ALAYNAI wake to a soft voice whispering in my ear. I’m not aware of the time, but I’m guessing it’s already late in the evening. I fell asleep on the couch with my head resting on Brandon’s lap. I gaze up and find Brandon’s beautiful face staring at me. He strokes my hair and kisses my forehead.
“Alayna, let’s get you to the hotel,” he says. “You can come back tomorrow. Casey and Cassius will stay with Ollie until tomorrow morning.”
I scan the room and find Cassius sitting next to Oliver with his eyes closed. Casey is asleep on the sofa by the door.
“Okay.” I cling to Brandon’s waist and try to get up. Enveloping my arms around his neck, I press myself against him for a few more moments. “You should get some sleep too,” I breathe on his neck.
He tenderly rubs my back and kisses my jaw. “I will. Come on.”
I slip on my shoes, brush my fingers through my hair, and smooth the creases of my shirt. Brandon takes his scarf off his shoulders and wraps it around me. “It’s freezing outside.”
I nod. It’s a few days into December, and the first snow hasn’t yet touched the ground, but I can already feel the chill in the air. Brandon rubs my arms and hugs me once more to share his body heat.
“Are you leaving?” Our eyes shift to Casey, who’s now awake, her brows still furrowed.
“We’ll come back tomorrow. You should go back to sleep,” Brandon says.
She hums. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then. Take care.” She then tucks herself back to sleep. Cassius, on the other hand, seems to be lost in dreamland.
The hospital remains quiet as we walk out, but nurses on duty walk around the hallways. Two security men follow us upon exiting. Brandon ushers me to a silver sedan car, with the bodyguard trailing us.
“Your hometown is lovely, Alayna,” Brandon comments while buckling his seatbelt. “Do you want to go home?”
HomeHe leans close and briefly kisses my lips. He checks if my seatbelt is secured and leans back in his seat. “I’d like to meet your family.”
“Oh. Of course.” I chuckle nervously.
Crap. The last time I came home, Mom thought Cassius was my boyfriend. I haven’t told her about Brandon yet, and I can imagine her shock at knowing the truth about my boss and me. I haven’t tried telling Brandon about it either. Anyway, we can just go through it later. I’m telling Mom about Brandon when I get home.
My attention turns to an unanswered question. “Brandon, why did we come here? No one answered me when I asked.”
Brandon revs up the car and pulls out of the parking place. A few minutes pass; he reaches for my hand as he says, “Actually, I’d like to confess something.”
A confession. Whenever he’s opening a talk like this, it always seems like he’s dropping a bomb. My heartbeat accelerates. “What is it?”
“Didn’t I tell you we’d talk?” He flashes a half-smile and brushes my hand with his thumb.
“About what happened today?”
His eyes narrow. “That, too, and I have to be the one to tell you.” His voice is barely a whisper.
About what, I wonder, but I let him continue.
“I can’t keep you in the dark anymore, and I guess this is one of the two things I kept from you.”
“One of the two things,” I smile mirthlessly.
“I was afraid that you’d see me differently.”
I take a deep breath to release the tension building up inside me. I can’t think of something that might change my views about him. I want him in my life. Always. I love him so much that even if he hurt me, I still couldn’t imagine myself without him.
“Okay, then.” I nod decisively, preparing myself for the bomb he’s going to drop. “Let’s just go back to the hotel for now.”
Brandon’s sudden change of mood makes me unable to rest—which is supposed to be one of the reasons for us to leave the hospital. I’m now wide awake, anticipating his possibly nerve-racking revelation.
When we reach the hotel, I realize I’m going to share the suite with Brandon as he opens the door with his keycard. I don’t want it any other way either. I want to stay by his side.
He first signals me to sit on the couch. I curl up, tucking my feet under me on the cushion, sighing as my body starts to feel comfortable.
“Feeling better?” he asks as he picks up logs prepared by the hotel and throws them in the hearth. He lights up the gas, and the wood begins to blaze.
“Yes.”
“I’ll get us coffee.” He walks to the kitchen and comes back with two cups. The aroma of the coffee makes me feel cozier. He hands me a cup and sits next to me.
“Thank you.” I take a sip and warm my fingers on the cup’s hot surface. I shut my eyes and sigh as I feel the warm liquid run down my throat. Brandon is still probably mentally preparing me.
“Before everything else,” he begins, looking over his shoulder. “I’d like to warn you. You might think of leaving me.”
The pressure in me rises. Again? “Bad.” His expression remains stern.
I exhale the hard vibration in my chest. “Fine. Just tell me whatever that is.” He is about to give me a piece of sensitive information—and he needs someone who will listen. I can feel both in that single word from him.
