Hunter
I quietly wind Lorelei up the stairs and down the first hallway on the right. She doesn't say anything and neither do I, content to stay in comfortable silence. Or I guess, not so comfortable. I'm admittedly not any happier than she is about this new arrangement, but this is what Cameron wanted, so this is what he gets.
What deal, or rather, debt he owes to the Phoenix family is a mystery to me and the rest of the guys. Even if Wren is technically the active leader of our organization, Cameron still gets final say in situations like these.
The bastard still controls what he wishes, even sitting on his ass in retirement.
When we reach the door to Lorelei's new room, I open it with a twist of the doorknob and step out of the way, swinging my arm in the direction of the room and smirking down at the woman in question, all doorman style.
"Your room, my lady." I give the best posh tone I can, lowering my voice even farther.
Lorelei rolls her big brown eyes at me, sauntering past my snickering figure.
"You're an idiot," she deadpans, gazing around the room.
It's a pretty nice bedroom, one of our larger guest rooms. Though, it doesn't have much personality. With walls painted a creamy tan color and little to no decor, it'll be akin to staying in a hotel.
There's a queen bed situated in the center, decorated with silk sheets and a fluffy white comforter. Matching nightstands sit like bookends on both sides of the comfortable beast and a walk-in closet gives more room than needed for all of her clothes. A giant flatscreen TV is mounted to the wall opposite from the bed, with a stone fireplace twinkling underneath.
The room also boasts its own ensuite and two large windows that overlook one of the best views in the house, the mountains.
"So I've been told,"
Setting her duffle down, she turns, eyes still trained on the bedroom. "Why am I here, Hunter?"
I shrug because truthfully, "I don't know, Pup."
"How do you not know?" she practically growls, gaze finally leveling with mine. "It's your house, your band of assholes."
"Technically," I maniacally point out. "It's Wren's house and Wren's band of assholes, as you so graciously put it."
Lorelei crosses her arms, tits perking up even farther with the movement. And I don't even try to stop myself from checking them out. They're a beautiful pair of tits, I gotta give her that.
She snaps, eyes boiling with rage. "My eyes are up here,"
"Oh I'm very aware," I smirk, leaning against the doorframe, hands sliding into my pockets.
"Whatever," she rolls her eyes again, which I'm already realizing she's very fond of doing. "I thought it was Cameron's house,"
"Used to be," I give the dog a small bone. "Wren took over last year when Cameron retired,"
Which is only a half true statement. Technically, Cameron still gives out the official orders, probably will until he falls into a grave. The militant douchebag can't stand to not have every ounce of power, but Wren bought the house from his father last year, making him 'official' president of the organization. Pretty complicated if you ask me, which is why I'm happy not to handle it all. How Wren deals with it, I will never understand.
Lorelei's eyes blow wide. "So you mean to tell me that Wren is the head of all this?"
"Sure is," I grin at her displeasure, egging her on.
"Then why is Cameron here?"
I shrug. "To welcome you, he'll be gone by tonight. Lives in a totally different state now,"
I see Lorelei's fists ball at her sides, the anger rolling off of her in hot waves.
"I'm staying here, alone? With the four of you?" With each word, her jaw seems to tick and grind harder. Even her voice seethes.
Pulling a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from my pocket, I analyze her figure. The tension in her shoulders looks as if it's been there for a while. Although her back is straight, there's a slight slump to her posture, and the emotions flowing through her pretty brown eyes are stifling.
Lorelei has definitely changed over the years, maturing with age, both in personality and physical attributes. She has full breasts that curve down to a toned stomach and small waist. That, leads down to strong, thick thighs. She's not tall but not short, probably around 5'5". All in all, she definitely isn't bad to look at.
Placing the end of a cigarette in my mouth, I light it up, taking a long drag. "Is that going to be a problem, Pup?"
"No, not at all." The clipped tone of her voice and her sugary smile makes me think otherwise.
I take a moment to revel in the burn of my lungs and the slight buzz from the nicotine before responding.
"Look, we may have been kind to you so far-"
"Please," she scoffs. "None of that was kind,"
"It was for us, little one." I comb my hair out of my face, letting the cigarette hang from my mouth. "But don't think we've forgotten anything,"
Lorelei's grin sets into a hard line, brows pushing together. "Good," she says, stepping forward. "Because neither have I," Plucking the cigarette from my lips, Lorelei inhales heavily, staring into my eyes the entire time.
And I stare back, almost transfixed as I watch her mouth curve slightly around the paper, chest rising as her lungs fill with the foggy smoke.
I hate her but like most of the human population, I'm not entirely immune to the wonders of a beautiful woman. I'll never tell her as much, but the little voice in my head isn't a liar, and neither is the growing erection in my slacks.
But I shake the moment off in a second, pulling my cigarette away from her mouth. "Ask next time,"
"Will there be a next time?" She blinks up at me, mischief in her gaze.
Blowing a puff of smoke in her face that makes her nose scrunch up, I lean down to her ear.
