by Penelope Sky
She grabbed my hips and yanked me inside her, releasing a moan so loud, it was like she’d never had me before.
I stilled too, breathing against her mouth, panting with indescribable desire.
We breathed together, paused for a long time, before we finally started to move.
I picked up the bag from the floor and carried it into the vault, grimacing slightly because anything heavy still made my ribs ache. But I hid my expression from the men, kept quiet, and ignored the pain.
Steel set down his bags. “What happened to you?”
I turned around, keeping a blank expression. “Meaning?”
“You’re moving like you’re injured. You were fine just a few days ago.”
I held his expression and considered my response. “You know, boxing too hard.” I rubbed my hand over my stomach, touching the opposite side of where my healing ribs were located.
Steel didn’t call me out on it, but he didn’t seem to believe me.
I walked away to grab the next bag.
“Still doesn’t explain why you can’t lift more than fifty pounds.”
I stopped and turned to Ian, the only witness to the conversation. “Leave us.”
Ian dropped his bag and walked off.
I shut the door behind him then turned to Steel. “If you want to say something, just say it.”
He faced me, squared his shoulders like we were enemies rather than friends. “I know Balto took your place.”
I guess he wasn’t as stupid as the rest of them. I came toward him, getting close to his face. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I worked with Balto for years. I know his tells. You guys are completely different in every way but appearance.”
“Do the other men believe this conspiracy?”
“I don’t know. Never asked.” He stepped back, proving his loyalty by keeping his mouth shut. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I didn’t keep up the lie anymore. “I couldn’t.”
“What happened to you?” He turned back to me, standing in the sea of bags that still needed to be placed in the vault.
“Got hurt—bad.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, his head tilted. “And why is that something to hide?”
“Because I was practically a corpse.” It had been hard to look in the mirror and see the beating I’d taken without fighting back. It was difficult to see my punishment, even if I’d deserved it.
His anger started to fade. “Who did this to you?”
“It was a personal matter, so had nothing to do with our organization.”
He raised both eyebrows. “Someone kicked your ass, and your response is to do nothing?”
“I deserved it,” I snapped. “And this is exactly why I didn’t tell you. The men would want justice for what was done to me, and if I didn’t do something myself, they would question my leadership. And if Vox saw me in my weakened state, he might have taken the opportunity to replace me or finish me off. It was easier this way.”
He was quiet for a long time, staring at me with his arms still crossed over his chest. “You still could have told me. I could have helped.”
“I needed you to keep working. You’re one of the men I trust most. I knew Balto could rely on you.”
That didn’t end his disappointment. “So, what happened?”
“I told you.” I grabbed a bag and carried it into the vault. “It’s a personal matter…” I tossed it onto the pile to be counted later before I turned back to him.
Steel didn’t like that answer, but he didn’t complain. “Fine.” He turned away and started working again, quietly hostile, loudly disappointed.
I grabbed him by the arm and forced him to look at me. “You remember that woman I told you about?”
He nodded.
“I had to do something for her…and it cost me.” I released my hand. “That’s all I’ll say about it.”
I walked through the dancers backstage and spotted my woman at her vanity, looking into her mirror as she pulled all the dark pins from her hair, slowly releasing those silky strands so they came free and cascaded down her back. Everything happened in real time, but for me, it was slow motion.
I came up behind her, the sunflowers held at my stomach.
When she saw me in the reflection, her eyes focused on the flowers I’d brought for her. She stared for a while before she lifted her gaze and looked into my face.
I was in a black jacket with a shirt underneath, ignoring the dress code they tried to force me to obey. I moved to the vase on the corner of her table and dropped them inside. There was also a bottle of water there, so I removed the cap and filled the vase, letting the stems soak up the moisture to last during the week.
With a slight smile, she stared at the vase before she raised her chin to look at me. “Never pictured you as the candy and flowers kinda guy…”
“It gets me laid, so I am now.” I sat on the bench beside her, my hand immediately moving to her thigh, the mirror positioned in front of us both. My body inched closer to hers until our foreheads touched. I stared at her lips, which were still painted with a bold red color.
Her hand went to the front of my shirt, and she grasped it as she lifted her mouth to kiss me. Then she whispered, her lips moving right against mine as she spoke. “I love you…”
I rubbed my nose against hers before I kissed her again. “And I you.”
Her fingers released my shirt so I could rise.
I got to my feet and stepped out of the way so she could finish removing her heavy makeup. That was when I saw him.
Damien.
He stood with Anna by his side, dressed in his finest for a night at the ballet.
Catalina must have seen him in the reflection, because she released a quiet gasp, like her heart jumped into her throat.
I was frozen to the spot, caught off guard for the first time in my life, because I hadn’t noticed him in the theatre. But then again, I wasn’t really looking because now I wasn’t living a lie anymore.
He stared at me for several heartbeats, all his rage and disappointment so obvious in his subtle reactions, the way his lips were slightly tight with an irritated scowl, the way his eyes were all about business and not pleasure.
