Page 7

6

KAI

Silence was the only sound that welcomed me when I came back home, which is not surprising.

We all love having our space, and the house is always quiet at this time of night.

Elijah is likely hidden away in his office while Archer is still out.

It’s easy to live with them.

Arch and I have been inseparable since our boarding school days, sharing a living space that has become a sanctuary for us. While his parents wanted nothing more than to send him away, I’ve been desperately trying to break free from mine. It has always been the two of us until Elijah and Theo entered the equation over ten years ago. We’re all broken in our own ways, which is why we fit together so perfectly.

Taking more time than my usual showers, I wrap myself in a towel, feeling its warmth against my skin, before opening the bathroom door that leads to my bedroom.

The room is filled with darkness, only punctuated by the soft glow of the small lamp in Bellatrix’s vivarium.

Skipping the effort of getting dressed, I head straight to the vivarium.

Bathed in the gentle glow of the heat lamp, Bella’s white scales shimmer as she moves, her piercing azure eyes scanning the surroundings as if she were looking for her next victim. Blue-eyed leucistic ball pythons are incredibly rare, and I consider myself fortunate to have had her by my side for the past eight years.

Extending my arm to grab her, I feel her soft touch against my skin and wait for her to nudge in the crook of my neck before settling on my corner sofa.

Just like me, she is guarded and only permits a few people to touch her. Even though Eli likes to grumble about her. Deep down, we all know he admires this beauty; otherwise, he would have never allowed me to bring her home. Not that he had any choice on that matter.

As I grab my guitar, I feel the comforting vibrations of the cords against my skin, lulling both of us into a peaceful melody.

Music has always been my escape, a refuge from the chaos of my life.

My escape from him .

That’s how Archer finds us when he enters my room thirty minutes later.

It took him longer than I expected.

After taking a shower, his blond hair cascades down his shoulder, while his shorts barely provide any coverage, leaving his chest exposed.

He’s a total eye-catcher, and he knows it.

“Did you enjoy the show?” he asks, his weight sinking into the edge of my bed.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t seem angry at all.

I turn my head slightly, a sly smirk playing on my lips.

“I did.”

I had to know. I needed to comprehend the reasons behind Archer and Elijah’s infatuation with this girl. Elijah may believe he’s being subtle, but I’m well aware of his nightly vigil from the woods that overlooks her flat. So, I followed Arch tonight. I knew he would notice me, and his silence spoke volumes, leading me to believe he intended for me to witness them together.

Her perfume still hangs in the air, seeping into my senses like a toxic poison.

Lavender and vanilla.

“You came inside her,” I accuse.

He knows the rules. We don’t come inside a woman.

He shrugs and dismisses my accusation completely.

For fuck’s sake!

I continue to play, and Bella settles on my chest. Then, his next words catch me off guard.

“You’re not jealous?”

My hand freezes on the cord when I glance at him.

“Why would I be? My boy needed something, and he got it.”

Our relationship exists in a grey area, not quite simple nor entirely difficult.

The four of us are a package deal. One doesn’t go without the other. While we have no qualms about sharing, we always find common ground when choosing the girl we bring back. When going solo, we have the freedom to do whatever we want.

It has always been working for us so far.

It’s unusual for him to ask me if I am jealous. It’s not something he typically does.

I’ll always keep my distance and never get involved in his relationships with women. Melanie has been a point of agreement among the three of us, but I can sense that we are all beginning to share the same sentiments towards her. Her behaviour has been increasingly demanding and clingy, especially when it comes to Eli. He doesn’t ease the situation, as physical contact with her is nonexistent.

Reflecting on it, he never made physical contact with any of the women who came to play with us.

I fix my gaze on Arch, and a smirk plays at the corners of my lips as I arch my brow. “The question is, did you enjoy me watching you fucking her?”

I know he did. While Eli loves to watch, Arch loves an audience.

“You know I did. I’m surprised you got out of the house.”

Yeah, I’m surprised, too. I’m not one for socialising.

I watch in discomfort as he sinks deeper into the mattress, the bed cover visibly creasing and shifting beneath him.

My silence speaks volumes as he detects the furrowed brow on my face.

The boys are usually diligent about keeping things in order, but apparently, Arch is trying my patience tonight.

“You could join next time.” As the words leave his mouth, a radiant smile illuminates his face.

He knows it won’t happen. While Iris is very attractive and, from what I saw, is not afraid of a little play, very few can handle me.

