Sins (Havoc of Sins #3)

Chapter 1

Grim

B lood sprayed as my fist met his face. Everything blurred while I pounded out my anger. I grabbed him by the collar and sent one into his chest and quickly repeated it with one to the gut. Darkness filled me as I grabbed his hand and broke all the small bones. His screams seemed to come from a distance and were like a salve to my insides, but it wasn’t enough. Nothing could soothe the pain or heal the scars left from Leo’s death. I was no longer human; I was a machine designed to kill anyone who had a hand in my brother’s murder.

“That all you got?” his pulp of a face asked as he spat. His blood-lined teeth morphed into a grin. “You better finish me off, Gates, because I’ll be coming for ya.”

I switched hands and drilled my knee into his stomach, and when he buckled, I drove a knee into his face. A little voice told me to keep going with the promise of peace at the end. That was a lie. There would never be peace for me; that would mean Leo came back from the dead.

“Grim! No!” my mother yelled from the doorway, and someone yanked at my arm throwing me off balance. I whirled around to take a swing when Knox’s face appeared. He wore a crazed expression. He grabbed my arm and held on.

“Not him,” Knox shouted. “No, Grim, not like this!”

I glared at the asshole who had managed to slither over to the wall. He propped his battered body upright.

“Yeah, not like this.” Sonny laughed, and I lunged at him, only to be pulled away from him again. I was yanked backward, and my father’s voice boomed through the chaos in my head.

“No!” Dad wouldn’t let go, even when I ripped my arm away from Knox. “Son, no.”

“Snap out of it,” Knox yelled. “You’re gonna hurt Dad!”

“Yeah, listen to your brother, Grim.” Sonny coughed. “You only have one left.”

Dad tightened his grip on me as I went in for a third time.

“Enough! All of you, enough!” Mom’s voice got through, and I tried to force myself to focus on her.

“Sonny Conti,” if she could breathe fire she would have in that moment, “one more word out of your mouth and I’ll put a bullet through your heartless chest myself.”

“Yes, ma'am.” He snickered, and Dad reached for his gun.

“Jim,” Mom warned, and like me, he knew to step back. Mom rarely used that voice, and we all knew to listen. “Knox,” she kept her eyes on me, “get your brother out of here.”

I slapped Knox’s hand away and spun toward the door. I grabbed the handle and slammed the door into the wall as I stomped out. I could hear the glass smash as I left.

“Conference room,” Dad ordered from behind me. “Jesse, look after this, will you?” Dad waved at the mess against the wall.

“Of course, sir. Sorry I wasn’t here sooner.” He glanced at me. We both knew what he’d done had given me a head start.

Once inside, Dad shut the door behind us, and the only sound I could hear was my own gasping breath. I forced myself to take a moment to breathe. I was too amped to sit, so I grabbed one of the high-back chairs and clenched the top of it with my fists. I desperately needed something to anchor me.

Knox was the first to speak. “What do you know?”

I shook my head. I wasn’t ready to tell them yet; I wanted to end his fucking life first.

“Laurel?” Dad turned to Mom. “How did this all happen?” I appreciated him giving me a moment to gather myself.

“I was up talking to Gavin up in the security room when I saw Grim race through the lobby, then he went to the restaurant where the Tames normally have their family dinner. When he headed up to this floor, it didn’t take much to see he was looking for Cameron.” She smoothed out her hair as she settled in a chair.

“So, why Sonny?” Knox pushed.

“Because…” I felt everything rush to the surface, and I could tell I was going to blow.

Knox took a step toward me, and I raised my hand to stop him. “Because?”

“Because they’re all fucking in on it!” I screamed, and Mom jumped. “It wasn’t supposed to be Leo. I was the mark. Me!” I jabbed a finger at my chest. “Cameron ordered a hit to take me out, but Leo had my jacket on, and the stupid hired fuckers thought he was me.”

Silence.

Fuck !

“How?” Knox shook his head, confused. “You’re like a fucking Picasso painting.” He waved a finger at all my tats. “Leo was a blank slate, for shit’s sake.”

“I don’t understand, Grim.” Mom leaned forward in her chair.

“Me either.” Knox pursed his lips. “Even if he had your jacket on, he looks nothing like you.”

“Hired men don’t get photos, they get marks.” I tried to calm my nerves and remember Knox wouldn’t know this shit. “They get a text, a bit of information, that’s it.”

“Why? That’s stupid.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “It’s all about tracing shit back.” I slammed my fists into the chair. “You’d know this shit if you actually paid attention.”

“Grim!” Mom warned as she pressed her hands flat on the table. “What do you mean, Cameron ordered the hit? What evidence do you have?”

