by R. Scarlett
Classy motherfucker.
Trying to play fucking mind games.
Well, Tensley could do that, too.
“No?” Mr. Knight’s shoulders stiffened and Tensley noted the lack of color in his father’s hands as he clenched them in his lap. “You’re not prepared to handle the expanding situation in Boston; demons are dying, and you’ve lost the trust of your people. They all believe you gave rose thorn to the hunters to be used as poison against us.”
“I think it would be in our best interest to agree,” said Fitz Junior, nodding emphatically. Tensley shook his head; the boy was a pansy. He’d get eaten alive as Ares’ Dux.
Fitz Senior sneered. “Your offer does nothing to compensate for our losses. We would be giving up a family business and handing our power over to your family.” His eyes shot to Tensley. “Speaking of your family, why should we trust yours, anyway? I’ve heard your son has taken a liking to humans.”
Tensley squared his shoulders. Just fucking wait, you cocksucker. My daemon fiancée will be happy to meet you. “My personal matters shouldn’t be of concern in regards to agreeing to our business proposal.”
Fitz Senior’s upper lip curved. “Make us a better offer and maybe we’ll accept.”
At that, the Boston group stood and left the room.
Mr. Knight slammed his fist on the desk as Tensley gulped down the cool, gritty coffee before him and nearly spat it out. “What more can we fucking offer? More nyxes? More familiars? We’d be broke.” Mr. Knight sighed and stood. “We’ll have to think of something else to win them over.” When Mr. Knight left, the rest of the Scorpios members rose from their seats as well and exited the boardroom.
When Mr. Knight left, the rest of the table stood.
“Tensley,” Pudgy whispered, yanking at his sleeve as Tensley stood.
Tensley didn’t move to stop, shuffling his papers. “What.”
“Adams has been selling belladonna to those fucking hunters,” Pudgy hissed. “My men started keeping an eye on him once they started noticing some portions were missing.”
Tensley’s shoulders stiffened and he turned to face the short man, towering over him. He glared at him, the scum of Scorpios. “And why should I trust your word?”
Pudgy glowered and puffed out his chest. “Because even if I don’t like you, I don’t like people who try to fuck with the Scorpios.”
Tensley watched the man, waiting for a signal, a drop of sweat to see if he was lying. Pudgy stubbornly continued to glare back and Tensley sighed. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me sooner if you knew we had an issue?”
“Because this was about Ares, and I didn’t want to disturb you. I’m trying to prevent what happened in Boston from happening here. If the hunters lace our supplies, shit will hit the fan. It’s important, jackass.” Pudgy’s mouth twisted. “Sir.”
He turned to see the one in question gathering his own papers and preparing to make his way to the door. He was mid-forties, redheaded, and stocky, the person in charge of handling the accounts of Scorpios. Why the bastard would ever sell belladonna was the question.
“Adams,” Tensley called to him as the last few members left.
Adams glanced up, eyes widening until he forced a smile. “Can I help you, sir?”
“I don’t think you’re leaving just yet. Not alive anyway. Let’s all have a seat, shall we?” Tensley gestured to one of the leather chairs and Adams stood, the papers in his fists crackling under his nerves. Adams swallowed and made his way to the chair, sitting down.
Tensley stuffed a hand in his pocket and stared hard at the man whose reddish skin tone had lost his color. “Adams, I’m going to ask you this once, and only once.” Tensley’s fingers found the sharp blade in his pocket and gripped it so the edges bit his skin. “Are you betraying Scorpios?”
Adams shook his head wildly. He looked at Tensley and then Pudgy, who stood farther back, arms crossed. “No, no! Scorpios is my blood!”
“Fucking liar,” Pudgy said under his breath. “You sold those hunters our supplies!”
“I would never betray Scorpios or the Dux,” Adams said, drops of sweat rolling down his face. He waved his hands, unable to stop twitching or moving or speaking, and it agitated Tensley’s demon side.
“Show me your tattoo,” Tensley said, sending off a wave of commanding pheromones.
Adams paled. “You don’t trust me?”