We remain in silence for a while, Archer lying on my bed while I continue to play the guitar, the soft melodies lulling us into a peaceful state until his eyes begin to droop.

Letting out a tired yawn, he extends his body in a slow, deliberate stretch before finally getting up.

“I’m going to bed,” he declares, rubbing his eyes. He meticulously arranges the bed cover, ensuring it is perfectly smooth with not a single crease in sight. “Goodnight, boo.”

“Night.”

Once he exits the room, I run my fingers along Bella’s skin and softly say, “Looks like it’s just you and me for the night.”

The darkness engulfs me, and the only thing that breaks the silence is Mama’s anguished cries. I squeezed myself into the small corner of my dressing room, desperately hoping that he wouldn’t discover my hiding spot this time. But he always does. Mama’s body bears the marks of numerous bruises, though she fabricates stories about falling down the stairs or having a clumsy accident on the floor. It’s not true. It’s him. It’s always him.

I try to stifle my sobs, but they only intensify when Mama’s scream abruptly ceases.

I cover my mouth, trying to suppress any sound, as I hear the stairs creak under his heavy footsteps.

I’m only 5. I cannot fight against him.

The door swings open forcefully, slamming against the wall, but it’s not his voice that I hear—it’s a female voice.

Her voice is unfamiliar to me, but the scent of her perfume is familiar.

“Tick Tack, your time is almost up,” she sings in a slow, melodic tone. Her voice, like a gentle breeze, barely reaches my ear. “Tick Tack, your chapter nears its end.” As she continues, her warm breath brushes against my lips. Her presence feels so close, yet when I try to touch her, all I encounter is the intangible embrace of a shadow. “Tick Tack.”

I am abruptly awoken, my body jolting with a surge of adrenaline. I squint my eyes, struggling to adjust to the dim light and scan the room, but my gaze is drawn to the curtains, swaying back and forth as the open window invites a gentle breeze inside.

This perfume.

It lingers in the air of my bedroom, a mix of lavender and vanilla.

The same as in my dream.

As I sit on my bed, I hear the distinct sound of a paper crumpling beneath my weight.

What the fuck?

There is a page from an unfamiliar book in front of me, and although I can’t identify its source, the highlighted words on the page catch my attention.

I focus intently on the page, trying to decipher the hidden meaning behind the highlighted words.

Tick Tack

Your

Chapter

Nears

Its

End.

Fuck!

I eagerly flip the page, hoping to discover more than just words, but there’s nothing except the faint smell of ink and the page number.

6

No author, no book name.

I glance quickly towards the vivarium, my heart pounding, and I let out a breath when I see Bella is still peacefully perched on the branch.

Bloody hell.

Putting on my shorts with urgency, I burst into Archer’s bedroom, catching him off guard as he quickly raises his gun.

This guy’s ability to wake up at the slightest noise is astonishing.

“What the fuck, Kai!” His voice booms as he shouts.

“Your monitors. Turn them on.” I’m almost frantic, but this perfume…

“What is it with you?” He makes sure to secure his gun beneath his pillow before proceeding towards his desk.

“Turn them fucking on.”

I’m not crazy. That was her perfume.

“Someone was in my room,” I say as I wait for the monitors to turn on.

“Impossible,” he mutters under his breath as he sinks into his chair and shoots me a quick, sceptical glance. “Nobody can breach the security control. And I know it for a fact because I’m the one who thoroughly installed each one of them.”

With my patience wearing thin, I spit out, “I’m telling you, someone was in my bedroom,” emphasising my words by lifting the page in my hand.

“And you think Vixen was the one in your bedroom? C’mon Kai, you saw her, she’s inoffensive.”

I doubt it. No one is completely harmless.

“Don’t think with your fucking dick,” I groan.

He snatches the page from my hand, muttering curses under his breath, before plopping down behind his desk.

The soft glow of the monitors illuminates the room, and there she is.

Sprawled in the middle of her bed, alone and fast asleep.

“See, I told you.” He rolls his eyes at me.

“Take a look at the house camera feed. Someone was in here.” He meets my gaze but remains silent, obediently carrying out my instructions.

“Are you certain you didn’t doze off while reading?” Inquisitively, he raises one eyebrow.

“And ripped off a page and highlighted it? Yes, I’m sure, fucker.”

Nothing on the house camera. What the fuck?

As the camera pans to the outside of the house, I lean closer to get a better look.

Something is odd.

“Put it again.”

He tilts his head quickly, his curiosity clear in his eyes.

“Something is odd,” I say out loud.

