Page 2

BLAISE

I arrive at my brother Phoenix’s place after my shift at the Keans’. I had to go home and shower first, feeling the need to wash those motherfuckers off me. It’s not easy protecting the people I know killed my parents.

The rest of my brothers, Phoenix, Ash, and Flint, are already there.

"Well, look who decided to grace us with his presence." Flint lounges on the leather sofa, feet propped up on the coffee table.

Ash raises an eyebrow from his perch by the window, studying me. “You survived.”

“Was there a question?”

“Just worried you might blow your cover.”

“I think you have me confused with Flint.”

Flint gives me the finger.

Phoenix emerges from the kitchen, a steaming mug in hand. “How’d it go?”

"Like taking candy from a baby." I shrug off my jacket, tossing it over a chair.

“No one recognized you?” Phoenix asks.

“Not a single person.” I take the mug from Phoenix. “For me? You shouldn’t have.”

He rolls his eyes but allows me to keep the cup of coffee.

“Are they still shitting their pants?” Flint asks.

“They’re cautious and keeping low… for now. Hampton is pissed, and Ronan is chomping at the bit to go on a rampage against anyone and everyone who looks sideways at them.”

“So what’s new? He always was an asshole.” Ash moves from the window to join us.

“What about the woman?” Phoenix asks, returning with another cup of coffee.

I think about Jenna and how she was nothing like I imagined. It’s difficult to reconcile the innocent looking woman with the traitor I know her to be. “I found her and introduced myself as one of the new soldiers. She didn’t show any signs of recognizing me either. She tends the gardens.”

"The same gardens her mother worked in at our estate?" Phoenix's jaw tightens.

I drop into an armchair, careful not to spill my coffee. "Yep. Still crushing on Ronan too, although I doubt he knows she exists.”

“Really? After she handed him the keys to our kingdom?” Ash’s eyes flash with heat, the same anger I feel.

“Yep. I have to admit, she’s not what I expected. She comes off as shy, innocent. She blushed a lot.”

"Don't." Flint's voice carries a warning. "Don't start humanizing her. She's one of the reasons our parents are dead."

"Trust me, I know. I intend to make her pay as well. I don’t think it would take much to woo her away from Ronan.” I’m sure I saw interest or at least intrigue in her pretty green eyes as I flirted.

Flint’s eyes narrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

"Just stick to the plan," Phoenix says. "Get close to Kean’s people and find out everything you can about the operation.”

“Oh, I’ll get close.”

“Jesus, you’re not into her, are you?” Ash glares at me.

“What? No,” I say, perhaps a little too forcefully. I mean, I’m not into her like Flint is into his wife, Lucy. Is there an attraction? Sure. Jenna is pretty. She’s got a hot little body. I’m a man, after all.

“The last thing we need is you falling for the woman who helped the Keans take everything from us,” Ash warns.

The reminder stings, but he's right. I can't let myself forget why I'm doing this. Jenna Hart might look sweet and innocent, but appearances can be deceiving. I should know. I'm counting on that very fact.

“Fuck that,” I say. “I haven’t forgotten that she handed Ronan exactly what he needed, wrapped up in a pretty bow. It’s hard to look at her and not want to—” I don’t finish the sentence.

Phoenix arches a brow. “You need to dial it back or she'll sense something's wrong."

Flint nods. "He's right. One slip and our whole plan falls apart. We can't afford mistakes."

"I know what I'm doing. Trust me, she won't see anything but what I want her to see."

"Really?" Ash narrows his eyes at me like he doesn’t believe me.

“Yes, really.” I glare at him. “I’m going to kill her with kindness.

I’m going to make her fall for me. Hard.

Show her everything she thinks she wants in Ronan Kean.

Then when she's completely invested, I'll let her discover exactly who I am and watch her whole world crumble when she realizes what she did to us. "

"Jesus." Flint shakes his head. "That's cold, even for you."

"It's what she deserves.”

"And you're sure you can keep your cool long enough to pull this off?"

I meet Ash's skeptical gaze. "I've waited ten years for this. I can wait a little longer."

But Ash just shakes his head, unconvinced. "Just remember, we need information more than we need revenge at this point. Don't let your personal vendetta compromise that."

I roll my eyes. “This entire mission of ours is a vendetta. I know what I’m doing. Besides, it will be easy. All I have to do is give her a little attention.”

"And you think that'll work?" Flint crosses his arms.