“I don’t trust anyone,” Tensley bit out. He gripped Adams by his collar and ripped it back to see the symbol of their agreement to stay loyal to Scorpios swollen and burnt, like an awful third-degree burn. The scorpion tattoo sizzled under Tensley’s glare.
Adams’ body trembled, his voice brittle. “I didn’t do it! I swear! I sold belladonna, but not to them, never to them. I needed the cash—I was desperate, but I never betrayed you. I swear!”
Tensley withdrew the blade and stabbed it deep into Adams’ thigh so he cried out. “I do not do well with liars, Adams,” Tensley said and withdrew the blade, which made a sickening sound of bone and skin breaking in the process. He wiped the blood onto Adam’s pants. “I told you I wouldn’t ask you again. The family comes first, our Scorpios comes first. So tell me, who did you sell the belladonna to?”
Adams’ chest rose and fell violently and his eyes swung back and forth between them. “A low-born, no one special.”
“We have proof. Photographs of you selling to the hunters,” Tensley lied to test the man.
Adams looked back at Pudgy, his mouth parting. A nervous laugh escaped him. “Fine, you fuckers. Yes, I did it, because why the fuck not? Killing a few low-born demons isn’t going to hurt us, it’ll help us. We sell to the middle-class and high-born and we get rid of the low bitches. We get good cash and we service our people.”
Tensley stared at the man, shivering and panting. “You just signed your death wish.”
Tensley’s hand shot out and dug deep into Adams warm chest, finding the thumping organ and ripping it out.
Adams gurgled, then slowly wilted back into his seat, gasping until no sound left his parted mouth.
Tensley stood, wiping his bloody hand on his pant leg and sliding the clean blade back into his pocket. He looked at the gruesome mess and sighed. He turned to Pudgy, who stood behind him. “Clean this shit up.”
Pudgy scowled. “I ain’t your bitch.”
Tensley moved past him and to the door. “Too fucking bad. Clean it up, and I want it to be spotless.”
Tensley heard muttered swears before he slammed the door behind him.
“Tensley,” Evelyn purred when they were the only two in the hallway.
Tensley didn’t bother to stop—not until she grasped his bicep.
He shook her off. “I’m not in the mood, Evelyn. Go flirt with someone idiotic enough to respond.”
“I’m not trying to flirt,” she said in a hurried whisper. “I know crucial information about Lex, but I don’t want anyone to overhear.”
Tensley looked down at her, so close he could count the three tiny beauty marks beneath her bottom lip. If she knew anything about finding Lex, he would suffer heroically to deal with his ex in the process.
“Then tell me,” he whispered back harshly. He had just held a man’s heart in his bare hands; he was past the point of caring about politeness.
“Let’s go somewhere more private,” she said, sensing his interest and yanking him toward another office.
Evelyn opened the door and Tensley followed her into the pitch-black room, empty but for a desk scattered with papers.
“Tell me what you know,” he said, fixing his tie. “Before I lose my patience.”
She quirked a dark, manicured brow. “I love it when you lose your patience though.”
The growl that left his throat must’ve changed her mind because she strolled over to the desk and shuffled through the papers. “Here.”
He began to read them, but paused when he saw it was only about their earnings the previous month from belladonna and
familiars. “What the hell is this?”
“You need me, don’t you, Tensley?” she whispered in his ear, suddenly pressing an open-mouthed kiss to his jawline and leaving a smudge of lipstick along his collar.
He gripped her arms and threw her against the wall, only noticing then that she’d undressed to reveal black, skimpy lingerie.
“Don’t touch me,” he hissed, throwing the papers in her face. “Where’s the information about Lex? Or was this all one of your bullshit tricks?”
Evelyn reached out to caress his thighs, digging her nails into the fabric of his pants. His length stirred, but the beast stayed silent, no urge to claim her like he wanted to claim Molly. “I can make you feel so good, Tensley.”
He swatted her hand away and stepped back. “You lied to me.”
