26. Jesse

Chapter twenty-six

Jesse

I missed the days when we used to come to parties and have fun. Now it was all business, posturing, me scowling slightly behind Erik as he made promises to bad people that we would be the future of this city, and that King Sr. was a relic who'd outlived his usefulness. Erik was terrifyingly adept at this, his manic charm making it impossible for people to say no to him. Or maybe, that was just his luck.

Still though, sometimes being Erik's right-hand man really sucked.

Like when we spent nearly the entirety of a lavish party trapped in a stuffy office, kissing ass and making allegiances, while our princess was wandering around the party getting into trouble. I was surprised to see how flustered she looked when we found her since we'd left her with Anders and Levy. But then Erik had filled me in on her and Levy's escapades, and her flushed cheeks and wide eyes made much more sense. I loved that she was getting bolder, finding her footing among us monsters.

Of course, someone had to go and ruin it before I'd even gotten to finish my drink. Anders appeared at my side as we walked toward the patio doors, and he looked… surprisingly animated, like he'd forgotten to take his emotionless pills this morning. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was itching for a fight… or something else, even.

Some idiot was waving a gun around, beside the pool, joined by some dour-looking goons. He was an older man, probably irritated that none of the youths around him were acting the least bit intimidated by him.

Erik still had his arm around Grace, and I stuck to her side, flanking them. She caught sight of the guy with the gun, and the color leached out of her face all at once. I touched her arm, and she flinched before she realized it was me. "Who is it?" I signed.

"B-I-L-L," she spelt out, her shoulders drawing in as she curled up into herself. Ah, so this was the infamous Bill . I glanced at Anders, relaying the information, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. I put my hand on her lower back to steady her, feeling my arm brush against Levy, who was right on our heels. Kicking the ever-loving shit out of one of the abusive assholes from Grace's past could be just the thing that turned this evening around for me.

"Is there a problem here?" Erik signed, translating what Seb was shouting. The irate man turned and focused on Erik, then on Grace; surprise, and then fury flashed across his face. He proceeded to spew some sort of tirade at Erik. I was sure it mostly consisted of "How dare you, this is an act of war, you'll return Grace to us immediately or else, blah blah blah." Erik rolled his eyes, waiting for him to finish yelling.

"We didn't do anything, despite what your employer thinks. Does this look like someone who has been kidnapped and locked in a basement somewhere?" Erik signed for my benefit, and Grace held her chin up despite the tremors running down her back.

Bill seethed, advancing on us and pointing his gun at Erik's chest. His eyes focused on Grace, and he started yelling again, making her flinch and step back into my hand. Her shoulders tensed, and her fists clenched even as a small tremble rippled through her jaw. She was doing so well, our fierce little princess.

"I'm not going back," Grace signed as she announced it to the crowd, and I saw Erik smirk beside her. Bill advanced on her, and finally Erik drew his gun from inside his jacket, holding it loosely at his side. Bill was spitting mad— actually spitting —he was practically foaming at the mouth, shouting what I could only imagine were some nasty words at Grace, whose hands were clasped tightly in front of her. I kept my hand on her lower back, offering her support, as Erik stepped forward to prevent Bill from getting too close.

To my surprise, Grace grabbed his arm, pulling him back with a small shake of her head. I glanced at him quickly as she stepped toward Bill, unsure if we should stay close or let her be. She was shaking like a leaf, but her chin was raised as Bill continued to spew what I could only assume was more vitriol at her. When he raised his hand as if to hit her, I started forward, but he froze mid-swing, swaying a moment before dropping to his knees, dazed. Erik was too stunned to react when Grace snatched the gun out of his hand and brought it to Bill's forehead. I pulled out my gun, daring his goons to try something. I enjoyed watching them panic as their boss closed his eyes, smiling up at the gun Grace held against him.

"Don't! Let her have this," Anders signed at me, his eyes lit up with a haunting mix of curiosity and desire.

Erik was frowning, his hands clenched into fists, but he made no move to approach her. I needed closed captions for what was happening right now, but everyone was too on edge to bother with the niceties of filling me in on what was being said.

Grace finally shoved Bill's head back with the tip of the gun and stepped away, leaving him swaying on his knees as she handed Erik back his gun and stormed off inside.

