Page 68 of Tempting Little Thief

He wraps his arm around me, whispering into my ear, “Behave, Rocco. Do not give me reason to believe you’re not.”

Releasing me, he steps back.

Before he can escape, I have to ask. “Have you heard anything about Enzo?”

My dad’s stance widens, and I know before he answers that he will be giving me one single word in response.

“No,” he says, and then he walks out the door.

I wait several minutes before poking my head out to make sure it’s clear and turn to my girls.

When I spoke to Sai, all he would say is it’s his job as my guard to be extra cautious, to consider all possibilities, from all angles, at all times, and make sure if those threats come from unlikely sources, that he’s prepared to face what that means—whatever the fuckthatmeans. He wouldn’t say much and I get it. He has to be careful of what he says, as the wrong choice of words could sound a lot like going against the boss’s orders, and that’s not allowed.

Dad would have his head, oldest friend, and the man who swore his allegiance to his daughter aside. Defiance is a sure way to the Revenaw cellar, and I’m not sure anyone’s ever come out of there in one piece. Literally.

I open my mouth to speak, but Jasper appears before I can, giving a small bow.

“There’s a problem in the basement.”

“What time is it?” Bronx takes a sip of her cappuccino cocktail, her attempt to drown out the wine and keep her focus.

“Thirty minutes before schedule,” Delta answers for her, looking to me.

Eight in the evening.

I shrug a shoulder, picking up the pile of papers that, so far, has led us nowhere, and stuff them beneath the pillows. “We improvise.”

Our grins grow in unison, and Jasper’s eyes widen the slightest bit.

The three of us climb to our feet, slide into slippers and wind our way toward the lowest level of Greyson Manor, the basement studios. Though basement is a general term and not a very good one to describe the area. It’s as exquisite as any other area within the manor, if only a little “less than” the upper floors, in the sense that they don’t have the balcony views or staff of their own.

As we reach the end of the stairs, Kylo has Kenex by the throat, his fist coming down on his brother’s jaw, but Kenex only grins, his right hook whipping around just as fast, slamming into Kylo’s nose.

Blood starts pouring instantly and the brothers take each other down, swinging and wrestling, headbutting and choking one another until both nearly put each other to sleep. Only then do they finally let each other go, flopping onto their backs on the marble floor.

“Well, Coco Rocco, maybe your father was right after all.” Delta tips her head. “They’re degenerates who cannot be trusted.” Her tone fills with amusement with her last words, and she holds her palm out.

I slap it with mine, cocking my head, waiting for them to realize they have an audience.

What Delta said is true. My dad did go out of his way to drill into me why they shouldn’t be allowed to move into the manor. Hell, he didn’t even want them accepted into the school or on the grounds at all, a firm believer only those of “notable” blood are worthy, and I can’t say I completely disagree. It’s risky and we only have the word of others to go off, but the hardest part for me is my father is never wrong. His concerns always prove themselves valid. Every single time. There are too many snakes looking to slide intoour fold to trust blindly, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t solely my decision.

The problem was they were trusted enough by his colleagues to do small-time work, so the others saw no reason not to offer them the same, after some rounds of testing, of course.

To which they passed, so what could I say outside of “they don’t belong” and “you can’t trust anything an outsider claims,” as my father has taught and demonstrated as truth. He was furious and wouldn’t set foot in the manor for months, but when it comes to matters of the school and the decisions surrounding it, Greyson Elite Academy is ours to control.

Everything outside of that? Well, it depends on the day.

“You can come out now,” Bronx calls.

Delilah, the Grecos’ current merry-go-round girl, slips out of Kenex’s room, a small hint of guilt in her eyes, but there’s a sly smile on her lips as she steps over the duo.

Both boys pant in place, frowning at her back as she comes our way.

“Jasper,” I call. “There’s a wire transfer pending on Delilah’s account.”

“I’ll send it through, Miss Revenaw.” Even he can’t keep the hint of amusement from his tone as he bows, excusing himself.

Kylo sits up, tearing his hoodie over his head, wiping the blood from his face and neck with it. “Yo, what the—”

---