Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

Fred

I was done eating, and I wanted a tour of the house I was currently being stored in. Vincenzo was happy to oblige, and Aiden demanded to remain close to me. After ordering him to stay back last time, there was no way I could even fathom keeping him away. Another reason for the tour: my mind, as full of chaos as it was, kept returning to that night. Aine's screams, Sean's eyes…it was a prison.

"Aurora was the one to find this property. She knew my love for French provincial and scooped it right up." Vincenzo sauntered through the foyer with an air of confidence. If he was worried about the current situation, I couldn't tell.

"It's a gorgeous house. I believe Finn lives around these parts?" I looked behind me, where Aiden was trailing, and he nodded.

"He's two streets over," Vincenzo said. When my eyes widened, he chuckled. "It's my job to know these things. If you don't know where all the eyes are, you're sure to be spotted. Anyway. French provincial always caught my attention. I'm not sure if it's the balance and symmetry, the brick exteriors, or the minor things like steep roofs and substantial balustrades."

Who the hell was this guy, and at what point had I become an unwilling participant of this architectural documentary?

"Yeah, as much as I love the history lesson, I just wanted a tour of the house so I don't get lost."

Vincenzo sighed, and I swore he muttered the word brat for the hundredth time.

"Fine, a basic tour then."

After that, he showed us the living room, sitting room, bedrooms, and told us who all slept in which. We went outside to the pool and guest house where he explained his exercitus would be staying while here. What a pretentious word. Just call it army, for fuck's sake.

"And how long do you plan to keep me here?" I faced Vincenzo at the end of the tour.

"Keep you?" He rolled his eyes. "You're not a prisoner. As soon as your life was threatened, where to bring you and who to trust were the most important questions."

"Not a prisoner. Okay, then I can leave?"

He looked over to Aiden, who was uncharacteristically quiet. I'd have thought this would be a perfect moment for him to jump in and agree that we should get the hell out of here.

"Someone tried to kill you. If you go home, how sure are you they aren't lying in wait?"

I stepped closer to the man, lifted my head—because of course he was taller and broader than me—and responded, "How do I know the threat isn't in here, sleeping under the same roof as me?"

He didn't flinch. He was barely breathing as he stared right back at me. "Frederick, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. There wouldn't be any abandoned SUVs or bullet casings. You would have never gotten away that night, and only the whispers of what might have happened would linger on the lips of those who knew you."

This motherfucker…hot as he may be, was pissing me off. "Don't call me Frederick."

"Is that not your name?"

"It is if you're my grandmother, which you're not, because she's dead."

He cocked his head, and only the slight lift at the corner of his mouth broke his placid expression. "That seems to be a trend with you Brennans."

"You listen here, you piece of?—"

"Fred," Aiden interrupted. "How about you and I have a little talk about your next steps?"

Vincenzo simply quirked a brow, and without taking my eyes off the man, I answered Aiden.

"Good idea."

Vincenzo didn't attempt to follow Aiden and me to the pool house, and I was glad. He was irritating with his perfection and witty banter. Lex Talionis was a flawless and lethal organization, and while part of me could hear Snow yelling at me for poking the homicidal bear, another part of me knew I was safe. See? Irritating!

"I spoke with Oscar," Aiden began. "Finn, Rowan, and him have been keeping things running smoothly. I explained that you were recovering and safe but didn't want whoever did this to see you as weak in any way."

I furrowed my brow. "We don't know who did this, Aiden. For all we know, those three had something to do with it. Wasn't it you who said they were saying how they weren't thrilled with how things were being run?"

"Exactly. That's why I can't act any differently. If they think you suspect them, how do you think that'll end?"

He had a point. "I can't stay here. The longer I hide, the more power my enemies gain."

"You're not ready. You still need to heal."

The medical professional in me knew he was right, but the bloodthirsty part of me who sought revenge for Sean and Aine spoke up. "Maybe let me decide what I can and can't do, Aiden."

He jerked back as if I slapped him. "I didn't mean…" He sighed. "You're angry."

"No shit. The only two people who gave a shit about me in this world are dead. Because of me."

"Not because of you."

"And you know this, how?" I stared at him waiting. "You don't, do you?"

"We don't know anything, Fred."

"And we're not going to gather much information from here. We need to be out there and looking these fuckers in the eyes."

He plopped onto the chair beside me. "Have any ideas?"

"I do."

He swept his arm out. "Care to share with the class?"

"As dramatic as it sounds, I'll face them all at Sean and Aine's funeral. They'll be buried in the Brennan plot, and it will be done together…just like how they died. And there I will see all their faces, and if even one of them flinches, I'll cut their heads off."

"You've never been this brutal in all the time I've known you."

I narrowed my eyes at Aiden. "I never wanted any of this; that's no secret. But by the time I'm done with this fucking family, I'll make them all wish they never crossed me. I will make them wish Aine was the head, and they can drown on their regrets until their last breath."

"Whoa." Aiden stood. "That's if any of them are responsible. You can't go in there, guns blazing, without proof."

I smirked, anger filling my heart. "Oh, I'll have proof."

"How can you be sure you'll get it?"

My smirk turned into a full-blown grin. "Because whoever did this either didn't realize I was allied with Lex Talionis, or didn't realize how unstoppable they are. They sealed their fate when their bullets missed me, Aiden." I stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I won't miss, they will pay, and we will have our revenge."