for being Ace's sister, for making me feel anything at all. I had made it this far by being ruthless, violent, and never letting anything stand in my way. Stella was a visible flaw in my armor. The guys saw it and if anyone else had, we would all be dead.
Sal was right. Stella was a risk. A risk I wasn’t sure we could take anymore. I unlocked her bedroom door and walked inside without warning. Stella was startled where she stood near the window. She looked like she had been pacing, still in her clothes from the night before. Her eyes went wide, and I watched as her body tensed. She was afraid of me. Good.
I quickly rounded the bed and grabbed her by the throat. Stella gasped as I pushed her to the wall, holding her still with my own body pinned to hers. I pressed into her, dwarfing her easily. It was good to feel back in control.
"You wear this dress to drive me crazy?" I asked her in a growl. "Is that why you let me touch you all night?"
She shook her head and parted those full lips to speak. I didn't let her. I sealed her mouth shut with mine. My lips took hers so hard, I was sure she would bruise. I took her mouth like I owned it, like I was entitled to it. Stella pushed against me in protest for only a moment before clutching on to my shoulders.
Stella squeezed in surprise, and I pulled back to look down at her. Her chest rose quickly with her fast breathing. Her lips were red and plump as her tongue darted out to lick them. I held her to the wall by her neck and grabbed the hem of her dress. With one hand, I pulled and the sound of ripping filled the room.