A beat passed, both Bash and Jax were locked in a heated stare down.
Then, Jax looked away. He sighed. “Fine.” He gripped my shoulders as he turned me to face him. “Listen you’re leaving with Nate. Do the fuck as he says, do you hear me, Princess? This is not the time to run off at the mouth.”
“What’s going on?”

I was scared. I went from having one of the best orgasms of my life to shit going sideways in the blink of an eye. Worse, the sons of bitches weren’t telling me anything.
Jax shook my shoulders. Yes, shook my ass like a ragdoll. “No time for questions—”
A blood curdling scream filled the air.
“Shit.” Bash shoved me toward Nate. “Move!”
“Wait, Alana. Nate, where’s Alana?”
“She’s fine.” The big man hauled me off my feet.

The world tilted as he threw me over his shoulder and broke into a sprint. I looked up, back to where we’d left Bash and Jax.
“Oh my God, Jax!”
In a blur of motion Jax and Bash jumped off the roof.
They moved so fast, my brain glitched.  Why would they leap off the fucking building? I didn’t even have time to question it. I was bouncing off Nate’s shoulder as he raced down the stairs. Seconds later he burst out the emergency exit into the staff parking lot.

Regina was parked in front of the door, under the glow of a pot light. Nate all but folded me into a ball and shoved me into the back of the Range next to Alana and slammed the door behind me.
The Range was speeding out of the parking lot before I had time to sit up straight.
“Oh my God, Holi,” Alana snatched my seatbelt, strapping me in like a toddler before retaking her own seat. “Are you okay?”
Am I okay? How do I answer that, when I was confused and scared for reasons I couldn’t begin to explain. I nodded, yes. Jumping out of my fucking skin as something heavy hit us.
I don’t know which side.
The Range skidded to a stop. Seconds later a body went flying off the roof. My mouth dropped open, watching as the person landed. Not in a heap of broken bones but stuck the landing in a crouch.
He popped up. Stretched, cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck to work the kinks out.
Regina put the Range in reverse and stepped on the gas, putting distance between us and the man.
“Oh, my goodness,” Alana said with childlike exuberance as she reached into her clutch and pulled out a toy-sized gun.
“I know I asked this already, but can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?”
“Your father has enemies,” Nate said, flexing his right forearm.
His veins bulged, dark traceries mapping his skin. Tendrils of black smoke, crackling with red light, swirled around him. When he turned his gaze on me, his eyes were pitch-black orbs.
I shrank back, caught between the urge to run and piss myself.
“Stay calm,” his black gaze pinned me to the spot. “Reggie will get us out of here in no time.”
In real life, I mean real fucking life, I watched the tattooed gun vanish off his skin and rematerialize in his hand like it was an extension of him.
My mouth was already hanging open, so it didn’t have more to drop. Clearly, I was seeing things. “How…?”
“I don’t how,” he answered, mistaking my half-spoken question for something other than the impossibility I’d just witnessed. “But it’s safe to say they’ve learned of his weakness.”
“Me?” I barely register the question falling from my lips, I’m too damned stunned.
“Yep,” he deadpanned, pointing the massive gun out the window at the man standing in the middle of the street.
“Oh, don’t worry Holi, we won’t let anything happen to you.” I turned to my lover, grinning up at me with the tiny gun in her hand; her bright blue eyes glazed with that familiar sleepy haze.
My own eyes widened with horror, who were these people?
A loud clap snapped my attention forward. I jumped, ducking low as Nate fired a second, then a third ball of white-fire in rapid succession at his target.
Have you ever seen anyone dodge a bullet? I had. Witnessed it with my two damn eyes.
Nate pulled his arm back into the vehicle and closed the window. The gun vanished from his hand, melting back into the image inked on his skin.
“Let’s see you dodge this, motherfucker.” He punched a button on the dash, and the surrounding darkness turned to daylight.
The man shrieked, face twisting into a gruesome mask. Red eyes glared back at us, flashing jagged teeth as he withered and twisted into unnatural angles. His pale skin bubbled and blistered, splitting open and oozing blood.
What I was seeing didn’t make sense. The man was not a man, but a creature with fangs. His nails had elongated into talons, and he clawed at himself, sloshing off the burnt flesh. The light, the pain it caused was driving him mad.
He dropped to all fours and scrambled away like a crab, fleeing into the dark. The ungodly sound coming from him was ear-splitting.
I clapped my hands over my ears, praying for it to stop.
“Go.” Nate told Regina.
“Go! Go!” Alana screamed gazed fixed on something beyond the back window.
I turned and screamed courting six of the red-eyed creatures bearing down on us at unimaginable speed. “Oh my God they’re more.”
