Kings of Blood and Money (Underworld Kings)

He moves to another fridge and opens it, showing me blood bags. “I take my own blood once every couple months. I’m a donor.”

Wow. I never knew what he did for work, but knew it had to be good because of the house we live in. He’s a doctor who has special blood. “Do the twins have it too?” That’s how blood and things work, right? Mrs. Hale said we inherit things from our parents.

“No,” he says, closing the fridge. “I have Rh null blood group. Both parents need to carry it to pass it to their offspring.”

I think about Remi and Noah. They look nothing like him. I wonder if he passed anything onto them. Maybe they look like their mother. I’ve never seen a woman here, other than Dominque and Mrs. Hale.

“So, you’re a doctor?” I ask, brushing my hands over the cool surface of a counter along the entire back wall.

He seems to ponder my question before saying, “Of sorts, yes.”

“That’s so cool. You fix people, help them?” I smile, but he doesn’t. He just stares at me like he’s thinking about something. His brows tug down.

“Come, it’s late, you should be in bed.” Opening the door, he guides me out of the room and switches off the light.

My gaze travels down the rest of the corridor. “What’s in the other rooms?”

He turns to look over his shoulder, then pats my back. “They’re just for storing trash.”

When he closes the door, a number of locks click into place and a small security pad screen turns red.

“Goodnight,” I tell him, leaving him watching after me.

When I get up to my room, I find Remi sitting on the top stair, his beautiful blue eyes tracking me, his unruly hair in waves over his forehead. He holds a paper bag out toward me. “What is it?” I ask, my breathing heavy. He never comes up here. In fact, he’s rarely home as of late.

“Open it,” he tells me.

Excitement flutters in my tummy. Taking the bag, I open it, peering inside. I pull out a piece of material. “A swimsuit?” I gasp.

Getting to his feet, he clasps my arm and pulls me up the final two steps.“I didn’t know your size, but the sales clerk said this should fit.”

I look at the label. It says age twelve to fourteen. I’m twelve.

“Now maybe you’ll come swim instead of just watching.” He shrugs his broad shoulders, his thick lips smiling wide.

“I still don’t know how.” I bite the inside of my cheek.

“I’ll teach you. Noah’s not going to be around for a few days. Come meet me tonight at…say, eleven?”

That’s so late. Father would not like me being out of my room that late, but I suppose it’ll be okay if he doesn’t find out. “I don’t have a clock in my room.” I wince.

“Seriously?” He quirks a brow. “Here.” He shakes his head, unclasping the watch on his wrist. Grasping my hand, he places the watch on my wrist. My skin burns where he touches, the metal strap really heavy and big. My heart blooms. I never want to give it back.

“Eleven, okay? That’s when the big one is on the twelve and the little hand is on the eleven.”

“I can tell the time.” I roll my eyes.

“Okay, good.” He chuckles, reaching out to ruffle my hair. “See you out there, kid.”

Six

Freya

Pushing my body through the water, I kick my legs until I reach the other end and pull up from the pool. I glance back to Remi. He’s viewing something on his phone, smiling at what he sees there. “Are you not coming in?” I ask, disappointed.

It’s been three months since he taught me how to swim. He said I was a fast learner but I think it’s because he was such a good teacher. I cherished these nights. Eleven o’clock became my favorite time of the day, even though it made me tired for school the next day.

“Not tonight, kid. I have somewhere I need to be. You should go up to the bed, yeah?” He gets to his feet, slipping his phone in his back pocket.

My stomach drops. I don’t want to stop swimming. “Sure.” I smile. “I’ll just dry off and get my things.” By things, I mean his watch I leave on one of the tables so it won’t get wet.

“I’ll catch you later.” I wait for him to disappear inside, then dive back into the water. Just a couple more laps and I’ll go up.

I’m on my fourth lap and about to climb out when a shadow appears over me.

Please just be Remi all dressed up. Please, please.

A hum of dread washes through me. “Look who learned how to swim.” Noah narrows his perfect blue eyes on me as he drops to his haunches. “Can you hold your breath?” he asks before dunking my head under the water. He doesn’t grip my hair, so I manage to kick away and re-surface to see him watching me like a lion would an antelope.