“Kenna.” As her name slipped past my lips, I had a sudden vision of her still handcuffed in my room. “She found an envelope in her father’s office. It had Leo’s cufflinks and some of that straw that was found in Leo’s room.”

“Proof of a kill,” Dad spelled out for Knox, who had suddenly paled. “Any chance it could be a fluke?”

“No.” I rubbed my head. “Jesse found out Cameron sent Sonny to New Orleans. To see where we were, maybe? I’m guessing, but to me, it’s enough, with the cufflinks?—”

“That’s not why he sent Sonny there.” We all turned to stare at Knox. “He wanted confirmation that you and Kenna were together.”

I swallowed hard as Knox slowly shook his head like something was coming back to him. “What do you know, little brother?”

“More than I realized, I think.” His face morphed into visible pain, and for a moment, I took pity on him. “I’m not as stupid as you might assume.” His eyes went glossy. “I know I party too much, but it’s because I’m not ready to deal with the shit you all do. You all walk around like you carry this big secret on your shoulders, and Grim is always angry or just plain covered in blood.”

I shrugged. “We have a lot of enemies.”

“Don’t we have people to keep them out?” His youth showed in his face, and I saw the little boy I’d helped shield from our world for so long peek through. Yet another mistake I’d made. I shook the thought away and slipped back to business. “Knox, what do you?—”

“It’s a lot,” Dad cut me off, and I moved to sit next to him, “and we’re carrying a big secret, son. One I think you might be in the middle of without knowing it.” He gave Knox a sad smile and pointed at the chair across from us. “Grim may be right, Knox. If we can figure out what Cameron’s up to and what else you might know, maybe we can end this nightmare and move on.” Dad reached across and patted his arm tenderly. “What else do you know, son?”

“Well, I know Calli likes to feed me drinks.” He squeezed his eyes shut as he thought. “At first, I thought she just wanted us to have fun, but over time, I noticed she never really touches much alcohol at all. One time when I wasn’t feeling the best, you know, from the night before,” he made a face and looked down, “I pretended to drink whatever she gave me, but I poured them into a planter next to me. Later, when I was zapped from the sun, I drifted off in the cabana. I wasn’t totally asleep and overheard Cameron telling Calli he’d sent Sonny to New Orleans to get proof that you,” he looked at me, “were fooling around with Kenna.”

“That’s probably what made him snap.” I slammed my fist into the table. “After I beat his face in, I’m going to slice his throat and break every?—”

“Calm down, Grim,” Mom said firmly. “Knox, I know you care for Calli, but you see what’s happening here, right?”

“I do. But, Mom, I really love Calli. She’s different than them.” He didn’t get it, blinded by easy pussy and a cute smile. “She’s just as blind to her father as Kenna is.”

“Don’t,” I snapped. “Don’t clump the two of them together.” I suddenly felt wildly protective of the woman I’d ripped apart emotionally and still held captive in my bedroom.

“She feels stuck in her job because she works for him. You guys don’t know the Calli that I do. She’s loyal to her father. Surely that counts for something?” Knox looked at Dad, and I saw red. Dad must have sensed my change in mood because his tone changed.

“It does,” he said soothingly. “I love that you see the good in everyone.” He stood and walked around the table and kissed Knox on the head like he was twelve and not in his mid-twenties. “And you’re right. We don’t know Calli, and maybe given what’s going on, we need to. Why don’t you invite her to dinner tonight? Kenna too.” Dad gave me a look, and I wanted to laugh at what I was hearing.

“Sure, I’ll ask.” Knox cautiously looked at me then at Dad. “Just make sure Kenna will be there so Grim doesn’t take a swipe at Calli.”

I found it humorous that he thought Kenna could stop me.

“I will.” Dad smiled warmly. “Why don’t you head out, and we’ll deal with this Sonny situation?”

“Okay.” He looked relieved to go. “Sounds good.” He headed for the door.

I blocked his path and pushed a finger into his chest. “Just remember what blood you carry and where your loyalty lies.”

“And you don’t forget he was my brother, too.” He swallowed hard. “You grieve with violence and I with emotion. You might want to try it sometime before you push everyone who loves you away.” He shoved my arm aside and left.

As the door slammed shut, Mom let out a light cry.

“He’s not wrong, Grim.” Dad poured himself a drink. “If you don’t deal with this right, it’ll consume you.”

“Who says it hasn’t?” I grunted and pulled my head back on track. “So, we can’t trust Knox or Calli right now.”

“No, we can’t,” he agreed, “so we’ll pull her in and keep her close.” His phone rang, and he cursed. “I have to go.”

