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Chapter Five

Jolie

My life has become like Groundhog Day.

Go to school, try to avoid everyone. Go to training, try to pretend I don’t want to kill my team. I rotate sleeping in Laughn’s and Boston’s beds, but I haven’t had the guts to venture to the other guys’ houses. Marlow lived with his grandmother, Case with his mum—though he was very secretive about her. Davis, well, his house doesn’t have a great memory. Plus, I know Trace is living there now and being around him is the hardest.

“That’s it!” Sinclair snaps, grabbing my arm and pulling me into my form classroom.

I glance around at what I thought would be an empty room to find that Jimmie, Kai and Danika are all joining Sinclair in staring at me.

“What?” I ask with a pointed look.

“We understand you went through something traumatic, but we refuse to be shut out. It’s been a few weeks now and we’re done,” Jimmie demands.

“We’re your friends and we are worried about you.”

“I miss going to parties,” Danika adds, making me laugh. At least she’s honest. Sinclair cuts her a look. “What? You said we had to tell her how we feel and if she wants to mope around and mourn guys that treated her like shit, that’s on her. But we’re”—she holds out her arms, motioning to everyone in the room—“missing out on prime parties because she’s our ticket in.”

“Um, you know Kai can get you invites, right?” I point out, and Danika whips her head around to face Kai with a disbelieving look.

“Will you all focus, please? I don’t even know why I bother. Clearly your friends are disposable to you,” Sinclair huffs and goes to storm out of the room.

This time I grab her arm, stopping her in her tracks. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shut you out. I’ll try to be better. It’s been hard to sit with you when every time I look at Kai, he reminds me of Case.” A stray tear rolls down my cheek and I hastily wipe it away.

“I should go,” Kai murmurs, pushing off the desk that he is leaning against.

“Don’t. I have to move on, and I promise I’m getting help. The principal has me seeing the guidance officer every week to talk through my feelings.”

“He’s Boston’s brother. Isn’t that weird?” Danika adds.

“He is and yes, but it is what it is.”

Danika stands and claps. “Yay! Now that we’ve made up, there’s a party tonight and I really want to go.”

I sigh, afraid to ask, but I do. “Whose party?”

“The new kids. Apparently, they all live in this massive house and have these wild parties. It’s invite only, of course. Please, please, please!” she begs, holding her hands together like a prayer. “I’ve seen you talking to Colt. He’ll surely let you go, and you can bring us.”

“Fine, I’ll ask. But Colt is actually pretty nice. He’d probably say yes if you asked him yourself.” I’ve been sitting with Colt and his team every day at lunch. While I haven’t intentionally been avoiding them, it’s been hard to surround myself with people from before. Pity—I hate people feeling it for me.

This time Kai laughs. “He isn’t nice to everyone, Jolie. Colt just likes you.”

“He also likes Sinclair,” I counter.

“Ugh... he wants to violate me,” Sinclair retorts, her face going bright red.

“This is seriously messed up. First Jolie gets all the hot guys and now you,” Danika says, pointing at Sinclair. “What does a girl have to do to get noticed around here?”

Jimmie snorts. “You realise poor Joshua follows you around like a lost puppy, right?”

“No!”

“Yes,” Jimmie says, nodding his head.

“Shit! I need to go make sure... never mind, I just have to go,” she says and takes off running out of the room.

I turn back to everyone else. “Are we all good?”

They nod. “Okay, let’s go get a damn coffee before class. I have PE first and it should be illegal first thing in the morning.”

Creed decided we will no longer be doing any training in the morning because I’m too grouchy. No one should have to do anything before being properly caffeinated.

After I find a coffee, I spot Colt and Blayne standing beside the door that leads to the sports building.

“About time, this little bitch”—she points at Colt—“wouldn’t stop whining that you were taking too long,” Blayne says with a laugh as I join them.

“Was not.” He rolls his eyes and throws his arms around both my and Blayne’s shoulders at the same time. He spins our trio around, and we walk awkwardly through the doorway.

“I wanted to ask you about a party.” Figure now is as good a time as any.

“You’re coming. I just forgot to tell you,” he says.

“Can I bring my friends?”

“Are any of them hot?” both Blayne and Colt ask at the same time.

“Why do you have to move in on my territory?” Colt scoffs. “Jolie is my friend, so that means I get to sleep with her friends first.”

“No way! That should mean that I do, since you have a conflict of interests.”

We stop walking when we notice the class has gathered around none other than Trace in his training gear. His colourful leg tattoos are on full display, drawing every girl’s attention. His shorts couldn’t be any shorter if he bloody tried.