She shrugged and her small, pert breasts bounced in a way that would’ve driven him crazy before. “I needed you by yourself, so I told a little white lie. I know you still want me, Tensley. Just admit it.”
Tensley laughed bitterly. “You’re insane if you think I’d ever want you again. I don’t sleep with people who betray me.”
“Oh, but that human bitch is still fuckable? You’d spread her thighs even after she stabbed you in the back?” Evelyn’s bottom lip shook, but she steadied it and gave him a dark look. “If you so badly want to find Lex, why don’t you start at the poison?”
“The poison? What do you mean?”
“Your human whore. She’s the fucking poison.”
A shimmering anger stirred in Tensley’s depths and he lifted his chin, glaring down his nose at her. “You’re mistaken, Ms. Rose. ” She scowled, feeling his aggressive pheromones swarming her. “My daemon whore would be the correct term.”
Her mouth dropped open as her hands fell. “Your w-what?”
“Goodnight, Evelyn.” Tensley left the room, straightening his jacket and determined to get the fuck out.
When he got outside the sun had already set, and a shadowy darkness crept its way across Fifth Avenue. His phone beeped and he glanced down to see Illya’s name flash across the screen.
It was then that he saw the time—9:45 p.m. He was incredibly late to Molly’s event.
“Fuck!” He pocketed his phone and stepped into the back of his waiting car. “Get me to Madison Avenue!”
HE DIDN’T COME, Molly thought again. Disappointment wormed its way through her system, but she told herself to brush it off. Molly waved goodbye to her coworkers, plastering on the fake smile she’d worn all night. Multiple people had asked her where her date was, and she’d smiled and shrugged it off with a polite laugh. Inside though, her heart was throbbing, withering until she felt hollow.
“How stupid could you be?” she muttered to herself as she turned onto her street, passing happy couples caressing one another on benches and stairwells. The chilly night air made her bare legs prickle with goose bumps, and she pulled Tensley’s jacket closer—then considered burning it once inside her apartment.
“Molly?”
Molly spun, startled, to see Michael following after her.
“Uh, hi,” she said, a bit breathlessly. The last time they’d spoken was right after Tensley had come into her life, when Michael had asked her out. She still felt terrible about having rejected her high school crush, so it was a bit awkward to see him again.
“I was just on my way to a pub to catch up with some guys,” he explained, his eyes unable to stop taking her in as if she had just fallen from heaven. “You look…” He paused, scanning her. “Stunning.” He studied their surroundings then, seeming to notice the decrepit state of her neighborhood for the first time. “You live around here?”
“Thank you,” Molly answered sincerely. “And yeah, I moved in with September. I needed a breather from my parents.”
Michael nodded, his forest-green eyes shining under the streetlamp. “Can’t blame you for wanting some freedom.”
He was silent after that, and Molly tried to think of something to say. “I was just heading home and—”
“I’d love to come over,” he answered quickly, smiling wider.
Crap. “Oh, I—I’ve had a long night actually,” Molly fumbled. “I’m gonna crash the minute I get back.”
Michael laughed, his cheeks reddening. “I understand completely; would you be okay with me walking you home, at least?”
Ever the gentleman.
“Sure,” she replied, nodding.
As they walked, they updated each other on their lives. It was easy talking to Michael now, especially without any feelings of attraction.
“I can so see you working at the Louvre! That’s your dream job,” he said after she’d told him about the potential trip. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked, pulling her close. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks Michael.”
“I, uh, actually wanted to ask you something,” he said, clearing his throat. “I have his charity banquet thing for the NFL…it’s to help kids with disabilities; we’re raising money for them to attend this football camp, and I was wondering if you’d like to be my date.”
“Michael,” she began, shaking her head.
“I didn’t know if you were still with that guy—”
“I’m still dating him,” Molly answered, wanting to prevent him from any further rejection. “I’m sorry.”
When they were nearing her apartment, Molly saw a black car waiting outside. Her heart stalled as a tall figure got out; she’d recognize that muscled build and head of dark hair anywhere.
She faced Michael and squeezed his hand. “Goodnight, Michael. Thanks for walking me home.”
