Page 3

Adonis

T he security monitors flickered with over a dozen bodies watching the Hawthorne estate. My gaze pinged from screen to screen, cataloging every shadow and tracking each movement. I instinctively marked all the exits, ensuring an armed guard was at each post. I’d had heightened alertness ever since that fateful night. Now, I noticed shit I would’ve brushed off in the past. The perimeter fence on the east side needed reinforcing, and more floodlights needed to be installed for optimal night vision. I made a mental note, already forming my plan as I prepared to meet with Xenobia to review the latest safety precautions. My heart quickened as random memories of our first stolen kiss flooded the forefront of my mind. It had been a moment of weakness, her lips soft and yielding against mine. The taste of her lingered still whenever I closed my eyes.

A soft knock broke my concentration, and I pushed the forbidden thoughts away. “Come in,” I announced.

My feet remained rooted to the ground as my heart somersaulted in my chest. Xenobia sauntered inside with a quiet grace and simmering defiance, standing at the back of the security room wearing a black sweater dress that stopped just above her knees, and her arms crossed.

“New protocols,” I said, my voice gruff as I cleared my throat. “You need to know them, especially while your father is away.”

Xenobia’s eyebrow arched. “Now? I’m first-aid and CPR certified. Shouldn’t that be enough?”

I sighed, running a hand over the tattoo on my nape. “Can’t waste time, Nobi. The Toussaints are getting bolder. Now isn’t the time to take chances.”

“How do you have all this intel on the Toussaints anyway?”

“I have connections.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Sure, fine. Whatever.”

As I outlined the new security measures, my mind wandered. I remembered how she looked at me that night, vulnerable yet fierce. How I’d ached to protect her, to keep her safe from the darkness that surrounded us both.

“No leaving the grounds without an escort,” I continued, forcing myself back to the present. “All visitors have to be vetted forty-eight hours in advance. And the code to the panic room—”

Xenobia rolled her eyes skyward for the second time. “I know the code, and I know how to use the damn panic room, Adonis,” she snapped.

I met her gaze, seeing the frustration there. The longing for freedom. It mirrored my desire to break free from duty and expectation. But we were both trapped—she by her family name, me by my vow to keep her safe. She could protest all she wanted, but a boring life was better than death. Whether she knew it or not, she needed me.

“Look, I know this shit ain’t easy,” I said softly. “But please, Xenobia. Work with a nigga here.”

For a moment, I thought I saw something soften in her eyes. A flicker of understanding. Then it was replaced by that familiar steel I was always met with.

“Fine,” she replied. “Anything else you need to mansplain to me?”

I shook my head, watching as she turned to leave. Her lavender and jasmine-scented perfume lingered, a bittersweet reminder of what could never be. I turned back to the monitors, pushing down the ache in my chest.

Part of me—a dark, selfish part I hated—relished the thought of her safe and close in my arms, where I could always protect her. Where I could pretend, just for a moment, that she was mine. In the silence, I allowed my mind to roam back to that day—the sweet taste of her soft, full lips and her soft skin under my calloused hands. I hadn’t been a soldier or guardian for one perfect moment. I’d just been a man, holding the woman he... No. I couldn’t let myself go down that road again. I was here to protect her, nothing more. Taking her virginity had been a mistake, a moment of weakness we both regretted.

Didn’t we?

I kept a watchful eye on Xenobia all day while also keeping my distance so I didn’t have to hear her complain about me breathing down her neck or blaming me for clipping her wings. As the stars began to populate in the night sky, my phone buzzed with a text. It reminded me of my other responsibilities—ensuring things ran smoothly in my absence in my father’s territory.

With a glance around to ensure no one was watching, I slipped out of the Hawthorne mansion, blending into the shadows. I knew the risks of leaving my post, but I had to show my face so as not to blow my cover. I moved at high speed through the city streets with all five senses on high alert.

After arriving at my father’s territory, I found Luca and a few of my father’s men assembled and ready to discuss the latest developments. I stepped in, my menacing presence instantly commanding respect. I led the meeting, listening with intent while offering counsel. They ensured everything was under control and running to my liking. My father had put me in charge of a territory that already ran like a well-oiled machine, but my occasional pop-ins were crucial to ensure everyone’s respect never wavered.

At the close of my visit, I checked in with Luca one last time to ensure everything was on track before heading back to the mansion. When I arrived, my mind had shifted back to my primary duty of protecting Xenobia. I slipped back into the security room to double-check the cameras, ensuring everyone was at their posts before my final walk-through, and retired to my room. A wave of satisfaction washed over me as I realized I’d fulfilled my responsibilities without compromising Xenobia’s safety or blowing my cover.For now, at least.

