Chapter 5

TYRONE

5

Of course Cristian had found himself a pet. He really loved acting like a knight in shining armor, too bad the women he'd claimed would be terrified and they'd cower before him, making him lose interest. He'd send them on their merry way, and they'd never speak out, knowing the price they could pay for sullying our name.

Then again, fear was something we reveled in. It was what our entire business structure and family was built on.

Fear was a weapon in this life, a means of controlling those who would dare defy us.

"He never saw what was coming for him." Julian sniffed as he inspected his bruised knuckles.

I slid my gaze to him in the passenger seat. It was one of the rare occasions I'd driven myself to collect him. Cristian had sent our youngest brother and some of our men to deal with a fiery incident of his newest pet.

I'd kept out of it, not bothering to get involved when Cristian had deemed her our new plaything.

I was tired of the women he chose, fragile little things. Some had some fire, some spark, but that was all for show. As soon as they saw just who we truly were, they ran with their tail between their legs.

"Seems the lady can pack a punch. The little waitress he was prancing around the fire with had a busted nose," Julian stated. I'd picked him up from a diner not far from the burned out bar, where he'd gone to inspect the damage caused by our new house guest.

"Well, apparently she's holed up in the bathroom," I stated as I tapped a finger on the steering wheel.

Was she going to prove to be a pain for us? A woman who burned down the bar of her cheating fiancé certainly was amusing. So she had a truly wild side, no wonder Cristian liked her.

"I wonder how she's going to be in the bedroom," Julian mused, and my lip quirked.

Cristian had said she was wild, that fire burned in her eyes. Quite the little firecracker apparently. We'd see how long that fire burned before we snuffed it out.

We'd done her a favor, and she owed us a price in flesh.

That was the deal Cristian had supposedly made.

"Faulty gas line, right?" I clarified, and Julian nodded.

"Yep, they'll keep it quiet. As for him, he won't be a problem for her." Julian's face lit up as he toyed with the engagement band, flecks of blood still on it.

I didn't bother to ask if he was alive. There was no need, I didn't care. Either way, he'd no longer be a problem, Julian was good at making sure of that.

"The waitress?" I checked.

"Dealt with as well."

"Good." I settled back in my seat, my curiosity winning out. Just who was this little blue-eyed brunette that had sparked Cristian's intrigue? If she was someone who could burn down a building, then perhaps he'd finally found us someone fun.

A woman scorned—they were the wildest of them all.

I strode through Taboo Kisses, a few of our girls already here for the morning shift. Men had itches to scratch at all times of the day, and we catered to them all, providing a morning and night set of girls.

"He said she was here with one of our girls last night," Julian mused as he ran a hand through those same blond locks he shared with our other brother. I, on the other hand, had claimed the dark hair of our father, but we all bore his dark eyes.

I gazed around the darkened area, lingering on the blonde at the bar with our bartender. The pair of them were looking our way, and there was an uneasiness in their gaze. I expected it from most of our staff, those who knew exactly who we were, but there was something in the way the blonde's eyes glittered and her jaw set.

There was something more going on there, and I took note of it.

I paused to speak to one of the security guards before we continued upstairs to our apartment here. It was only one of many, a place we stayed when we needed to check in on the local businesses or take a breather from downtown.

When we entered the apartment, the lingering scent of sex met me, and I sighed.

"Couldn't burn a candle or something?" I stated as Cristian strode out from the hall in only his sweatpants, a grin plastered on his face.

I arched a brow at his split lip. Did our guest carry similar marks?

"She woke up before I did. Fiery one, likes the pain." Cristian winked as he tossed some flimsy material to Julian, who caught it midair and scoffed. Panties, of course.

"She's in the bathroom?" I moved to the kitchen, knowing full well that our guest would be nursing quite the hangover from everything I'd heard headed over here.

Scarlet Zimmer was her name apparently. Julian had dug up information on the latest pet, as was our way. He'd sent me the files for me to peruse, which I would do once I had a moment to myself. Julian had already relayed the important stuff to me.

Estranged from shitty parents, and plenty of close calls with the police, along with some community service. She certainly was fiery, but there were plenty who rebelled, only to fall short when faced with true darkness.

"Little kitten has claws," Cristian stated as he moved past Julian to join me in the kitchen.

I was setting about making a few espressos from the machine, and he happily took the first one I made. I cast him a harsh look, but he just waggled his brows before taking a hefty gulp, unfussed by the heat of it.

"Clearly," Julian scoffed as he strode up behind him, inspecting his back.

"Bit my lip too. Haven't had that happen for a while," he stated, turning to rummage through the pantry.

I caught the nail marks scattered on his back, several looking like they'd even bled.

Well, she certainly did have claws.

"Offered her food?" I set aside a mug for her, while Julian took the other that I wasn't holding.

"Not yet, Julian wanted to test her out," Cristian stated before taking a bite from the apple he'd found.

"She's hungover," I stated, but Julian shrugged.

"Just a quick trial, see if she's worth the hassle."

I planted one hand on the counter, watching as Julian set his mug down and headed for the bathroom.

This certainly would be interesting.

I sipped my coffee with Cristian beside me, his own mug poised at his lips.

Julian knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

"Hopefully she hasn't offed herself in there." Cristian's heavy sigh made me tap a finger uneasily on the counter.

"The woman she was with last night is still here. Security says they were on the phone and looked distressed earlier," I shared. He'd said the bartender had been involved as well. I didn't like people being involved in our affairs. We didn't need this to get messy.

"Yeah, she was on the phone, I jammed the signal though." Cristian shrugged, his tattooed body a stark contrast to the navy suit I wore today. There was a meeting I was due to attend in a few hours, but I'd wanted to see what the drama here was about first.

"We'll have to deal with them. Don't want them causing us trouble with this one." I glanced at my phone, annoyed that he'd jammed the signal in here. I'd better not miss an important call. "Julian, we need her phone," I called out, not liking the thought of being off-line for too long.

"Got it." Julian pulled out the universal key for all the rooms in the apartment. Something we'd implemented after the first episode of one of Cristian's pets locking themselves in the bathroom.

I sipped my coffee, wondering just how this was going to play out.

"Come out, little kitty. I hear you're quite some fun." Julian was grinning as he pushed open the bathroom door and barged in.

I sure as shit didn't expect him to get thwacked.