Michael gave her a hug and brief kiss on the cheek. “Any time. Great catching up with you, Mols.”
She waited until he’d walked to the end of the block before approaching Tensley.
“Business went longer than expected,” he started when he saw her. “How’d it go?”
Molly saw a smudge on Tensley’s jaw when he stepped into the light of her building’s lobby, and the blood drained from her extremities. Lipstick.
“You have something there,” she said coldly, gesturing in the general direction of the stain.
Tensley’s forehead wrinkled and his hand went to his sharp jaw line then brought the red-smeared fingers to his view. His mouth opened, but she was already up the steps of her building and fishing for her keys. “Molly, wait—”
“You know what, Tensley? Have a great night. Go back to whoever it was you were with instead of showing up to my event and proceed—oh, and remember to use protection.”
“Molly,” he repeated, his body heat warming her back.
She tried to slam the door, but he was too strong and just wrenched it open anyway. “Just leave me alone, okay?”
“Listen to me, Molly,” he said as she darted up the steep staircase and into her apartment. She threw her books and purse onto her bed and pulled back the frilly curtains, staring at the idling vehicle outside. Her heart broke when it drove off.
The front door opened and shut again.
She turned immediately, a frown on her face when she found Tensley in his fine pressed suit, standing in her living room.
She stormed toward him. “You can’t just come in here!”
“Then how about you fix your damn lock?” he snapped, his own annoyance coming to the surface, along with his demon side.
She scoffed at him and turned away. How fucking dare you? She wanted to scream, but didn’t.
She couldn’t bear to look at him, not his dark, smoldering glare or the way his jaw was soft and hard and his full lips that were so damn edible. “I get that you’re not attracted to me—”
“What?”
She looked back at him. “Well, you told Pearce blondes weren’t your type and you don’t want to be intimate with me so—”
“Fuck, Molly! I told him that so he’d back off. He likes to play mind games and I don’t want him to fuck with us,” he said, his loud voice vibrating thro
ugh the room. A neighbor pounded at the wall, but neither of them paid any notice.
She glared at him. “How am I supposed to know that, Tensley? Huh? You’re so unreadable and moody. I don’t fucking get it. I just want to help you, what’s so damn hard to understand? I just want to understand what’s going on inside your head!”
“I’m fucking stressed, okay? With everything going on, finding Lex before the hunters kill her, more of my men disappearing because of the fucking hunters… I’m stressed about running the Scorpios, about everyone fucking breathing down my neck. Every single member of Scorpios is waiting for me to fuck up, and I’m stressed about making sure you’re safe and protected. I’m just fucking stressed out, Molly,” he said, his voice starting loud and clear but ending in almost a whisper. “And fuck, I know I’m taking it out on you. You’re my top priority, my main concern, and I'm not telling you any of this because I don’t want you carrying any of it.”
Molly stared at the man, his body shaking from rage. He was weighed down by so much that she couldn’t even wrap her head around it all. Yet, he couldn’t even fathom the idea that maybe, just maybe, she wanted to help him carry all of that. She sighed, resigned.
She stayed silent for a beat, looking at him, through him, and he did the same, looking deep into her soul with his deep, dark eyes. Molly swallowed and nodded at his stained collar. “Who’s that from then?” she asked, her voice turning cold once again.
Tensley sighed. “Evelyn Rose, the woman you saw at the party.” He paused, rubbing his wrinkled forehead. “We used to see each other. It was only an arrangement between the two of us. She’d give me what I needed, and I’d return the favor when she needed it. It lasted for too long, and I guess she became possessive of me.”
Molly couldn’t hide how her features dropped, along with her stomach. “Oh…”
“She’s in the past now, Molly. I don’t want her anymore. She cornered me today after the meeting, said she had information about Lex because she knew that would get my attention. Turns out, she lied, and she tried to seduce me into having sex with her.” He watched her closely after that for a reaction. “I threw her against a wall the minute she tried it. Hopefully that demonstrates to you my feelings regarding her advances.”
