Nero

"I still don't think this is necessary," I say, raising up my bound wrists. "You've got the shock collar on me."

Valentino snorts at me. "You're lucky I didn't cuff them behind your back." He pats the spot next to him on the couch.

Part of me wants to fight him, but I know there's no point right now. And as good as the sex was, even a day later my back is still reminding me that it was a bad fucking idea.

My cock and hole disagree, but they aren't the ones throbbing in pain.

Well, not much pain.

I settle in next to him, and just to spite him, I cuddle up right up against his side. "I didn't figure you for the kind to relax with your... reluctant allies... in front of the TV."

"What else do you suggest we do?" Valentino asks, quirking his brows. "Go for a walk in the park? Make ourselves bigger targets?" He shakes his head. "No. My people are working on gathering information, and that takes time. At least I'm not leaving you in my torture room all alone."

If I were alone, maybe I could attempt to undo the collar, or at least the manacles. I'd be going over everything I know in my head, trying to figure out whodunnit, except I know fucking nothing and don't have a chance of figuring anything out until I get into contact with Corbin and...

Maybe the couch is better after all.

"So what are we watching?" I ask, attempting to reach for the remote.

Valentino deftly keeps it out of my reach and starts flipping through all his streaming options. "There's a new documentary on identifying psychopaths," he drawls. "Maybe that would be interesting to you."

I snort and suppress a smile. "Nah, I already know how to do that. Got one sitting right next to me, don't I?"

He's been affable, almost warm, but I can see it in his eyes. He's playing the good guy right now, but the second things turn against him... No. He's not going to play around.

He chuckles. "Pay attention and be a good student. Sociopaths are the ones who get caught, little cub, unless they're working with a talented psychopath." He smiles at me. "So I wonder... Who's keeping you in line?"

I shrug and regret the movement immediately. My back does not appreciate that, but I swallow my wince. "I'm just a wild cub. Doing what I can to get by."

Valentino finally lands on some home improvement show. The couple is just finding out that repairs are going to be another thirty grand beyond what they'd budgeted, and Valentino tsks. "They should've known better. That thing should've been torn to the ground and rebuilt."

I roll my eyes. "Sure, if they have an extra million lying around and can be certain they don't need to have extensive talks with the county about new building permits." After a pause, I add, "But they should definitely not have gone with that tile. What the fuck is that?"

"The tile isn't as bad as the color of the cabinets," he replies thoughtfully.

I don't know how, but we end up spending the rest of the hour analyzing the home renovations. I find out that Valentino knows a lot more about architecture than I would've imagined, and he has very strong feelings about houses that don't have garages, of all things.

"Sometimes you just don't want a driveway," I point out. "Especially around here. Fuck shoveling snow."

"If you have a garage, you don't have to shovel your car out of the snow," Valentino huffs. "And it's easier to get the car warmed up. I—" He stops, but doesn't tense, when he hears footsteps coming in from the hallway. Heels, from the sound of it.

My instinct says to get into a defensive position, as much as that's possible with my wrists bound in front of me. But I decide, fuck that. I'm comfortable where I am, and if Valentino's got a problem with people seeing him cuddling with a man, then he should have thought about all of that before bringing me out here.

I kind of want to see just how Valentino reacts, too.

I'm more than familiar with people who act one way in private, and another in public.

Someone I'd peg around five-foot-ten enters, though some of that height can be attributed to the heels on their feet. Their hair is long, well past their shoulders, and falls in soft, artfully styled waves. Clad as they are in a loose blouse and expensive-looking trousers, it's hard to tell much more about them.

"Briar," Valentino greets, sitting up more but not moving away from me.

Briar's eyes, gold-green like a cat's, narrow when they land on me. "Oh, so it wasn't bad enough that you got the bed bloody. You had to bring him out here and get the couch bloody, too?".

"Yep. Sorry," I say sarcastically. "Daddy just couldn't keep his hands off me." I raise my cuffed hands to rest them against Valentino's chest.

