He wasn’t even man enough to earn consent.
His skin cracked, and the blood trailed down his face the way I wanted to see. I kept going until he seemed disoriented, dazed by the blood loss mixing with the pain. Watching him stumble and try to stay upright only brought a smile to my face.
Leaning down to view all the glory of my handiwork, I held his throat in my grip, stabilizing him and making sure I was making eye contact. “She’s pregnant.”
We didn’t know it for sure, but I had a feeling it was true when she still didn’t get her period after praying for it like God would take pity on her. Supposedly the Clave did all the work for God, and he never gave me his pity before.
Without him responding, I could see the confusion and words trying to make it past all the metal in his mouth.
Reaching under my suit jacket, I pulled out my gun, smoothing my finger over the safety and managing to direct it towards Oscar with no mercy.
I was going to do us all a favor and end his miserable life when Bo’s silent, yet deadly, ability to appear unheard happened again. “I wouldn’t kill him.”
My head jerked Bo’s direction, waiting for the good fucking reason to come.
“All the bad ones survive and live in fear. Let him live.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Bo? He’s a fucking liability.”
Khaos ran behind him, bumping into almost everything, and Vic was doing a slow fucking trot behind him.
Great, all four of us. This meant it would probably be put to a vote now. Any time you put us all in a room, it meant the majority won.
Khaos, being the fucking relief in every room spoke: “She’s fucking pregnant. Shut the fuck up.” He handed Abigail a fucking Starburst, like it could solve all our problems, when this was the trumpet—a warning sign of the end.
Vic was silent, not even offering a displeased glare my way, when I squeezed the trigger of the gun pressed into Oscar’s temple.
There was minimal blow back as the spray from the bullet ending his life got on my suit jacket, and I shrugged it off as Oscar’s body hit the floor.
I then turned my attention to the other person I was holding accountable in the room: Jessica. She snapped to life, suddenly willing to defend herself, if it meant not dying at my hands.
“We only do as we are told. How do you expect us to know you knocked her up?” She pulled a cigarette out of her clutch and sat up, still too unbothered by me.
Closing the space between myself and her, I waited for a better excuse for her involvement.
“What do you want me to say, Jason? You know she isn’t Clave, and you made sure she is as good as dead by carrying your baby.”
Pointing a finger in her face, I spoke slowly, making sure nothing could be twisted. “You and me? Never happening. For sparing your life, you’re going to tell my parents you are no longer interested. Got it?”
With an eye roll and a subtle nod, she stood up to leave the room, having to push past the horsemen first.
Holding Abigail’s chin between my thumb and finger, I gently coaxed her into looking at me. “Tell me you’re okay.”
She nodded her head, rubbing the tears from her skin. Pressing my lips to hers, I held the distance after the quick kiss, ignoring their eyes on us.
“I love you, Abigail. I’m not gonna let bad shit happen to you.”
Looking over my shoulder, Vic stood with his arms folded, and I knew I wouldn’t get off that easy. Bo and Khaos were uninvested—only invested enough to make an educated vote, but didn’t see the bigger picture, like Vic.
“Are we going to talk about this?” Vic’s voice was raspy and pricked my skin.
Pushing past him with Abigail’s hand in mine, I only paused long enough for him to challenge me. He chose not to, which was the most shocking part.
The crowd was small, trying to see the commotion inside my room when my parents looked concerned. Once the horsemen moved to lift the veil on Oscar’s dead body in my childhood bedroom, their concern dropped down to carelessness.
Dragging Abigail behind me without stopping, I didn’t bother stopping to talk to my parents.
They didn’t deserve any answers.
They definitely didn’t deserve knowing Abigail was carrying the Rothschild heir.
Fuck, they didn’t even deserve me or my monster.
The bell rang at the perfect time, sounding off that dinner would start. It was tradition that all the guests were blindfolded. I’m sure the tradition was born out of idle hands under the guise of bonding.
“We’re leaving.” I didn’t need to say much else.
Abigail stopped following behind me, planting herself to the ground and making me pause. “They already hate me. We have to stay for dinner. Please.”
That was the last thing I wanted, but coming from her lips after what just happened, I would do anything for her—even save face.
With Abigail close behind me, we were the firsts to make it to the long tables side by side with little place cards directing everyone where to sit. The four families at one table and the extension of the Clave at another. Zeus at the head of our table seemed odd. I didn’t remember seeing him when I arrived, and in the Greek mask like an Olympian, he would be hard to miss.
Abigail was shaking like a leaf when I picked up a black satin tie to place over her mask. I stood behind her, trying to comfort her the best I could without making it even more clear Abigail belonged to me. Oscar’s dead body upstairs pretty much screamed that message without me straining my vocal chords.
Khaos had a talent for picking out pretty things and making them his; hence the alphabet he let live at his place. The blonde with the big bouncy curls clad in leather pants wasn’t going to be any different when he raced by me to practically jump over the table to claim the empty seat next to her.
“Sorry, man, this seat is taken.” I watched him turn to the bunny at his side with a charming smile. “Back, again. I have dramatic friends.”
I admired his ability to shake off the Clave, the bullshit life we were forced into, and the death that always followed us. His hands were clean, and his sleep was restful in a way that only Khaos could manage.
Abigail’s hands clutched onto mine as I tied the blindfold loosely enough to not give her any more trauma apart from what Oscar had just put her through. I was using kid gloves, even though she had survived just as much as me and I knew that only resulted in tough, solid marble.
Just like me.
Once I helped Abigail down into the seat safely, Zeus whistled, and for some reason, I looked up like the brainwashed fucking cult member I am. Walking towards him at the head of the table, I kept looking over my shoulder, making sure Abigail was exactly where I left her.
Even with the threat abolished, I still needed to protect her; that was something I couldn’t shake since meeting her. I wouldn’t be in this position if I felt just fucking nothing for her.
Standing to the side of Zeus was like standing next to a Titan. Even with him sitting down, no matter how big you felt, he could make you feel small.
Waving me closer, he whispered, “Did you figure out the Cloth situation? I like you, Grimm. I don’t want to make life difficult.”
He liked me like he liked a hole in the head. Enough to not want one.
“Working on it. Maybe if you told me what the fuck their deal was, I could tell you how much they’re falling out of line or why some blonde kid is digging into who they are with such fucking dedication.” My voice broke and snapped all over the one person I was purposely hiding everything under the surface from.