Page 17

Chapter Seventeen

Ezekiel

“She is fucking kidding right?” Vox snarls from beside me. I turn and glare at the asshole, the mask covering my face dulls the effect of my glare but he can still sense it. “Don’t fucking look at me like that, you were thinking the same thing.” I grind my teeth hating that the fucker is right. She has been sent a severed head and only has two guards patrolling her house.

“What’s the plan?” Archer asks from behind one of the trees he and Hayze are hiding behind.

“You want to take out her men or walk through the door?” I ask them. I can tell from the look in their eyes that this is the time to teach our girl a lesson. I smirk from behind my mask and pull my hood up as best I can, thanks to the horns on these things it makes it hard. Archer is the only one with no horns so he doesn't face this issue.

Vox turns to us, clearly ready to start barking orders like he always has but not today and not when it concerns her. The three of us split off to surround her house. It’s nice and tucked away from the main road but she made a huge fucking mistake by not having more men stationed around the place. I leave Hayze and Archer to take care of the two guards while I head for the power box around the back side of the house. It takes me four seconds to find the breaker I need. The second I pull it, the power cuts out and the house is bathed in darkness. I remain still and calm as I give my eyes a chance to adjust to the darkness before I slink around the back.

I try two windows and happy to say both are locked but when I twist the handle on the side door and it opens. I make a mental note to punish her for this error! I inch inside, careful to keep my steps light as I creep through her house. At the sound of her voice I freeze against the wall that separates the kitchen from the living room where I can make out her figure pacing furiously.

“No, David, I don’t know what happened, the power just cut out.” She pauses for a moment listening to his reply. “No, don’t worry I’m sure Sean and Carter will sort the problem shortly.” I look around to see if the others have made it inside but I can’t see them. “Yes, I met with Tatum earlier and we went over the figures. Look, I’ll fill you in about the details when I see you later. I’ll be leaving here in a few hours for the meeting.” I wait for her to end the call before I creep in closer ready to strike but then she whirls around so fast and faces me I freeze. “There are only three people on earth that can make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and have my skin heating by just being in the same room. Did you really think I wouldn’t know it was you guys that cut my power?”

To say I am surprised is a fucking understatement. I catch movement over her shoulder and as if to prove her own point, she spins around and comes face to face with no horns aka Archer and left horn aka Hayze. I watch as her body begins to relax and without thought I press forward and plaster myself against her back. I wait for her to push me away but instead she melts into me. I wrap my arms around her waist and anchor her to me.

“What are you guys doing here?” she asks breathlessly. Hayze and Archer push forward until they are just out of touching distance, I can tell from how stiff they are that they are demonstrating some severe self-control by not giving into their need and touching her.

“We’re here to bring you back with us, you don’t belong here anymore, Vivi baby,” Hayze says gently.

She sighs and shakes her head. When she tries to pull free I tighten my hold. Vivian tilts her head back and looks up at me. “Till death do us part will come a lot sooner if you don’t release me.” The laughter that bursts out of me is without consent, but it brings a smile to her face so I can’t be mad. I reluctantly release her and she instantly moves to Hayze, lays her hand flat on his chest and cranes her neck back to meet his stare. “I can’t leave.”

“Yes, the fuck, you can!” Archer snaps. She turns her head toward him and reaches out with her free hand to grab his.

“No, I can’t. I need you three to trust me and understand that I have this all under control?—”

“How is my girlfriend’s mom being murdered, you keeping shit under control?” She whirls away from the three of us to face her brother who is standing at the base of the stairs. We push in closer and stand behind her, showing Vox we are on her side and he better watch his fucking tone before we put him in check.

“I didn’t know anything was going to happen to Kelly, I swear, Vox.” At her admission Vox rips the mask off and storms forward. Before he can reach her, I dart in front and place a hand against his chest keeping him back.

“Come at her like a raging dick again and I’ll fucking put you on your ass,” I grit out.

He smacks my hand away and gets right up in my face. “You need to remember, she is my fucking sister, asshole.”

I push forward until my mask digs into his forehead. “And you need to remember I fucking out rank you where she is concerned. She’s my wife, asshole!” Vox shoves me backward. I try to catch myself but I’m too late, I fall into Vivian but luckily the guys catch her before she can hit the floor. Guided purely by my anger, I rush forward and tackle Vox. We land on the small table in the living room, smashing it to pieces beneath our weight.

“You stop them and you fix the fucking lights!” I hear Vivi scream just as her brother's fist connects with my mask and sends it flying across the room. This has been a long time coming and I know Hayze and Archer won’t stop it, so I fight and punch him in the face and I feel the skin on my knuckles split thanks to his fucking mask. Vox has been holding back and trying to focus on Nova to keep his mind off what’s been happening between us and Vivian, but without Nova here, there is nothing to tame the fucking monster.