Arch plays the video three times, and then on the last play, curses escape from our mouths.

“Mother fucker! There’s a glitch in the camera footage.” Slowly, he plays it again, allowing me to observe every intricate detail. “See there? It’s subtle, but it’s there.”

“That’s what I thought. Can you find the missing part?”

The fucker smirks at me. I don’t even know why I bothered to ask. Even though Elijah and I are skilled with computers, Arch is the expert in that field. That’s our job, after all.

“Can you examine her camera for any potential glitches?” That owes me a nasty glare. I don’t trust anyone. Perhaps it was her, or perhaps not, but her distinct perfume still lingers in my bedroom, leaving little doubt.

And that was a woman’s voice that I heard.

“Did you see something?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Heard.”

“Were you having a nightmare?” His brow furrows with worry.

Him and his fucking sixth sense.

“That is completely irrelevant. I heard a woman’s voice, and this fucking page didn’t come out of nowhere.”

“And what did she say?” He leans in, amused and annoyed at the same time by the situation.

“Tick Tack, your time is almost up. Tick Tack, your chapter nears its end. Tick Tack…”

“So she sang you a lullaby. That was incredibly nice of her.” A chuckle escapes from him. “Looks like you’ve done something to upset her. But if she truly wanted you dead, why didn’t she take action? You were peacefully asleep, with no one around, making it the ideal moment to accomplish it.”

“Or maybe she’s just psycho and gets a kick out of scaring her prey before she finishes them off,” I groan.

“Are you afraid?” His chuckle grows in intensity, erupting into a thunderous laugh that fills the room. “You’re 6’4”, Kai. I could have a whole meal on your muscles without worrying about my plate falling.”

“No, I’m not scared, but it’s strange how the voice I heard emphasised the exact same word on the page.”

I know he didn’t notice it. I urged him to turn on his monitors, but now his focus is back on the paper.

“Shit,” he mutters, then gets back to his screens. “Okay, I don’t play games. Who are you, little fucker?”

I watch him replay Iris’s cameras over and over, but nothing’s happening. Not a single glitch.

Shit.

“There’s nothing here. Let me see if I can find something in the garden. You should get some sleep.”

The fact that he’s telling me to sleep is laughable. He knows my sleep is very limited.

It’s almost 6 a.m. I don’t think any of us will get any sleep for a while.

“No, I’m going to make some coffee. Do you want some?”

Shaking his head, he mutters, “Matcha.”

Of course, he would ask for this shit.

Before making my way downstairs, I take a moment to pass by my room.

Maybe I missed something. Surely, I missed something.

Nothing looks out of place. But I know this page comes from one of my books.

I meticulously search every nook and cranny of my bedroom, but aside from the lingering scent of that fucking perfume, I find nothing.

I walk towards my window, open it wider, and lean my head out to take in the view. Despite the darkness outside, I can feel the crisp September air brushing against my face.

Someone was here, but I don’t believe they’re patiently waiting outside for me to come out.

The only thing that catches my eye is the swift movement of the woods in front of our house, encircled by the desolate graveyard nearby.

The house is strategically placed in a secluded area, ensuring our work remains hidden from curious onlookers. The presence of the abandoned graveyard provides a convenient place to dispose of our prey discreetly.

No one in their right mind would come near here.

At least that’s what I thought.

Closing my window, I move closer to my desk to search for something. Anything. The page of the book didn’t come out of nowhere.

Arch is right. If someone wanted me dead, they had their chance served on a silver platter.

Fuck!

Frustration consumes me, causing my hands to sweep everything off my desk with a low scream escaping my lips. Everything crashes to the floor with a resounding thud, papers, laptop, lamp—all scattered across the ground.

Fuuuuck!

My hands instinctively reach for my hair, trying to contain the overwhelming sense of anger coursing through me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I bend down and start to collect every scattered paper that rustles across the room.

“Everything okay?” I lift my head and catch sight of Elijah, his joggers hanging low on his hips, his bare torso showcasing a tapestry of tattoos, and his hair in disarray from just waking up, likely due to my scream.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Someone was in my bedroom.”

A deep frown forms between his eyes, probably questioning how the hell it had happened.

“Someone was in your room?” he repeats, and I nod. “There are over fifty cameras strategically placed throughout the house. The alarm system would have been activated without delay if there had been any breach.”

“And yet,” I lift the page found on my bed, “someone got in.”

“What is it?” he walks closer and takes the page from my hand.