Regina slammed her foot on the gas and didn’t stop again until we were parked at the front entrance to the mansion.  I didn’t move. Shit happened and my mind was still reeling, trying to make sense of it.
The double doors burst open.
“Where is she?” Olida breezed out of the house, her hair in big curlers and housecoat flying behind her as she rushed toward me. “Was she hurt?”
“No,” Nate answered.
“Well thank fuck.” This came from Ash who I hadn’t noticed had followed his sister out the door.  “Let’s get her inside. We’ll need to wipe her.”
Wipe me? I looked down, horrified I might’ve pissed myself. Nothing. Relief washed over me. I still didn’t know what they meant, and I had a feeling if I asked, I’d just get more tight-lipped evasion.
My gripped tightened on Alana’s hand. She squeezed me, her gaze searching my face was glazed over and as bizarre as it felt in the moment, I couldn’t help the feeling someone or something other than Alana was staring back at me.
“I’ll do it.” Olida said.
Ash paused. “Are you sure?”
Olida cut him a look over her shoulder, that said ‘don’t fuck with me.’
In response he rolled his eyes, as if the whole interaction was a bore and a waste of his time. He turned on his heel and walked toward the door.
“You and Alana had fun tonight.” Olida grinned at me.
A strange feeling came over me, and I became hyperfocus on her voice and words. “Yeah.” I nodded, grinning like a ninny with not a worry in the world.
“My pretty girl.” She gushed. “I bet all the boys wanted your number.”
For a second I paused, slow to remember. Then I laughed, recalling the boys she spoke of, asking for my number. I couldn’t picture their faces, but I could hear their voices clearly. And the more she continued to speak the more I saw the night unfolding just as she described.
Yeah, we had a blast I agreed.
“You’re tired.” Olida said.
Tired. Hmm, I can’t say I was before she said it, but the moment the words left her mouth I couldn’t keep my eyes open to save my life. Nate hoisted me up in his arms and carried me into the house. 
The last thing I remembered was Alana tucking me into bed.
I dreamt…no, I had a nightmare of redeyes chasing me down a dark alley.
If only I knew how close to home those red eyes where or how much of a premonition that damned nightmare would be.
Before we go any further, let me end the suspense. At this point in the story, I had no memory of the attack or of the man Nate lit up with our headlights and burnt to a crisp.  As far as I knew, Alana and I had a blast at Jack of Spades. We danced, ate, and she drank a whole lot of virgin cocktails while Nate watched over us.
Yes, I remember sneaking off to see Jax and finding him with Bash. I woke up the next morning thinking fondly of our threesome and proud I’d gotten Alana back home on time.
       My sweet, bright-eyed companion gave no signs of distress. No hint the events we both gushed over at breakfast was half-truths, most of them fabricated by Olida when she wiped my mind and replaced the truth.
       Not to worry, I do regain those memories and a lot more from my childhood mum had a hand in taking.
       Oh, come now, I’m not going to tell you just yet. Where’s the fun in that? I have to leave you with a little suspense.
       Papa Knight cut his business trip short and flew back home the same morning. Of course I didn’t know any this. I was just happy to see him later in the day when he popped in to see me.
       He found me lounging in the pool on a floatie while enjoying a mug of milkshake. Someone in the kitchen was kind enough to make it for me. Since my arrival I’ve never had to ask for food. It just appeared and was some of the most delicious shit I’ve tasted.
If you’ve not had a cheesecake shake, please go and get you one.
There I was all by my lonesome. Alana had been called into a meeting by Maude regarding staff business. Or so I gathered as she rushed to explain in her haste to leave, promising she’d be back in a few hours.
Jazmine Sullivan’s ‘need you bad’ was pouring out of the hidden speakers at a low volume. The waterfalls at the other end of the pool, veiling the grotto behind, trickled gently into the deeper end. I ate and hummed along with Jasmine, toes skimming the cool crystal-clear water. My mind was on Jax. I’d called him a few times and not to my surprise my calls went straight to voicemail. Understandable. He worked nights and I most likely wouldn’t hear from him until the sun dropped out of the sky.
Not soon after my thoughts wander to the other man staring in my recent fantasies. I had no number for Bash and with every passing hour since waking, I fought the urge to go in search of him. We had some unfinished business he and I.
A pair of lovebirds bathed and frolicked in the fountain in the middle of the garden, beside a tiered birdfeed stand. I imagined, both were put in place for anyone who enjoyed birdwatching. Other lovebirds flitted nearby, along with a handful of budgies, two golden macaws, and a territorial pair of bluejays calling the garden home. The fuckers were noisy, but pleasant all the same, especially with the breath of cool breeze whispering through the trees.
