Page 70 of Tethered Souls

He stills, two predators facing off, the reaper he used to be now staring back at me. I don’t flinch even as chills run down my spine.

“I would’ve killed him just like you did Jason.”

“Mmm. And was there any compensation you would’ve accepted?”

“No.” His gaze doesn’t waver. “But I loved her.”

I still, my heart skipping a beat as I am acutely aware of Khalid’s presence beside me. If I say no compensation will sate me like I want to, like the truth of it is, then I will be claiming Micha not just as my fiancee but as my girl. And with that claim comes heavy consequences. Khalid will side with her on all arguments. He’ll protect her even from me, and if she cannot conceive, I’ll have to marry her regardless or suffer my brother’s wrath. A girl is not claimed and cast aside. She is for life. And all the lifetimes after.

A smart play on my uncle’s part.

My eyes hard, I turn to Vinny. “Wire me a million on top of the damages. But you steal from me again, and yourpalhere” –I nod at the corpse behind me– “will be nothing but a daydream for you to remember.”

His head bobbing nervously, Vinny pulls out his phone to transfer me the money now.

“Uncle Myers?”

His eyes glint with the focus of a snake unsure if it should strike. He loves me, but he also loves his only son, the last remnants of his beloved wife. Any other capo would have died for his second’s sins.

“Yes, Boss?”

“Don’t let Mother kill Aleric. And come get me if Lincoln leaves.”

He nods, relaxing fully as I pull Micha towards the stairs.

“Can she really do that?” she asks as we climb them.

I glance at her, though half my attention is on Vinny. If he thinks we’re falling for his lies, he’ll put his guard down. And so he does, the fear spewing from his pores decreasing. The likelihood of him running while I’m fucking Micha is low enough I can risk it; he’ll hang around and see how much more damage to Lincoln’s reputation he can do.

Focusing on her, I say, “She’s named the Reaper of the Sired for a reason.”

“That’s your mom?” she exclaims, her feet coming to a halt on the second floor, her eyes bugging out of her skull.

“Yes.”

“Shit. Fuck. That’s so cool. You think she’ll give me an autograph?” Her eyes widen even more, having basically just found out who Jack the Ripper was. A sup doesn’t get a name for just anything. They have to be powerful and have done something ridiculously insane. There are only seven named sups on Earth. Maybe eight, depending on whether Sebastian the Ancient Destroyer is actually hiding here or not.

“Do you know what happened?” she gushes as we make it to the next floor. “All the stories say she killed a hundred sired vampires on her own. That’s it. Nothing else. There’s so much mystery around it. Even where it happened or who the vampires were or who did it.” She laughs and shakes her head. “But fuck. That’s your mom. I have to tell Dayne. He’s obsessed with named sups.”

Micha starts to turn back for the stairs, her excitement making her forget what we’re up here for. My eyes narrow. I grab her arm, swing her around, and duck low. When I straighten, she’s on my shoulder. I slap her ass and stride towards the nearest bedroom door.

“Hey!” She pushes off my back as she wiggles to get down.

My other hand dips into my pocket, and I pull out my phone. I glance down, turn the toy on max, and put it away again. She yelps as her legs come together, and she collapses back onto my shoulder. Burying her face into my back, she struggles not to moan. I slide my hand up the smooth silk of her dress, trailing it up her thigh to grab her ass.

Opening a random bedroom door with the other hand, I step inside. Khalid takes up position outside it as I kick the door shut behind me.

Finally alone with my little monster, I take a second just to bask in the warmth of her presence. Where my cousin isn’t out to kill me. Or one of my ‘loyal’ capos. Or a brother if I have everything wrong. Where it’s just me and her and no other pressures weighing down on me.

My hand rubs her ass, then lifts off and goes down to her ankle. Slipping under the fabric of her red dress as I stride towards the ensuite, I slide my fingers up her leg.

I feather them between her pussy lips. She’s soaking wet from her earlier play. The toy vibrates in the hole above me.

“You came for me, didn’t you?”

She nods against my back as she moans.

“How did you do it?”