That was my girl, I knew she wouldn't execute a man in cold blood. As much as I wanted to deliver my own message to our friend Bill, I was more concerned about Grace's well-being. I left Erik to clean up the mess by the pool, following Grace back inside the house.

I guessed the gun waving around had put a damper on things. The living room had cleared out, the guests all running for safety downstairs or outside. I found our princess curled up on the couch, her arms wrapped around her legs as she made herself small. "You were great out there," I signed, and she gave me a sad smile that broke my heart. Dropping down beside her, I tugged her arms gently, pulling her onto my lap so she was facing me, her legs straddling mine.

"I couldn't do it," she signed slowly, her eyes dropping to my chest. "I wanted to, he deserved it. But I couldn't." I caught her chin with my finger, bringing it back up until her eyes met mine.

"That's okay, you don't need to. That's what we are here for," I signed, grinning. "A princess needs her knights." She frowned at the unfamiliar signs, and I sent her an image of her on a throne with us kneeling at her feet, decked out in armor.

Grace laughed, her eyes shining with unshed tears, and I could tell the pain was still there. "He won't ever hurt you again, not while we're around. I promise." It was a hefty promise to make, and god only knew if we could succeed. But the smile it brought to her lips was worth it. I could die happy if the last thing I saw was her smile.

Movement out of the corner of my eye had me turning, and I saw Erik marching toward us, tucking his gun back into its holster. He looked grim, but the corners of his mouth curved up when he saw Grace smiling. "Everything is taken care of," he told us, stopping behind Grace. He wrapped his hand around her throat, his fingers gentle as he tilted her head back so she was looking at him. Grace's thighs tightened around mine as he leaned down and captured her lips with his. I grasped her waist to hold her steady, watching them hungrily. When Erik finally released her, she was gasping, her lips parted as a flush crept up her cheeks. I felt myself thicken underneath her as the heat in the room seemed to spike.

Anders approached our little group, hovering behind Erik and looking distinctly predatory, his hair slicked back and his eyes sharp. I was sure Levy was nearby as well. The dirty things I wanted to do with our princess flitted through my brain, and I sent them to Erik, smirking as he swallowed roughly. I was disappointed when he shook his head, but his eyes flicked behind me, to where I could only assume the party guests were lingering around the pool.

Right, this wasn't home, we couldn't get carried away here.

I groaned low in my throat and smoothed Grace's hair back, out of her face. "Ready to go, princess?" I signed, and she nodded, letting me help her off my lap. Erik smirked at me as I adjusted myself, and I flipped him off. He was just as guilty as I was.

We said a quick goodbye to Seb, who was still trying to salvage his party, although the blood splattered around the side of the pool seemed to have sobered everyone up. Grace stiffened at the sight of the stains, but didn't ask about it, giving Seb a small smile before we made our way out of the house. Levy was visible again and went ahead to get the car pulled around. Anders hopped in the driver's seat as usual, and I beat Erik to the back door, helping Grace inside before following after her, shooting Erik a smirk. He rolled his eyes and climbed in on the passenger side, turning around immediately to talk to us.

"The shitstorm is going to be raining down pretty soon, so we need to be prepared, alright?" he signed as Anders sped off toward home. "I'm sure Bill's message will be reaching Douglas soon, so let's expect that to escalate. Not to mention, he might reach out to my father directly and pull the pin on that grenade." He mimed an explosion, and Grace shivered beside me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, bumping Levy's invisible shoulder with my knuckles.

Erik jerked his head at the space beside Grace and signed on Levy's behalf, "I can check for holes in our security system, make sure the perimeter is fully guarded, and watch the cameras if they try to visit in person." I nodded, reaching out to give his shoulder a little squeeze.

"I'll alert our allies, let them know the war has officially started," Erik continued. "If all goes well, my father will surrender control peacefully, and with that allegiance severed, Douglas will be left adrift and royally fucked." He smirked. "In the meantime, no one wanders off by themselves; that means you Angel." He winked at Grace, who rolled her eyes at him.

Erik's grin widened, thoroughly enjoying the little bits of progress Grace was making. She was already acting like one of us. I kissed her forehead and gave her a little squeeze, catching Erik watching us, practically buzzing with energy.

He thrived off chaos, and this was a true clusterfuck in the making.