Different scents drifted in the air. Depending on where I turned my head, I might catch the enticing fragrance of cherry blossoms and citrus from the mandarin trees, or jasmine and night-blooming cereus trained to climb the marble columns.
       “There she is.”
The sound of his soft voice washed over me. My lips curled into a big grin. I flipped back the floppy brim of my oversized sunhat to peer up at him. “Big Papa, you’re back.”
He smiled down at me from a resting bench beneath the shade of a flowering cherry blossom tree. Our suite–his, mine and Aunty Olida’s–overlooked the peristyle garden, its marble colonnade enclosing our little slice of paradise.
“I am.” He nodded, watching me. He had a way of staring at me as if he was waiting for something to happen. It didn’t make me uncomfortable; the waiting was always wrapped in the soft warmth of his adoration, the bright note of pride that shone back at me. “Would you care to join me on a night out?”
“Hell yeah!” I exclaimed wading toward the shallow end of the beach-style pool. “Where to?”
“It is a dinner engagement,” he replied as he rose to his feet and walked the shadowed length of the colonnade to meet me. “Hosted by a friend.”
Placing a hand on my hat to keep it in place, I tilted my head back and flashed a beaming smile up at him. “Just us or do I have the pleasure of enduring your pleasant daughter and wife’s cheery dispositions for the evening?”
I don’t know if I mentioned it before, but my Papa is one good-looking man. Mum never had a chance, especially when he unleashed one of his rare smiles.
He pinched my chin. “It is a family affair.”
“Hm.” I shrugged, hardly put off.
Camile and Calista were at best entertainment; they would never be the reason why I’d have a bad mood. Aldis on the other hand, well he I didn’t my very best to avoid. He’d been out of town since he nutted all over my floor. I prayed he stayed gone.
“Tonight, you’ll meet the other families.”
“More aunts and uncles to meet, cousins?”
“No, none related. Think of us as a part of a collective. The heads of each family are captains of industries, and from time to time we get together.”
“Oh, okay. Is there anything I need to know; I wouldn’t want to ruffle any feathers.”
“Not to worry, just be your charming self.”
I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip. The night, despite his down play of it, seemed important and the last thing I wanted was to embarrass him.
More than anything, I realized right then, I wanted to fit in. I wanted him to be proud of me, to see me not as an unpolished, vulgar hothead, but as a young woman with poise and all the social graces befitting my new station in life.
“I’ll send someone to see to you while Alana’s indisposed.”
“Damn, that’s a long ass meeting.” The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.
Damn. I ducked my head out of shame.
“Necessary.” Papa Knight added.  He dipped his head and pecked my cheek. “Go on, I’ll see you in a few.”
Excited about the night ahead, I literally skipped away. The only dinner engagement I ever attended was the Christmas dinners hosted by my mother’s church sisters. The host of the last one, an elderly woman, spent the whole night side-eyeing me because I dared to wear a jumper that showed off my cleavage.
If only she knew my ass was on fire from the paddling Jax meted out an hour earlier.
Heh, fuck all that. I was eager to be seen out, on my daddy’s arm, at one of his fancy shindigs. And just between us, it gave me a sense of belonging. He wasn’t hiding me like a dirty secret.
Much to Camile’s chagrin. I heard her barking threats moments later, threatening to boycott the night if he didn’t leave his ‘shame’ at home. 
“Suit yourself,” was his reply.
No arguments, nothing but that one quiet response and then silence.
An hour later I’m soaking in a eucalyptus and rosemary infused bath. Jazz is playing softly from the speakers, my eyes are closed and I’m laid back, relaxed with a mask on my face. Quiet murmurs rose and fell among the trio of women Papa Knight had sent up to help me dress for the night. Between songs I could hear their feet shuffling around my private sitting room getting things ready.
I’m lost in thought, thinking of my night with Bash and Jax. My fingers trail light circles around one nipple until it turned to a wet, sensitive bead I slide my thumb over. I tug at the half-ring hanging off the barbell pierced through it, and squeeze the turgid tip hard, loving the sting, the rush of heat curling at the pit of my stomach. Like metal drawn to magnet my free hand slid down my flat stomach, dipping between my thighs. I spread my legs, draping one over the ledge of the jacuzzi tub and stroke myself.
You’re probably wondering, what if I get caught. Didn’t give a fuck if one of the women walked in on me, the thought alone had me driving two fingers into my cunt, mimicking the way Bash fucked me with his tongue.
