Chapter 232

‘Fucking psychotic little freak,’ Alexi bursts out with a yell, kicking the door shut dramatically and forcefully in anger and Mico bursts out laughing before spotting me standing there.

‘You train that thing to kill Alexi on sight?’ He throws me a smile and I just look bewildered. Confused with what the hell is going on and why they both seem to be breathless from walking the ten feet from the car park. I pegged them both as much fitter, unless they ran here.

‘What are you talking about?’ I am completely baffled.

‘He’s talking about your new guard dog taking a liking to my fucking leg—Your fucking cat!!’ Alexi snaps at me, irate, openly annoyed and bends down to rub his leg under the knee and then his thigh. It’s the first time I notice three little dots of blood appearing through the denim of his jeans he’s wearing. I stifle a smile as it dawns on me that he has just been epically mauled by my good little boy.

‘Feral attacked you?’ I can’t help the giggling that bursts forth through my words, and he glares at me, straightening up and snarls my way. All thoughts that he might come back nicer than he left a week ago die a death.

‘That flea bitten psycho should be run over,’ he narcs and I just narc right back.

‘I would say the same about you, but here you are. If you get left to walk around attacking people, then so should he. Leave him alone.’ I answer drily, hands on hips. The air sizzles once more with our familiar electric hatred and Mico just sighs like a worn out and already fed up dad, caught between siblings.

I go to turn on my heel, disinterested in taking this further and smug that he got what he deserved, but Alexi’s sudden movement towards Mico alerts me.

‘Give me your gun; I’m going to shoot it in the fucking head.’ He sounds completely serious and even though Mico doesn’t attempt to reach for his gun, I freak out impulsively. Jumping at Alexi and grabbing his arm to pull him away with a sudden swelling of complete crazy protective instincts kicking in.

‘Don’t you dare!!! Don’t you fucking dare!! You leave him alone, you hear me!’ Tears blur my vision instantly. Panic grips me as my insides feel zapped by a voltage of pain at the thought of him hurting Feral, and my voice wobbles as I try to restrain him, getting an Alexi set of hands on my shoulders as he pushes me away harshly.

‘I wouldn’t waste the bullet, to be honest. He’s a worthless scruff. That cat goes for me again I will break the fucker’s neck.’ He snaps at me, using his forearm to push me away from him because I am still stupidly battling his hands to make sure he gets nowhere near Mico’s gun and I’m left teetering on my shoes and grab for the wall for support.

Hardly a gentleman!

‘They say animals are good judges of character … maybe he can sense what a prick you are?’ I throw at him and he just smiles at me salaciously; his normal traits firing on all cylinders today.

‘Nice to see you too, thanks for the welcome back. I totally missed the sunshine that you are in my life, Cam.’ Alexi pushes past me and heads for the lift, dismissing me and this topic, meaning he is going upstairs and I just sigh heavily as I try to calm my inner war.

He’s in casual clothes, and with only a couple of hours till opening, I guess he’s getting ready here. In his room, in the apartment I was just heading too.

I wish he would just leave again.

‘London, come. I want a briefing before you go do whatever it is you do here all day.’ He walks into the lift, turns and stares at me expectantly, grinding words at me sarcastically and Mico just sighs and nods with his head that I should follow.

I stand there in two minds about whether I should tell him to Fuck off, or follow, and relent.

He’s here for the night and I will have to put up with him whether I like it or not. I may as well be the mature one, get this over and done with seeing as he will just follow me if I don’t. Besides, going upstairs takes that sadistic brain far away from my cat and out of harm’s reach.

I walk in after him, expecting Mico to do so too, but he just waves at us before walking on by, towards the ground floor of the club and leaves us alone as the door slides shut.

Shit!

I am so not ready for a solo moment with him, especially not with the filthy mood he just arrived in.

Alexi stands stiff on his side of the space, facing forward, and I stand awkwardly on my side, facing forward. We fall completely silent, despite our spat and I automatically start staring at the nails on my left hand because it instantly gets extremely tense in here as the door slides shut.

No one is going to speak it seems and I am not about to break the eerie quiet because the tension is deafening. I can feel the heaviness of atmosphere fall around us like thick smog, yet we say nothing, surprisingly. Both ignorant and stubborn and refusing to break the ice in any way now we are alone.

I figured first day back he would have an Alexi epic go at me for how things were after Miami, but he doesn’t. Just silently waits for the door to open on the third floor and walks out into the hall of the offices without acknowledging me in any way. I don’t know whether to feel relieved at that or annoyed that he’s being a bastard.

Joanne jumps to her feet as I follow him and almost falls head first into us in her eagerness to wag her tail at her master returning; still a sad little cling-on where he is concerned, even though it’s obvious he has absolutely no interest in her. I guess she fell out of favour in my absence and has met the indifference of Alexi ever since. It’s very cold out there, I should know. Chasing him and submissively licking his boots doesn’t do a whole lot for you. Neither does putting a gun to your head and telling him you love him.

‘Alexi, so good to see you back,’ she chirps up, all bosom and smiles, preening like a desperate hoe needing a dick fix.

‘Go away.’ Alexi doesn’t even look her way, delivers the deadpan order without emotion and the crumbling of her expression is pitiful. It’s brutal to watch, yet also strangely satisfying.

‘I umm.’ She tries for a second attempt but this time it’s me she annoys as I follow him closely.

‘He said go away,’ I repeat, and she just stands gawping at us until we walk into the office together, matching strides and I shut the door in her face behind me with a raised brow that says ‘see ya’. Joanne irritates me even on a good day, and I just cannot forgive her for being used to both hurt me, humiliate me and the fact she ruined my very expensive cream dress with red wine months ago. I like to hold a grudge. I never was a nice person.

Alexi wastes no time walking straight to his/my desk, which neither of us is willing to relinquish even though there is another by the window. We both always take this one like some sort of juvenile power struggle in this domain. He slides in, sits heavily, plonks his feet on the table on top of all my paperwork and eyes me challengingly. I know he is trying to piss me off and it’s working; Although, I am better at acting than that, and I am not about to show him that he is getting to me.