Page 59 of Tyrant (The Villetti Chronicles)

He pressed a kiss to my mouth and pulled me against his chest, tucking me into his body. I curled an arm around him, wanting to be closer.

“Don’t worry, my little fairy,” he whispered into my hair. “I protect what’s mine.”

I settled into him, trying my hardest to shake the weird feeling I got with his words. While Zayn had reassured me things would be okay, he hadn’t explained anything. I couldn’t forget who he was and why he had a reputation because if I did… I might forget to protect the one thing I knew I couldn’t give him when things were so up in the air.

My heart.

Twenty

Zayn

I sat back as my office door opened, and Remi walked in just as Enzo reached it. She stopped when she saw him, disapproval written all over her features. Unsurprisingly, she wasn’t my brother’s biggest fan. She was with Arlo when it came to Enzo and his antics. In all honesty, so was I, but he was my brother. Abandoning my family was something I couldn’t in all good conscience do. It’d been ingrained in me from a young age, family came first.

“Remi, what a pleasure it is to see you,” he said, stepping aside to let her in.

“The feeling isn’t mutual,” she muttered, brushing past my brother. “And you saw me earlier, so don’t try your shit with me.”

“One day you’ll stop being such a stuck up b—”

“Enzo,” I warned, stopping him from saying something to make Remi kick him in the nuts. It wouldn’t be the first time. Nor the last.

“Prick,” he said under his breath before he stalked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

“Your brother is a dick,” Remi said with an eye roll as she walked towards my desk.

“You’ve noticed.”

She grinned and leant her hand on the wood.

“And I’ve told him to impale himself on a sharp instrument more times than I can count since he started working here.”

Enzo was just another problem I had to deal with. If he did as he was told, then I wouldn’t have to keep an eye on him. The idiot didn’t want to listen, as usual. I swear he was living on borrowed time with all the shit he got up to.

“He deserved it, no doubt.”

“I’d prefer Gil and his silence to Enzo constantly talking random shit while I’m trying to work. I swear that boy likes the sound of his own voice far too much.”

Remi wasn’t going to like what I was about to ask her to do, considering it involved said pain-in-the-arse brother.

“I’m sure Gil would be honoured to hear he’s preferable company.”

“He’d just grunt and blush if I told him that.”

She wasn’t wrong. Gil didn’t know what to do with female attention. He was too busy trying to be the golden child to notice women staring at him. His quiet, introspective nature was only one of the things that hindered him in our world. Probably why he worked so hard to prove he was more than just the sum of his parts. I loved my brother the way he was, but I wasn’t our cunt of a father who wanted to mould us all into his perfect little mafia princes. What a fucking joke. Gil didn’t need to prove a single thing to anyone. If only he could see that.

“Anyway, Liza said you wanted to see me.”

I stood up, not wanting the desk between us as I walked around it. This required me to be big brother Zayn and not boss Zayn. Resting against the wood, I crossed my arms over my chest and levelled my gaze on her.

“How are things?”

“Fine.” She shrugged. “Same old. How’s your friend?”

“She’s fine.” I flicked a hand out. “Actually, she’s why I asked for you.”

Remi looked instantly suspicious, narrowing her eyes at me and shifting on her feet.

“Did you upset her and want my advice on how to grovel?”

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