"At least I didn't have to shoot him," Valentino says, his voice mild. "Then you'd have been stuck cleaning up brain matter as well, and I know how much you hate that."

The housekeeper, then, though I don't know what kind of housekeeper runs around in heels and expensive blouses.

"Briar, this is Nero. Nero, Briar. Nero is my reluctant guest; Briar is my eager, talented, and wonderful housekeeper," Valentino says. "If you think they'll be sympathetic to your plight, you're wrong."

"I had zero expectations from Briar," I answer glibly, eyeing Briar.

There's a little bit of muscle on their arms, and while I am fairly sure I'd be able to take them in a fair fight, I'm not exactly in a state to test that out.

I do know that I want them out of the room already. "Anyway, Daddy and I were watching a show, so..." I trail off, hoping they get the hint.

Briar smiles at me, not even bothering to try to make it look genuine. "Oh, that's cute. Daddy Valentino."

"Shove it, Briar," Valentino says. "Anything new? Or are you ready to get to the scrubbing toilets part? You seem perfectly dressed for work today."

"Yeah, well." Briar sighs and drops the fake smile. "You got some mail that could have been quite unfortunate. White powder is never a good sign. I think it's been sitting in the mailbox for a while though. I never thought I'd be glad that you keep forgetting to check your mail."

That draws my attention. That's a second attempt on his life. "When did you last check your mail?" I ask Valentino.

He grimaces. "I don't know. It's been stressful, all right? Look, I got busy with the half-dead twink in my guest room."

"So we have no way of knowing if it arrived before or after the whole warehouse incident," I say, groaning. "We should check my mail drop box to see if I have any fun presents."

"Briar can check it," Valentino says. Before I can protest, he continues, "You'll have to change its location, codes, keys, everything. You've been compromised, and there's no sense in continuing to put yourself at risk. If people know how to find you for other jobs, they'll still be able to find you."

He's right, but that doesn't help with the bigger problem.

"They can't," I say, gritting my teeth. "There's a person who watches it. If anybody but me shows up to get mail, they're in for a bad time."

A bad time, and then some, before that bad time comes for me.

Fuck.

"Someone or something?" Briar asks, their eyes narrowing. "We have people who can deal with traps and most threats."

"This isn't most threats," I answer, and for some reason, I try to get closer to Valentino. "Never mind. Leave it alone. We'll focus on who's trying to kill—" I almost say Daddy, "Valentino."

"And you," Valentino points out, wrapping an arm around me. I don't think he intends to. It feels more like a reflex, because he tenses after he does it like he just realized what he'd done. He leaves his arm around me, though. "Because this wasn't an accident. Someone was trying to kill you as well, Nero."

"Well, we could solve the problem of at least one person trying to kill you if we take care of... Nero," Briar says. "We could make an example."

I sneer at them. "Yeah? Who's it an example for? You don't even know where you'd have to send my body. And you'd also be doing half their job for them since I'm one of the targets too."

"Let's not get hasty," Valentino says, and I think I feel a slight tightening of his arm around my waist. "Keeping Nero alive and on our side proves more than simply killing him."

Briar scowls back at me, and I don't miss the way their eyes flick between Valentino and me. "For now. Once we take care of whoever's targeting him, he'll just try to kill you anyway."

I roll my eyes. "The only reason I tried to kill him was for the money. I get the feeling that deal is off, so... I don't care if he stays alive. I'm an assassin, not a serial killer."

"And if somehow Nero gets another offer on my life, he's going to come to me so I can counter that offer," Valentino says as amicably as if we've discussed this at some point.

Briar's eyes narrow.

I smile at Briar. "You see? Daddy and I have it all worked out. Why don't you focus on the important things instead?"

Like who the fuck would mail something dangerous to Valentino? It'd be a lot easier to investigate all this if I had access to my own resources, but I'm not going to tell either of these two who I am.

Who I really am.

I don't think it'd be a good idea for Valentino and Corbin to meet, anyway.

Not yet. And God please, not ever.