Anna didn’t know what to do, so she looked in a different direction, her hand still in Damien’s. She was in a gown, her brown hair pinned back.
It must have been even more difficult for Damien to look at me when Anna was with him since I’d been the one to take her from the hospital.
Silence grew, and nothing happened.
I didn’t know what to do, whether to crack a joke or keep my mouth shut. But I didn’t want to make the situation worse.
Damien stepped forward, closer to his sister. As if he was being possessive of her, he placed his body between us, cutting me off from her. “Leave.” He dropped Anna’s hand and stared me down, like a lion defending his pride. He didn’t raise his voice, but his threat was unmistakable. He wouldn’t hunt me down and hurt me, but he would protect what he considered to be his.
Even though his sister was mine.
He waited for me to leave, didn’t blink once as he looked at me, furious.
I didn’t want to walk away. I didn’t want to cave. I had every right to be there, to bring her flowers and tell her I loved her. But the confrontation told me how soft my grasp on her wrist was, how she could never really be mine until her brother stopped looking at me like that. “I love her.” That was the only thing that came to mind, the only thing I could say that was still a rebuttal but not a hostile one. He must have seen the way I’d brought her flowers, the way I’d sat beside her and kissed her, the way she’d grabbed me and told me she loved me. How could he watch that and feel nothing at all? How could his hatred be so potent?
He stepped closer to me, getting so close that he blocked my view of the girls. “If you really loved her, you would leave.” His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked into mine. “Not the sit
uation. Her. You would leave her. You’re a selfish motherfucker who would rather drive a wedge between her and her family than bow out. You would rather waste her time than let her find the man she deserves. So, no, you don’t fucking love her. You never did. And you never will.”
Six
Catalina
It was unlike Heath to back down from a fight, but he did.
He left out the back entrance.
He didn’t look at me before he went. He didn’t challenge my brother. He just walked away.
There was no other decision except that one, and I was glad I didn’t have to talk Heath into it. The instant I noticed my brother was behind me, my lungs became so cold, they tightened and stopped me from breathing. I felt like I’d been caught red-handed stealing or having a boy in my bedroom when I was specifically told not to.
When it was just us, I stared at myself for a few seconds in the vanity before I wiped at my skin, getting rid of the ridiculous stage makeup that highlighted every single expression I made under the hot lights.
Then I rose to my feet, grabbed my bag, and faced my brother.
He still looked angry. He stared at me for a long time without speaking, like he was disgusted with me for the display of affection I’d just shown, grabbing and kissing a man he’d declared a blood enemy, an enemy who would be passed down through generations.
I had no idea how my face looked at that moment, if I appeared embarrassed by what he’d witnessed, uncomfortable that he was there, angry with him for ordering my lover away when he shouldn’t have. I really had no idea.
“Annabella and I wanted to invite you to dinner.” He forced out the words with effort, like it pained him to pretend that nothing had happened.
“I’m not hungry.” Heath had probably been planning to take me out to dinner, to tell me how beautiful I looked onstage, to stare at me like he couldn’t believe I was his. He could have joined us and done all those things, but he was exiled.
Damien seemed annoyed by my response but didn’t reprimand me for it. “Then we’ll take you home.”
I was too numb to argue, so I didn’t say anything.
Anna didn’t say anything either, her eyes downcast like she thought she was prying by being there.
The three of us walked to the parking lot, and Damien drove me to my apartment. Anna stayed in the car, probably because she anticipated a fight she shouldn’t witness, and my brother walked me to the door.
I unlocked the door and stepped inside. I hung my heavy coat by the door and tossed my purse onto the table against the wall. While I was happy Damien had come to see my performance, I was also annoyed he’d ruined my night. “What’s the point of this, Damien?” I turned to him, the logs of my fire rekindling because there was a subtle spark there, underneath the simmering embers. “I’m going to Heath’s place when you leave anyway.” With my hands on my hips, I faced my brother. He never stuck his nose into my business and never tried the protective brother act, but now he was being a goddamn dictator.
All he did was stare at me.
“This is stupid. Don’t you think this is stupid?” My voice rose, packed with emotional frustration.
He kept his voice calm. “I don’t want to see him. I don’t want to talk about him. I don’t want to know he exists. Made that pretty clear.”
“Well, the theatre is a public place. It’s not your home or a family dinner. He shouldn’t have to disappear every time you step into the room—”
“Yes, he should.” His eyes started to light up like mine. “He’s a smart guy. He could have figured out I was in the theatre if he paid attention.”
“Well, maybe he was too busy watching me,” I snapped.
My brother didn’t lose his temper like I did, but his quiet rage was somehow just as potent. “I won’t apologize for what I did. I won’t change my behavior. Learn from your mistakes.” He turned to the door.
“Learn from my mistakes?” I asked incredulously. “You really want nothing to do with him? Then you should text me and tell me when you’re coming to a show. Tell me when you’re stopping by my apartment.”