The interruption from the night guard made me rage. Xenobia had tried to slip past the iron gates that had been reinforced to keep her safe. My hands clenched into fists, dull nails biting into my palms. Of course, it was the one time I actually fell asleep, trusting my team to keep her within the perimeter. Imagine my fucking surprise when I was woken up by a phone call at two o’clock in the morning, alerting me to her attempted escape.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I barked at her, my voice low and dangerous as I approached her in the garden. “Are you trying to get yourself fuckin’ killed?”

Xenobia whirled around, eyes flashing wide as she caught my gaze. She wore a strappy black mini dress with the back cut out and accessorized it with gold hoop earrings and strappy black heels. “I was thinking I’m going to go out and enjoy my fucking life for once.”

“At two in the fuckin’ morning? You could’ve been killed!” I roared, feeling the words rip from my throat. “Do you have any idea what’s out there? What they’d do to you dressed the way you are?”

She stepped closer, chin raised in defiance like it always fuckin’ was. “I’m twenty-four. I don’t always make the smart choice every time. But I’m smart enough to know I can take care of myself,” she confirmed before flashing me a small pistol strapped to her thigh.

The sight of it made me chuckle. “Like hell you can with that baby ass gun.” My hands itched to grab her shoulders and shake some sense into her stupid ass. To pull her close and never let go. “You have no idea what you’re up against.”

Xenobia’s scoff was brittle. “And you do? Last time I checked, you weren’t bulletproof, Adonis. You’re just… you .”

Just me. The words stung more than they should’ve. I was her protector, her shadow, nothing more. Why the fuck wasn’t I okay with that?

“Let’s get one thing straight. I’m the one keeping your ass alive,” I declared, my voice rough with emotions I couldn’t name. “You need to fuckin’ be grateful and listen more than you speak.”

Xenobia’s eyes narrowed, a devious smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. “I’m never going to make this easy on you. You wanna come running home like a lost pup when Daddy calls, then I’m gonna make you work for every fucking penny.”

I opened my mouth to retort when my phone buzzed. Fuck. I shouldn’t have answered for Luca, but curiosity overrode everything else.

“What?” I barked into the receiver, keeping my eyes locked on Xenobia.

Luca’s voice on the other end was hushed and urgent. “Adonis. Your father’s men are on the move. He’s officially put a hit out on Xenobia. It’s happening soon.”

My blood ran cold. I ended the call without a word, my mind galloping with one dreadful thought after another. The threat I’d been warning Don Hawthorne about for months was finally here, and Xenobia was standing in front of me, beautiful, defiant, and vulnerable all rolled into one. Thank God Don had the foresight to bring me back before he left the state. Even if he hadn’t, I’d have been here.

No one would take my Nobi from me.

“We’re done here,” I established, my voice harsher than intended. “Get in the fuckin’ house. Now.”

Xenobia’s eyes widened slightly, picking up on the shift in my tone. I thought she might argue for a moment, but something in my expression must have warned her off. She turned toward the house, her clicking steps measured and deliberate.

I watched her go, my heart pounding as I resisted the urge to pull her dress up over her waist and bury myself deep inside her. How badly I wanted to grab her and press my lips against hers, forcing her to feel the things she’d long buried. I’d sworn to protect her, but how could I when my feelings were compromising everything? My father’s men were closing in; that was a fact, and I didn’t have time to sit in the what ifs. I’d made my bed and lay in it as soon as the threat was neutralized.

I barreled into the security room, my mind a flurry of strategies and contingencies. The monitors flickered with scenes from around the estate. I barked orders to my team, my voice tight with barely contained tension.

“Double the patrols. I want eyes on every inch of this place. If a squirrel so much as chomps a nut wrong, I want to fuckin’ know about it. No one takes breaks. If you need to piss, whip it out and piss where you are. Sleep breaks will be in four-hour increments, and you do not leave until your relief has taken position. Understood?”

My comms crackled with a chorus of affirmations. My fingers flew over the keyboard, adjusting camera angles and recalibrating motion sensors. Each click felt like a ticking clock, counting down to an inevitable confrontation. My father’s army wasn’t as powerful as the Hawthornes had once been after retaliating for the death of Xenobia’s family members, but recently, they’d been gaining ground, offering power and promise to any young mothafucka who’d fall in line. Taking Xenobia out would all but ensure the destruction of the Hawthornes.

“I’m gonna go get some coffee. You need some?” I asked Titus, my second in command, as I stood.

“Nah, boss, I’m good,” he confirmed, barely sparing a glance at me as I turned and left.

