brutal

Chapter 18

VERENA

"Go ahead. I'm all ears." He moved closer, trapping me in with his hands on the wall.

I released a light breath and tried to not think much about the little distance left between us. Tried, but very much failed. "I..."

I hesitated. What was I supposed to say? That man knew about the Professor. Remember him? Our captor? Yeah, apparently he's back.

Absolutely not. My being here relied entirely on not prematurely revealing to him that I knew him, let alone was with him many years ago. I didn't have the privilege to tell or share anything with him.

"I wasn't finished with him," I said instead. "He was about to kill me, so I thought I was given the freedom to do the same."

"He wasn't supposed to do that in the first place."
"So, you agree with me?"

"No," he replied immediately. "I don't give a fuck about that, Rena. This is a dangerous place."

My head tilted in question. "Don't be a hypocrite, Kai. Siege owns this place. You own this place."

"This place is for agents too bad for their own good. Seth and the others shouldn't have brought you here. You shouldn't be here."

"God, why do you even care?" I said, sighing exasperatedly. "You're that guy that Yuna said had seventeen straight wins. You participated in that shit and won. You beat up your agents."

"What I did in the past isn't your business, and I care because in case you've forgotten, I'm still your unit leader. Whatever happens to you, I'll be the one to blame," he said angrily.

I scoffed. "That's why you're mad? You don't want to take accountability?"

"I'm mad because you're acting like you're fucking stupid. Going up against a man two times your size isn't exactly what I wanted to see today. You could've gotten hurt."

"Well, I didn't," I lied. My entire body hurt, but he didn't need to know. He'd only get more infuriated, possibly violent. Not with me, but with the guy I fought.

"And why are you even here? Shouldn't you be in Vegas?"
"I got back a day early. Turns out everything goes to shit in my absence."

I chuckled in my frustration. "Jesus. Listen—it's really not that serious."

He looked up in frustration. "It is," he seethed and looked back at me. He paused for a moment, his mind processing and the gears turning before he said, "From now on, everything you do has to go through me."

My jaw dropped in shock. "What did you say?"

Kai moved closer, our noses touching. I felt my breath hitch when he moved to the side and hovered over my ear, his steady breathing an insult to my own that couldn't keep its usual rhythm.

"Everything you do: every move, every mission, every fight, and every breath you take—it'll be because I allow it." He ran a finger down my neck that bobbed and gripped my jaw forcefully with a hand. "Everything I say, goes. Everything I tell you, you do without question. You're mine now, Verena."

"Like hell I am." I wrenched his wrist away and pushed, but he didn't budge and instead of any chance of freedom, he grabbed my wrist and held it without intention of letting go.