Page 25 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family

Chapter

Fifteen

Baylyn.

Emir and I settled into a routine of coexisting in his space.

After meeting his parents, something shifted between us, but neither of us discussed it.

I could, however, feel the attachment we shared.

It wasn’t just me. He had no issues proving that our worlds being linked wasn’t a coincidence, it was intentional.

He drove me to and from work and on the rare occasion that I did drive, he checked in throughout the day. He sent me food from my favorite places and at night we chilled at his house, moving in sync like this was our regular routine.

When I told him I needed more clothes, he casually offered to send someone to clear out my place and bring everything I owned to his but I shut that down because this was moving too fast.

He agreed to pull up and help me pack a few things, which I knew for him meant, instead of paying someone to empty my apartment, he planned on doing it himself.

When Emir parked outside my building and cut the engine I reached for my keys and stepped out, with my thoughts still on our conversation from the car. His words played in my head on repeat.

There’s nothing wrong with us moving fast if it feels right. You’re mine, Baylyn. If you need time to make peace with that, you got it… as long as you’re working through that shit where I have access to you.

This man was a whole problem but one I was getting used to having as a permanent fixture in my life. I glanced at him as we walked up the steps to my apartment, but his expression was stoic.

I unlocked the door, pushed it open, and froze. The apartment was destroyed.

Cushions lay in pieces with the fabric ripped apart. My coffee table was flipped and the contents of my bookshelf were scattered across the floor. Cabinet doors hung open with the dishes shattered on the floor.

For a second, I didn’t move. My brain struggled to catch up with what my eyes were seeing. Emir’s arm came across my stomach, holding me back before I could fully step inside.

His body tensed while he scanned the wreckage. In one smooth motion, he drew his gun from his waist and moved me out the way.

“Stay here.”

I barely heard him because my pulse was pounding in my ears as I stared at the chaos.

“Baylyn.” His voice snapped me out of it. “Stay the fuck here.”

I wrapped my arms around myself as he moved forward, stepping over broken glass.

He cleared the living room first, then disappeared into my bedroom. I stood frozen in the doorway with my breathing unsteady and fingers digging into my arms.

When Emir came back, his expression was hard. “No one’s here.” He tucked the gun away and searched my face. “You okay?”

“No.” I walked inside, stepping over things. “Why would someone do this?”

He didn’t answer right away. His eyes swept the destruction, taking it all in. “Just to fuck with you. They weren’t looking for anything.”

“What do you mean?”

His jaw tightened. “This wasn’t about robbing you. They wanted to send a message.”

He stood, towering over me. “Get what you need and I’ll take you back to my house.

” He lifted a hand to my cheek and I leaned into it before I sighed and headed toward my bedroom, carefully stepping over stuff.

My hands were still trembling from being so angry about my space being violated while Emir was on the phone, speaking lowly to someone.

I packed in silence, grabbing essentials, shoving them into my bag with more force than necessary.

Every drawer I pulled open annoyed me because I was stuck on the thought of someone being here.

This was my space and someone had gone through my personal things, violating my home.

When I was done and back in the living room, Emir met me, grabbing my bags as he balanced his phone against his ear.

“Yeah, get here as soon as you can.” He kept his eyes on me, looking calm but his voice was agitated.

I didn’t have to ask who he was talking to. His brothers.

He ended the call and turned to me. “Yair and Kades are on their way. They’re close though. You okay with waiting until they get here?”

When I didn’t say anything he dropped my bags on the table in the kitchen since it was the only surface that didn’t have broken glass. He grabbed my wrist, moving his thumb over the inside of it. “You good?”

“Yeah. Just pissed.”

The thought of someone stalking me to fuck with Emir pissed me off more than it had me scared. Most of that was because I had him and I knew with certainty, no one was touching me as long as he was around.

“Good. That’s better than being scared.”

“You told me not to be scared because you got me so I’m good.”

He nodded. “You sure?”

Before I could respond, a knock at the door made me jump. Emir pulled his gun again, stepping in front of me before checking to see who was outside. He unlocked the door, swung it open, and stepped aside.

Yair and Kades walked in, both of them taking in the apartment with identical scowls.

Jesus these damn men where fine as shit…

Kades brushed a hand over his head. “Fuck, they tore your shit up.”

Yair scanned the place with his jaw tight. “Spent time on it too.”