Colt and Blayne’s bickering drags my attention away from the jealousy that’s swarming in my gut. I hate the feeling I get when the other girls check out Trace.

“I bet I can get more pussy than you at this party.”

“You’re on.”

Trace looks up and his eyes go straight to Colt’s arm around my shoulder. I look down at his shorts and back at his face, raising a brow. We silently argue with each other until Blayne pushes Colt, bringing me back to their argument. Blayne laughs as he stumbles, and then she runs over to join the class.

“So, you two aren’t sleeping together?” I ask Colt after he recovers.

His lips twist in disgust. “God no, that would be like boinking my sister.”

“Do you have a sister?”

“No, but if I did, it would be like that.”

“And the other guys?”

“She lost her virginity to Van, but she claims he’s the reason she turned to the other side.”

“Oh!” I say in surprise. “So, she’s a lesbian.”

“She doesn’t conform to labels. If she wants to fuck someone she will, it just happens that most identify as female . It’s probably safer that way for all parties involved, as while we might not have romantic feelings for her, we would kill for her. Jarrah is especially good with a butterfly knife.”

“Are you two going to join the class?” Trace snaps impatiently.

“Sorry, Teach. I was just trying to convince Jolie that the BJ she gave me last night was so good we should skip class and do it again,” he exclaims with a triumphant gleam in his eye as jealousy flashes across Trace’s face.

I sucker punch Colt in the gut, and he makes an oomph sound before he cackles like a hyena. I walk over to where the entire class is waiting, then motion for Trace to begin. His features darken at my blatant display of disrespect, but he recovers quickly.

“Today we’re going to learn basic self-defence moves. A few parents have raised concerns, and they would like their children to be prepared in case something bad happens. I’m going to start by breaking you off into groups. I know those who have basic training, so you’ll be split accordingly.”

Students groan and complain about not being able to be with their friends. “For those not so confident, I have a step-by-step YouTube tutorial on the screen up there,” he says, pointing to the wall. “It will walk you through everything.”

He reads out names and everyone pairs off. Colt is paired with a short blonde, and he smiles at me with a wink; she has no chance against him.

Of course, I’m last and am left with no partner. It’s obvious he did this on purpose. Trace just gives me his best puppy dog eyes, and all I can do is shake my head at him.

“What’s going on with you and Colt?” he asks.

“That’s none of your business,” I counter, crossing my arms over my chest.

I’m waiting for him to snap. The one thing I know is how to push his buttons. I always thought he was my person, but I’ve come to find out that wasn’t the case, so that stings more than anything.

He starts to stretch, and I copy what he does. “Anything to do with you is my business. You’re ours, even if you don’t want to believe it. Every single molecule in your body was created for us to protect. We all get that you’re mad and rightfully so. But trust me, Jolie, you know me, and I need you to dig deep and trust that we know what we’re doing.”

“You say that like I’m supposed to forget what you all did.”

He lowers his voice. “We don’t. Use it like we are because the information Case extracted that night has been helpful. We know you were previously listed in his will to get majority ownership of Olympia if Mr Z died. In the event of your death, someone named Harold Knox would have received the company on behalf of a secret organisation. But after you ‘died’ it was changed. We’ve done our research and Harold has been missing for a few years, presumed dead. The organisation is currently being run by someone named Amelie Rossi. We need you to get close to Mr Z and hope he changes his will back, which he won’t do unless he believes you’re on his side.”

“I’ve already told Creed and Kai that I’m willing to help, but I can’t forget what you all did that day.”

“We’re okay with that... for now. Brennan is going to meet with Mr Z’s brother tonight.”

“Is that smart, considering Mr Z is watching everyone’s every move?”

Trace starts to show me the moves, continuing to talk as he does. “There are underground tunnels running all over town. Only a select few people, namely us and Team Hades, knew about them. Ziyon has one that goes directly to his property, and the entrance is somewhere inconspicuous. We believe Ziyon had them built without anyone knowing about them.”

“So, Brennan is safe?”

“He is. Now try to take me down.”

He throws a right-handed punch, but I deflect it and punch him in the stomach. I don’t hold back since I still have a lot of unresolved anger towards him. I move my right arm up around the right side of his neck and use my knee to hit just under his ass, and he falls to the ground. This move really only works if they come at you with their left arm to grab you.

I hold my hand out to help him up. “You know, you really should wear more clothes. It’s very distracting.”

“Is my skin distracting you, Jolie?” he jokes. I roll my eyes at his audacity, but something else catches my eye.

