Exquisite

Stay

~Damen~

I pressed the ice bag to my left temple, trying to dull the violent throbbing that was threatening my sanity. Cassien was bandaging his arm, his fingers moving quickly with practiced ease.

The door swung open and both of us looked up at our sister. "How is she?" Cassien asked, his eyes flickering over to me for a moment. "Will we need a doctor?"

Vivienne shook her head. Her face was so white that I was worried she'll pass out any second. "Sit, Viv. Breathe." I grabbed her hand as she squeezed in between the two of us, a shuddering breath escaping her. "Yes, okay. Better now."

"The wound wasn't very deep, thank goodness." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "There was no damage to any major artery - something I was very afraid of. It will hurt like a bitch but there's no permanent damage. She'll heal completely in a month or so."

Cassien leaned back into the sofa, shutting his eyes. "Perfect. I didn't want to take her to a hospital anyway."

Vivienne raised an eyebrow at me but didn't say anything. I nodded, seeing what he meant. It was too risky to take Neith anywhere, especially when she was already so injured.

"We wouldn't be here if not for her, Vee." Cassien exhaled as Vivienne took a sharp breath. "Her father was a - a big man. She's entirely on her own with a lot of people after her." More color left her face as she nodded, trying to absorb everything that had happened so far.

"I wouldn't mind some female company in the house, you know." I bit back a smile at Vivienne's weak attempt to diffuse the tension. "And for real, did you see her? She's fucking gorgeous. Almost made me question my sexuality."

Cassien looked like he had just sucked on a sour lemon. "Is Valdez teaching you all this? I don't want you talking to him from now on."

The smile left Vivienne's face as her nostrils flared with anger. "Oh really? What makes you think I give a flying fuck about what you want -" I tugged at her sleeve, shaking my head slightly. She glared at me but stopped mid-sentence, getting up.

"I'm going to check up on Neith; she should wake up in some time." She said shortly before storming out of the room.

"Talk to her - she listens to you." Cassien instructed and I inwardly groaned. "Any clues of who those attackers were?" I tried changing the subject and Cassien's face darkened, his jaw ticking.

"I've already gotten my men to look into it. By the time they reached, everyone had left. We do have the dead bodies from the dining room, though. They are mostly disfigured but Valdez will have cops run the DNA samples in their records tomorrow, see if something comes up."

I nodded. "Any suspects?"

Cassien frowned. "To be honest, I can't think of anyone who would have the guts to pull off something like this. It's either someone who has a lot of powerful backing or just plain fucking suicidal."

His phone rang and he flipped it open, his eyebrows pulling together as he nodded and cut the call. "It was Valdez - he recovered Jordan's body. Said that Neith might want a proper burial."

A knot formed in the center of my chest and I nodded tightly. "Can it be arranged?" "Of course; we'll have to keep it very personal, though. Too much risk."

Cassien was looking at me carefully, a strange look in his eyes. "What is it about her, D?" He finally asked. "What did she say to you that night? You generally don't give a fuck about anyone from my line of work."

I trained my gaze to my shoes, splattered with bloodstains. Lying to Cassien was never an option but more than that, I had no answer to this question. "I don't know."