Page 11 of Thorns of Silence
Assuming Amon Leone hadn’t killed him.
No complaints from me. Let the motherfucker die.
Reina stirred in my arms, her curls sprawled over my legs and arm, and I focused on what I had.
Family. Friends. Music.
That was all I needed. For now. I knew there was something—someone—missing, and I’d go looking one day. For the little life that I grew underneath my heart that was torn from me without so much as a hello or goodbye.
FIVE
DANTE
People annoyed the fuck out of me.
There were only a few rare exceptions—Amon, Mother, and… Well, that was it. Although I suspected Phoenix, the fiery Nix, might become part of that group too. Despite her rude and thorny attitude. It must be a souvenir from her home in California. She opted for the desert of Death Valley while her sister went for the sun, thriving on light and rainbows.
Give me a cactus anytime. They were tough. Resilient. And fuck, I was always up for a challenge.
It had been a week since seeing Phoenix Romero in the club, and the more I watched her from the shadows, the more I was intrigued. Her sister was simple, but not Nix. She had layers of herself she was hiding from the world. I wanted to unwrap her and figure out what made her tick. She captivated me in ways nobody else ever had.
I pulled into the parking space, then dismounted from my motorcycle and hung my helmet over the handle. I stood in front of the old castle in the French countryside outside Paris. The only light provided was by the moon since it was one of my properties that had yet to be remodeled. I purchased it recently, and renovations would soon start before it was turned into a casino.
“Look who I found!” Ghost emerged from the trees, dragging a pretty blond guy struggling and floundering like a slippery, slimy leech. He was outfitted in jeans and a leather jacket. “I already got his tooth too.”
Ghost had a serious fixation with teeth. I didn’t know the history behind it, but what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t support it?
I grinned. “I can’t wait to see your collection one day.”
He shot me a wry look. “Keep dreaming.”
“I totally will.” I looked past him, searching for his vehicle. “How did you get here?”
He lifted his shoulder. “I parked on the main road. Felt like dragging him a bit.”
An incredulous breath left me. I could admit I wasn’t all that right in the head, but I had nothing on Ghost. Maybe that was the reason we got along so great.
The blond guy’s eyes darted between us, blood trickling down his chin, when Ghost threw him on the ground in front of me like a sack of potatoes. “You two are crazy!”
“Ahhh, he’s so nice.” He’d barely gotten a preview. The ballet dancer was part of the assembly that joined Phoenix’s orchestra. Apparently, it was a requirement of her college class.
Ghost shrugged. “He could try a bit harder.”
I met the blond’s eyes. For a ballet dancer, he had some bulky muscles on him. Too bad his attitude still sucked. I’d been familiarizing myself with Phoenix’s patterns—okay, okay, I was stalking her at the opera house during her rehearsals—when I caught this fucker pushing her around, getting handsy with her. Then he and his buddies made jokes at her expense, dismissing the music she produced with her graceful fingers. I wasn’t much for Beethoven, Mozart, or classical music in general, but her notes struck somewhere deep inside me. The world, including this fucking guy, would appreciate her music…or else.
Needless to say, the blond prick had to pay for his disrespect.
Once Phoenix was out of sight, I went after him, but we got interrupted by a group of passersby, and like a scared cat, this fucker bolted. So, I solicited Ghost’s skills that rivaled those of a bloodhound. He could find and track down anyone.Fucking anyone.
He attempted to claw at Ghost, then me, and I choked out a laugh.
“What’s your name?”
His body shook, but to his credit, he met my eyes. “Erik Costa.”
“Do you know why you’re here,Erik Costa?” He started to struggle again and I punched him in the face, my patience wearing thin. His face hit the ground, causing him to literally eat dirt. “I hear you’re a dancer, so unless you want me to break your legs, stop pissing me off.”
Ghost sat on his back, shoving his face into the dirt. “I don’t have all night,” he spat.
