My Stepbrother, My Damnation

An Ex In-Law

Riven’s POV

They stung like hell.

My eyes were currently burning from the harsh blast of antiseptic spray, but that pain didn't compare to the agony in my eardrums. My f*****g ears kept ringing, and I had Eve to thank for that. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, and the sound was entirely deafening.

I squinted my throbbing, blurry eyes and focused on the girl standing across the room. Adelina West glared at me, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. Her wide eyes looked like two polished bullets, loaded with pure hatred and aimed directly at my chest. If a gun were in her hand, she would shoot me without a single shred of hesitation. I wouldn't even try to move out of the way. In fact, I would probably step closer, just like I did right now despite my burning eyes.

"Regret suits you, Miss Tequila," I muttered, my tone sounding just as slurred as my uneven steps.

She stood frozen against the living room wall, her jaw and shoulders tense with unbridled rage. Strands of her short brown hair clung to her damp forehead, failing to mask her anger. Lina looked completely unhinged, holding that spray bottle like a lethal weapon. Still, I closed the distance between us and slammed my hand against the wall right beside her head.

"I should have left you in that damn alley," she whispered, her breath venomous enough to melt steel.

My lips pulled back into a wide grin, letting my teeth flash in the dim light.

"You should be dead, and I stupidly prevented that," Lina continued, her nose scrunching in disgust as I leaned closer.

"Oh? Do I smell?" I asked, deliberately invading her space.

She didn't flinch, but her gaze darted down to the floor behind me. Eve was currently on all fours on the carpet. While that wasn't an uncommon sight, hearing Eve whimpering and pathetic in that position was completely nauseating. I wasn't going to torment myself by looking at her, but Lina seemed to appreciate the misery.

"Your woman's wailing is going to bring the police straight here," Lina spoke up, breaking eye contact.

She swiftly walked past me toward the couch. I tilted my head, watching her slide her arms into a black leather jacket.

"I refuse to stay in the same room with a thug any longer," she declared, her heavy footsteps emphasizing every word.

She marched toward the front door while I leaned back against the wall, completely indifferent to the trail of blood I was leaving behind on the paint. It wasn't like this crappy apartment couldn't use a new coat anyway.

"You should get used to it," I retorted, making my voice cold enough to freeze her in her tracks.

Lina stopped dead in her tracks near the exit, refusing to spare me a backward glance.

"I will find your watch, Riven. And the second I do, I am leaving your hell behind," she stated, her tone entirely serious.

Did she honestly expect me to believe she didn't enjoy the heat from the flames of my hell? I could answer that on her behalf. She liked it. Her body craved it, and that was really all I needed to know.

The moment she slammed the door behind her, my absolute restraint vanished, and the full force of the pain finally rushed in. My partially treated wounds throbbed violently.

"Where..."

A pathetic sound echoed from the floor, making Eve sound like a dying raccoon. I lazily glanced over at her. She was dragging herself across the carpet, her long blonde hair a tangled mess with her tears.

"Where is that b***h!?" she shrieked, looking like a literal banshee.

Nobody wanted to be trapped in a room with a screaming banshee, least of all me. I straightened up and grabbed my torn shirt from the floor. The bloody fabric clung uncomfortably to my skin as I pulled it back over my shoulders.

"Riven, where did she go!?"

My ears were ready to bleed, and I was going to lose my mind if I stayed a second longer. I walked out of the apartment, entirely ignoring her cries. Stepping into the cool night air, I noticed Lina's car was already gone, but another familiar vehicle was idling at the curb.

A walking egg stood right in front of the hood. The bright moonlight washed over the sleek lines of the car, reflecting perfectly off Malakai's completely bald, hairless head. He stood there with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, looking like an apple dipped in a thick layer of caramel.

"You've got to stop doing this," he grunted the second I approached. "And I am being completely serious."

His sharp gaze dropped to the green grass, tracking the dark droplets of blood I was leaving behind. A cigarette was clamped between his lips, the curling gray smoke doing nothing to mask my growing smirk.

"When did you become so incredibly caring?" I let out a dry laugh, reaching out to grab the car door handle.

"I am taking you to a hospital to get those wounds properly stitched. I am not having you bleed out all over my interior," Malakai ignored my question, turning his rigid frame toward me.

His glare didn't bother me, but the gunshot wound in my shoulder flared with a sharp ache. I definitely needed a professional to look at the injuries, but I didn't want a random doctor or nurse touching me. I had one specific person in mind for the job, and she was going to finish exactly what she started.

"No one is touching my baby but me!"

The person I had in mind certainly wasn't Eve, but she came rushing out of the apartment building anyway, yelling at the top of her lungs. Her high heels stabbed aggressively into the grass as she ran forward. Her eyes were swollen and rimmed with red, but she still managed to glare at Malakai.

"He wouldn't even need treatment right now if you were actually useful," Malakai snapped, causing Eve to halt instantly.

"It wasn't my fault! I didn't know those bastards were in town yet!" she fired back, practically plunging her long acrylic nails toward his face.

Malakai didn't even blink. He just let out a cold scoff. "Exactly. You're completely useless."

A loud, sharp slap echoed across the pavement as Eve's hand connected with his face. The force of the strike tilted Malakai's head to the side, nearly sending his cigarette flying onto the grass. I knew that spot had to sting, but Malakai remained completely still.

"You are not daft, Malakai!" Eve yelled, her voice shaking with rage. "You know damn well who my father is, and you will not speak to me like that just because I am part of the Black Reapers! I only joined this syndicate because of my baby, and—"

"Princeton Creed," I interrupted, uttering the two words barely above a whisper.

Eve's frantic rant cut off instantly. Both of them turned their heads to look at me as I pulled the passenger door open.

"The ambush tonight was led by that new bastard, Princeton Creed," I explained, sliding into the leather seat.

Eve blinked in confusion, while Malakai stood stunned for a moment before his thick eyebrows arched.

"That gang was only formed a few weeks ago," Malakai questioned studiously, leaning over the door. "How do you already know the leader?"

I looked up at him, a dark smirk spreading across my face.

"He's basically an ex-in-law to me."