Darling Belle

Fifteen

'Maisie?' Her name buzzed through the vast space.

She choked on air, Noah pressed his hand over her mouth. A cold ring pressing into her lips.

VALE

Nico pouted. 'Why him? You promised to explain it to me after he left.'

He hadn't understood it at all, he'd been under the impression that Nereus would have this grand plan when he stopped him from leaving. It was their fault Maisie was back there, it would be their responsibility to bring her back. It was such a shameful plan, Nico should've objected to it the moment Noah brought it up.

And he had, but he should've pushed harder. In a way, the blame fell on Noah, though. As it was solely his idea, that's why he'd probably went. Guilt. Also because he wanted to earn Nereus's favor. Maybe. They'd been so focused on drawing Nereus out from the shadows that they'd put Maisie in danger. God, Nico felt awful.

But another thing Nico didn't really understand was Nereus himself. What did he want from Maisie? He didn't love her, did he? He'd killed for her but his bloodlust hadn't come from anger and possessiveness, it was a game to him. To see if he could get away with it... Right? Nero always loved to push the limits. Or was it because he knew his brothers liked her so much? He'd done it for them?

Nero rolled his eyes, shuffling a deck of cards. 'Noah's the only one who knows the layout of the entire house. It's nothing special.'

Nico huffed, unconvinced. 'That can't be it.' He noticed his brothers bruised knuckles, dried blood... when had that happened?

'It is,' Nereus spoke, clipped.

He looked away from his hands. 'Why couldn't we all go?'

Nereus evenly distributed the cards, placing the excess in the middle of the table beside the stacked chips. 'Well, beat me at poker and I'll tell you more,' he challenged with a mischievous grin.

'Oh, come on, Nero,' complained Nico. 'Just tell me.'

Nero's grin grew.

Mallory giggled on the other side of the warehouse, drawing Nico's attention. He appraised the situation. Daichi was showing her a collection of guns. Surprisingly enough, she hadn't cried out when she woke. She'd been tense but when Daichi said that they were friends with Maisie, she'd calmed down almost immediately. They didn't know whether or not that was a good thing. The girl was too trusting.

'You're being a bad influence, Miyamoto!' shouted Nico before focusing back on the game. He received no response anyway like he knew he wouldn't.

Nereus looked amused.

Nico sighed, lowering his voice back to his normal pitch. 'I don't get how you're smiling. Noah almost shot you.'

The gunshot had scared them all. Yet all the bullet had done was create a slight fissure in the ground.

He shook his head. 'He doesn't have it in him. Life is precious in his ideology. Well, mostly.'

Nico narrowed his eyes, an intrusive thought leaving his mouth. 'He hates Maisie. Would he kill her?'

'His words may be cruel against Maisie but his actions contradict, haven't you picked up on that?' Nero said as if it was the most obvious thing like he'd just been asked about the weather when they were standing in the pouring rain.