Page 34 of Pike’s Redemption

She nodded again, and I could see the tension in her easing slightly. “Thanks, Pike. I appreciate that.” Her chin set stubbornly. “I’m not afraid of him, you know. Of Eli.”

“You should be,” I snapped vehemently. “You have no idea what could happen. I have no idea what could happen or who he is, and I’m his brother.” Her shoulders squared as she considered me.

“I get that you’re worried and don’t know who he grew up to be.” Each word hit harder than the last, like lead bullets pounding into my flesh. “That doesn’t mean he’s evil like this Victor guy.”

“It doesn’t mean he’s not either. You don’t know him.” Her face fell, but I didn’t feel bad about it. He was my brother, and I didn’t know him either. She couldn’t know him — I wouldn’t believe that. She’d been here in the area for a hot minute. It wasn’t safe to be getting gifts from him like that. “Get some rest,” I said, squeezing her shoulder before heading back upstairs, ignoring the sad look that she gave me before I went. Suddenly, I didn’t want to talk to her anymore about the tiny pile of river rocks that Eli was leaving her. Fucking weird. I was scared for her, honestly. God only knew what Nat was thinking about this whole situation. What if Eli did something to her sister? Fuck, she’d never forgive me.

As I climbed the stairs, my mind was a mess of conflicting emotions. Ronnie's stubbornness was a challenge that I had been enjoying when it benefited me — which made me a dick, but this was different. This wasn’t just about her being tough or independent. This was about survival, and she didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. Eli was dangerous—hell, he might be even worse than Victor. The fact that she couldn’t see that terrified me.

As I headed back upstairs, my mind churned with everything I’d just learned from Ronnie. The pieces were starting to fit together but formed a picture I didn’t want to see. Victor pulled the strings, the mastermind who enjoyed toying with people’s lives. This situation—manipulating Eli, getting into Ronnie’s head, leaving those strange little gifts to unsettle her.

I moved silently through the house, double-checking the locks and windows, even though I knew Enzo and Luca had already done the rounds. I needed to feel the security measures for myself, to reassure myself that we had things under control.

The house was quiet, almost eerily so, and I longed for the comfort of Natasha’s presence. She had a way of calming the storm in me, but I couldn’t bring this to her—not yet. She had enough on her plate.

I heard a soft creak behind me as I passed through the hallway. Instinctively, I reached for the knife tucked in my waistband, spinning around to face the threat. But it was just Dimitri, standing at the edge of the shadows, watching me with his unreadable expression.

“Everything okay?” he asked, his voice low.

“Yeah,” I lied, slipping the knife back into its sheath. “Ronnie’s just… being Ronnie. Stubborn.”

Dimitri nodded as if he understood everything from that one sentence. And maybe he did. I knew he’d not had that much time with his cousins. I did trust him to handle this with me. Not only ensuring the girls were safe but also the ensuing drama with my brother. We’d been through enough together that words were often unnecessary.

“I don’t trust this,” I admitted, running a hand through my hair. “This whole situation with Eli… it feels wrong.” I struggled to put my feelings into words. It wasn’t the right one. “Not wrong exactly, just ‘off,’ I guess. Something about the whole thing doesn’t sit right.”

“No, I agree. Something doesn’t smell right,” Dimitri agreed. “But we’ll handle it like we always do. Whatever weird fucked up games this guy wants to play, then we’ll try to counter them. Let’s not get too caught up in our own heads. Or overcomplicate it. We are here to protect and defend. If we can, we’ll trap this asshole at Kent’s.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, but the doubt lingered. Something about Victor coming into our life now with Eli’s return, about how he was playing his hand, made my skin crawl. He wasn’t just toying with us but laying the groundwork for something much bigger, but essentially, Dimitri was right. Letting him plant worms in our brains made his job easier and ours harder. We needed to stay focused on the task.

Dimitri stepped closer, placing a hand on my shoulder. “We’ve got each other’s backs, Pike. We’ll get through this.”

I nodded, grateful for the reassurance, but it wasn’t enough to ease the tension coiled in my gut. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were all pieces in a game Victor was orchestrating—and that he was always three steps ahead.

“Get some rest,” Dimitri said, his hand dropping back to his side. “We’ll regroup in the morning. We’ve got men all over the place and the security locked back down.”

“Yeah,” I repeated, knowing sleep wouldn’t come easy. Not with everything hanging over us like a guillotine. “I’ll check on Nat, at least.”

I returned to Natasha’s room, my steps slower and heavier than before. When I pushed open the door, I found her still asleep, curled under the blankets like she was trying to shield herself from the world. The sight of her like that twisted something in my chest.

I stripped off my clothes and slid onto the bed beside her, careful not to wake her. The warmth of her body against mine was a balm, soothing the frayed edges of my nerves. I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, and she sighed softly in her sleep, nestling into me.

As I lay there, staring at the ceiling, the weight of everything settled heavily on my shoulders: Ronnie, Eli, and the security threats felt too much. But with Natasha in my arms, the world seemed a little less terrifying. I’d protect her, no matter what.

But as the night stretched, my thoughts circled back to Eli, the rocks, and the skinned rabbit.

?

“No, no, no. Don’t make him go. Please don’t put him in the water,” Eli screamed against the wind and the noise of the lapping water. He didn’t cry. Crying wasn’t something that we did anymore. His eyes were fixed on me as Kent pulled me further into the pond.

“You watch him. Eyes open.” That asshole Kent said as he yanked me deeper.

The wind whistled, and there was no mistaking the goosebumps under my thin clothes. Mud and silt squished beneath my feet, pebbles scrabbled, but even those didn’t freak me out so much as Kent’s fingers on my torso as he shoved me under the water. It was always the same; he’d hold me under until I choked and struggled, and then he’d do it again. I’d come up with Eli’s eyes locked somberly on mine each time.

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

NATASHA

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