“When did you get that?” I point to a fresh tattoo of an anchor on the side of his neck. It’s really small and looks like it fills a gap.

“Kai did it a few days ago.”

“Kai can tattoo?”

“He can. And so can Chester, though he doesn’t do many tattoos; he is kind of weird about it, but his art is amazing. So we all generally go to Kai—he is more than willing to do anything.”

“Did Kai do Creed’s back tattoo?”

“No, Chester has done all of Creed’s tattoos; they have some kind of freaky bond. Plus, Kai loves colour, hence why we’re all covered in colourful tattoos.”

We drop the conversation and get back to running through techniques to take an attacker down. I know these lessons are for my benefit, to start from the basics, but Trace seems to forget that I learned all this growing up. Now that I remember, it’s only a matter of practise.

The entire day drags on, but the last bell finally rings, and I head straight to the science building. I think I have found a way to get closer to Chester. He has been the hardest to work out.

Creed can read me, but his passion is dead people, and I didn’t miss the way his eyes lit up when I asked to cut someone open. I have spent some time with Brennan, Trace, and Kai already, and I can easily read them. Chester is the enigma; where Marlow was mellow, Chester is different, darker. His pain is visible, lurking behind his whiskey-coloured eyes.

Approaching the staffroom, I hear raised voices coming from inside a nearby classroom. Poking my head in, I see Chester with a student pressed up against the wall, his hand wrapped around his neck. He must hear me gasp because he turns his head slightly.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I yell, rushing towards him. “You’re going to kill him.” I try to pry Chester’s fingers from around the guy’s neck but fail miserably. “Let him go,” I demand.

Chester releases his fingers, and the kid falls to the floor, gasping for breath. “Get out of here, and make sure you keep your eyes to yourself, or next time you’re going to wish for death.”

The kid doesn’t say anything, just scrambles to his feet and runs from the room. Chester and I stand in a stare off, and I blink first.

“Are you going to tell me what that was about?”

“No.”

“You were going to kill him.”

“So?”

“Are you fucking insane? First you kill your brother, now students at the school. What is wrong with your head?” I throw my hands up in exasperation.

“You’re what’s wrong with my head. You’re in there so damn deep and I can’t get you out. Do you know what it’s like to have no control over the way you feel about someone? You’re a fucking stranger to me now, and yet there you are, consuming my thoughts,” he says as he moves in closer to me. “I can smell your scent of cherry blossoms and toffee apples whenever you’re near, and it’s driving me insane. When I close my eyes, your beautiful ocean-coloured eyes stare back into my damn soul. I can’t escape you. I never asked for this.” His chest presses up against me, his heart pounding against my breasts.

I feel it too, and I hate myself for it.

“Do you know how sick it made me feel as a teenager to love you, a young girl? We were told we were your protectors, but my heart literally ached to be with you. That fucked with my head—you were a little girl!”

“I’m not a little girl anymore.” My voice is a whisper.

I now realise I’m going to have to use my body to get close to them, though I’m sure Brennan would have warned them already. I never had training for seducing someone; it came naturally to me. Sex was a way to feel loved. I need Team Zeus on my side to take down Mr Z. They hold all the knowledge and have years of research, but they’re not going to tell me shit unless they can trust me.

Chester’s hands slide up my face and his thumbs hook behind my ears as he leans down and presses his lips to mine. Our mouths move together, starting off slowly, then the kiss quickly turns passionate. His tongue rubs against mine and the feeling of his tongue ring is foreign, but I don’t hate it.

He pulls away abruptly, taking several steps back. “Fuck!” he swears, and mutters a few more unintelligible words under his breath. “You’re damn good. I’ll give you that.”

I snort. “You left yourself open. Me reminding you I’m not a little girl anymore was all it took.”

He stalks back towards me, his demeanour changing instantly. The darkness washes over him like a silk sheet, effortlessly, almost innately.

He backs me up against a wall and he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a flip knife. “Don’t mess with my head. I have no issues ending you.”

He runs the tip of the blade along my collarbone, and I smirk up at him. “Are you trying to convince me or yourself? You want to fuck me, but you know how much I hate you. So you would know if I was seducing you, but why would I want to do that?”

“What is it you want from me, Little Angel?” He runs the tip of the knife across my hardened nipple and a small gasp slips from my lips. “I know you’re turned on. Would you give in to your primal needs, knowing that I might not give you whatever it is you want?”

“Trace said that you’ve done all of Creed’s tattoos, but it’s an intimate process for you. Do I have to fuck you to get a tattoo?”

“What tattoo do you want?”