“Just after hearing a woman’s voice, I found it resting on my bed. I thought I was dreaming, but she spoke the exact same words that are highlighted on the page. She was actually singing them like a fucking psychopath.” My last word comes out as a shout, reverberating through the room.

His eyes dart back and forth between me and the paper, his frustration evident as he curses under his breath.

I opt to keep quiet about the familiar perfume, acknowledging their mutual attraction to this girl.

I know they’re both clear-headed and don’t let their dicks cloud their judgement, but I still can’t grasp their fascination with her.

Like a toxic venom, she seeps into their minds, slowly but surely.

Shit, did something go under my bed?

I lean my head down and double-check if I got everything.

“I guess you woke up Arch, and he’s already scanning the surveillance footage?”

I give a nod, but the force of the movement causes my head to collide with the bed frame. “FUCK!”

“Are you okay?”

“No, I’m fucking not. Someone touched my fucking stuff. Of course I’m not okay.”

Beads of sweat form on my forehead as I reach for the cloth to wipe down my bookshelf. “And yes, he is.” Shit . “There is only one person who comes to mind when I think about someone who could breach our security system.”

Our eyes meet, and I can tell that he’s thinking the exact same thing. Only one person skilled and crazy enough would enter a house of killers at night.

“Raven?” he asks, his brow furrowing even more. “Why would they take the risk of coming here and not killing any of us?”

I shrug. “Challenge? To test the strength of our fortress, which is anything but impenetrable right now.”

This book wasn’t here before.

“Fuck! Okay, I’ll dig deeper into them. So far, they haven’t shown any hostile intentions towards us, but I suspect their motive is to monopolise the market.”

He’s probably right.

“Breathe and calm the fuck down.”

I can’t. I need to… I need to…

I feel his firm grip on my shoulder, urging me to decelerate and release the cloth so that I can meet his gaze.

“Breathe.”

I do my best to keep it at bay, but my anxiety is becoming overwhelming.

It’s something they’ve grown accustomed to, but for me, it feels like a damn disease slowly devouring me.

I wait for a second and breathe through my nose. “Did I wake you up?”

“No,” he sighs. “I received a call.”

“At this time of the night? Or morning, I should say.” Fuck, I really need a coffee.

“Logan,” he groans.

Oh, I get the grumpy mood now.

Logan used to be the one to set our missions before we became independent.

Despite Elijah’s repeated reminders, Logan arrogantly assumes he can exert authority over us, only to swiftly discover that his attempts to dominate are ineffective. Over the years, we have evolved into different versions of ourselves, and our businesses have experienced significant growth. Our reputation is widely recognised and respected.

Logan is not bad. In fact, I’d even describe him as harmless. However, his call in the middle of the night revealed that he has no concept of boundaries.

“What was the call about?”

“A young girl that disappeared six years ago.” Before handing me his phone, he simply says, “Take a look,” and opens his email.

I can feel my heart gradually slowing down and my whole body becoming more relaxed.

Lily Adams. Went missing six years ago. The client wants her out of the picture.

Attached to the email are two photos of her, one taken when she was approximately 10 and another when she was 14.

It’s no wonder why Logan contacted us; with the sparse information he provided, finding her would be nearly impossible.

I study the photo intently, hoping to find any clues or details that would allow me to identify her.

Her light brown hair cascades down her shoulders, framing her face adorned with a few delicate beauty spots. I zoom in on the photo, examining the details closely. Interesting.

Heterochromatic eyes.

One of her eyes sparkles like a deep blue lake, while the other holds the warm richness of chestnut brown with a hint of blue remaining. Definitely not common.

Despite her average size, it’s been six years, and it’s possible that she has grown taller during that time.

I glance up from the screen, only to be greeted by a look on Elijah’s face that is completely new to me.

“Are you okay, brother?”

“Of course.” He shakes his head to clear his thoughts.

Yeah, I don’t believe him. I know them so well that it feels as if we share the same thoughts, but something feels off, yet I won’t push him to talk. The feeling of having your emotions coerced out of you against your will is something I know all too well.

“If you say so.”

“I’ll look into her past. It’ll probably take the morning. Let me know when Arch scanned everything in the footage. Today, he’ll probably go mad, meticulously checking each camera to make sure everything is perfectly in order.”

“Sounds like him,” I whisper, feeling the weight of the day pressing against my temples, even though it hasn’t begun yet.

Fucking hell.

“I’ll be in my office.” He walks towards the door, but not without a last glance. “You may want to check if your laptop is still functioning properly.”

Me and my fucking impulse.