Page 43 of Prince of Control

Phoenix nodded. “Well, he worked out something with his dad to front him the money, but he makes payments every month. He’s also figured out ways to generate income to cover most of the occupants’ room and board. Plus a full-time cook and housekeeping. He’s a genius.

I stare at my half-eaten dinner, letting it all sink in. “A dangerous genius.”

Phoenix nods. “For sure.” He peers at me. “Are you scared of him?”

“He did something today,” I say, not elaborating.

“Yeah, I saw you looked pissed when you came home.”

Phoenix is too respectful to pry, which I appreciate. But he just shared a vulnerable story with me. It feels like I could trust him.

“I was meeting with this Russian guy who said he was homesick. It wasn’t a date–he’s just a dorky kid. I wasn’t going to cheat on Baron or anything.”

Phoenix winces.

“What?”

“I’m already sensing where this is going.”

I throw my hands in the air, some of my ire returning. “Yeah, so Baron shows up–I don’t even know how he knew where to find me–and he just sits down with us and starts eating Denis’ food.”

Phoenix’s lips twitch.

“Then I get up to go to the bathroom, and when I come back, Denis is gone, and there’s a puddle of blood on the table in front of where he was sitting.”

Phoenix winces again.

“Blood!” My voice raises, and I throw my hands up. “I don’t even know what Baron did to him.”

“Well, in my experience, anyone Baron hurts has it coming.”

“Nyet. This guy did not have it coming! He’s just some new student like me, who happened to invite the wife of a bratva prince to have a drink with him on the first day of school.”

Phoenix scrubs a hand over his facial hair. “The thing to know about Baron is that he’s ultra-protective of the people he cares about or feels responsible for. And he believes that in order to keep everyone safe, he needs to control everything around him.

“I’m sure having a wife to protect is next level for him. Here I was afraid he was going to drive his little sister crazy this year.”

“I didn’t need his protection! I don’t need his protection.”

“Yeah. Well, maybe in the future, communicate with him when you’re meeting with someone, so he doesn’t go off the deep end.”

I frown, and Phoenix holds his hands up in defense. “I don’t mean to butt in or give advice. I’m here anytime you want to talk. I can give you my perspective, or you can tell me to shut up, and I won’t say a word, I’ll just listen.”

The defensiveness rising up in me softens. Phoenix really does seem like a good guy. “Thank you.”

A door opens, and Benjamin emerges. It’s a door to what I thought was a closet, but now I see the flash of an inner door guarding the entrance to stairs descending downward. A secret staircase!

Was he in the dungeon?

With that girl?

But no one else emerges.

His gaze flicks over to the couch, but he doesn’t acknowledge either of us, he just walks up the stairs.

There’s a heaviness in his walk. Strain in his expression. For a moment, I don’t see an aggressor–I see a young man with far too much weight on his shoulders.

Chapter Twelve