“Baby, you have to let this play out.” I hear one of the guys say as Vox and I continue to trade punch for punch and roll around the floor, breaking shit. I grunt when the fucker lands a good punch to my ribs. I throw my legs over his and use all my weight to roll him onto his back and jab him twice in the ribs for payback.

“That all you got, you fucking pussy?” he roars. I grip the bottom of his mask and rip it off, tossing it to the side. I don’t stop there, I throw a right hook and manage to clip his jaw before he bucks his hips and tosses me off. The lights flicker on and we both sit there panting and covered in sweat, I can tell from the look in his eyes this is far from over and I’m not about to back down either.

“I got a lot more, you dumb fuck!” I snap back.

“You’re fucking weak, Ez,” he taunts.

“I wasn’t weak when I walked the fucking line for her!” I roar. I hear Vivian gasp but I don’t take my gaze off her brother. “You want to fight it out and try to act like you’re the top dog, then come on, motherfucker, because I’ll take it all but I will never walk away from her.”

“You can’t have her! None of you can.”

“For fuck sake, Vox, no one is taking your sister away! Your fear of losing another loved one is killing her!” I scream. Vox jerks back and stares at me with wide eyes. “She isn’t your father, she will never leave you but if you keep trying to control her life, you will push her away. The three of us have been in love with her for years but always held back because we knew how you would react. I love you and you will always be my brother but you need to let her go, Vox. She won’t abandon you like your father did.” I see the exact moment my crushing words hit their mark. I wasn’t trying to hurt him intentionally, I would never want to break him emotionally but he has to realize that him smothering her and trying to hide Vivian from the world is what led us to this moment. She blocked us all out when she made a move to claim the Saints as her own. She banished us from ever stepping foot in our hometown because he forced us to choose.

“He’s right,” Archer mutters, drawing our gazes up to him. He stands there with his mask firmly in place and his hands stuffed in his pockets but it's the look in his eyes that has both of us remaining where we are. I cut a glance to Hayze to see him standing firmly at Vivi’s side like a protector. Arch reaches up and tears his mask off, then clasps it between his hands, staring down at it with a strange mixture of remorse and anger. “When we started wearing these things, I thought it would be a way for us all to grow closer. A part of me even hoped it would help you focus on something other than your sister so you wouldn’t know I was… falling in love with her.” Vivian gasps and stares at Archer in surprise. “I have loved her for years, Vox. Fuck, I wanted to tell you so many times but every time I gathered the courage to do it, you would remind us how her and your mom were all you had and you would never allow anyone to take them from you.”

“So what? You thought you would fuck my sister behind my back?” Vox grits out. I slowly push to my feet and move toward him, he glares up at me when I offer him my hand. The fucker knocks it away and climbs to his feet on his own. “I know how the three of you dicks get off, not once have you ever kept a girl?—”

“Because none of them were her !” Hayze roars. It's still strange hearing him discuss his feelings and being so open about it, the fact he actually is starting just goes to show how much Vivian does mean to him and cements my decision that we are doing the right thing by trying to make this work between the four of us, regardless of what her brother thinks. “They were nameless, faceless girls that meant nothing to us. She was the one we all wanted but could never have because we worried it would tip you over the edge. I thought you finding Nova and loving her would ease your asshole ways, but I guess we were all wrong because you’re an even bigger dick than you were before.”

Vox growls and shoots Hayze a scathing look but doesn’t say anything as he swipes at the cut on his lip. It brings a smile to my face seeing his split lip. Serves the fucker right.

“Can we all just take this down a notch?” Vivian says as she breaks away from Hayze and moves toward her brother. She reaches for him but he steps back. Hurt flashes in her eyes and it takes everything I have inside me to keep from biting his head off for that stunt. “Vox?—”

“Is this why you changed?” he asks.

“What?”

“Is this why you changed, Vivian?” he snaps. She jerks at the harsh tone of his voice.

“Vox!”

He snaps his head toward me and pins me with a murderous look. “Stay the fuck out of this!” The look in his eyes and the tone of his voice is indication enough that he is feeling everything he has buried for years so I snap my mouth closed and let this play out. “Did you screw my best friends behind my back?”

She inhales sharply and straightens. I watch as she locks down her fear of hurting her brother, but I also see the acceptance in her eyes and that makes me proud. She is finally accepting us and that has a fucking ton of weight lifting off my shoulders.

“No. At first, they were just the guys I thought were hot.” Vox scrunches his face in disgust. “Then Archer and I… we hooked up.” Vox shoots a look at Arch that promises pain. Archer knows he is going to get his ass kicked for that and he is man enough to nod and accept what is coming his way. “But then he put a stop to it. Hayze became a safe haven for me and somehow things changed between us but nothing ever happened until… the other night.”

