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“Helllllooooo, wake the fuck up!”

I shout, not for the first time at the balled-up figure occupying a booth in our club. Well after closing time, I might add.

A soft groan sounds from the sleeping person, indicating it's a man. I think.

“What?...”

He turns and peers up at me with big icy blue eyes. His smaller form stretches lazily like he hasn’t a care in the world. Like me and four of my brothers aren’t currently staring him a new one.

“We are closed. Get the fuck out.”

Short and to the point. Most people hate me for it, and I don’t give a fuck. The people who work under me respect me for it, and that’s all that matters to me.

He slowly stands and stretches some more with a small yawn that showcases his throat. My eyes zero in on it, and it's an effort not to react to the mangled skin there. Thick brutal lines that I'm sure go all the way around are imprinted in his flesh, as if he’d been strangled at some point and the scarring is his witness.

When he's finished dicking around and testing the patience I don’t fucking possess, he turns and faces us once more. There's no fear in his gaze as he does so like most people often have. In fact, there's not much in his gaze at all. His face is impassive, his posture screams lazed like he's in comfortable territory, in our fucking territory.

“Actually, I came in about the sign outside on the window. You know? The urgently hiring sign?”

His voice is softer than any man I've ever met, and he speaks slowly as if we’re stupid. I can see Shaides eyes narrow from the corner of mine, at this motherfuckers audacity. Or maybe it's regarding what he just said. Because what?

“What sign?”

Beige steps slightly in front of me with a hand to my chest. Probably to stop me from jumping him.

Beige is a lunatic if I've ever seen one and everyone knows it. We are all usually granted a wide birth. Not with this kid though, he doesn't even bat a long lash. Which grates on my nerves. In fact, his eyes roll, and mine flare before I can mask my reaction to the blatant disrespect. I can feel Beige stiffen and the energy in the room skyrockets something dangerous.

“Apologies, we weren’t aware that a sign had been put out. I'm Shaide.”

Ever the conversationalist, my brother steps forward and offers the kid a hand in greeting. The short blue-eyed fuck eyes the hand like it has sharp teeth that will cut through his fingers.

After staring at Shaides hand a bit longer to be considered normal, he meets his eyes and it’s clear he won't be returning the gesture.

“Germaphobe.”

He states simply.

His eyes move over us slowly and something about his expression screams that he finds us lacking. Or he just doesn't give a fuck. I'm one second away from snapping his tiny neck when an annoying screech sounds behind us.

“Oh my god, you’re here for the job, we are so happy to have you.”

Addy, the guy that Beige hired out of nowhere for reasons unknown to the rest of us exclaims with excitement.

He's rushing forward seemingly unaware of the rising tension in the kids shoulders as he watches Addy's approach. When he draws closer, the kid takes a step back, drawing an invisible barrier between him and the rest of us.

Addy's bright smile falters slightly before he plasters it back on and pretends this is normal. Something I'm sure he's growing used to around here.

“You the manager?”

His tone is bored. I don’t know much about job interviews considering I’ve never applied anywhere, but if I did I'm certain the attitude isn’t it.

“Well actually, that’s a long story. What happened was...”

“I don’t care. Am I hired?”

Beige growls when a flash of hurt takes over Addy's features. We all turn to him in surprise with raised brows. He says nothing just looks at the kid as if he wants to peel his face off. He probably does and will. And still the boy is unfazed.

“Um, well I'd need some information from you first. An Id, social security card or birth certificate, with banking info for pay and stuff like that. As well as your availability.”

“I have none of that. Hoping we could work out cash pay.”

“Uh. . .”

Addy shifts from foot to foot before looking at Beige for help. When it becomes clear he isn’t going to get it, his breathing picks up before he faces the guy once more. “We usually pay direct deposit.”

“Alright. See ya.”

The tension in my limbs ebbs away as he starts for the door. He’s almost there when an unmistakable voice cuts through the silence.

“Take him on Addy.”

I'm glaring at the floor as our brother Ressyn passes through. He’s the head of our family and runs basically everything. His word is law, but in this case it's bullshit. He wasn’t in here when the guy was being a raging dick and all but raised his nose at us.

He doesn't acknowledge Ressyns declaration, just continues for the door. My left eye twitches.

“You can start tomorrow at five PM!”

Addy smiles at Beige proudly, having accomplished hiring an asshole. “You were right, I'm perfect for this job.”

His smile grows wider.

Beige said that stupid shit?

Kai and Rain have been unusually quiet throughout this whole display. They got back from a job not too long ago and it's as if a switch has been flipped between them. Where there was once jokes, taunts, and life between best friends, now there's just nothing. We have all asked what’s going on relentlessly, but they aren’t talking.

“Take that damn sign down. We don’t just hire anyone from off the streets. You didn’t even get his name.”

I don’t wait for a response before stalking away.

Our club Shadows is right across the street from the Hotel we also own, and happen to sleep at, The Perla-named after our late mother. We are smack in the middle of Array City, surrounded by the largest buildings, so we get a lot of traffic. We make tons of money between the two, but the warehouses and shipping docks we run are where the real magic happens.

As first born, Ressyn Hue is in charge of simply telling us what to do and fixing shit, so our father doesn't have to step in. Don’t be fooled into thinking he isn’t as ruthless as the rest of us though.

Shaide runs something that’s along the lines of his own organization that operates at Ressyn’s instruction. However, it's still in his own way and the little shadows that work for him follow no one but Shaide. He’s the oldest triplet, followed by Rain then Beige.

Rain is in charge of the finance side of our businesses and also happens to run the hotel we own.

Beige is a dark motherfucker. He’s the one we send someone to when we need information. His motto is ‘if they aren’t broke, break em’. Which is why it’s all too curious as to why he hired that little rainbow blonde fucker at the club. I mean the guy gets his rocks off by ripping out teeth one by one.

Kai is just Kai. He’s our stepbrother. He came into our life years ago and never left.

Then there's me, the baby. At 23, I run all of our security and clean up. I have an army of men at my disposal. We do all kinds of crazy shit at Ressyns instruction.

The Perla is huge. We had it built from scratch and the top floor is all ours.

The doorman in the lobby greets me with a nod and presses the elevator button for me after wishing me a goodnight.

The elevator spits me out in the communal living space that we worked together to design. I'm sure a normal family would reach a certain age and part ways, but not us. There’s no such thing as keep your enemies close in this family.

It's a beautiful open floor plan, with huge floor to ceiling windows that showcase the lights and stars of the city around us. Marble floors, gold plate designs here and there, chandeliers, the whole nine. There's a hallway on both sides of the living room that holds our bedrooms. It's perfect for a paranoid family such as ours. It’s home.

As soon as I step into my bedroom, all of the tension I've carried throughout the day slowly fades away. I fall on my bed with a groan apparently opting to skip a shower in favor of sleep.

Sleep has always come easy to me. I'm like a baby, cocoon me in warmth and I'm limp. I'll sleep through a tornado if you let me. The only difference tonight is when I close my eyes, I see big blue ones staring back at me. I see jagged skin on a small neck and mental walls the size of Texas.