Chapter 5
958 Words
Jax stepped through the side entrance of the mansion just after three in the morning.
The air inside was cooler than the warehouse lot, thick with the scent of polished wood and faint cigar smoke that never quite left the walls.
His boots left faint gravel prints on the marble that he wiped away with the toe of one shoe before anyone could notice.
He was bone tired. The shipment had gone smoothly. The crates unloaded, photos snapped in the dark, coordinates sent in a burst message while Marco’s back was turned.
The handler had replied with one word "confirmed."
Jax headed straight for the east wing security station. A small alcove with a bank of monitors, a swivel chair, and a coffee machine that hadn’t been cleaned since he arrived.
He dropped into the chair, rubbed the back of his neck, and pulled the earpiece out long enough to rub the sore spot behind his ear.
The moment he leaned back, his phone vibrated against his thigh. The one Vittorio had handed him on day one with a curt “For family business.”
He fished it out. And saw a message.
"Sun room. Now."
Jax stared at the screen. Three twenty-seven a.m. No one should be awake except the night guards.
He stood anyway.
The sun room was lit only by the low lamps along the walls when he pushed the door open.
Vittorio sat at the head of the glass table again, same chair as breakfast. Marco stood behind him like a sentinel.
Luca leaned against the window frame, arms crossed, looking more amused than tired. Elena wasn’t there.
Vittorio didn’t look up from the tablet in his hand.
“Sit,” he said.
Jax took the chair Nico had claimed that morning. The seat was still warm. He ignored the way his skin prickled.
Vittorio set the tablet down. Finally met his eyes.
“You did well tonight. No mistakes. Marco says you kept your head.”
Marco grunted. It wasn’t agreement. It wasn’t disagreement. Just acknowledgment.
Jax kept his voice level. “Thank you, sir.”
Vittorio studied him for a long moment. The silence stretched until Luca shifted his weight and the floor creaked.
“Nico likes you,” Vittorio said at last. Simple. Flat. Like he was stating the weather.
Jax didn’t answer. Didn’t need to.
“He hasn’t liked anyone new in years,” Vittorio continued.
"Not enough to let them touch him. Not enough to feed them from his own plate. Not enough to follow them around like a lost puppy.”
Marco shifted behind Vittorio.
Luca smirked. “Puppy’s putting it lightly. He’s practically got a leash on you already.”
Vittorio ignored the comment. His eyes stayed on Jax.
“We have a problem,” he said.
“Nico is… particular. When he attaches, he doesn’t let go. When he doesn’t attach, he withdraws. Stops eating. Stops talking. Stops sleeping. We’ve seen it before. Doctors call it regression. We call it dangerous.”
Jax felt the word land like a stone in his gut.
Vittorio leaned forward slightly. “Tonight’s shipment was clean because you were there. Tomorrow’s won’t be if Nico is off-balance. We can’t afford distractions. Not now.”
Jax’s mouth went dry. He knew what was coming. He just didn’t want to hear it.
“You’re on Nico detail,” Vittorio said. “Full time. You stay close. You keep him calm. You keep him happy. You make sure he eats, sleeps, stays out of trouble. You’re the only one he’s attached to right now. That makes you useful.”
Marco made a low sound in his throat. Not quite a growl.
Luca chuckled under his breath. “Babysitter duty. Welcome to the family, consultant.”
Jax forced his expression to stay neutral. “And if I refuse?”
Vittorio’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “You don’t.”
The word hung there. Heavy. Final.
Jax looked between them. Marco’s jaw was tight. Luca looked like he was enjoying the show. Vittorio looked like a man who had already decided the outcome.
Jax exhaled through his nose. “Understood.”
Vittorio nodded once. “Good. Start tonight. He’s in his room. Probably waiting for you.”
Jax stood. The chair scraped softly against the marble.
Luca pushed off the window frame. “Don’t worry. Nico’s easy. Just give him what he wants and he’ll be your best friend forever.”
Marco’s voice cut in, low and hard. “Or your worst enemy. Choose wisely.”
Jax didn’t answer. He walked out of the sun room without looking back.
The hallway felt longer than it had an hour ago.
He took the stairs two at a time, heart beating too hard against his ribs.
Nico’s room was at the end of the west wing. There was no lock on the outside because Nico hated feeling caged.
Jax paused outside. Hand on the knob.
He could hear faint music from inside. Something soft. Acoustic. The kind Nico liked when he couldn’t sleep.
Jax turned the knob.
The door opened silently.
Nico was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, oversized hoodie swallowing him, hair messy from running his hands through it.
A sketchpad lay open in his lap. He looked up the second Jax stepped inside.
His face lit up.
“You came back,” he said softly.
Jax closed the door behind him.
“Yeah,” he said. “I came back.”
Nico set the sketchpad aside. Pat patted the space beside him.
“Come here.”
Jax crossed the room.
The door clicked shut.
And just like that, the job he’d been sent to destroy became the job he couldn’t walk away from.
- Writer
