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CHAPTER THIRTY

“We can be our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.”

~ Tom Robbins

Em

I stepped back as soon as Saros punched Frazee. Not out of fear. I had seen and been a party to a lot of violence. No, I didn’t want to be in the way, and Saros needed to focus. Mike guided me to a stool, and I quietly sat on it.

“What the fuck, Saros?”

“Oh, did you think I brought you here to braid your hair? You know why you’re here, don’t you?”

“All I know is, I was going out and your idiots grabbed me.”

Saros tsked and wagged a finger at Frazee. “So disrespectful.” And he punched him again, this time in the stomach.

Frazee coughed and Saros stepped away, not even flexing his hand. His knuckles had to hurt since they hadn’t healed enough after he punched the wall.

“First question,” Saros said as soon as Frazee caught his breath. “The night at The Sky, when Marco died, and Benny was shot, you told me you had nothing to do with that.”

“I didn’t!”

“And that you had no idea who did it.”

Frazee narrowed his eyes. “Yeah.”

“And yet, you’re roommates with Ramsey Brookes. The man burning my businesses to the ground and taking out my people…Weird, right?” He looked over to Benny.

“Very weird, sir.” Benny pursed his lips, glaring at Barrett.

“I had nothing to do with any of that. I could have easily been killed that night too, had I left the same way you did.”

“But you didn’t,” Saros snapped. “You walked right out the front door.”

“I wasn’t involved.” Frazee stared Saros down.

“Like you had nothing to do with my parents’ death?”

Frazee’s eyes widened. “I was about the same age as you were when they died, Saros. How could I have been a part of that?”

“No.” Saros nodded. “You weren’t part of that, I know. But your father was. And before he died, you knew. At any point you could have come to me, told me what he did. Our relationship would have been different.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Frazee scoffed. “You’d have killed me on principle.”

Saros gripped Frazee’s face and squeezed. “You don’t know me. If you did, you’d know that’s the opposite of what I would do. But now here we are because you got greedy, you became hungry. I gave you the warehouses, we were good.”

“We were never good!” Frazee spit out through Saros’s assault.

“Clearly,” Saros hissed and pushed Frazee away. The man fell from the force of it.

Saros walked over to Andrew. “Please keep him alive. He’s still useful.”

Andrew nodded and stepped up to Frazee, his hands in his pockets. He was as cool as could be. Saros moved behind me, his hands on my shoulders.

“Your father’s not here to pay for what he did to my sister and brother-in-law. And while Saros wouldn’t condemn someone for the crimes of another, I’m not that kind. You had an opportunity to make it right. Instead, you buried it with your father and slipped into bed with the devil.”

“Fuck you.” Frazee tried to kick Andrew with the leg that wasn’t chained but didn’t get close.

“I just have to keep you alive, Barrett, but I don’t have to keep you whole.”

“Look.” Frazee held his hand up. “What my father did was wrong. Making me pay for it—is that what this is really all about? Or is it about him?” He jerked his chin in my direction.

“You don’t look at him.” Saros stood in front of me, blocking my view.

“You took him from Ramsey. He wasn’t yours to take. You go on and on about me and my greed, and you’re far worse than any of us. If you want something, you grab it. Well, Saros, you went too far this time.”

“Em isn’t property.” Saros’s tone was low, filled with darkness. I couldn’t see his face, but I was sure it was angry. “I saved him and he stayed, his choice.”

“You don’t get it, Saros.”

“No, Frazee, you don’t get it. The reason you’re beneath me, why Ramsey is but the dirt under my feet. You’re worthless, your intelligence gets you to the station but can’t get you on the train. I’m better than you.” He stalked over to Frazee, who cowered slightly. “But he is better than all of us.” Saros pointed at me, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to smile or hide.

“You’re fucking whipped.” If Frazee was going to say anything more, he was cut off when Saros hit his face three times in a row.

“While you’re here, my people will begin taking apart your empire brick by brick. Your reputation will be shit.” Frazee was breathing hard, but Saros didn’t care. He grabbed his neck and slammed him against the wall. “You’ll never see the dregs of your power because you’ll be dead.”

I swallowed. The venom dripping from every word Saros uttered was chilling, and how Frazee wasn’t pissing his pants was beyond me.

After another hour, I went back upstairs. Frazee had questions to answer, and I’d seen enough to know he was no different than Ramsey. It was the reason Saros was at the top and they both could never climb so high.

Saros had the respect of those around him, was smarter and had humility. His power grew greatly because he had a moral compass. Sure he walked a path in the underworld, but even beautiful things thrive in the dark. The moonflower, for example. I chuckled, wondering what Saros would say if I called him my moonflower.

When I woke the next morning, Saros wasn’t in bed. I’d heard him enter the bedroom at some hour and take a shower. His arms had held me, but he must’ve woken early and left. I got ready for the day and headed downstairs.

“The detachable penis spider is way better than a stupid male octopus,” one of the teenage boys was shouting at another.

“No way! The octopus is all, fuck yourself, and throws it at her.”

“Brandon, language!” Lorelie yelled and rolled her eyes.

I didn’t know who was married to whom, but I was learning names.

“Then tell Evan he’s a moron.”

“Brandon, for the love of God!” Lorelie put her hands on her hips. “You’re both right. They both lose their penises—how are either of them winners with those losses?”

I chuckled. “Well, I mean, the octopus dies afterward. And technically throws a modified arm that contains sperm. The spider, on the other hand, goes to fight, detaching his penis inside of the female spider and doesn’t necessarily die. He fights to protect the female so it can impregnate her. But the octopus always dies.”

All three of them stared at me as if I were nuts.

“But, like, both lose their dicks,” Evan finally said.

“Yeah.”

Lorelie snorts. “See? No winners. Now, the two of you go outside and throw a football or something. You can do it in the back.”

The boys sighed dramatically but did as instructed.

“Sorry if I made it weird?” I winced.

She came over and patted my arm. “They’re teenage boys. Everything they say is weird; you’re just fine.”

I decided to stay out of trouble and find Martha. I was sure there was something innocent I could help with that didn’t involve penises.