“What about him?” Vox grits out, flicking his head toward me.

I wait with bated breath to hear her explanation. She exhales. “He was my solace in the darkest moments. Archer is my protector, Hayze is the one that soothes my soul, and Ez, well, he’s the one that keeps me grounded. I didn’t realize I loved them all until last year when I thought Ezekiel died and Hayze and Archer left me to help you. I thought I was being dramatic until I realized watching Ezekiel die broke my heart. I needed Archer and Hayze to hold me together but then they left and took what remained of my fragmented heart with them. I’m sorry, Vox, I never meant to love them, I swear, but I’m not sorry because I won’t give them up, not again.”

“Again?” he pushes.

“You took the three of them from me last year and I won’t let you do it again. You have everything you wanted. You got the freedom you wanted from the Saints, I gave that to you. I saved Nova from the fate that was destined for her, I did that not you or them. Me. I am the Lordess of the Saints and it was always going to work out this way.”

“No, the fuck, it wasn’t!” Vox yells. “The Filthy Few was constructed to keep you from this fate. I never wanted this for you?—”

Vivian cuts him off before he can finish. “You didn’t but Edmund and Virgil fucking did!” she screams. All of us guys move to Vox’s sides and stare down at the girl who has us eating out of the palm of her hand with that declaration. Tears shine in her eyes as she looks at each of us before finally focusing back on her twin.

“What the fuck does that mean? Dad and Edmund were trying to save you?—”

“No!” she snaps, silencing Vox. “Edmund was only trying to save Taylor,” she whispers, then sends me a broken look.

“What are you talking about?” I push as worry begins to gnaw at me, something isn’t adding up here.

“When Nikoa reached out to me to be his informant, I didn’t know what to expect but the more information I gathered for him the more secrets I uncovered.”

“How did you become his informant?” Arch snarls.

She shrugs. “Who better to infiltrate the organization that murdered her father than the sister of the leader of a masked crew who was hellbent on tearing them down. Not only am I smart enough to hack computers but I’m a really good listener, and nine times out of ten no one ever notices a woman in a room filled with powerful men. I learned things and in my own way I thought helping Nikoa would help the Filthy Few, but it turns out you all had it wrong from the start.”

“Had what wrong?” Hayze hedges.

She smiles sadly. “My father and Edmund were only trying to save Taylor, not me.” I reel back in shock at the bitterness that coats her tone and shake my head trying to deny what she is saying. Dad and Virgil were trying to save the girls!

“What?” I breathe out.

She turns all her attention to me and normally I would be happy to have her focus only on me but right now, I don’t want it. The sorrow in her eyes is killing me. “You and I were always meant to be together. I was always going to be a Tempest, turns out you and I were promised to each other before we were even born.”

I stare at her at a loss for words. I feel disgust crawling through me, causing my skin to itch. My father wouldn’t have done this, he was a good man!

“Dad was trying to save you!” Vox argues.

Vivian stares at her twin, I see pity in her eyes. “You always thought dad was a hero. Hey, maybe he was to you but for me? I was nothing to him aside from a way for him to guarantee his future.”

“Vivi, you need to break this down, baby,” Hayze implores.

“There isn’t anything to break down. Edmund and Virgil had planned to marry me off to Ezekiel so that their bloodline could remain in power. Do you know I own a sex club?” The four of us all jerk back. “I wish I could say I came up with the idea all on my own but I can’t. When you are named lord or lordess you have access to all the records of the former leaders and guess what?” She doesn’t wait for us to answer. “It was Edmund’s idea and Virgil wanted to hold my wedding to Ezekiel at that hotel. Our father wasn’t a good man, Vox, he was just like Thomas!” she screams.

I can’t handle hearing more of this, I push forward and wrap my arms around her, anchoring her to my front. She tries to fight to get free but I don’t budge even when she reaches under my hoodie and claws her nails down my back.

“Listen to me!” I snap, she freezes in my arms but doesn’t pull her nails from my back. “I had no idea about what they had planned, but it doesn’t have to change anything, Vivian. I married you because I want you , not some fucking title or power, I just want you!” She slowly begins to relax and when her nails release my poor back I sigh. She tilts her head back and stares up at me with tears rolling down her cheeks. I curse my father and hers for putting this doubt in her mind about me. “I love you, Vivi.”

She exhales loudly and tears continue to fall down her cheeks. I start to worry she is going to push me away until she finally speaks. “Do you mean that?”

“Yes,” I say with conviction that leaves no room for her to doubt my words. To my utter shock, she reaches up and locks her arms around my neck, bringing my lips to hers. I don’t second guess it. I kiss her with a hunger that I don’t mask, I need her to feel everything I feel. She needs to know she is the center of not only my world but Hayze and Archer’s as well.