I’m so turned on it took no time at all to climax. Trembling, I squeezed and stroked my stiff clit between my fingers like I plan to use my hand on Bash’s dick, coaxing out a second orgasm.
Fuck I couldn’t wait to see him. The second I get the chance; bet I’m stealing him away to finish what we started.
Don’t judge, I’m one-track minded as fuck.
Aunt Morana paid me a visit while I was in the make-up chair. No hello, or how are ya?
Whatever, I was relaxed from the full body massage I’d received and overly pampered from the facial, manicure and pedicure I dozed through.
       The sun was setting, casting the sky in a rosy blush. Morana walked into the sitting room where we were set-up, eyeing my things with her nose crunched up as if everything was coated in dust and she couldn’t bear the thought of getting any of it on her.
       For a moment I remained silent, watching as she walked directly to the ornate double-doors opened onto my bedroom. She stopped at the threshold and swept the space with a critical eye, before turning back to face me.
       “Satisfied?” I asked.
       The bitch looked anything but.
       “Hakon informed me of his decision to introduce you to the families,” she said brushing her hands as if she’d accidently touched something. “I can’t imagine why he wishes to air his indiscretion to the world. Poor Camile must suffer the humiliation of sharing a roof with you, and now this.”
       I’m not heartless. Yeah, I didn’t like Camile and her dry-face daughter and perverted son but I’m a woman first, and let’s just say it could never be me. I’d have fucked shit up if my husband blindsided me with the revelation of an affair, a love child, and the news said child would be living in the home we built together all on the same night, without so much as a discussion.
       That’s fucked up on every level. But it also shows the relationship between those two was based on something other than love or even respect, for him to feel comfortable enough to pull that shit.
       Like I said, could never be me. On the other side of that coin, big as I am, I was the child in question, and their marriage had nothing to do with me. That was for them to figure out. So, Morana throwing their marital drama in my face was fucked up, and mean-spirited.
       Come on now, this was a grown ass woman actively going out of her way to make her own flesh and blood feel small.
Where the fuck was her loyalty, to me, my Papa?
“What is it?” I asked her as Jilly primed my face. “Is it my closeness to him that’s got your panties in a bunch? You come across as one of those nasty bitches that secretly want to fuck their brother?” My disrespectful ass said for all to hear.
The whole room went deathly silent.
“This is precisely why this night will be a disaster. You’re uncouth, an animal.”
“Ah, you’re a classist. For a second there I thought it was a race thing.”
Morana shook her head, like a disappointed mother. “One of these days you will learn to curb your tongue. For now, I can only hope your head isn’t as hard as it looks.”
Here’s what you’ll to come learn about Morana, it was never about choosing Camile over her brother. The woman was the moral compass of the Knight family. She didn’t give a shit who you were, she would always stand on the side of what’s right. Morana loved as strongly as the heat of the sun, fierce and unflinching. But you had to earn that love, and I had not started off on the best foot.
In her eyes, Papa Knight’s delivery of me to the family was the first strike against me. Second, was my course mouth. She abhorred ‘impertinence’ as she called it, and I was as disrespectful as they come. You’d think mum hadn’t taught me better.
Oh, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shamed the dead.
Standing by the window in the shadows, as evening crept over the room, Morana stared out at the aging day in quiet contemplation.
She turned to me after a while. In a voice reminiscent of a preschool teacher, she proceeded to educate me on what to expect on my first engagement, as a ‘representative’ of the Knight family.
Best understand, while we were a family, the name Knight was a brand, and each of us had a role to play. Everyone understood this, no question. In the eyes of the public, we were never to seem like anything less than a united front. If you weren’t family or someone with a vested interest in the brand, you were an outsider, an enemy of the fucking state.
Not one to mince her words, Morana made it clear I was either capable of comporting myself or I wasn’t, the night would tell.
“Make a choice,” Morana said in parting after she’d gotten me up-to-date on who would be in attendance, and the significance of the meeting.
She’d spoken in detail, going over the names of the heads of each family, who were our allies or enemies, and the importance of knowing when to open my mouth and when to keep it shut.
“There are those counting on you to fail.”
“Are you one of them?”
“Silly girl, I wouldn’t be here, if was.” She paused in the doorway. “But I suspect you’ve deduced as much. You’re smart Hollis, much, I think, to your own detriment. You’re young, beautiful and could easily rise to become the face of this family. It all depends on your willingness to learn and play by the rules.”
She looked away, gave a nod of her head and left as unceremoniously as she arrived. For a while, I sat staring at the empty space she’d been standing in, thinking of my future. I never questioned my place in the Knight’s family. I’d simply accepted what was given to me.
