It had been around five minutes.
“What you’ve witnessed cannot leave this circle, son.” Hector was still talking, but I didn’t pay him any attention, which in itself is mad disrespectful to our King Pin. Hector was the Godfather of not only the streets, but the fucking suits, too.
“Who’s the girl?” I asked, this time forcing myself to disconnect from her until my eyes landed on Hector.
He looked up at Lucan, who then brought his attention to me. “Go inside, son. This isn’t your business.”
I took the six steps it was toward them, kneeling down in front of the girl. She blinked away her tears and finally looked at me for the first time.
Silence. Dead. Silence.
The wind picked up and I could faintly hear something in the background. Talking, I was sure, but I didn’t care. Everything and anything fell away from around me, and all that existed in this moment was her and me. What the fuck? She had my attention completely. Eyes so light, if not for the flecks of green in them. Her lashes were so dark they could match all of the secrets I kept hidden in my closet.
She sniffed.
My eyes narrowed.
“What’s your name?” I asked her.
“Brantley,” Lucan snapped from above. I didn’t care. I would take the wrath that I knew he would lay out for me tonight, do whatever the fuck it was that he would want me to do, but there was no way in hell this girl was leaving my side.
Ever.
If someone tried to take her from me, they would only be able to do it by walking over my cold, dead corpse.
Her little head tilted, causing her hair to lengthen down one side of her body. She searched my face like she was intrigued. From my eyes, to my nose, to my mouth, to my collarbone. She reached out and pressed her palm over my chest, right over my heart, and I felt the electricity zap me from the outside in. It was as though she literally reached inside my chest and planted herself deep in my bones.
“Fuck.” Yeah, she wasn’t going anywhere.
She chewed on her little lip, tucking her hair behind her ear, and reached for my hand confidently. The very same hand she squeezed for protection was the same one that men would soon fear.
I stood to my full height, which was above average for a kid my age, but nowhere near as big and scary as my dad and uncle. I tilted my head to look up at them both. “She is mine. You two can sort it out, and Uncle? The secret will be more than safe.”
I started walking the girl toward the house. Me, clothed in black. Her, dressed in color. I knew at the back of my mind that I was leading her into the darkness, but at least she wouldn’t be there alone. She’d be there with me.
“Nephew…” Hector called out, and I paused just shy of the door. “No one can know about her. Ever.”
I nodded. “Understood.”
I didn’t ask why they were here. I didn’t ask any of the questions that, right here and now, I should have asked.
Present
Saint
The day I came into the Vitiosis family burned my brain like a hot iron. His touch. The iciness of his grip around my hand. He led and I followed. He spoke and I listened. I think over the years, I confidently became the girl I am today because I had him beside me. Not always physically, but spiritually. There was an invisible bond that knitted our souls together from the moment he took my hand. I think he hated it.
I hear voices downstairs. None of them familiar. Brantley doesn’t have visitors often. At least he hasn’t for a while. The manor is always noisy, but it’s not from the people who live here, more from the ghosts of those who have left.
I flex my fingers around Medusa as she wraps her sleek black tail around my arm. Medusa was the first pet Brantley bought me when I was ten years old. I came upstairs to my room after my English session with my tutor and she was already set up in her enclosure. Brantley was leaning over the glass, stroking her back. “What do you want to name her?” he had asked, never looking up at me. I took the steps toward him, wrapping my fingers around the edge of the glass.
“You can name her,” I said, chewing on my lip nervously. Not that he made me nervous, because he didn’t.
His eyes came to mine at the exact moment thunder cracked outside my window. “I named you, Saint. You can name the snake.” Rain slapped the glass of my patio doors, but I was too focused on naming my new pet to appreciate the rain like I usually do. I liked anything dramatic and sullen.