Page 10 of One Dark Kiss (Grimm Bargains #2)

TEN

Alexei

T he fact that she thinks a locked door will keep her safe from me is adorable.

Last night, I barely slept, unaccustomed to actual silence and a soft bed.

Silence doesn t exist in prison. On the rare nights when nobody talked to themselves or yelled in maniacal fits, snores and sleepy grunts still filled the air.

I m used to remaining alert at all times and, apparently, it s going to take time to dream again.

Yet sleeping with a snuggling woman in my arms provided a peace I haven t experienced in way too long. Or perhaps, it s just my woman. I don t remember ever feeling peace like this.

For now, I choose not to examine why I didn t push things with her the night before. I could have. Shit, it s been years since I fucked a woman. But touching her this morning was all about her pleasure.

So much so that she tempts me to be somebody else. Not a killer. It can t happen, and I need to get myself under control before I draw her further into my world. We both need that control.

Last night I proved to both of us that I have it.

I dress in the cheap jeans and leave Rosalie s as quietly as I arrived, climbing down the exterior stairs and avoiding a prickly rosebush at the bottom.

Once I retake my organization, I ll need to buy a couple of high-end suits like I used to wear.

I even tried one on when buying the jeans.

It felt wrong and not just because I lacked the funds to buy it.

As if I was a panther trying on a deer skin.

Now, in the jeans I bought, I still don t feel like myself.

I do know that I ll never wear orange again.

Fuck. I don t know what or who I am or how I should feel.

At the moment, the only connection I have with this world, on the outside, is Rosalie.

Her scent fills my head, and the sounds of her moans are carried in my chest. Deep.

She ll never make that sound for another man.

While she remains unaware of that fact, it s absolute.

She s my mirror image and doesn t know it.

I was wild and had to learn control in prison, and she s way too controlled and needs to embrace her wild side.

I m going to insist on it.

On the outside, taking back my birthright, I plan to create the very life I should ve claimed when I was young and stupid. Carelessly unaware of the dangers around me. But this time, I know what woman I will have beneath me every night. My time with bar girls or bored older women is over.

I know what I want. Who I want.

And I will have her.

Garik is waiting down the street in a dented and rusting Ford truck, its engine running surprisingly smoothly.

I slip inside and give him directions. He drives away silently with just one curious look at the pink Victorian home.

Years ago, he picked me up often at random women s homes, but this time is different.

I m keeping her.

A light rain begins to fall, and he flicks on the windshield wipers. Your lawyer?

Yeah. It s crucial he know that.

Okay. It s equally important that he makes the vow I need. Both his expression and his tone remain level. I ll protect her with my life.

Good.

She s just the beginning. The soft and spirited foundation I plan to hone to retake the empire my father wanted me to run.

It s not just birthright. Or revenge. The need, the desperate craving, to put my hands on the amethyst crystals that power Hologrid Hub at a regular interval and not just once, is a physical pain. I m meant to charge those.

Every time somebody uses the platform or likes or shares, my crystals gain strength.

As do I now that I m connected to the large crystal again.

In prison, I paid plenty for amethyst rocks to hide around my cell and made sure the purple ink of my tattoo held crushed-up particles of the purest one I could find.

Having that extra protection helped me to stay alive.

Even so, I felt the loss of that connection to a larger stone every second.

Tell me about the meeting tonight. I watch the rain fall. It has been seven years since I felt the tears of the gods. By the look of the bulbous clouds, I ll feel plenty when we arrive at my storage unit.

I have the eight planning to be at the bar. Three are solid, three are close, and two are unsure but unhappy with your brother.

There isn t a need to remind him that Hendrix is my half brother. Who s the mole?

My guess? Uri Sorokin.

I nod. He s one of the unsure ones?

No. He s solid. But I think he ll turn to you if he sees a good future.

That makes sense. Hendrix isn t going to give up the helm easily, even though I have a stronger connection to the stones than he does. Not once did he visit me in prison, not that I expected it. If he d gone to prison, I certainly wouldn t have visited him.

His mother arranged for us to be enemies from his birth. Tell me about Hendrix.

Don t know much about him, Garik drawls, driving the decrepit truck fast and with ease. We don t run in the same circles.

No shit. You ve kept an eye on him. What do you know?

According to page six of the social register, he s busy representing Hologrid Hub at every high-end function in town. Named one of the ten most eligible bachelors in Silicon Valley, he s still in mourning for his younger brother.

Right. Hendrix and Cal had hated each other. What number is he?

One, Garik says. Of course, now that you re out, you ll probably end up back on top again.

Like I care about that. Even back in the day, that part of my life amused me. Now it irritates me. I m not eligible.

You re serious about that?

Da, I say, dropping into Russian because this matters.

I don t believe in love and certainly have no intention of allowing any woman to dissuade me from my path.

But there s something about Rosalie Mooncrest that calls to the darkest part of me.

I have no clue if she s a decent lawyer and couldn t care less.

She s soft and kind, and there s intelligence in her too-blue eyes.

Even after one night sleeping next to her, I feel her beneath my skin.

The life I ll build will be solid and true, and it ll need goodness in it for my children.

I plan to have many to ensure the longevity of Hologrid Hub, and she s the one I want for this life. There s no need for me to question why.

Who cares? It is as it is. I ll have both my personal and professional lives in place, solid, and impenetrable.

Garik hands me his phone. Here s the latest annual report and stock earnings of Hologrid Hub.

I hold the device and then press on the screen. My phone seven years ago certainly lacked several of these impressive abilities. I need to update my phone.

They cost more than a grand these days.

