In Love With My Stepbrother

Chapter 4: Blood at the East Gate

The cold weight of the dagger in my palm was the only thing keeping my hands from shaking. Red light pulsed rhythmically against the mirror walls of the training room, turning every shadow into a potential enemy.

Outside, the muffled sounds of gunfire and heavy explosions echoed through the mansion's subterranean concrete foundation.

Kai told me to stay here.

I gritted my teeth, gripping the leather-bound hilt until my knuckles turned white. To hell with what Kai told me. I didn't undergo six months of brutal conditioning just to cower in a basement while a mob war raged overhead.

Slipping silently out of the gym, I stayed low against the wall of the corridor. The smell of copper and gunpowder grew thicker with every step I took toward the east wing. I reached the landing above the estate's sprawling garage, peeking over the wrought-iron railing.

The scene below was pure chaos.

Six armed men in tactical gear—bearing the silver crest of the West family—had breached the perimeter, trading shots with Kai's personal security detail. But in the center of the storm stood Kai.

He was a force of absolute destruction. Moving with terrifying, supernatural speed, Kai disarmed a gunman with a brutal sweep of his leg, throwing the man into a sports car before slamming a heavy fist into his jaw. Shirtless, bathed in sweat and blood, the wolf tattoo on his skin seemed to come alive under the flickering lights.

Suddenly, my breath hitched in my throat.

Positioned on the upper catwalk directly across from me was a second West operative. He was silently raising a high-caliber rifle, aiming straight for the back of Kai's head. Kai was completely focused on two men in front of him; he didn't see the sniper above.

"Kai! Jump!" I screamed.

Before the shooter could register my voice, I vaulted over the wrought-iron railing.

I dropped eight feet onto the catwalk behind the operative, landing in a tight roll. The sniper spun around in shock, but I was already moving. I lunged forward, driving the butt of Kai’s dagger hard against his temple. His rifle clattered to the metal grating. He roared in frustration, swinging a heavy elbow toward my face.

I ducked beneath his arm, grabbed his tactical vest, and used his own momentum to flip him violently over the railing. He crashed into the hood of an SUV below with a sickening crunch.

Silence fell over the garage. The remaining West operatives were down, groaning or unconscious on the oil-stained concrete.

Panting heavily, my chest rising and falling, I stood at the catwalk railing, holding the bloody dagger. Down below, Kai slowly turned toward me.

His golden-amber eyes were fully dilated, glowing brightly in the dim light. He looked up at me, his chest heaving, a thin trail of fresh blood running down his muscular left shoulder. The raw, primal aura radiating off him was suffocating, making my core ache with an intense, sudden heat.

In three long strides, Kai scaled the metal stairs of the catwalk, reaching me in seconds.

"I told you to stay in the gym, Sienna," he growled, his voice deep, gravelly, and laced with adrenaline.

"He was going to kill you," I panted, refusing to back down as he closed the distance between us. "I saved your life."

Kai didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached out, his broad hand wrapping tightly around the nape of my neck. He pulled me violently flush against his bare chest, pinning me against the catwalk wall. The heat of his body was staggering, his slick, sweat-coated skin pressing against my thin silk top.

My heart slammed madly against my ribs as I felt the hard, rigid contours of his chest and abdomen against mine. I looked up into his dark, dangerous eyes, my breath catching as his gaze dropped to my trembling lips.

"You disobeyed me," he whispered dark and low, his thumb pressing firmly into my jawline, tilting my face up. "Do you have any idea what would have happened if his bullet had hit you instead?"

"I don't care, Kai—"

"I care!" he roared softly, his voice vibrating through my chest. His grip on my neck tightened just enough to assert dominance, his body pressing so close I could feel the rapid, heavy thrum of his heartbeat against my own. "You are mine to protect. If a single hair on your head is harmed, I will burn this city to ash."

The proximity was agonizing. The air between us burned with a forbidden, dangerous electricity. His eyes were dark pools of hunger, shifting between the blood on my hands and the curve of my neck. He leaned down, his lips brushing against the sensitive shell of my ear, his hot, heavy breath making a shiver run straight down my spine.

"You fought well, little sister," he murmured, his voice dropping an octave, becoming a dark, velvet stroke against my senses. "Look at you... covered in blood and sweat, standing in my war. You look intoxicating."

"Kai..." I gasped out, my hands instinctively resting on his bare waist to steady myself. The feel of his taut, muscled skin beneath my fingers sent a jolt of liquid fire straight down my lower belly. "We can't..."

"We can do whatever I want," he growled softly, his lips lightly dragging along my jawline, stopping a millimeter from my mouth. "You put yourself in danger for me. Now, you belong in my debt."

Before the tension could snap into something point-of-no-return, heavy footsteps hurried up the metal stairs.

"Boss!" Marcus, Kai’s second-in-command, called out, stopping short as he saw us pinned together against the wall. Marcus quickly looked away, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Clear... perimeter is secured. But we found something in the lead operative's tactical bag. It’s a physical mark, Don."

Kai slowly pulled back from me, though his eyes lingered on my mouth for a excruciating second longer. The cold air hit my flushed skin, making me ache for his warmth.

"What mark?" Kai asked coldly, stepping away and wiping a streak of blood from his cheek.

"It’s not just the West family, boss," Marcus said, his face grave as he held up an iron crest stamped with a raven. "The Vance bloodline... Sienna's father's old enemies. They know she’s back in Bel-Air."

My heart dropped into my stomach. My father’s side of the family had been destroyed years ago in a hostile takeover, or so I had been told.

Kai glanced back at me, his golden eyes narrowing as he took in my pale face. In one swift movement, he reached out, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me back to his side, locking his fingers firmly through mine in a silent, possessive promise.

"Let them come," Kai said, his voice dropping into a lethal, terrifying tone as he squeezed my hand tightly. "They’ll have to tear through me to touch her."