Page 39 of These Dangerous Fates

I shrug my shoulders. “Couldn’t sleep.” I watch him carefully. This would be the first time I’ve ever disobeyed his orders, and I have no clue how he’ll react.

“Where’s Sterling?” he asks, glancing around. “You shouldn’t be here by yourself.” No anger in his voice, just disapproval that I didn’t listen to him.

“He didn’t want to be around me, apparently.” I cringe at the bitterness in my tone.

My gaze travels over Malakai, then Cade as he steps around his friend. The blood drains from my face when I get a good look at them, leaving me dizzy and lightheaded. They’re both wearing black leather armor and black boots. Weapons are strapped to every inch of their bodies—knives, guns, throwing stars, even a couple of swords. It’s not the weapons that give me pause, though.

“Is that blood?” My voice is barely a whisper as I voice the question. The visceral reaction I have to blood is something I’m not sure I’ll ever get over.

Their leathers are covered in brownish stains. Red drops are splattered on Cade’s neck and they both have dried blood crusted in the creases of their hands. Malakai even has a trail of it from his mouth down his chin.

Cade freezes as he realizes what they must look like. His eyes widen and he raises both hands to pacify me, only to notice the blood on them and shove them behind his back instead.

“Not ours,” Malakai says as he smoothly walks toward me. His hands make quick work of the weapons strapped to his body as he drops them on the counter, the metal clanking against the marble.

My gaze locks onto him, and I watch him prowl to the island. He moves like a lethal cat. If it weren’t for the pale skin and fangs, I could easily mistake him for some kind of feline shifter. I don’t know why, but my body reacts to the sight of him in leather and weapons. He’s dangerous, and he looks every inch the predator he is. But I know—some primal part of me knows—he would never hurt me. The conviction of that thought gives me pause.

Malakai reaches for a strawberry, and my gaze is transfixed on his mouth as he slowly wraps his lips around the fruit and bites down. Red juice dribbles down his chin, mixing with the blood. I run my tongue along my lower lip, so tempted to lick up the juice, and his gaze follows the movement. When his eyes meet mine, they are hooded and dark with arousal. A thrill travels through me as I remember the scene that played out in Malakai’s bed before the first challenge. I really want them to make me feel that good again.

Cade enters my field of vision, weapons still strapped to his body, and I’m snapped out of the moment as Malakai’s words finally sink in through my lust-addled brain.

“If it’s not your blood, whose is it?” I have to clear my throat—that husky sound is not what I sound like at all.

Malakai glances at Cade, who nods. A purple light settles around the kitchen, coating the walls and doors like a second layer of paint. Malakai hops up onto the countertop and leans back on his hands.

“What we say here cannot leave this room.” He levels a stare at me, and there is no amusement glittering in his eyes like usual. “Cade just set wards so no one can enter or listen in. If it ever gets out, Cade, Sterling, and I will be killed. And probably you, too.”

I swallow but nod my head. When Malakai is this serious, I know better than to second guess his judgment.

“My father has trained us to do his dirty work,” he says. “Anyone he needs taken out of the picture, we are the ones who do it.”

A stone drops in my stomach. Those few strawberries I ate threaten to come back up. I had always heard the rumors about the guys, but after spending time with them, I couldn’t imagine them killing people for no reason.

“You’re assassins.” I whisper. Fear causes my heart to race in my chest, and I have to clasp my hands together to hide their trembling.

“For a while, we did what he said. No questions asked.” Cade says as he picks up where Malakai left off. His hands move over the straps of his weapons, removing and adding them to Malakai’s pile on the counter. His movements are effortless and speak to the many times he’s probably done it. “It’s not something any of us are proud of, but at the time, we didn’t have a choice. If we didn’t do as he asked, he tortured us. Threatened to kill us. Threatened my mom and sister.”

I blink. I didn’t realize Cade had a mom and sister. It gets added to my list of questions.

Malakai leans his elbows on his knees. “It took us some time to make the connections and get the resources we needed, but eventually, we found a different solution to my dad’s missions. Something other than the deaths of innocent people.”

“If the people Salvatore asks us to kill are innocent, we offer them a choice.” Cade crosses his arms over his chest and leans his hips against the island. “They can die by our hands or they can disappear. Become different people. Pack up, move away, and never return. All of them choose to disappear.”

“We give them money, new identities, and tickets on the next boat out of Lustros.” Malakai looks at me, his eyes so serious it’s unsettling.

“What about the blood?” I ask, gesturing to them.

Cade grimaces. “We have to set the scene to make Salvatore believe we followed his orders.”

“We take criminals from the prisons,” Malakai explains. “Men who truly deserve the death we end up giving them.”

“It’s messy and gory.” Cade’s eyes are trained on me, like he’s trying to read what I’m feeling. “But, in order to fool Salvatore, there can’t be anything left to identify who was really murdered.”

Holy. Shit. What they are doing is so incredibly dangerous. Malakai wasn’t lying. If his dad ever finds out what they do, they will all be killed.

Cade rubs the back of his neck, dried blood flaking off and falling to the counter. “Does this change your opinion of us?”

I let myself really consider this. Do I like that they murder people? Not particularly. Is what they do better than murdering innocent people? I guess so. They don’t have a choice. I understand that, and I know what it feels like to not have a choice in your life decisions.

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