Page 29 of Alpha-Ex Wedding Ruse
Blaze didn’t have an office. He worked for Cassius Kane—the leader of the syndicate my father was indebted to—carrying out their sick orders. Torture. Punishment. Silence. He was one of the human subordinates recruited to infiltrate society on Cassius’ behalf, loyal beyond reason. I’d never met Cassius, and I didn’t want to. The rumors were enough. He was cruel. Heartless. And he wouldn’t blink twice before ordering my son’s death.
I forced my smile wider, for Ollie’s sake, despite the storm waging war inside me. “That’s great, sweetheart. Why don’t you give me and…Blaze…some time to talk?”
He nodded eagerly.
“Afterward, we can make your favorite chocolate chip cookies.”
Ollie broke into an even wider grin, nodding his head with contagious excitement. Why would anyone even think of hurting such a sweet child? But Blaze wasn’t just anyone. He was a sociopath.
Ollie went back to the chair he’d been sitting in to gather his crayons. He and Blaze did some elaborate handshake that made my skin crawl. I made a mental note to tell Ollie to forget that little ritual the moment I got this man out of my house. Then Ollie disappeared up the stairs.
When I heard the soft click of his bedroom door closing, the smile on my face vanished like it had never existed. I shot a glare at Blaze that could have melted steel. If scowls could kill a man, Blaze would be six feet under right now—and I’d be doing a victory dance on his grave.
With clenched fists, I stomped toward him. “How dare you come to my home? How dare you sit with my son?”
Blaze lounged on my sofa like he owned the place, one leg crossed over the other, looking like he’d been waiting for afternoon tea instead of threatening a child. He looked like he always did—a sharp smile, with dirty blonde hair and tattoos covering every visible inch of his body. Scars decorated the parts of his skin that weren’t inked, and his face bore two jagged stitches that revealed he’d beenin a fight recently. A game controller dangled from one tattooed hand.
“Leila…” he drew out my name with a sinister smile on his face. “You didn’t tell me your kid’s a mini genius. He beat me three times at that LEGO game. Three times. At some point, I thought he was cheating.”
“My kid is not a cheat,” I ground out.
I don’t know why I said that. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, what this psychopath thought about Ollie should have been irrelevant.
“He’s cute, too. I see he gets that from you.” His eyes shamelessly dropped to my chest, lingering a second too long.
I wanted to dig my fingers into his face and pluck out his eyeballs. The sight of him looking at me that way made every nerve in my body scream with revulsion.
“You know, Leila, I was here long before I even sent that text to you,” Blaze said casually, like he was discussing the weather. “Long enough for me to get to know the kid and decide that he deserved a few more days in this world.”
The blood in my veins turned to ice. My hands trembled with a mixture of rage and terror that made me feel like I might explode.
Blaze uncrossed his legs slowly, deliberately, that sinister smile still playing on his lips. Then he stood, his massive frame looming over me. The smile disappeared, replaced by hard features and a gaze that sent daggers straight through me.
“I’m not usually this generous. But after meeting your boy, I figured I’d turn this into a little preview.”
“A preview of what?” I spat. He stepped forward. Slow. Precise. It was meant to intimidate me, and damn it, it worked. I felt fear travel down my spine like ice water. But I didn’t show it. I stood my ground. After all, this was my house.
“A preview of how easy it is to get to your son.” His gaze turned dark, and so did his voice.
“Where’s Valerie?” I managed to ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“She’s been taken care of. Don’t worry, she’ll be back to you in the next hour or so.” His tone was so nonchalant that it made my blood run cold. “Had to give us some privacy for this little chat.”
Blaze took another step closer, his massive frame casting a shadow over me. “You’re behind on your payments, Leila. That’s not like you.”
“I know, I know. But I need more time—”
“More time?” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You’ve had a year to figure this out. A whole fucking year since your daddy left you his little gift.”
The mention of my father sent a fresh wave of fury through me. Even in death, that man was still ruining my life. Still putting my son in danger because of his gambling addiction.
“I’ve never missed a payment before,” I said. “Never. This is the first time, and it’s only because—”
“Because what? Because you have to take care of your bastard son?”
The word hit me like a slap. White hot rage flared in my chest. “Don’t you dare—”
“I don’t care about your little boy, Leila.” He stepped closer, his breath hot against my face. “I only care about my money.”
