Seth

I start to regain my senses, waking up slowly. Brooke is lying with her back against my body, and a heavy arm that isn’t mine is draped across my chest. Images from last night play like a movie in my mind, and I tighten my hold on my girlfriend’s waist.

I start to get restless, knowing I need to get up. I open my eyes and see Brooke resting her head on Kyle’s bent arm, her legs tangled with his—which means the arm over me belongs to Raffi, his hand touching Brooke’s shoulder, as if even in sleep he seeks out the blonde.

The fact that she thought she wasn’t enough for us offends me, but also serves as a reminder that I need to try harder to assure her I’m not going anywhere. None of us are.

No one has ever feared losing me like she has—not like this. No one’s ever loved me to the point where the mere thought of my absence could cause them pain. It’s absurdly ridiculous that she even considered the possibility. I always knew that if I ever crossed the line of our friendship, there’d be no going back. I was right.

I try to get out of bed without waking them, but Raffi mutters something unintelligible as I move his arm. I get up, and he immediately takes my place, hugging Brooke and burying his face in her hair.

I pass through my room and put on a pair of sweatpants before heading downstairs to the kitchen.

“Hey, Toothless,” I greet the pitbull who comes to meet me, with Persephone close behind. “Hey, little one. You two must be hungry, huh?”

I fill their bowls, and as the food hits the metal, Cerberus and Apollo enter the kitchen.

“Sorry for the delay, I overslept,” I say, beginning to make coffee.

The microwave clock says it’s nearly seven in the morning—yeah, I definitely overslept. But that always happens when I have Brooke in my arms. It’s like her light pushes away my nightmares.

I grab my cup of black coffee—no sugar—and head to the living room, picking up my phone from the hallway table.

There are 25 missed calls from different people. The only number I have saved is Darius’s, head of security at Underworld. I tap his name, and he answers on the third ring.

“Finally.” His greeting confuses me. We were at the club less than ten hours ago. “I’ve been trying to reach you guys for hours.”

“What happened, Darius?”

“Underworld,” he pauses. “There’s no easy way to say this—” A cold shiver runs down my spine like an ice cube. Something in his tone sets off every alarm in my head. “It was set on fire.”

“What?” I press the phone tighter against my ear, as if I might’ve heard him wrong.

“It literally caught fire.”

This can’t be real. We were just there last night. A wave of dread rushes over me as I brace for my next question—and his answer.

“Anyone hurt?” That’s what matters most. “No, we evacuated successfully,” he says. Thank God.

“But the son of a bitch behind the fire tried to stop that from happening.” His tone is frantic. “All emergency exits were blocked, and the doors wouldn’t open outward. But since we installed anti-barricade doors and our staff always carries one of the keys, they were able to reverse the doors and open them inward. The firefighters managed to contain the fire before it spread to neighboring buildings, but, Boss…”

“What is it?”

“They said the structure is completely compromised.”

In other words, the building is condemned. It’s the end of Underworld. I take a deep breath.

“They were going to contact you, but they left me their number. Their instructions were for you to call them for the inspection reports. And since it was arson, the police will investigate. You’ll probably need to give some sort of statement. They also said to call the insurance company.”

“Can you give me the number?”

“Yes, just a minute.”

I grab a notepad and pen and write down the number he gives me.

“Thank you, Darius. We’ll handle it. I’m glad everyone’s okay.”

“I didn’t do anything, Boss.”

“You did. You saved countless lives tonight. Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

“I won’t lie, I’m a bit shaken. Thought I’d left all the action back in the Middle East, you know?”

“I get it. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thanks, Seth.”

“Get some rest. We’ll update you if anything comes up. Thanks again.”

I hang up and close my eyes, taking a deep breath.

I’m grateful once again that no one was seriously injured. We can rebuild the building, make repairs—whatever it takes. But I don’t know how I’d cope with people dying in my club.

I head to the office and call the fire department, scheduling a meeting for this afternoon, ensuring that my brothers and I will be there. Now I just need to call the insurance company, and I don’t have their number. I search the desk for an address book but only find folders and a few weapons in the drawers.

I sigh, resigned, making a mental list of everyone I need to talk to: the insurance company, our legal and PR teams—we need to take charge of this as soon as possible.

I know I shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but it seems Brooke’s stalker has escalated his violence and rage toward us. Setting fire to our establishment is a statement, a challenge, a provocation. And it needs to be answered in kind. I’m tired of this game. He had his fun, and when I find him, it’ll be my turn. And he’ll regret ever threatening my family.