Emir shut the door behind them and crossed his arms. “They weren’t looking for anything. Just making a statement.”

Yair dropped his bag onto the counter and pulled out his laptop, flipping it open. “I’ll check the cameras.”

I frowned. “What cameras?”

Kades crouched near the overturned coffee table, pulling out a small handheld device from his pocket.

“Nearby buildings have security feeds,” Yair said, adjusting something on the screen. “And I’m also gonna check for any bugs or hidden cameras this asshole might’ve left behind.”

“You think they planted something in here?”

The thought of someone watching me made my skin crawl.

Kades shrugged. “You’d be surprised how often people do.” He glanced up, giving me a reassuring smirk. “Don’t worry, we got you though.”

He handed an identical device to Emir and the two of them moved around the space with a trained focus while Yair’s fingers moved quickly over his keyboard.

“Footage from the last twelve hours is clean but I don’t trust it.

I’ll keep digging. He could have put it on a loop and it might take me some time to find it.

” He clicked something with his brows drawing together.

“There’s a three-hour gap where the exterior cameras were down. ”

Emir’s jaw flexed. “That’s not a coincidence.”

“Whoever did this knew what they were doing.” Yair gripped the back of his neck. “I’m going to check satellite cameras and the other ones nearby. I have to hack them though to get access.”

I hugged myself, still staring at the mess. “There’s nothing on camera?”

Yair shook his head. “Not yet but I’ll find it.”

Emir cursed under his breath and pulled out his phone again. “I’m getting someone over here. We’ll get the place cleaned up, add new locks, and get security installed.”

Kades stood and shook his head. “No bugs or cameras in here.”

Yair shut his laptop. “You know this shit wasn’t about spying. He wanted a reaction.”

Emir glanced at me. “I’m fine.”

When he didn’t speak, Kades grinned. “She’s good, Mir. Relax, damn.”

Emir ignored him and focused on me. “You don’t have to be okay, but I do need you to trust that you’re good with me.”

“I know.”

Emir brushed his fingers under my chin, tilting my face up. “Let me get you out of here.”

He leaned down and kissed me, my shoulders dropped, and I relaxed.

“Okay.”

Yair shut his laptop and slung his bag over his shoulder. “I’m gonna head out to see what I can find. I’ll let you know if I find anything else.”

Kades packed up the devices he and Emir were using to check for bugs then looked at me. “You know it’s not just him. Me and Yair are on this shit too and we’re not gonna let anything happen to you.”

Emir lifted my bags from the kitchen table, grabbed my keys, and led me toward the door.

He didn’t say anything as we walked out, but his presence and energy were everything.

Someone was going to have to deal with him and even though I knew what that could look like, I didn’t feel one ounce of remorse.

Emir lay on his back in the living room, his hands gripping my thighs as I straddled his waist. Today had be a lot, but here, like this, with his touch grounding me, things didn’t feel so weighted.

I sighed, tilting my head. “I don’t know how I should feel about all this.”

His fingers moved in a lazy motion gliding over my skin. “You can feel however you want, and it will be valid.”

I frowned, looking down at him. “Is this normal?”

He shook his head. “Nah. Not really. The circles I move in are tight. The people are structured because we have rules. It’s never personal. It’s always about the money.”

I studied him, the relaxed way he lay here like this conversation wasn’t about life or death. Like he wasn’t explaining a world I had no business being a part of but had willingly walked into anyway.

“Then why is this guy doing all this?” I asked.

Emir brushed a hand over his head. “Because he’s too damn lazy to invest the time into being good.” His thumbs pressed into my skin, firm but soothing. “It’s always been about the money for him, not the job. When you care more about the money, you get messy.”

I stayed quiet, letting him continue.

“He messed up enough times for people to take notice and that hurt his pockets. When that happened, instead of doing what he needed to gain their trust again, he blamed me.”

I frowned. “Why would he blame you?”

Emir grinned arrogantly. “Because when he messed up, I was the one they called to fix that shit.”

I bit my lip, thinking that over.

“What’s on your mind, Baylyn?”

“You’re good at…you know.” I made a gun motion with my fingers.

Emir chuckled.

“And I’m glad that you are, which is…” I hesitated, searching for the right word but he responded instead.

“Twisted shit.”

“Very twisted considering what you do.”