Page 225 of Blackwood

The Obsidian

721 Days Since Zeke’s Death

The days after the Donor Fight were a damn whirlwind. Biggest event in Northvale history, and Rez is still riding the high. He’s practically been begging me to keep supplying him with more of my fighters. Doesn’t care how I get them, he just wants them. Bad.

Khoza and Briggs both came up to me after asking to earn their Black Books back by working in The Pit. I told them I’d think about it. O’Malley caught wind of it and now he wants in too. I guess brawling for blood is easier than chasing intel. Still, if they want redemption, they’re going to have to work hard for it.

Daniel and Irina were at the fight too. Apparently, Irina wasn’t too thrilled that Roman showed up. She texted me the next day, trying to be all sweet and motherly. Said something about how, when I become a Barinov, my allegiance better lie with the Russians and not the Italians.

Bitch, I’m not even engaged. I’ve barely unpacked my shit. Chill. Plus, my allegiance will not be to the Russians or the Italians. It’ll be to Lex. To Cade. To me. Our family. Plus, theice bitch didn’t even mention Cade in her littleallegiance threatand that pissed me the fuck off.

Lex saw the text thread and absolutely lost it. He went off on his mom, told her to back the hell off. Then Daniel called and apologized on her behalf. The whole thing was a mess. She’ll pay for that tonight. Ellie and I made sure of it.

Speaking of Lex… The Donor Fight turned that man into a straight-up savage. We got back to our apartment and he absolutely wrecked me on the kitchen counter. Didn’t even take his boots off. Just ripped my shorts off, yanked my panties down, and growled,“Mine.”

Then he threw me on the bed and ravaged me all over again while Cade watched. Grabbed my throat so hard I nearly blacked out.

He finally dragged Cade into it. Told him to“get on your knees and taste what belongs to us.”And Cade did.

Good lord he did.

Cade went down on me like he was starving. But of course, Lex has zero patience, so he fucked Cade senseless while Cade’s mouth was still on my clit, unraveling me molecule by molecule. I swear Cade’s tongue anywhere near my pussy should be fucking illegal.

And then, Lex fucked me. Again. Hand fisted in my hair, whispering the filthiest things I’ve ever heard. Let’s just say, when one of your boyfriends has the sexual stamina of a Roman god and a high pain tolerance, everyone walks away a little bruised and blissed-out.

By the time it was over, I could barely walk. Pretty sure I limped into practice with a bruised vagina and zero regrets.

And yeah… I’m officially out of Rosethorne. Moved into the apartment on the thirty-first floor with the guys. Between Lex, Cade, Knox, Nate, and Tex, they had me packed and relocatedin under twenty-four hours. Like a damn tactical unit. A dangerous, lethal, extremely attractive moving squad.

Home Sweet Home. I’m sure, our resident stalker-poet will have a very unhinged opinion about that any minute now.

And thanks to our stalker-poet and his lovely increasing threats, we’ve got NYPD stationed nearby and some of Daniel Barinov’s men doing incognito surveillance from time to time. Guys in plain clothes who look like they belong but don’t say much. Just in case.

Still, part of me keeps brushing it off. “He’s probably just some basement-dwelling freak who gets off watching girls from behind a screen,” I told Cade last night. “If we ignore him long enough, he’ll get bored and crawl back into whatever Reddit-thread-from-hell he came out of.”

Of course, Lex didn’t love that plan. Mostly because he keeps writing back. I wish I were kidding. It’s like a damn rhyme-off at this point. Every time Luca drops a new horror poem into my DMs, Lex responds with threats that sound like they belong in a Bratva edition of Dr. Seuss.

The other night he actually paused mid-mission to ask me,“What rhymes with decapitate?”I told himmedicate,and now I’m scared it’s going to end up in a courtroom transcript.

“Stop baiting him,” Cade told him. “He wants a reaction. He wants power. If you keep giving it to him, babe, he’s never going to go away.”

Lex just shrugged. “He wants a stage. I’m giving him a grave.” God help me, I think he meant it as romantic.

So, yeah. We’re fine. Everything’s fine. Totally normal relationship stuff. Just a girl, her two guys, and the anonymous psycho-poet watching them from the shadows.

♥♥♥

“Ah! I can’t believe this party is finally happening!” Ellie squeals.

“Yeah, thanks again for helping me switch the theme last minute,” I say, tugging the strap of my heel tighter.

She waves me off with one manicured hand. “Please. Anything to take down the Ice Bitch Witch of Moscow. She’s going to choke on her judgment tonight.”

Haley’s in the corner, sharpening a gold hairpin like she plans to actually stab someone with it and honestly, I hope she does.

I’m in front of the mirror, one leg propped on the velvet bench, lacing gold heels around my thigh like I’m getting ready for war. Because I am. Tonight isn’t just a party. It’s karma.

“Move your asses, goddesses!” Rico declares, bursting through the door like he’s got Jupiter on speed dial. “This isn’t Mount Olympus, bebés. This is Capitoline Hill, and we are not losing the war for best dressed, ¿entendido?”