STEFAN MCCOYThe cracked ridges in my wide open mouth tore when I relaxed the shit-eating grin on my face, flipping between the crisp photos of Alexander and the pale woman leaving the station.“Is this everything Markov?” I growled, glancing at the barrel-chested assassin standing before me with his hands crossed and his eyes hidden behind the dark rims of the windbreaker sunglasses he had plastered to his forehead.“Yes sir, everything is going according to plan, Alexander blackmailed the blonde man, like you had said he would.” Markov gritted, the humongous ball of his forehead scrunching with ridges when he frowned.I took a moment to look him over, noting how his black suit rose a little above his wrist, tight on his bulky biceps.Markov looked like the human equivalent of a large, black fridge. It was why I used him for most of my hits.“Keep an eye on the little brother, you may leave,” I growled, watching him bow low before turning to leave the statuesque room and letting his

FREDERICKDarlene’s hazel eyes raked over mine frantically and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest when I realized I had been pulling her to myself, my fingers hooked around the neckline of her dress.I wheezed a breathless gasp, relaxing my grip and watching her lean away in fear just as my gaze locked on Alexander’s murderous face.“Shit,” I breathed as my brother’s towering figure closed the distance between us and his hands shot out to shove me back a step, my eyes meeting Darlene’s frightened expression before he tucked her behind him.“Hold on Xander, it's not what you think, I'm not here to fight alright?” I rambled, my heart pounding wildly in my ribs as I held up my hands, moving back again when he ground forward a step, looking at me like I was a stranger.“Oh how very fucking pious of you Frederick! Hear that father? Your outcast son isn't here to fight!” Alexander thundered and I reared back like he had slapped me in the face as his words felt like he had seared barbed

DARLENEMy husband hadn't made any sense when he got off the phone with the purple-eyed man and it made even less sense now as we sped toward the edge of town with his knuckles white on the steering wheel.I braced myself against the cool leather of the dashboard, trying to calm the staccato beating of my heart in my chest as we sped through the stretch of asphalt and felt a wave of nausea press insistently against the roof of my mouth.“Are you sure about the address?” I wheezed, unable to bear the silence any longer and risking a glance at the chiseled line of Alexander’s jaw, the way his piercing green eyes were starting dead ahead, his flock of obsidian black hair falling over his face as the muscles of his shoulder and bicep flexed when he fishtailed the steering wheel.“White Villa at Maple Street, I didn't know he lived there, there's only one of the kind, you can't miss it,” He whispered, and even though I knew the steel in his voice couldn't have been meant for me, it made sh

FREDERICK“Did you have to do it that hard?” I whispered, feeling tears gather in my eyes as I watched the Umbrella Man tower over my brother’s limp body, his brown eyes almost luminescent in the dark.“Quiet Frederick, you're ruining my groove, take him.” Stefan McCoy growled and I felt my heart hammer in my ribs as the masked ninjas dropped from the trees like banana monkeys, hooking my brother’s hard body onto the stretcher as I watched on with widened eyes.“Is he dead?” I rasped breathlessly, feeling panic burn in my chest as I trotted after the men, the crunch of dried leaves under my feet sounding loud in the silence as the masked men marched my brother to the large white van that had been parked off to the side of the highway.“Not yet,“ The Umbrella man whispered, rubbing his hands together in glee as they loaded him into the van and I felt a flicker of doubt spark in my chest.“So it’s all good now right? Everything will go as planned now?” I coughed, scarcely trusting mysel

ALEXANDERThe bright fluorescent lights tore through my eyelids to fry my eyeballs before I had even opened my eyes. I groaned, the soreness in my arms and stiff legs making me groan louder as I let my head fall back into my chest.What the hell did the bastard hit me with? Fucking hulk?“Ugh!” I groaned, screwing one eye open to lock gazes with my brother’s blanched face and watching him sag with relief when he saw that I had opened my eyes.“Alexander? Fuck! Thank saints you're okay,” He rasped breathlessly and I felt the scowl deepen between my eyebrows as I glared at the swollen purple bruises on his face that had left the skin of his face puffy and red.“Your buddy didn't take too kindly to you I reckon, stabbed you in the fucking balls just like you did to me you piece of shit!” I barked acidly, watching my brother rear back on the chair that he was strapped to like he had been slapped.I looked down to see I was lying on some makeshift gurney table, feeling my heart pound wildl