I expected him to say no, but it’s obvious my request intrigues him. “A forget-me-not above my collarbone.”

“Right here?” he asks, placing a kiss exactly where I want it. “You’re going to consume every single part of me, and I hope you’re ready for the consequences that come with that kind of love. It’s unhealthy and toxic, but I have no control over it—I’m powerless.”

“I can’t forgive you,” I pant out as he continues to kiss up my jaw.

“I can live with that,” he whispers against my skin. “That anger will keep you from losing yourself because my kind of love will eat you alive unless you have a way to ground yourself.”

“So you’ll do it?”

He nods as he licks my lips and pulls away, flicking his knife closed and putting it in his pocket.

I stand there completely dumbfounded that he just licked me, but he smirks down at me. The lust disperses and I’m left thinking about his words.

“Let’s go. I have to do it today or not at all.”

“What about my training?”

“It’s my day. We can do it at Creed’s.”

“Why Creed’s? Don’t you live with your grandmother?”

“I did, but I moved in with Creed recently. It makes sense since we’ll all live together once you finish school and Creed is the only one of us that doesn’t live with his parents or guardian.”

I wasn’t told that information. “When was someone planning on telling me that?”

“We didn’t want to push you, but it’s required that teams live together. Creed’s house is big enough for everyone to live in. It might not look as lavish from the outside, but it has like fifteen bedrooms. We always intended on all living together anyway. Normal teams—once reaching stage five—no longer have handlers that follow their every move, but they instead check in with one specific handler. Once a team graduates, their handler may end up with a handful of other teams to check in with and sign off on jobs. We were always destined to be with you one way or another.”

“I’ve been told so much mixed information that I think we need to have a meeting.”

He nods. “I’ll talk to Brennan. Meet me at Creed’s and we can do your tattoo.”

“Okay.”

I make myself leave before I end up doing something I’ll regret. My body responded to him in a way that scares me. If I go down that rabbit hole, I may never be able to claw my way back.

My phone buzzes on my way out. It’s the group chat.

Danika

Where are we meeting tonight?

Me

At the party. I’ll send you all the address later.

I type out a quick message to Colt—he started texting me after the guys died—and I realise I should also make an effort to talk to Summer tonight, since I’ve been avoiding her, and she has respected that. Her guys glare at me every time I walk past, and I ignore them, but I can’t blame her for any of this.

Making my way through the parking lot, I jump into Boston’s Viper, the outside world flying by as I speed back to the house. The Myers are away on yet another business trip, so I let myself inside. During the drive home, I’ve made up my mind. If this whole bonding stuff needs to happen, we really should rip the band-aid off and move in together now. It’ll give me a chance to make them all believe that I want to work as a team, when really I have zero intentions of sticking around once we take out Mr Z.

Heading up to my room, I pack as much as I can in one suitcase, knowing I can get the rest later. Brennan can talk to his parents and let them know what my plans are. I’m sure they’ll be fine with it since they’re never here anyway. Their business is important, and I wouldn’t want to hinder any of that by being needy and wanting them home all the time.

Once I have the essentials packed, I head back down the stairs, suitcase in tow. Petra is walking in the front door as I enter the foyer.

“Are you heading away on a trip?” she asks, looking at my suitcase.

“Moving, actually.”

“Oh no, is everything okay?” she asks, concerned.

“Everything is fine,” I say, mustering up a fake smile. “I’ve decided to go to the academy next year and they have housing for us and mine is ready now. So why wait, you know?”

I don’t know how much Petra knows, so a half lie works.

“That’s good. I’m so glad things are working out for you. It’s been lovely having you around the house.”

“I still plan to stop in for those cooking lessons. Can’t live on noodles and toast for my entire life.”

She laughs and rewards me with a bright smile. We say our goodbyes, and I head outside and throw my suitcase in the boot. I make a second trip for Rathew’s cage, but once I’ve got him situated safely in the front seat, I head to Creed’s house to break the news to them. Luckily for me, when I pull in, everyone’s cars are already here.

Unloading my bag, I walk up the stairs to the door. After I let myself in, I wander around the house until I find everyone in the kitchen seated around the table. They all look up as I enter the room.

“What’s in the bag?” Kai asks.

“If Chester is moving in, then so am I. Mr Z wants us to be a damn team, then so be it. Why wait until the end of the year?”

“You can’t just invite yourself to move in.” Trace smirks, clearly amused by my declaration.

“Yes, I can. Chester informed me we were all going to be living here anyway. What better way to bond? I can’t work on trying to be nice to you all if I’m avoiding you.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Creed adds.