He slowly turned back to me. “I’m your goddamn family. I don’t have to do that.”
“You can’t have it both ways, Damien,” I said as I shook my head.
He slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks, his silver watch visible around his wrist.
I took a deep breath and let the air escape my lungs. “Damien.”
His eyes narrowed like he knew what was coming.
“This is the man I love…”
He cringed like it was painful to hear, disgusting. “No. He gives you good sex. That’s it.”
I stilled at the crass comment because I’d never heard my brother talk like that.
“You can get good dick anywhere, Catalina. Don’t fall for his macho bullshit. Don’t fall for the bad boy turned good routine. Because they never turn good. Ever.”
“Well, this one has, Damien. He’s proved it to you.”
“No.” He stepped closer to me. “He’s only playing nice because I have something he wants—and I won’t give it to him.”
“Have something he wants?” My eyes narrowed. “I better not be that something, Damien. Because you don’t have me.”
“When Dad is gone, I’m the man of this family. So, yes—”
“Fuck you. I’m glad I won’t have your last name when I get married.”
“You’ll never have his last name, that’s for damn sure.” Now he raised his voice, now he lost his temper, now his green eyes were vicious like mine.
“Damien.” I stomped my foot. “This is how bitter you are? This is who you really want to be? Because you’re being a fucking asshole.”
“I’d rather be an asshole than a murderer.”
I sighed at the insult.
Damien dragged his hand down his cheek to his chin, like he was calming himself after screaming at me. He looked away, stared at my kitchen for a few minutes, and then cleared his throat and looked back at me. “I don’t want us to be like this. That man has caused enough turmoil in our family. We’re just going to have to agree to disagree.”
I didn’t just want Heath because I couldn’t have him. I wanted him because it felt right, because he made me happy. “Damien…please.”
“No.”
“How would you feel if I told you I would never like Anna? The woman you love? The only woman you’ve ever loved? What if I said I didn’t like the fact that she’s already been married twice? What if I said I didn’t like the fact that she caused danger to our family because of her ex-husband?”
His eyes narrowed. “Not the same thing at all.”
“But what if I felt that way? What if I refused to get along with the woman you’re in love with?”
He stared me down.
“It would kill you. So, imagine how I feel right now.”
“You know what kills me?” he whispered. “Walking up to you with my fiancée, holding her hand while I look at the man who took her from her hospital room, the man who broke through my window, which resulted in her being shot in the first place. You forced me to stand there, with them just feet apart, and not shoot him in the fucking face.”
“Heath would never hurt Anna—”
“But he already did. My job as her husband is to protect her. But I have to stand there like a goddamn joke.”
“She’s not afraid of him.”
“How do you know how she feels?” he snapped.
“Because Anna would want me to be happy.”
His wide eyes shone with ferocity. “There are a million guys out there, Catalina. And you’re so beautiful that you could have anyone you want. Just find someone else. It’s that simple.”
“How would you feel if I told you the same thing?”
“Well, I’m marrying her, so there is no one else for me.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “And I might like to marry Heath…someday.”
He shook his head slig
htly, showing how much that irritated him. “You’re smarter than this, Catalina. Even if you two are Romeo and Juliet, the infatuation and lust aren’t worth your demise.”
“Damien, it’s not infatuation and lust—”
“It must be because you would never love someone who’s hurt your family.” He came closer to me, starting to yell again. “I refuse to believe you would be that disloyal, so I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this is a really potent hit of lust. You want to fuck him? Fine. Fuck him and move on.”
“I told you I loved him—and I meant it.”
He stepped back, rubbing the back of his head. “I can’t believe you’re going to do this. I can’t believe you’re going to hurt your family like this—for a guy. Come on, look at yourself.” He raised both hands at me. “I’ve never had a poorer opinion of you than I do right now.”
That hurt—so fucking bad. My eyes immediately watered. “Don’t say that to me…”
“That’s how I really feel, Catalina. I’ve always been proud of you as my sister because you’re strong, fierce, independent, and so fucking smart that I’m pretty sure you’re smarter than me…and this is who you want to be with? It’s like a princess wanting to be with the assassin that tried to murder the king—her father. It’s like you’re brainwashed or something.”
“Look, you don’t know what we have. You’re seeing it from an outside point of view—”
“I’m seeing it objectively.”
“He’s not the same man, Damien. He didn’t just change because he wants something from you. He’s changed because…he’s changed.” I wanted to tell him what had happened to me, that Heath had rescued me when he could have easily walked away, that the incident more than vindicated him. But if I did…it would hurt Damien beyond repair, to know what had happened to me.
He rolled his eyes.
“You just said how smart I am. Could you please just take a leap of faith for me? Could you please just do this for me? Just try? It would mean—”
“No.” He slid his hands back into his pockets. “Heath and I have a long history. He’s walked into my office so many times and made me feel like his bitch. This hatred runs deep in my veins for many reasons, not just one. You’re asking me to forget all of that.”