I wandered the halls, drawn to the east wing where our bedrooms were. The sun was rising, and the maids were already awake, bustling around, cooking and cleaning. The kitchen was alive with the smells of freshly baked biscuits and sizzling bacon, but I didn’t care. I kept wandering until I stood in front of her room. The door was ajar, and I saw Xenobia’s silhouette in her window with a glass of wine in hand. I considered saying something about it but didn’t. It had to be five o’clock somewhere.

She was so damn gorgeous. Even from where I stood, I could see the tension in her shoulders, how she carried herself like she was always ready for a fuckin’ squabble. My throat went dry as I watched her, remembering how it felt to hold her once upon a time, to taste her… to love her. I should’ve left, but instead, my fists clenched. I couldn’t look away. She looked so damn sad, and I knew it was partially because of me.

Xenobia turned, catching sight of me. For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then she raised her glass in a mocking toast, her lips curving into that smirk that always got under my skin. I wanted to go to her. To scale that fucking wall she’d built around her heart and smash through the cracks if I had to. To feel her skin under my hands, to—

“Sir?” One of my men approached, snapping me out of my thoughts. “The night patrol is ready to switch out. It’s your shift.”

I cleared my throat, forcing myself back to reality before I closed her door. “Right. Let’s go.”

As night fell, I prowled the grounds outside, hyperaware of every shadow and rustle of leaves. The air felt thick and heavy, like something was coming. My hand strayed to my Glock, fingertips brushing the cool black metal for reassurance.

But all I could think about was Xenobia, alone in that room, vulnerable. Strong as she was, she didn’t know what was out there. The last man who’d attempted to take her life was a rookie. Someone with something to prove. But this time, my father’s men wouldn’t take it easy. They’d finish the job. She had no idea what kind of monsters were hunting her.

Monsters like me, maybe. Because, fuck knows, I was no better than the animals I was protecting her from. Not when it came to her.

I leaned against the cold stone wall of the pool house, my eyes scanning the darkness. Every beat of my heart felt like a betrayal. Thump. I was her protector. Thump. I was her brother’s childhood friend, for fuck’s sake. Thump. I was the reason her family was attacked. Thump. I still want her to be mine.

The memory of our time flooded me. It was right here, in this godforsaken pool. It was a perfect day. I’d tried to hold back my feelings, and then…

“You don’t understand,” she’d spat, those fierce eyes boring into me. “You can do whatever the fuck you want.”

I’d grabbed her then, forgetting everything I shouldn’t be feeling. “The only thing I want to do is kiss you, Nobi.”

“Then do it.”

And then we were kissing, all tongue and feelings and want. It was wrong, so fucking wrong, but it felt like coming home. She’d roamed my body with her hands as I set her on the edge of the pool, tugging at the waistband of her bikini bottoms. I shook my head, trying to rid the thoughts. That was then. This is now. I had a job to do.

“I can’t keep doing this,” I muttered while running a hand over my beard. “I can’t protect her if I can’t fuckin’ think straight.”

But even as I said it, I knew it was all bullshit. I’d burn down the world for her if I thought it would keep her safe. I’d destroy myself if it came to that. And that terrified me more than any threat outside the Hawthorne walls.

I pushed off from the wall, squaring my shoulders. Whatever happened, whatever I felt, I’d do my duty and keep her safe, even if it meant never touching her again.

“Bring it on, mothafuckas,” I whispered to the night. “I’m ready for you.”

As I made my final round of the estate, the shadows seemed to lengthen, reaching out with long, grasping fingers. The air grew thick and heavy with an unnatural stillness that made my jaw tighten. Something wasn’t right. I paused by the rose garden, Xenobia’s second favorite spot. The crimson flowers looked almost black in the moonlight. A twig snapped somewhere in the darkness, and I whirled, hand trained on my gun.

“Who the fuck is there?” I called out, my voice a venomous growl.

Silence answered me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. My skin crawled, every instinct screaming danger. I looked around, trying to find the source, only to see my team walking their stations.

It's probably just a rabbit.

I turned to head back inside, and a flicker of movement caught my eye. There, just beyond the gate—a figure, barely visible in the gloom. It vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving me to wonder if I’d imagined it in my paranoia. My phone buzzed in my pocket, making me jump. A text from an unknown number:

Unknown: Tick tock, watchdog. How long can you keep her safe?

I stared at the screen, my blood running cold. My father’s men were here, closer than I’d thought. Somebody knew my secret and was fuckin’ with me. As I hurried back to the house, the night seemed to press in around me, full of unseen threats and whispered promises of violence to come. The game had changed, and I feared none of us were ready for what was coming.