I also need to access my money. Sooner rather than later. I would ve given much of it to Garik, if possible, but my greedy stepbrother had managed to have it frozen the second the jury had declared me guilty.

Somebody had gotten to the jurors, because the evidence against me had been full of reasonable doubt.

Mostly. I shook myself out of the memories and read through the reports .

.. on a screen. Hendrix has done a good job with the company.

Not as good as I can do, because he doesn t have the connections with the amethyst servers that run through my blood faster than any electrical charge.

Hologrid Hub uses a next-gen platform so users can meet in holographic form and do whatever they want with one other.

There s a sexual component to the platform that has not been explored enough, and I plan to change that.

The more users to the platform, the more power to my amethysts, which leads to more power and strength, not to mention health, for me.

I won t live forever, but I also won t be struck down by disease or deterioration too soon.

I finish reading as Garik takes another turn into the northern part of San Francisco and a rough looking storage facility with multiple pods, once painted white that now has rust scarring down each face. Who killed Cal?

Garik lifts one shoulder. Not sure. Your younger half brother had a problem with women telling him no. Your stepmother had to settle several assault cases against him, and those that couldn t be settled ...

No doubt Hendrix or his enforcers had taken care of the problem. Has Hendrix discovered the killer? If so, surely he killed them.

Hell if I know.

I thought through what Rosalie had said about Thorn Beathach possibly killing Cal.

Beathach runs Malice Media, which is currently in the number one spot.

It s a next generation platform that uses neural interface tech to share thoughts, emotions, and experiences directly.

In other words, it translates neural data into shareable formats.

His AI is more advanced than mine—for now. What about Thorn Beathach?

Garik nods. Maybe. The gossip rags hinted at an arranged marriage between Cal and Alana Beaumont, and now she s living with Beathach. Word is out that if anybody touches her, they die and not quickly. She s under his protection.

Alana has always had protection. Her family owns Aquarius Social, an emotion sharing based platform. They re currently in second place, and Thorn s company, Malice Media, in first. Are they going to combine their platforms? I don t see how, but it s something to consider.

I dig deep to see if I have a need to avenge Cal s death. Maybe. I hated him, but we shared blood.

However, I have more urgent matters to handle. Irritation cuts through me at my lack of a following. If I make a proclamation about Rosie s safety, it might plant a bull s-eye on her back. I need to consolidate power fast, and that means spilling blood. A lot of it. You ready for this?

I ve been ready since they took you away in chains.

Garik pulls to a stop in front of the storage unit at the end.

Rust scars the door in stripes reminiscent of a panther s claws.

Dents punctuate the bottom, and if a storage unit could look lonely, it does.

I hope you have piles of cash in there. Jewels too. Maybe some silver?

I open the door and step out into the rain. If I had cash in here, you d have cash.

A quick flash of emotion crosses his broad face before he masks it. You need me to stay?

No. Thanks. See you tonight. I shut the door and turn toward the unit.

He drives off, leaving me in the quiet area with the rain. I lift my face and allow the liquid to slide down the planes of my face with a sense of freedom very few can understand. The wind whistles between the units; a forlorn sound that still beats any cacophony found within prison walls.

Alone. It s the first time since they shackled me that I really feel alone. There s no alone time in prison. Not really. The sense of desperation within those locked places makes its own sound.

I allow the rain to land on my mouth and tongue, tasting freedom.

And the hint of vengeance.

I don t know who ensured I languished behind bars, but I will find them. Then they ll wish for me to send them to prison.

I won t.

God, I won t. I gave up on God a long time ago, but if there s any such deity, even He will fail to protect those who betrayed me. Only someone close to me, a being with access to me, could ve ensured I was found guilty. For them, I ll be the judge, jury, and fucking executioner.

I make the vow as the rain pummels down, drenching me. My T-shirt molds to my chest and my jeans to my legs. The boots I wear are leather and new with a rough edge.

Finally, I lean down and flick open a carefully hidden keypad before punching in my code. A lock releases. Grunting, I grasp the handle and lift the door, allowing natural light to illuminate the narrow space.

She s still here. My MV Agusta Brutale 1000 Serie Oro—black with a hint of red and so sleek she purrs like a genuine animal. Calling her a motorcycle is an insult I ve never issued. She s a goddess on two wheels.

Moving to the rear of the structure, I find my weathered backpack with the two loaded guns in it.

Good. I shove them both at the back of my waist and pull my jacket down to cover them.

They ll need to be cleaned and oiled as soon as possible, but for now, having their weight against my skin grounds me.

I left the older Beretta at Rosalie s home under her frilly bed.

I can t count the number of enemies coming for me right now, and that s not even considering the kill list from my old prison pal.

His gang will be dangerous to me if he gives the order, at least until I have my men back in place.

But I d rather prevent a full-out war on the streets of Palo Alto. Plus, a deal is a deal.

I need to receive that list now to handle those kills before the authorities put a tail on me, which should happen any moment. Not that I couldn t ditch one, but even so, the clock is counting down quickly.

A crow cries in the distance, and I pause, waiting to make sure I m alone. The surrounding area falls silent without a hint of tension.

I roll the bike out and throw a leg over her, flicking on the engine. She purrs to life like she s been waiting for me, and the rumble between my thighs feels like an unstoppable energy.

I twist the throttle and drive through the silent structures, finally reaching the quiet main road. Then I take her wide open.

The wind and rain battle me, battle us, but we stay the course.

Freedom rushes through me. This feeling—I ll never lose. Not again. Not a chance.

I ll take them all out, reclaim my birthright, put Rosalie in place, and then live my life.

At any cost.