"You'll be seeing a whole lot of us now, best stay on our good side. You don't want to see what it's like when you're not," straightening, I take a moment to bask in the shocked look on her face, just seconds before she masks it. "See ya in twenty, Pup." I wink, stalking out of the room.
"I already know what that's like, Oxborn." She grumbles, voice fading as I walk farther down the hallway, the walls creating a barrier.
I hear Lorelei's huffed annoyance as she clicks the door shut, making me shake my head with a smirk.
Walking back through the house, I can't stop thinking about what a shit show that was. I had assumed Knezo would tell Lorelei at least a little bit of what to expect. But he kept her completely in the dark, much to Wren's irritation. I have a feeling that was done on purpose, either to piss our control freak brother off, or to anger Lorelei, I don't know.
Most likely both, knowing him.
Kenzo has always been a bit of a jokester, never as much as me, but if I wanted to fuck around, he usually was on board. For this though, it would be better if everything could go smoothly. None of us are okay with this decision. In fact, the day we found out that the little one would be staying with us, Wren nearly took down an entire wall with his fists.
Thankfully, Cyrus stopped him before he could do too much damage, but that just goes to show how unpleasant we find our new house guest.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I make my way to Wren's office. Well, for now, Cameron's office.
Through the windows, I notice the sun starting to peek through the clouds, and I yawn, feeling the weight of just how little sleep each of us has gotten these last twenty four hours. Sleep deprivation isn't exactly unusual with the lives we lead, but it also isn't very fun either.
The door to the office is already open, so I cross the threshold, finding my brothers but surprisingly no Cameron.
"How'd she like the room?" Wren questions, sounding like he couldn't be more bored.
They all stand in a sort of circle formation at the center of the small room, leaving the chairs open for when the true discussion starts.
Immediately, I head for the minibar, pouring myself a tall glass of Johnnie Walker Blue, one of my favorite liquors.
"Pretending to care, are we?" I chuckle, calling his bluff.
"Clearly I couldn't give a shit, Hunter. I just want to make sure the hurricane didn't break anything or throw a fit." The pure disgust on his face at just the thought of Lorelei isn't surprising.
In fact, all of the guys have their own levels of abhorrence painted on their faces.
Apart from the usual hatred between rivals, none of us will ever forget what happened all those years ago.
My hand tightens around my glass as the dark thoughts flash through my brain, causing a momentary stretch of silence, rage and sadness scratching at my body.
Clearing my throat, I swirl the amber liquid in its glass prison, watching as a small whirlpool forms in the middle.
"She didn't really say much about the room, seemed a little surprised at how nice it was though. Mostly, she was concerned that Cameron no longer lives here."
Kenzo snorts at that. "She should be,"
My shoes tap on the floor as I walk the short distance to the rest of the group. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Hell if I know," Wren's jaw grinds like sandpaper. "Tried to get some more information out of my father last night, but he wouldn't tell me shit." Slamming his fist down on the wood of his desk, I see every ounce of anger he attempts to control.
Cyrus places a comforting hand on Wren's shoulder, speaking up for the first time. "Does he owe them something?"
"It only makes sense," I shrug.
"Why would Cameron make a deal with Abraham in the first place though?" When Wren turns to look my way, I finally see the dark circles under his eyes. He's definitely more stressed than the rest of us, having this shit just dropped in his lap.
"God only knows, probably some kind of power move." Kenzo interjects, plucking the drink from my hand to take a swig of his own.
I narrow my eyes at him, silently telling him to grab his own, but he only smiles through a smooth gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing with the movement.
"Yeah well now it's fucking with our lives." Wren spits.
None of us have ever been fond of Cameron, especially not his choices. Out of all of us, Wren hates him the most, and rightfully so. Cameron is his biological father, the rest of us coming into the picture years later. Wren had to grow up with the wrinkly, iron fisted bastard. It's surprising he hasn't blown his brains out yet.
The man makes calls based on power and opportunity, never sincerity or love. But then again, I guess when you put bullets in people's skulls for a living, those are the only decisions you can make. Still doesn't excuse over half of his actions though.
"We definitely need to figure this shit out, and fast. I don't want her to be in this house any longer than absolutely necessary." All of us curtly nod at Cyrus's statement.
The disdain each of us holds for our new roomie fills the room with thick tension. So, however long Lorelei plans to stay here, I hope she can handle our wrath. Because I swear on my brothers, she will never know peace until justice is served.
I may look like the sweet, funny one of the group, but when it comes to my family, I can do what needs to be done. Even if it means killing the one woman we're supposed to protect.
"How do you think she's going to take the no contact order?" Kenzo splits the air with his mocking tone, a cruel promise dancing across his features.
My eyes bug out as my eyebrows shoot to my hairline. "You didn't tell her about that either?"
He chuckles, each of us staring at him with varying degrees of shock. Wren, on the other hand, just looks pissed, as per usual.
Kenzo's hands fly into the air in mock defense. "Thought it would be interesting to see how she would react once she was already here."
Oh god.
I smirk, slight admiration flowing through me.
This will be interesting.