Page 14 of Destroyer

"The box of chocolate puff crunch?" I offer.

"The what?" He frowns. He isn’t challenging me to read, he really doesn't understand what I'm offering him. I fetch the packet and show him.

"Yes, that will do."

"Do you want me to make things for breakfast? I could ask Gladys to teach me."

"If you want," he smiles, clearly impressed by the suggestion.

"I can clean too. Not good, but I can learn." I smile and nod keenly, not stressing the point I can learn but that I'm not very good. I cleaned Gavriil's house to the barest minimum standard he would accept. Apparently, his house didn't need to be a surgically sterile environment and scrubbing it to that standard would highlight our cleaning standards for murder scenes. I can easily keep Caeo's house to its current standard. I just need to be kept busy.

"You don't have to do the cleaning."

"But I need work. I am a quick learner, I promise. I must always be doing something."

"Knox and Porter are coming home today. You can come with me to the mansion and practise your reading."

"Reading." I nod. There is only so much reading I can do without a teacher.

“I have to tell him what you did last night,’ Caeo explains. So much for spending all day here talking about us.

We eat, I dress, and then we are ready to leave.

Soon we are entering the mansion and I abandon Caeo to do his thing. Gladys is in the kitchen, so I take my reading book and sit at the table.

"Ah, is my beautiful boy going to read me a story?" Gladys grins, mixing her chocolate cake batter with a wooden spoon.

I roll my eyes, but the hope of the cake leftovers tempts me to try.

"The… cat… sat… on… the… mat."

She keeps baking and I keep reading, but my mind isn't really on the words.

"Do you think it is possible to misunderstand an order, even if all feedback you are getting is good?"

"I don't understand, sweetie."

"I am doing my job, and everyone is saying I am good. But then Mr Caeo looks at me and it all feels wrong."

"Caeo is conflicted about you. He wants to adopt you, but he isn't sure where you stand."

"But he thinks my job is wrong. So does he think that I am wrong?" Picking to be with Caeo means turning my back on the job I've been doing for six years. As long as he gives me another purpose, I could do that, but I need to finish this one last thing I am doing.

I want to quit all of this work so I can really play this game with Caeo. It won't work while I am sneaking around behind his back. If I continue to do so, I risk everything I have with him, but the only way out is to tell him the truth. The truth I can't tell him.

Chapter ten

Caeo

MylifehereatKnox's house doesn't change regardless of whether the man is here or not. Stepping down as his main man was the right thing to do, but working as his security isn't what I want. I agreed to it because it gave me access to Nico. Now he lives with me, I can have access without the tedious security job. I thought Knox wouldn't need me when he became the boss. While Edward was the boss, his caporegime was a guy called Zane Someone. I assumed that wouldn't change. I assumed I wouldn't be needed, but so far, Knox hasn't had all that much contact with the guy, at least as far as I know. I am no longer one of the main guys in the loop. I know Zane is a good bloke, hardworking and loyal. He is still managing his responsibilities; he's just not doing it for Knox. I guess it's all different when the boss quits rather than dying. Edward has run this whole thing as far back as I can remember, and my dealings with the other crime families haven't always been amicable. I have nothing to compare this situation to. I can only hope everything settles in time and that I can find my place in this new world as it emerges.

Until then, my place is checking around Knox's home ahead of their return.

Gregory calls me as I'm checking around the upstairs of the house. It's not his fault I cringe at the sight of his name. I didn’t quit my job because of him, and he isn't to blame for stepping into my shoes. But he has my job, and I want it back.

"Hello?"

"My dad has taken the body, but he wasn't happy," Gregory begins. "I said I was defending the family name when the guy showed an interest in who Porter's dad was. But he didn't buy it. I had to tell him it was Nico, but for the same reason. Fucking bastard laughed, celebrated the fact his youngest was finally someone worth having in the family. He wants me to offer the kid a job. I said no, he's mine, but I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't try to contact him directly."

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