Page 44 of Stormhold

“What the fuck? Did you fucking Stormholds plan to fucking cockblock me today?” Killian shouted incredulously, backing away as he pointed his gun at Arkane. “Or is this one of your stupid fucking plans to take me down? I swear if I’m dying today, so are you.”

“It’s not,” Arkane replied flatly. “Calm the fuck down,” he said, putting his gun away as he eyed the newcomers with a heavy frown. “Gray, Jon, what are you doing here?”

Grayson Stormhold still had his gun out, his skeptical gaze flying toward everyone in the room. “I could ask you the same thing, Kane,” he said in his usual gruff tone.

The man next to him was shorter, with a fierce expression and bright platinum blond hair, with the palest shade of gray eyes that I had ever seen. It made him look so otherworldly.

Jon Stormhold, the youngest Stormhold brother.

Only, unlike Grayson’s ruthless anger, Jon seemed more composed and colder, and was already taking inventory of the situation. Almost as if he was ready to strike and not miss a life.

“Put the fucking gun away,” Arkane warned, his voice like steel as he glared at his brothers. The two of them listened instantly, lowering their weapons.

While the men in the room dealt with their unusual standoff, which I couldn’t care less about, my mind started to spin with questions. What was happening here? Somehow, the enemy and his foes ended up in the same room, but why?

Slipping away from Arkane’s slight hold on my waist, I backed toward the windows and caught a glance outside. The street was still quiet, with no new activity, no new cars except for a haphazardly parked truck out front. Must be the Stormhold brothers.

But there was a certain kind of stillness, one that didn’t feel right at all.

“Good, you dare point a fucking gun at me,” Arkane roared, and Grayson grumbled under his breath in annoyance while Jon looked him square in the eye.

“You can’t really blame us,” Jon said calmly. “Someone called us from Marcus’s phone, saying he was held captive here and that if we informed anyone, we would be dead. And you can imagine our surprise when we found you here.”

“Marcus?” Arkane questioned, an underlying worry in his voice as he placed a call to Mikhail, only for it to not go through at all. It only caused panic among the brothers as Arkane filled them in on everything. They kept trying to call Marcus and Mikhail, only to fail.

Killian looked bored as he pulled his hoodie back over his head and eyed them. “Looks like you brothers have a lot to deal with. As much as I would love to put multiple bullets in each one of you, that cunt of a truce won’t let me. So good luck,” he said, walking away. “I’m leaving.”

“Try me, fucker,” Grayson growled, fists clenched in anger as he started toward him.

But Arkane stopped him, snapping his gaze to Killian. “You’re not going anywhere unless I say otherwise.”

Killian froze, stopping in his tracks. “You fucking dare to order me, Stormhold?”

“Yes,” Arkane replied in an intense tone.

For a second, everyone in the room held their breath. The flash of neon lights from the window danced across his face, but the stillness he exuded was terrifying. It only made the scar on his face a dire sight. I had never seen him kill, but I knew it would be a sight to behold.

Both men stared at each other with so much hate and fury that no one dared to even look away.

“Fuck, fine.” Killian finally broke the tension, throwing his frustrated hands in the air. “But I’m calling in my men. I don’t trust you Stormhold fuckers.”

“Do as you please, but you’re not leaving unless we are.” Arkane dismissed him, turning back to his phone, and Jon crowded him, talking in hushed tones. Grayson took the role of a silent guard, arms folded against his broad chest as he leaned by the door, watching Killian, who went back to relaxing on the bed, busy typing something on his phone.

There was no use in me staying. I needed to find out what was happening.

“Arkane,” I whispered, approaching him. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. There’s something I want to check.”

“What?” Arkane lifted his eyes from the phone. “This place could be circled for all I know. I can’t fucking reach anyone.”

Jon gave me a curious look but didn’t say anything.

“It’s okay, I’ll be fine,” I assured him with a small smile, and without even waiting for his reply, I started to walk away, but Grayson stopped me.

“I don’t trust you,” he said. “You’re not going anywhere.”

And before I could say anything, he informed, “For all I know, you’re working with him, and this is all just a trap to kill us.” He sent a threatening glare my way.

“I’ll die before I work for that man,” I said in a cold voice, eyeing Grayson with an unbothered stare. “You can either let me go or keep questioning me. Only wasting time won’t help either of us.”