Page 10 of Filthiest Of Them All

“Because I’ve looked evil in the eyes and know exactly what the devil looks like. Nexus isn’t bad.” I don’t know why I’m getting so emotional speaking about this but I find myself fighting back tears.

“Who hurt you?”

I clench my jaw and inhale through my nose. “No one.”

“Halo will return your laptop to you tomorrow. All your emails and searches will be monitored. You can work from here but you will be watched.”

“So, I’m a prisoner?”

“Only if you want to be.”

“What the hell does that mean, Alex?” I cringe, since when did we become familiar enough to shorten each other’s names?

“It means your freedom is your own. You can have it whenever you want but you know what the cost of that freedom is.”

“Yeah.” I scoff. “I just have to sell my soul to Satan.”

“If that’s how you want to see it.”

“Let me ask you this,Butcher, if the roles were reversed and I was forcing you to give up your sister—” The remainder of my question dies on my tongue when he yanks me toward him, then rolls so he is nestled between my legs and hovering above me. My breaths turn ragged. Twenty minutes ago this exact image was burned into my mind but now, it doesn’t have the same feelings attached to it like my daydream.

“This is your one and only fucking warning, Tatum. Don’tevermention my sister again. I told you I had a breaking point earlier, she’s that point.” His raw honesty is astounding and refreshing.

“Who hurt you?” I ask.

“I wasn’t hurt, I was annihilated.”

“Who annihilated you, Alex?” I whisper.

“Your brother. Then your father framed me for murder.” I gasp.

“What?” He tries to roll off me but I wrap my legs around him, holding him in place, surprising us both.

“Tatum,” he says my name like a warning.

“Did you drug me again?” I blurt. That is the only explanation why I am acting like a hussy around him.

He jerks. “What?”

“Did you or not?”

“Why the fuck would you think that?” I decide not to answer and release him. He rolls over and I scoot back to my side. This time I close my eyes and force my mind to go blank, willing sleep to claim me. Everything will look different in the morning… I hope.

Alexander

I wake to the sound of someone moaning. I snap my eyes open and freeze. I tilt my head down to see Tatum practically laying on top of me, her hair a wild mess across my chest and her leg is resting dangerously close to my morning wood.

“Hmmmm,” she purrs again as she rubs her cheek against my bare chest. She looks peaceful and undisturbed in sleep. The fact she is quiet and her vulgar tongue isn’t being put to use may be another reason why I find the sight of her sprawled across me so endearing. My train of thought is wrong and I know it, but after watching her for months, I half expected her to be a scumbag like her brother. I’ve never seen her go on a date, hang out with friends or even go shopping for herself. She just lives out of hotels on fast food and works. She’s a creature of habit and something about that surprises me. She’s so young and should be thinking about college and partying, yet all she does is work her ass off for Vivian.

My phone vibrates beside me and I slowly untangle myself from her and slip out of the bed. I check the message and realize I have about twenty minutes to get ready. I fire off a reply to Halo, telling him to bring her stuff to my house.

I could have given her back her things yesterday but I chose to test her, I wanted to see how much she would fight me. Low and behold, she didn’t do what was expected and wore my clothing without a fuss. I head for the bathroom to grab a quick shower. When I’m finished I give my beard a quick trim and debate on shaving the fucking thing off or not, but there isn’t time. When I walk back out to change, Tatum is sitting up in bed and staring at me. I don’t have time to argue with the vexing little shit so I ignore her and make my way to my dresser, I hear her gasp and curse myself. I yank a shirt out of the drawer and pull it over my head.

The only way I know how to get her mind off the scars on my back is to drop my towel. I can feel her eyes boring into me but she says nothing as I finish dressing. I pull my hair into a bun just as a knock sounds out.

“It’s open,” I call out. Halo lets himself in and places her bags and laptop down. Tatum stares at them with an open mouth but it's the look on Halo’s face that stumps me. He looks from me to her, then to the floor beside the bed and that’s when it hits me. He can see her discarded hoodie and pants on the floor. “It’s not what it looks like,” I defend.

Halo scoffs. “Yeah, I’ve never heard that line before.” I grit my teeth and snag my phone off the bedside table just as Tatum says.

---