Page 10 of Mobster's Home

What kind of meat, though. Animal or human?

Shuddering, I shake my head and walk over to his bookshelf. He’s got a ton of books about martial arts which don’t interest me but I find a leather-bound volume that does. Taking it out, I jolt at the symbol at the front, at the intertwined N and M.

I’ve seen that symbol before, right on Derex’s back...what the hell?

The title reads:The history of the Nordic Mafia-Origins and Legacy.

Flipping through it, I go woozy because I have no idea why Derex would have this book with pages upon pages of drawings of runes. The same runes Derex has inked on his body, same runes I’ve traced my fingertips over while thinking they were amazing pieces of art.

I gulp because this isn’t making any sense. Either he’s a hardcore fan of this underground league and obsessive in his fandom...or he’s one of them. Could it be true thatmyDerex is in the...mob? Jaw slacking, I stare at the desk, the place where I’ve seen Derex sit many times. The man who comes home to me every day, the man I share a bed with...I twitch when the front door opens and shove the book back in its place before hiding behind the shelf. The sound of Derex’s voice hits me like a wrecking ball because he shouldn’t be home at this time!

Freezing up when the men enter the office, I clamp a hand over my mouth to restrict my breaths. I recognize the voice of the other man and it belongs to the one, I saw at the subway. My knees go weak from anxiety when Derex stops in front of the shelf.

“Care for a drink, Hertz?” he asks and his tone is surprisingly pleasant. “I ordered this fine mead all the way from Greenland.”

“It doesn’t taste like crap then?” the other man grunts and Derex chuckles. There’s the sound of glass clinking and Derex declares,

“To ice and shadows.”

“To death and ruin,” Hertz replies and I hear them drinking. My fingers itch because I have a bad feeling about this. Derex is in an overly good mood, almost as if trying to cover up for something much more insidious brewing inside of him and my heart pounds because I hope he won’t try doing anything wild.

I need him to be okay. He’s my everything and even if he was the most evil man on the planet...I would still want him and I don’t care if it makes me bad. In the past I was always so picky about decency and benevolence but for Derex I’m willing to see through my fingers.

I’ve fallen for him without even fully knowing how. If he hadn’t jumped on that metro things would’ve been so different but he did...and my heart is still on that heavy rail, going faster and faster, wherever Derex wants to take it.

“Sit down,” Derex says, “make yourself comfortable.Min heim aer din heim,” he chuckles. Hearing that striking language straight out of his mouth makes him seem like an entirely different person, and there’s a hint of evil in his laugh that has the hair on my nape bristling.

“Feel free to tell me to mind my own business,” Hertz continues, “but are those heels I saw in the hallway?”

“They’re my woman’s,” Derex grits as if he doesn’t like that the other man noticed my shoes and Hertz makes a surprised sound. “She lives with me now.”

“You have a woman? Since when? Who is she?”

“Remember the girl from the metro?” Derex pauses and his voice is softer when he adds, “That’s her.”

Hertz lets out a whistle “Fuck me. Why haven’t you ever brought her to the compound?”

What compound?

“I don’t want to introduce her to that part of our lives yet.”

“But she does know you’re in the mob?”

“She knows what she needs to know and stop with the fucking questions.” Derex swipes his drink and lets out a long exhale. “Luna’s very different from us, she doesn’t understand the lifestyle or why we’re the way we are.” Derex silences before adding, “Violence isn’t a word in her vocabulary.”

“If she’s as good as you say then what the hell is she doing with scum like you?” Hertz guffaws but abruptly stops and I have a feeling Derex just gave him a deadly glance. I chew on my lower lip and I’m rubbed the wrong way because of what he called Derex but then Derex snarls,

“Ask me that again and I’ll blow your fucking head off.”

My hands start trembling. That didn’t just sound like a threat but as if he’d do it...gladly, as if that’s something he does every day without blinking. It seems that the man I want, the one who ripped me out of my wretched situation is far more coldblooded than I ever could’ve thought.

****

Derex

Staring at the pale face opposite me, I drum my fingers against my knee. I think I made a mistake bringing him here. This is supposed to be a verbal warning, maybe some light aggression thrown in but then I’m meant to take him to the boss and let him deal with it. However, the more I sit here, the more I’m tempted to take matters into my own hands.

“How long have we known each other, Hertz?” I ask and he clears his throat.

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