“Ever since the tragedy happened in my family, I’ve been driven by revenge. I wanted to crush them, make them pay for everything they’d done.” He lifts his head and takes a deep breath. “But I didn’t know how I would do that. I didn’t know where to start. I was young, I was... I was immature. I was eager to seek revenge regardless of the odds. But I realized I was not confident enough. Then I thought maybe if I could gain strength, I’d be able to take them down, but it wasn’t enough.” He looks at me again. “Alayna, I’d take every measure to carry out my plans. Make the impossible possible. You understand that, right?”
Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I fully understand him. What else can he do now that he is as powerful as his enemies? He can practically do whatever he pleases. How far would he be willing to take those measures?
I just nod and let him continue.
“When I saw Oliver’s state, I lost it. I didn’t care anymore; I just wanted to kill Silvanus. I just wanted to kill everyone.”
My body suddenly feels cold.
“What happened during the operation?” My question comes too soon, but I can’t help it.
“Alayna, there are things I haven’t told you yet. To rescue Oliver, and even before that, I’ve been working with elite mobsters.”
“Mobsters?” I scowl, wondering whether I understand what he really means. “You mean criminals, terrorists, murderers?” I only hear about them on TV and read about them in books; I never thought of having to encounter them in real life.
Brandon nods.
“Oh...” Chills run down my spine. “Oh my God.”
“But that term is narrowminded,” he says. “Some of them are fighting for a reason, and I believed in their vision. This group—they are different. It’s hard to explain, but you must understand why I had to do this. Half of the Katrakis family has been working with the likes of them for many years. I won’t stand a chance if I don’t do the same. An eye for an eye.”
I’m aghast; this is why he doesn’t want to get the police involved. “But, Brandon, it doesn’t mean you have to play dirty too! You are working outside the law. Apart from that, you’ll be in danger.”
“I thought so too, but that security protecting us? They’re mobs.”
I’m stunned. Clearly, I don’t know him that much yet. I am still trying to gather together every piece of him.
“So this group of mobsters helped you rescue Oliver?”
“Yes, and they will come to my aid whenever I need them. My enemies are using iron gloves, Alayna. I wouldn’t stand a chance,” he says as if pleading. “And I’ve been working with the mob for a long time now. This was Oliver’s idea.”
I shake my head. “Maybe I don’t really understand.”
Brandon moves close to me. “Alayna, you see, I might not be here right now if it weren’t for them.”
“Yes, I get that part, but, Brandon....” I pause, taking a deep breath, trying to calm down. “So this... you think this would be the reason why I’d leave you? Because you told me you’re working with mobsters?”
He raises his head proudly. “They aren’t just mobsters. They help people. They save people, especially the poor.”
“What kind of a gang is this? There are other ways to do that, like donating to charity or supporting children’s homes or the like...” Just like my dad, and this was one of the reasons how our family grew. He’d probably continue adopting children if he were still alive.
“It’s not that easy, Alayna, but they do charity too.”
“Okay, enlighten me.” I should give him a chance to explain this. “Are you sure they don’t do it just to cover up their bad deeds?”
“There’s nothing like that. Everything they do is genuine. Other mobsters are like that, though, but this group, they’re different. They steal, yes, but they only target the corrupt, then give it back to people. I chose them because I believe in their vision. Oliver did too when he introduced them to me. Might as well take advantage of their power. I was able to rescue Oliver and Pauline because of them.”
I shrug. “Sounds like Robin Hood.”
“Heard that reference before,” he says.
“So what are they like? Do they murder? Kidnap? Torture people? Sell drugs? What else? They might have a dark side.”
He chuckles in amusement, though I’m not sure what’s funny. I’m certainly not joking. “As I said, they’re nothing like that.”
I sip my coffee again. I’m finally relaxing. Maybe it really isn’t that bad after all. He had associated with them before he met me. They probably have done well before coming into Brandon’s life. It would be unfair for me to judge their purpose.
“Then I don’t think I’ll leave you because of that. You’re driven by anger and guilt, but I believe in you.” I reach for his face and hold his cheek. “Brandon, you might be working with them, but you’re not a bad person. That’s not a reason for me to call it quits.”
His expression stiffens. “But you haven’t even heard the whole story yet.”
“Then what’s the other part?”
“Come here.” He takes my cup and puts it down, pulls me to him and lets me sit on his lap. “I’ll tell you more later.”
“You’re stalling again.”
“Trust me, there’s always a right time for everything, but thank you for listening.”
“Isn’t that what relationships are all about? You listen and understand each other.” I wrap my arms around his neck and lay my head on his shoulder. I will at least be here for him during his darkest time.
Who am I to judge what’s wrong or what’s right in his decisions? He is only fighting for the ones he loves.