Page 192 of Rage

Bound to the Brothers

By: Sherelle Green

Chapter One

Nyx

The moment I reached the front gate of the Solomon estate, I knew that these men would either save me or destroy my life, and I couldn’t decide which terrified me more.

“What are you doing here Firefly?”

I gasped at the sound of a nickname I hadn’t heard in years and the annoyance dripping from his voice as he said it through the intercom.Darth Solomon.That deep, raspy voice could only belong to him.

It didn’t surprise me that Darth Solomon was pissed that I had shown up at the estate unannounced, but desperate times called for desperate measures and unfortunately, I was desperate for the Solomon boys.

Men. They are men now,I inwardly corrected, even though they would always be my boys in a way.

Pressing the button, I replied, “I need to speak with you,” then released it.

“Did you request a meeting with my assistant?”

“No, but it’s urgent.”

“Not more urgent than everything else I have going on today. I’m afraid I can’t see you.”

“What about Key or Seb?” I asked, referring to two of his brothers. “Can they meet with me right now?”

“They aren’t here.”

I frowned, kicking at the gravel beneath my feet. “What about?—”

I didn’t finish my sentence, not wanting to say the next words out loud, but needing him to know that I was serious. Darth must have sensed my hesitation, or maybe he was looking at me through the security cameras, because the next thing I heard was the sound of the gate unlocking as it opened to allow me entry.

Step one complete.

Taking a deep breath, I walked up the circular driveway, pausing at the base as my heart thundered in my chest. My best friend, Mia, had insisted that this was the best solution I had, but now that I was here, the weight of what I was about to ask them felt unbearable.

“They won’t say no,” Mia had said earlier that day on the phone, her voice breezy as if what she was suggesting didn’t make me seem batshit crazy. She wasn’t even in the country to help me, so that made my next moves even more nerve-racking.

“Just be honest,” she had encouraged. “They’re all... well, you know. They’ll be interested because it’s you.”

I wasn’t sure “interested” was the right word. Mia’s brothers were notorious in the Chicago mafia scene for a reason. Each of them commanded attention in his own way—Darth with his sharp, commanding presence, Keon “Key” with his reckless charm, Sebastian “Seb” with his quiet intellect, and Cassius “Cash” with his brooding protectiveness. They were magnetic. Dangerous. The kind of men who made you forget how to breathe if you stood too close for too long.

And now, I was about to step into their world and ask for something outrageous. A lifeline that I prayed to God they tossed my way because I was drowning quickly.

Swallowing hard, I forced my feet to move, each step up the round driveway feeling heavier than the last. The wide, arched doorway seemed more like the entrance to a fortress than a family home, but the Solomons didn’t do anything simple. I of all people knew that since I’d been coming to their estate since I was a kid.

I tightened my grip on the strap of my purse after I knocked, my fingers cold despite the unusually warm spring day. Moments stretched into an eternity before the door swung open, revealing Key. He leaned casually against the frame, his dark eyes roaming over me with a lazy intensity that made my knees threaten to buckle.

Key’s skin was a warm, golden brown that always seemed to glow in a way that set him apart from his more somber brothers. His tall, athletic frame was graceful rather than imposing, built for reckless quickness.

His hair was so thick, I always wondered what it would feel like to tug at his mane of curls. And despite his just-rolled-out-of-bed look, the lining of his curly afro was fresh and neat and currently faded on the sides in an afro mohawk.

It was his eyes that left you speechless though… They were a unique gray color that was a Solomon family trait that often left women hypnotized. Though bright and mischievous, Key’s silver-gray eyes always held a hint of hidden sorrow that many never spotted … But I did though.

I always noticed.

“I thought Darth said you weren’t here.”

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