Think about it. I’d gone from being homeless to living in a damn mansion. That was like wandering for days, starving, and stumbling up on a spread of all your favourite food. You don’t question your fortune, you accept it. You eat until you’re bloated, thoughts of tomorrow the furthest thing from your mind.
Suddenly, it was tomorrow. And there I was, in the same predicament before Papa Knight pulled me into his world. I had no plans, no clue what I wanted to do with myself. Sure, there was the short-term plan to finish my education, for everything else I couldn’t be bothered.
You’re probably thinking, well that’s no way to live.
Well, sometimes life takes you on a journey you least expect, changing you in ways you couldn’t have fathomed. Faced with the reality of losing mum shifted something in me. Watching her wither away helpless to do anything about it, my dreams, the life I’d once planed, all became pointless. Every day was a gift, and I began to live as such, mind focus on the present and nothing more.
Morana’s little visit made me realize I needed to shift gears once again. The thing was, I didn’t think I had it in me. Not much scared me. But the idea of plotting my life, while knowing none of it was promised, struck a fear so deep within me, I couldn’t breathe. Slapping at my heaving chest, I gasped for each breath, but the air had turned to stone. I couldn’t pull enough of it into my lungs.
I jumped up, startling Jilly and ran to the en suite. My fingers slipped, fumbling to turn to the tap on. I gathered two handfuls of the rushing water and splash my face. The cold jolted me. My chest loosened. Hands planted on the counter I sucked down a lungful of air. Goosebumps prickled my entire body.
Nothing of the like had ever happened to me before. I’d had my first panic attack, and unfortunate for me, it wouldn’t be the last.  
My breathing slowed, the trembling shaking my body had eased to a slight tremor. Still, I didn’t move, I stood stiffly, eyes squeezed shut.
I felt a pair of small arms wrap around my waist.
My eyes popped open and collided with the reflection of Olida staring back at me in the mirror.
“Your moods are like the tides of the moon.” She frowned. “It affects everything. Why are you sad?”
“I’m not.” I cleared my throat and straightened my posture.
Releasing me she stepped back. “Was that your first lie of the day or your last?”
“What?” I quirked a brow at her, so not in the mood to entertain anyone.
Olida sighed. “I’m trying to cheer you up, but you’re making it impossible.” She grinned, flashing two white rows of frighteningly straight pointy teeth.
“Oh, I…” I didn’t know what to say to the girl, her sudden appearance and freakish teeth had thrown me off balance. “Um, thanks.”
“Jilly’s waiting.” She dropped the smile, as if she was aware, it had unsettled me. “You don’t want to be late.”
I looked her over. She looked as though she’d just crawled out of bed. “Aren’t you going?”
“Of course.”
Again, I looked her over, cocking a questioning brow at her.
Olida giggled, looking down at herself. “Oh.” She brushed off my concern with a flick of her wrist. “I’ve been with my team for years; they’ll have me thrust up and ready to go in no time. Come on, out you go.”
Pushy girl shooed me out of the bathroom and didn’t leave until I was back in the makeup chair. I swear she was thirteen going on fifty.
During Morana’s impromptu coaching I learned each of the six families were associated with one distinct colour often paired with black and gold, ours was red. If memory served me right, I don’t think I’ve ever worn an outfit in full red before. To be honest, I immediately believed the colour wouldn’t look good on me.
Thankfully, I was wrong. Trust when I say, your girl should wear red more often. And you should have seen us, the whole family, save one, congregated in the grand foyer, all coordinated and shit. Us women dazzled in red with touches of black and gold while the men cut sharp figures in black with accents of red and gold. The nine of us looked like a dream.
I don’t think I’ve felt prettier in my life. Unlike the other Knight women, who wore mermaid silk dresses with sweeping trains and a variety of necklines and sleeve styles, Papa Knight had ordered my gown to be tailored to match his suit.
Camile sidled up to me while I was admiring myself in the mirror. “You look, delicious dear.”
I bit back on the urge to cuss her out in front of everyone. Instead, I turned to face her, wishing she had accompanied her son to wherever he’d gone for the past two weeks.
“And you look…” I paused. “Oops,” I said, pointing at her chest. “I think you missed some.”
Her gaze dropped to where I was pointing then flashed up at me, her mouth drawn into a tight line.
“Milking accident?” I chuckled as I brushed by her.
God only knew who was taking Aldis’ place in her bed while he was gone.
The woman grabbed me by the elbow, her fingers digging into my skin. “My Aldis will be back soon.”
“I’m sure the two of you have plans to celebrate. Do the rest of us a favour and close the door.”
She leaned in, mouth stretched into a tight smile. “You’re going to pay for what you did, I’ll see to it.”