"You didn't see her face when I flirted.

One smile, and she lit up like a Christmas tree.

" I can't help the cruel twist of satisfaction in my gut.

"She's starved for attention. Ronan's spent years ignoring her, treating her like she's invisible.

I'll be everything he's not, attentive, caring, interested in her precious flowers. "

Ash’s expression darkens. "You're playing with fire."

"No I’m not. Besides, what better way to hurt the Keans than to turn their most loyal servant against them? When she falls for me, she'll spill every secret she knows."

"This kind of manipulation…" Ash shakes his head. "It's risky. Personal. You could lose objectivity."

"I won't." My voice hardens, wondering why Ash is being such an ass about this. "Every time I look at her, all I see is our parents' blood on her hands. She might act pure as snow, but she's just as guilty as Ronan."

"And what happens when you have to get close to her?" Ash pushes. "When you have to kiss her, make her believe you're falling for her too?"

"Then I'll give the performance of my life." I spread my arms wide. "After all, she taught us how convincing an innocent face can be."

“Just be careful,” Phoenix says. “Your being in the house is already a huge risk should anyone recognize you. Don’t push your luck.”

“You two worry like old ladies. I know what I’m doing.” I rise from my chair and go to put my cup in the kitchen, ready to go home and get a few Zs. It’s been a long night.

Flint enters the kitchen after me. "You're walking down a dangerous path, Blaise."

God, not him too? “My being at the Keans’ is part of the plan?—”

“Seducing the gardener isn’t.”

"Save the lecture. I know what I'm doing." I set my cup in the sink.

"Do you?" His voice drops. “Because revenge could be clouding your judgment. Trust me, I know how vengeance can?—”

“If my judgement was off, I’d have tried to kill Ronan already. I’ve had the chance.”

“And the woman? You’re really going to fuck her as punishment?”

I never said anything about fucking her, although I suppose that could happen if my plan worked.

“Her punishment will be to have her heart broken. It’s less than she deserves, or have you forgotten what she did?”

He shrugs. “I haven’t forgotten, but she was practically a kid. Maybe she wasn’t aware of what she was doing.”

“You and I did all sorts of bad things as kids. Do you think we didn’t know what we were doing?”

He blows out a breath. “No, but?—”

“No, but nothing. I’ve got this, Flint.”

“I just…” Flint runs a hand over his face. "What you’re doing is dangerous, and if you let the revenge take over, it can twist you up.”

"I learned from your mistakes." I set my hand on his shoulder. "No emotional outbursts. No impulsive decisions. I'll be the perfect gentleman, gain her trust, and extract every bit of information we need."

He stares at me squarely in the eyes. "And the cost to your soul?"

"My soul?" I bark out a laugh. "That burned with our parents."

"Blaise—”

"I appreciate the concern. But we’ve planned this for ten years. I'm not going to let feelings get in the way."

"That's what I said too."

"The difference is, I mean it. Jenna isn’t like Lucy. Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be home helping with that new boy of yours?”

His smile is swift and wide. “Yeah, I should.”

Good, because I’m done with this conversation.

Even so, his words stick with me after I leave and head back to my place.

My brother might have found love in the midst of seeking vengeance, but I'm different.

More controlled. More focused. And while Jenna might look sweet and innocent, I know the truth.

The blood of my parents is on her hands.

At home, I grab a sandwich and scroll through my phone looking at the notes I have on Jenna Hart. Every detail of her life is mapped out like coordinates on a battle map. Her mother's declining health, her financial struggles, her work schedule at the Kean estate.

Tomorrow, I’ll ask her out, I decide. I’ll play the role of the charming new guard who sweeps her off her feet.

I’ll listen to her talk about her plants, ask about her sick mother, pretend to care about her hopes and dreams, a masterclass in manipulation designed to make her believe she's finally found someone who sees her.

And when she's completely invested, when she's given me every secret, every weakness, every vulnerable piece of herself, that's when I'll reveal the truth.

I'll watch those green eyes fill with horror as she realizes who I really am. I’ll watch her perfect world crumble as she understands exactly what she did to my family.

Some might call it cruel, this calculated destruction of an innocent soul. But Jenna Hart lost any claim to innocence the day she helped murder my parents. My revenge will be just as beautifully packaged.

Let her think she's found her fairy tale. I'll be her Prince Charming right up until the moment I become her nightmare.