Page 27 of Obsessive Love (The King #1)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sophia

" Y ou're looking really well, darling. I hope that means that your new husband is treating you right," my mother says as she watches me shove another forkful of spaghetti into my mouth.

"She's looking well because her husband is quite literally never around. Therefore, she's not stressed out or having to fake anything."

My mother looks at Jaylen and frowns.

"He's never around?" she asks, looking between us as we continue to eat. We shake our heads in unison, too busy eating to reply with words. "Well, I assume he's busy with work and everything."

"It's not like it matters, Mum. We both understand that this marriage is a farce and there's nothing between us, so he can work all day, every day if he wants to. It won't make a difference to me," I tell her, shrugging.

From my peripheral vision, I see Jaylen push away his plate of food and check his watch again for the fifth time in the past hour.

"You got somewhere to be, Jay?" I ask, turning to him with raised brows, wondering what he's not telling me.

"We do, yeah," he says, waiting for my mother to take his plate over to the sink before he leans forward to continue speaking to me in a hushed tone. "Kaleb's told me he wants us back at Jericho's by eight."

"We have a curfew now?" I scoff, shaking my head. "There's no way we're going back by eight. Imagine the smug look on his face if we listened to his orders like a pair of little bitches."

"Soph, you know I'd usually agree with you, but he wants us home so that he can guarantee you're safe all night whilst he and Jericho are busy doing some business shit. You know what that means, right?" he asks with a mischievous smile on his face.

"We'll be alone in the house and have a chance to snoop around," I whisper, glancing over at my mother as she places the now-clean plate on the drying rack.

He nods, confirming that I've put the pieces together.

"I thought you didn't want to sneak around anymore?"

He rolls his eyes and scoffs. "They're basically telling us to, by informing us that they're going out all night. I can't get caught if they're not there."

"Okay, let me finish off this plate of spaghetti and then we'll go."

"Darling, that's your third plate. If you eat any more, you're going to make yourself sick," my mother says as she walks back over.

She cringes as I exaggeratedly eat another mouthful.

"Don't judge me. I haven't had an appetite for the past week, leave me alone and let me eat in peace."

Her brows furrow and she watches me with questioning eyes for a few moments before shaking her head and busying herself by flicking through the magazine in front of her.

It's two minutes to eight when we pull up in the driveway and as Jaylen parks the car, I stare out the window, watching Leo, Jericho, and Kaleb load up the back of the car with multiple black cases and duffel bags.

"Wondering what's in there?" Jaylen asks, humour laced in his tone. I nod, keeping my eyes on Kaleb as he zips up his black jacket. "Probably just weapons and supplies, nothing exciting."

"Weapons and supplies?" I echo, glancing at Jaylen.

"Yeah. They said they're out all night, following a lead or something, so I think it's safe to assume they're going after some of the Garcia family. Therefore, they'll need weapons and supplies."

I look back at Kaleb, watching as he loads the last few cases into the car, and a pang of worry courses through me.

"Honestly, Soph, I don't know why you look surprised," Jaylen says, chuckling. "Our family is exactly the same. It's just like when me, Dominic and your dad used to go out. Also, Kaleb is basically the enforcer for the Rossi's, so if he's going anywhere with them, then you know they expect it to be dangerous and messy."

"I guess I never really thought of it like that," I mutter. I slowly get out of Jaylen's car with my stomach in knots as I think about Kaleb and Jericho putting themselves in a dangerous situation tonight. I'm surprised by my own reaction and confused as to why I seem to be so worried about two men that I shouldn't care less about.

When I close the car door, Kaleb turns and his attention lands on me. His eyes scan my body from head to toe and a small smile graces his face as his eyes work their way back up. I ignore the butterflies that swarm inside my stomach when his eyes meet mine and I refuse to acknowledge the warmth that seeps through my bones when he walks towards me and lightly strokes his thumb against the palm of my hand.

"Thank you for being home by eight, dolcezza ," he says, his smooth voice and the hint of an Italian accent when he uses my nickname causes heat to bloom in my cheeks.

"I didn't really have a choice, did I?" I retort, acting as if I'm completely unaffected by our close proximity.

He smirks and shakes his head.

"Seems like you're finally starting to understand how things are going to be."

I roll my eyes and side-step him, wanting to create some distance between us.

"Sophia," he calls out, stopping me in my tracks. "That's a nice hairclip, by the way. It really suits you."

I turn to face him with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows as my hand reaches into my hair and my fingers brush against the butterfly clip.

"What did you say?"

A crazed smile appears on his face and he winks at me as he walks over to Jericho's car, getting in the passenger side. I glance over at Jericho, who's standing next to the driver's side and he shrugs at me.

"Don't look at me for answers. He confuses me just as much as he confuses you." He opens the door and before he gets inside, he looks back at me with a ghost of a smile on his face. "I'm glad you came home in time. It'll save us both from worrying about you whilst we're out."

He slips into the car, Leo following suit and then a minute later, they drive down the pebbled driveway towards the gate.

"What the fuck was all of that about?" Jaylen asks.

"I honestly have no idea," I mutter, shaking my head and pulling myself out of my confused stupor. "I need to go and check something. Come on." I rush up the stairs and through the front door, throwing a quick 'hello' over my shoulder when I see Myra in the foyer buttoning her coat.

"There's some food in the fridge for you to heat up if you get hungry!" she calls out.

"Thanks, Myra! I'll make sure it's all gone by the morning," Jaylen says as he follows me up the stairs.

I charge into my room and head straight for the bedside cabinet, pulling open the drawer and grabbing the note from inside. My eyes scan across the words and my eyes go wide in shock when I read the last sentence.

"That motherfucker!" I shout, shaking my head in disbelief. I slam the note back into the drawer and grab the clip, planning to do the same with that, but as my eyes coast over the butterfly with the slight purple tint, I decide against hiding it away and instead clip it back into my hair.

"What's going on?" Jaylen asks, walking into my room as he pulls a black balaclava over his face, tucking it into the turtleneck jumper that he's changed into.

Seeing him stare at me with wide eyes through the slit in the balaclava has me folding over as I fall into a fit of laughter, slapping my hands against my thighs as tears gather in my eyes.

"Jay, what the fuck are you wearing," I choke out between bouts of laughter.

"Well, they might have cameras, so I thought the masks would help. I have one for you too," he states, pulling another mask out of his pocket. I fall onto the bed, cackling loudly as tears begin sliding down my cheeks.

It takes me a few minutes to compose myself, but when I do, I shake my head and take the balaclava from him.

"We're not wearing those, Jay. No one's home, so I'm pretty sure that if they have cameras, they'll know who the two people in balaclavas are. It'd be pointless wearing them, so please, throw them away."

He huffs as he walks over to the bin and wrestles off the balaclava before throwing it in.

"Would you have worn it if I bought a purple one?"

"Probably," I tell him, shrugging.

"Dammit!"

I giggle as I walk past him, opening my bedroom door and poking my head into the hall, listening to the silence of the house.

"There are still guards outside, but the inside is empty. Jericho and Kaleb are out, and Myra was leaving as we came in. We should be all good," Jaylen whispers from beside me, making me jump in surprise.

I swat his arm, scowling at him.

"Don't sneak up on me. You're gonna give me a heart attack."

"Maybe that's my plan," he grumbles, rolling his eyes as he walks past me and saunters down the hallway towards the stairs.

"Yeah, right," I scoff, following after him. "You'd be bored without me, Jay."

"Bored but happy." he retorts sarcastically.