Buttons & Hate (Buttons 2)

I put my hands on my hips. “Excuse me?” He was back to bossing me around and I didn’t like it one bit.

“Did you not understand me?” He grabbed my shoes from the closet and tossed them on the ground. He was tense and ruthless, back to his old angry self.

“I understood you perfectly. Just don’t appreciate being bossed around.”

“Well, start appreciating it.” He gave me a threatening look, telling me not to test him today.

“What’s up your ass?”

He stopped in mid-step and gave me an expression I couldn’t identify. “What’s up my ass?”

“Yeah.”

He marched to me with the intention of murder. When he reached me his hand flew right for my neck, about to grab me the way he always did. But just before he touched me he halted. He eyed his hand and what he was about to do. Then he pulled it away and took a step back. “Just get ready.” He left the room without shutting the door behind him.

I listened for his footsteps until they were gone before I eyed on the dress on the bed. I didn’t think about the fabric or the way it would fit. My mind wondered about the argument that just transpired. Did he stop himself from grabbing me because I was injured? Or did he stop for a different reason altogether?

I got dressed and walked to the entrance, expecting him to be waiting for me. He stood there in his black suit with a light blue tie, looking just as beautiful clothed as he did naked. But he wasn’t alone.

Cane stood beside him, dressed in the same manner. His face was black and blue just like mine was. Scars on top of scars plastered his face. He hardly looked like himself.

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs because fear caught me off balance. The last time I saw him he struck me until I blacked out. I stayed in the hospital for a week and almost died. Even now, it took nearly ten minutes for me to walk down the stairs because I was so weak.

Hatred flared deep inside me.

Crow turned my way when he realized I joined their conversation. “Let’s go to the dining room.” He walked toward me with one hand in his pocket, and then his arm wrapped around my waist.

My eyes were glued to Cane.

What game was Crow playing? Why did he invite his brother to the house? And why did he want me there?

Crow guided me inside the dining room and pulled out the chair for me. He guided me into the seat before he pushed it in, tending to me like a gentleman even though just fifteen minutes ago he was an ass.

Now that I saw Cane I understood why he was in such a bad mood.

Crow sat beside me and Cane took the seat across from him. The scotch was poured and they both drank it like water. Cane’s movements were slow because he was still sore from his injuries.

Serves him right.

I waited to learn the reason for my presence. Instead of speaking up like I normally would I stayed quiet just in case I learned something from observing.

“How are we going to do this?” Crow was the person to speak first. He eyed the ice cubes in his glass before he gave them a gentle stir.

“The last thing I heard was Bones moved. He’s no longer in Italy.”

My ears picked up.

“Where did he go?” Crow asked.

“Don’t have a clue.” Cane turned his eyes on me, and the expression he gave me was full of hatred. He despised me as much as he did before. If Crow weren’t there he’d probably beat me all over again.

Why was I here?

“The one thing we can rely on is Pearl.” It was the first time Crow ever said my name. He always called me Button. I was so used to endearment that I nearly didn’t respond to my true name. “We can use her to lull him out. When he tries to snatch her, we can strike.”

“Use her as bait?” he asked.

“Essentially.”

Cane drank his scotch and poured another glass. “Interesting. Could work.”

“It’s the only thing that could work. We could leak false information about our whereabouts and he’ll take advantage of our vulnerability. Only he’ll be the one who’s vulnerable.”

“Risky. Bones has ears everywhere.”

“And so do we,” Crow said darkly.

I was tired of holding my silence so the men could talk. “Couldn’t I act like I ran away?”

They both turned to me, their stoic expressions identical.

“Cane just beat me and put me in the hospital.” I gave him the coldest stare I could muster. “It would make sense why I tried to escape. We could leak information that I’m heading for the embassy. He’ll definitely try to intercept me. You can count on it.”

Crow watched me with intelligent eyes. He examined my face, looking at me in a new way. “That’s not a bad idea.”