Mom and I sat in silence. I knew this was hard on her, and I wasn’t making it any easier, but shit, I could have eliminated one of our enemies tonight if she hadn’t come in. Sonny was trouble and clearly knew more than any of us realized.

“Please,” she rubbed her face, “don’t do anything else unless we know about it first. We’ve been waiting this out far too long to have Cameron think we know anything.”

“Yeah.”

She dropped her hands heavily on the table. “Seriously, Grim.”

“I understand, and you’re right.” I nodded. She was right; I’d let myself slip, and I needed to be careful.

“One last thing.” I tapped a finger on the table. “It might be wise if you were the one to ask Kenna to join us tonight.”

“Why? Are you two fighting again?” She leaned back with an exasperated sigh.

“Because she knows I was headed to kill her father, and she’s, ahh, handcuffed to my bed right now.”

“Grimson Gates,” her mouth dropped open as I quickly slipped out the door, “you better be joking!” Her voice followed me.

My head was in pure chaos when I left the office. When I stepped onto my suite, Zhar immediately sat up, then got to his feet as he sensed my mood and followed me toward the bedroom. I listened outside the door, but it was quiet. I pushed it open and saw Kenna curled into a ball, her head against the headboard with Leal curled up next to her. He lifted his head to look at me and gave a low growl as I moved farther into the room. Apparently, he had an opinion on the situation. He looked at Kenna then stared at me.

I eased onto the bed next to her then slowly reached over her head to unlock the cuff. I could spot a hit a mile away, but she caught me totally off guard when she swiped out her hand and something sliced across my collarbone. I snagged her hand and squeezed her wrist to make her release the knife.

“You missed,” I growled and snatched the knife up and shoved it back in her hand. I yanked her arm up and held her hand with the knife tightly in mine and pointed the tip of the blade to my throat. “Go big or be killed,” I tempted her. I waited for her to apply the necessary pressure, but instead, she stiffened.

“Let go of me!” She pulled her arm away, sending the knife to the bed. I tried to grab her wrist again, but she was extra feisty. Instead, I grabbed her legs and tried to hold her down. “Why are you such a bastard?” She was like a wild animal, and I found myself turned on by her temper.

“I never claimed to be anything else.” I flipped her onto her stomach, careful not to hurt her arm too much, but the little devil was ready and bucked upward. I snagged her ankle and slid her back across the mattress to a better position. I pushed her down with my arm, and her wild breathing made her sexy chest strain against her lacy bra. “Are you quite finished?” I kind of hoped she wasn’t because I really was a sick bastard.

I saw the anger fade from her puffy eyes as she took in my battered and bloody knuckles. She dropped defeated against the mattress, and I watched her fall apart.

“Did you?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

I grabbed the knife and tossed it on the bedside table, making Leal jump. “I couldn’t find him,” I admitted, and her chest fell as she let out the air she held with a relieved sob. I wasn’t sure why she was relieved; after all, it was only a matter of time.

I leaned over her to unlock the cuff, and her gaze followed mine. She leaned back as I leaned in. Her bra strained against my dress shirt, and I took in her beauty. She was a gorgeous woman, and it crossed my mind I should just keep her locked up here.

“Grim, please don’t do this. Please. “Don’t forget, he’s my father.”

Rage rushed to the surface, and I felt my walls shoot back up.

“So, it’s okay that he killed my brother? It’s okay that it was meant for me?” I seethed as I let her arm drop.

“No, but?—”

“Would you be so forgiving if he’d killed me?” I interrupted.

She pushed me back and sat upright. “No! I’m just saying there was a different way to handle the situation.” She rubbed her raw wrist then jumped up and grabbed her dress off the floor. “And it’s a lot to process, but you don’t have to kill him. There are ways to deal with these things,” she shouted.

“Listen, sweetheart,” I grabbed her arm and made her look at me, “when you live in my world, it’s my way. You come at me, I come at you. He knows that.”

“Who are you to live above the law!”

“There is no law in my world. It’s live or die. Your father killed my brother and tried to kill me. He failed. He knows retaliation is coming.”

“You’re infuriating.” She tried to pull away, but I wouldn’t let her go. When she moved to slap me, I blocked her hit. I towered over her, and she cowed as she saw she’d fucked up.

“Listen to me, Kenna.” My voice was eerily calm. “I know where our fights lead us, and as much as I might want to be inside you right now, be careful.” I jerked her toward me. “Because I will destroy you.”

Her face fell into an expression I couldn’t read, and she pulled her hand out of my grip. “You already have.” She grabbed one of my dress shirts from the back of a chair, covered herself up, and left. d.