Page 16 of Our Darling Isabelle

“Mimi told me a little about your mother, how kind she was. I was out of line, Markus. I’m sorry for what I said about your parents.” Her voice is nearly meek, and it makes me blister to know I made her feel this way.

“You were half right. Our father was a monster, taking from everyone and leaving them empty. He broke everything he touched.” I drop my arm from her, taking my clean mug to make a fresh cup of coffee while she fidgets with the dishtowel in her hands.

“You and Alec seem to have gotten away in one piece.” She gives me a smile, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She’s still upset with how I treated her, and she should be.

“We are both like a wilting rose. Another petal falls off now and then. Just like last night.” I warn her, taking my coffee and walking away before she asks questions that I’m not ready to answer. Dreading this conversation more than the last, I drag myself off to find Alec.

I push open his office door, not bothering to knock as I enter. Alec is staring daggers at me, his knuckles white from how hard his fingers are clutched together under his chin.

“I know you got a big nose, Lucian, but don’t come sniffing around territory that ain’t yours.” A deep voice snarls through the phone that is sitting on his desk. I roll my eyes as I plop into the chair across from Alec. He gives me a warning look to keep my mouth shut.

“Steffen, I was merely asking if you’ve come into any new arms dealers with good prices. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, boy.” Lucian’s deep voice comes through clearly. I snort, shaking my head. Steffen was one of the biggest idiots I’ve ever met and that’s saying something. He was a tall kid, well built, with hair so light blonde it was almost white. His Uncle left the German territory to him when he retired a few months after our father died. He was a young thing, barely twenty-one, and didn’t know when to quit running his mouth. It’d gotten him in a lot of trouble as of late.

“I already told you that my business is my business, old man.” Steffen snaps.

“Enough, this isn’t getting us anywhere.” Alec barks. Steffen cackles into the phone and I can imagine how red his cheeks are from forcing such a laugh.

“You ain’t coughing up any information, pretty boy. What’s new on your front lawn, Barone? We haven’t seen much of you or your shithead brother.” He spits the words. I lean forward, grinning.

“Stef, how you been, buddy? Hope that concussion healed. If you wanna beg for round two, just let me know.” I taunt him, hearing a crackling on the line as he spits a string of curses in German before Lucian’s deep laugh slips through.

“Jared informed Vincent that the Barone’s were hit as well. That just leaves you, Steffen.” Lucian says in a threatening tone. Well, cat’s out of the bag now. Alec squints at me, tilting his head.

“Jared said they hijacked our entire warehouse that we just had set up. Somebody killed two of our men and left the other six for dead early this morning. They got the entire delivery we had brought in last night, so they must have been watching us. Know anything about that?” I ask, watching as Alec loses a little more of his composure by the minute.

“You got hit too? That means they aren’t just targeting Lucian. I gotta go run through my warehouses. Nobody is catching me with my dick out like the both of you.” A beep notifies us that Steffen hung up. I roll my eyes, still enjoying that he got riled up.

“I don’t trust him.” Alec says. Lucian grunts his agreement before hanging up as well, leaving us to stare at each other. I try a flashy grin; Alec only gets angrier.

“Tell me everything, Markus.” He grinds out between clenched teeth.

After I finish relaying the information Jared gave me, he sits back with a stone-cold expression. I just finished my coffee, knowing he needs time to think and come up with a plan.

“Those crates were loaded with guns that we had buyers lined up for. We need to get them back or take a hit this month on top of looking weak.” Alec grumbles, rolling his sleeves up and shoving his hands in his pockets while pacing in front of the window behind his desk.

“Want me to take some men to pay a visit to Steffen?” I offer. Alec shakes his head, giving me a warning glare over his shoulder.

“Don’t be so quick to start a war, little brother. Something about this doesn’t sit right.” He stares out the window, overlooking the garden. His demeanor relaxes, almost becoming peaceful. I join him, peering down to see what he is looking at. Isabelle is kneeling beside Mimi, digging up the new flowerbed they decided we needed. Rose bushes now covered the entire perimeter of the fence, courtesy of these two ladies.

“It does look good. The girls weren’t wrong about that.” I mumble. Alec snorts and shakes his head, not taking his eyes off Isabelle.

“If either of them heard you call them girls, you’d be in trouble. Those are the scariest people on our property, brother. Isabelle suggested the roses, so if anyone hopped over the fence, they’d land in the thorns and destroy the bush. We would notice it rather quickly if anyone slipped past. It would also be rather unpleasant.” Alec muses.

“We have security cameras all over, so it’s a moot point.” I shrug. Alec nods, finally tearing his gaze away. He takes his gun out of the desk, tucking it into his waistband.

“Let’s invite some of our business partners to Cassidy. It’ll be a meeting on neutral grounds. Make sure that whoever is responsible for this knows we aren’t fucking around. There is still a chance Steffen is innocent and we can’t afford to be caught off guard again.” Alec tells me, walking out and knowing I’ll follow behind. An idea blooms in my head and I grin, knowing Alec would never approve. But it’ll ensure he sees how much fun business can be and show our girl she belongs with us.

Chapter 14—Isabelle

The dress was beautiful, but I was a little annoyed that I was being told what to wear. When Mimi and I came inside to cook lunch, Markus pulled me aside and told me to clean up and he had a gift waiting on my bed for a special occasion. That gift was a very expensive-looking stack of boxes. A pair of golden heels that matched the tight, shimmery gold dress I was staring at with my towel still wrapped tightly around me. My makeup was done, with my hair pulled into a cute high pony.

“Is there a problem with what I picked?” Markus’ voice makes me jump and I spin to see him grinning from my doorway. He shuts the door, taking slow steps towards me. The look on his face turns from playful to predatory as he closes the distance between us.

“How do you know what size I wear?” I ask stupidly, trying to reinforce my ‘do not touch’ rules. It became harder every day.

Stockholm syndrome, is that you?

“What kind of kidnapper would I be if I didn’t know simple things like your dress size?” his tattooed fingers skim up my arm, increasing the ache that builds between my thighs. “Your shoe size. The makeup brands you use. Your favorite color, and most importantly-” He leans in, his lips brushing my ear.

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