I started to think about Sofia and Andrew. What if this was all a setup?
Damien grabbed my wrists and yanked. “Sofia. Andrew.”
I finally came to my senses and let him pull my hands away.
Maddox gasped for air and rolled over onto his side so he could cough and recuperate. He was red as a tomato and weak as a piece of straw.
I dragged my hands down my face and suffered my self-loathing. I’d lost my temper and could’ve lost a lot more.
Damien watched me with pity in his eyes.
Maddox eventually got to his feet. “I was just trying to bond with you.”
I was still on the ground, so I spat on his shoe. “Fuck off.”
He looked down at his shoe and watched the glob of spit reflect the light from the ceiling. He stared at it for a long time before he kneeled down and wiped it up with his fingertip. Then he stared at me like he was considering wiping it on my cheek or my clothes. But then he did the unexpected and placed the finger into his mouth and sucked.
Weeks had passed since Andrew’s birth, and I seemed to be getting worse.
There were times when I became so weak, I almost called Sofia to apologize. I wanted to tell her it was all a mistake, that I couldn’t live without her. I wanted to text her and ask for pictures of Andrew. I wanted to return to Rome so I could make love to her.
I couldn’t do any of those things…and they were torture to think about.
Could I live like this forever?
Maddox and I continued to work together like nothing had happened. He was just as obnoxious as always, but he dialed down his intensity so he was somewhat tolerable. I wondered what would’ve happened if I’d killed him in my office.
Would I have gotten away with it?
Or would Sofia and Andrew be dead right now?
I sat on the balcony outside my bedroom and watched my brother sitting across from me. He’d stopped by for a visit because he was in the city. His large shoulders covered the back of the chair, and his tight t-shirt showed off all the muscles of his arms and chest. He eyed the bottle of scotch in the center of the table and grabbed it without looking for a glass first. “I knew you were gonna look like shit, but I had no idea you would look this bad.”
I stared at the table. “What did you expect?”
He shrugged. “Not sure.” He took a drink. “How are things here?”
I was living in the underworld…and I wasn’t even the king. “I almost killed Maddox last week, but Damien stopped me.”
“Good thing he was there.”
I still wondered what would’ve happened if I’d gone through with it. Did Maddox have spies in my own office? Did he always have an escape plan anytime he was near me? I wouldn’t put it past him. “I spat on his shoe.”
Ash cocked an eyebrow.
“He wiped it up with his finger…and then sucked it.” I’d seen a lot of terrible shit, but I’d never seen anything so disgusting in my life. I’d dealt with a lot of bad men, but they were logical and respectable. This guy was just a lunatic.
“What the fuck?” Ash stared at me blankly before he cringed. “Who does that?”
I shrugged before I took a drink.
“Is this guy in love with you or what?”
I shrugged again. “I have no fucking idea. He is obsessed with me, that’s for certain. He says we’re the same.”
“Same, how?”
“He killed his mother… I killed my father. We’re both in the same business. Even when we weren’t partners, he never wanted to kill me. If anything, he wanted me to succeed. He’s practically indifferent to Damien, but he can’t get enough of me.”
“Is he gay?”
“No idea. I’ve never asked him anything personal.”
“But do you ever see him with girls?”
I shook my head.
“Maybe he wants to be you.”
“I don’t understand him, and I don’t want to.” If he wanted to be me, that was just odd. And if he was in love with me, I never wanted him to think I felt the same way. It was best just to leave it alone.
After minutes of silence, Ash changed the subject. “I saw Sofia last week.”
I knew he’d gone to see Andrew, but I never asked him about it.
“Your son is cute, man.”
Thinking about him nearly brought tears to my eyes. “Thanks.”
“She told me that you left. Was really upset about it.”
No surprise there.
“Said you were a coward. But I set her straight.”
“You don’t have to defend me to her. It’s better if she hates me anyway. It’ll help me move on.”
Ash looked at me for a long time, a mixture of pity and sadness on his face. He rubbed his forefinger against the scruff along his jaw as he considered what he would say next. “Can you ever really move on?”
I walked through the bazaar and watched the fire dancers delicately place knives into their throats before they blew fire out like dragons. Black cobras hissed on the ground before they listened to the hypnotizing music of the performer. There were bonfires everywhere, belly dancers in the square, and camels being led to their next destination.
With my hands in my jeans pockets, I walked forward and ignored the solicitations from the carts and the flirtatious gazes of the gypsies. Since I’d been to the tent many times, I knew my way there. I turned when I saw the large pottery station, and I spotted it exactly where it had been before. Still purple and still abandoned. There was no one there.
I walked to the flap and let myself inside. Timeless, it was exactly the same. Oils burned and filled the tent with a suffocating scent. The wooden chair looked like it was on its last stretch of life. The reading cards were on the table.
The gypsy flipped through them, wearing a dark scarf wrapped around her head and neck. She didn’t look up even though she knew I was there. “I’ve never had so much business from one client.”
“You’ve only taken my money once, so I don’t think I’m good for business.” I helped myself into the chair and watched her arrange the cards. I didn’t believe in magic or superstition. But whatever the fuck this was, I believed.
She continued to play with the cards. She would flip them over, and if she found a complementary pair, she would take them off the table. “How can I help you, Hades?”
“I need you to read my fortune again.”
She stopped what she was doing and finally lifted her gaze to meet mine. “One fortune per customer. That’s the rule.”
“Rules are meant to be broken.”
She smiled like she found me charming. “The answer is still no.”
I reached into my pocket and grabbed an envelope stuffed with money. I set it on the table in front of her. “Please help me.”
She eyed the cash but didn’t take it. “What do you hope to achieve?”
“I just need to know if there’s any chance. If there’s a chance that I can kill Maddox and get my family back.” I couldn’t take the risk when two people I loved were at stake. If I made the wrong move, I could lose the most important thing in the world. I had to be sure.
She pushed the cash back toward me. “Your money is no good here. I told you, one fortune per person. Period.” She pulled the cards toward her and then stacked them into a pile. “That’s the way this works. No exceptions for anyone.”