CHAPTER 05 — THE PROPOSAL

 

Luther Green

The office was submerged in shadows. Only the desk lamp partially lit my brothers’ faces, casting long shadows that danced across the dark walls. The tension was thick, almost electric. I couldn’t stay still. I paced back and forth, my body vibrating with an explosive mix of anxiety, possessiveness, and something deeper I could barely name.

When the phone finally rang, Heros put it on speaker without hesitation.

“Capo,” Kurt’s voice came through, clear and firm. “I got everything.”

“Talk,” Heros ordered.

“Liora Elena Voss. Eighteen years old. Enrolled in a public school in Moscow. Average student, stands out in the arts. No history of involvement with any organization. Her mother, Mackenzie, works long shifts as a nurse. The girl spent most of her time home alone. Superficial friends, no major influence. Nothing indicates any connection to the Bratva.”

As Kurt spoke, I pictured Liora in that lonely routine. A beautiful, intelligent girl, forgotten by her own mother. Something inside me twisted violently. I wanted to protect her. I wanted to possess her. I wanted to be the center of her world, the man who would fill every void life had left behind.

“Has anyone suspected her disappearance yet?” Noah asked.

“Not so far. The mother believes she’s dead, thanks to the fake report. I’m still monitoring.”

Heros ended the call and looked at us, his face impassive.

“Everything she said is true. She was just a girl in the wrong place.”

Relief washed over me like a wave. I stepped up to the desk and planted my hands on it.

“Then there’s no reason to keep her as a prisoner anymore,” I declared, my voice firm and determined. “Let’s make her ours.”

Heros watched me for a long moment, analyzing.

“She could still refuse.”

“She won’t,” I replied, convinced, almost defiant. “We’ll show her this is where she belongs. That with us, she’ll never feel alone again.”

Noah frowned, ever the most cautious one.

“Let’s take it slow. She’s terrified.”

“I know,” I murmured. “But I also know she needs us as much as we need her.”

I went down to the bedroom where we had moved Liora after taking her out of the basement. My heart was pounding. She was sitting on the edge of the king-sized bed, wearing an oversized black t-shirt Noah had given her. Even like that — with her hair still messy and her eyes red from crying — she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

When I entered, Liora tensed, but she didn’t pull away. Her eyes met mine with that dangerous mix of fear and curiosity that left me completely obsessed.

“You…” she murmured.

“Luther,” I finished, closing the door behind me with a soft click. “The brother you think is obsessed with you.”

She swallowed hard but held my gaze.

“And am I?”

“Completely.”

I approached slowly and stopped a few steps away. I didn’t want to scare her. Not now that she had accepted.

“My brothers and I confirmed everything. You have no connection to the Bratva. You were just a girl coming home from school. But unfortunately… you saw too much. We can’t let you leave.”

Liora lowered her eyes to her hands, her fingers gripping the sheet.

“So what’s going to happen to me?”

“We have a proposal.”

She lifted her eyes again, waiting, her chest rising and falling quickly.

“We want you to stay. To be ours.” I took a deep breath before continuing. “All of us. Heros, Noah, Lohan, Zedekiah, and me. The Brotherhood Law says if one of us wants you, we all want you. You would be protected, cared for, desired. Your mother would remain safe and never want for anything again. You’d have everything you could want. Luxury, security, pleasure… and us.”

Liora stayed silent for a long time. Her fingers gripped the sheet so tightly her knuckles turned white.

“You want me to be… the woman of all five of you?”

“Yes,” I answered with total honesty. “Not just sex. We want you in our lives. We want to know you. Protect you. Make you happy. I know it sounds crazy. I know you’re scared. But think about it: going back to a life where your mother forgets you, where you’re alone every night… or staying here, where five men would do anything for you.”

She bit her lower lip, clearly conflicted. Tears shimmered in her eyes before she blinked them away.

“And if I refuse?”

“We won’t kill you,” I assured her, taking another step closer. “But we couldn’t let you go with those memories. We’d have to take other measures. Measures I’d rather avoid.”

The silence stretched between us. I saw fear, doubt, and exhaustion warring inside her.

“You’re monsters…” she whispered finally.

“We are,” I admitted, closing the final distance and stopping right in front of her. “But we can be your monsters. We can be whatever you need.”

Liora closed her eyes for a long moment. When she opened them again, there was resignation in them… and something more. A spark of acceptance.

“Okay,” she said, her voice low and shaky. “I accept.”

My heart raced. A slow, satisfied smile spread across my face.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t have much choice… but I also don’t want to go back to that empty life. If you really will protect me… if you’ll take care of my mother… then yes. I accept being yours.”

I moved closer and carefully cupped her face in my hands. My thumb caressed her cheek with a tenderness I rarely showed.

“You won’t regret it, Liora. We’ll give you the world.”

She trembled slightly under my touch but didn’t pull away.

“Just… be patient with me,” she asked, almost pleading. “All of this still scares me.”

“We will,” I promised, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “We’ll go slow. At your pace. But know this: from today on, you’re not alone anymore. Never again.”

When I pulled back, I saw that something had changed in her eyes. The fear was still there, but so was curiosity. And a small, hesitant spark of desire.

Liora Voss had accepted.

She was ours now.

And I could hardly wait to show her exactly what that meant.