“Oh, Kai, can you go get Rathew out of the car? His cage is heavy.”

“You brought the rat?” he asks.

“Of course I did. We can add him to the death noodles and naked cat.”

Kai smiles at that and heads outside.

Chester snorts. “The cat is weird as fuck.”

“Take that back!” Creed spits as he jumps up from his chair and puts Chester in a headlock.

“No, his naked balls sit all over the kitchen bench, and it’s gross.”

“Okay, boys, calm down. I need a bedroom, Creed. Preferably one that’s away from you guys.”

“It’s been sorted for years, Tenshi. Laughn had one wing of the house for him and the others, and I have a wing for me and the guys. That set of stairs,” he says, pointing to a closed door, “goes to a loft room which is yours.”

“That’s only eleven rooms. Chester said there are fifteen. What are the others?”

“There are a couple down on the main floor, one Chester and Kai will use for their tattoo studio, and there are also a few guest rooms.”

“Oh, well, let’s show me to my new room, then.”

Creed mockingly bows as Kai comes back just in time to follow us up to the room. The staircase in the kitchen is hidden behind a door that looks like a pantry. It’s a very narrow spiral set of stairs, and we all go up single file until we reach a door at the top and Creed pushes it open.

I stand in awe as I look around the room. The massive windows overlook the picturesque backyard. Holy shit, is that a lake? I didn’t realise there’s one at the back of the property. There is a couch facing the view out the window and bookshelves line the walls on either side.

I’ve noticed a gothic theme running through the house, and my room is not an exception. The walls are black and most of the furniture fits that theme. There is a large four-poster bed, the frame made of black wrought iron, and it rests against the back wall with fairy lights hanging behind it. My eye is then drawn to a white shag-pile rug in the centre of the room, and from there, to a vanity with a mirror against a wall between two doors. One leads to a walk-in closet, and the other appears to be an en suite.

“This is beautiful,” I whisper in awe, taking in the artwork on the walls.

“We started working on it years ago, with the hope you would be able to come back. It felt weird preparing the house for everyone and you not having a space,” Creed says, coming to stand behind me.

My skin instantly prickles with pain at the thought of being touched, but he leaves a small space between us. I relax within seconds, something only Creed can do.

“It’s perfect,” I whisper.

“Chester told me he’s going to tattoo you. You do know he is turned on by it, right?” Creed questions.

“Is that why he doesn’t do it often?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“And you two?”

“Also yes, Tenshi. We share a bond; we have similar gifts with emotions. Mine are mainly when it comes to you... Chester’s, however, are with everyone. I’m sure you’ll figure it out as time goes by.”

“Are you two, you know, together?”

His chest vibrates with laughter against my back. “No, just when he does my ink.”

“And the others?”

“I don’t think so, but you would have to ask them.”

“I’m not going to fuck him.” My statement is loud and clear, but it sounds weak even to my own ears.

“Mmhmm.”

“I’m serious.”

“What are you two whispering about over there?” Kai asks, interrupting the moment.

Creed takes a step back. “Chester agreed to tattoo Jolie.”

“You what?” Trace roars, stepping up to Chester, stabbing him in the chest with his finger. “You’re not touching her.”

“I think she’s more than ready,” he counters.

“You’re not doing it,” Brennan declares.

“You didn’t ask me?” Kai says, hurt lacing his voice.

Creed laughs from behind me.

“Will you all shut up? I’m not asking for your permission, Trace. I want Chester to do it. Kai, I did plan to ask you, but Creed’s tattoo on his back is amazing and I really want the grey. I love your work, Kai, and that’s why I am hoping you will start an arm sleeve for me in the future.”

He preens from my praise. “Ok, you’re forgiven.”

“Are you sure it’s what you want, Jolie?” Brennan asks.

I blow out a breath and nod.

“Are we all seriously just going to stand here and pretend that she isn’t going to screw Chester while we’re all here?” Trace snaps.

“If you don’t like it, you can leave!” Chester spits, his tone venomous, and the daggers he’s glaring towards Trace are sharp enough to cut anyone that gets in his way.

“Who says I’m going to screw him?” I interject before this can get any more out of hand.

“You’ll see, Tenshi.” Creed winks with a smile and leans in closer to me. “Just make sure you scream for me.”

“Well, this escalated quickly. All I want is a fucking tattoo in memory of your brothers and you’re all worried about who I’m going to fuck. Grow the hell up—all of you! If I do decide to sleep with anyone, that’s my business. I will not be controlled or told what to do by anyone.”

“This is bullshit!” Trace shouts and storms from the room.