Silvia had already taken a seat in the big oversized white chair near the large couch that Corvel had been sitting on. She ushered her hand towards the couch, instructing us to come and sit.
As soon as we sat, the notion that something was sucking the air from the room hit me. The tension grew thick and heavy, causing me to squint my eyes and deepen the wrinkle in my forehead to concentrate.
A deep breath followed my moment of meditation. Arjen’s hand clamped around mine was the pulse in my lifeline. Although I sat at the mouth of death, my mind was determined, and with a strong mind, my mouth would not be silenced.
“Ma’am, I know what they call you. You don’t show up unless someone needs to die.”
“You’re not going to die, Mecca, not by my hands or anyone else’s if I can help it.”
“I don’t understand. I’m confused as fuck right now. Your men have been attacking and trying to kill me. I beat a man to death to find out that this cartel had hired him to kill me.”
“I don’t know who you’ve been fighting or killing, but it hasn’t been any of my men.”
Her words had a genuine edge to them. Corvel walked back in and sat beside her, nodding in my direction. I couldn’t tell if he was agreeing with her or urging me to accept her words as the truth.
I raked my fingers quickly through my hair, highlighting my confusion as Arjen sat in place, his eyes searching Silvia’s face for the same truth I was struggling to decipher. We didn’t have enough parts to this puzzle to connect the dots.
“I know things are confusing, and I’m well aware that you’re not going to stop until you’re standing face-to-face with the person responsible for putting this hit out on you.”
Silvia was talking like she truly didn’t intend us any harm. I sat fixed in my raging mind, but eagerness for her to shed light on the situation was biting on my nerve endings.
“I’m proud of the job you’ve been doing with the Black Saints.”
My head twisted in each direction, wondering who the hell she was talking to. Arjen’s fixed gaze made him appear as surprised by her compliment as I was.
“It’s not the career path I would have chosen for you, but knowing that you wanted to be like me gave me a sick sense of pride.”
How the fuck did she know I was patterning myself after her? Was it that obvious? Had Raymond told her that?
Her stare was pinned to my face, reading the confusion in my pinched expression.
“Yes, I have recently sent a few men to keep an eye on you. When I found out you were becoming a Vallin, it painted you as a bigger target, so I put eyes on you for protection, not for harm. And I can assure you, the men I sent didn’t get caught. The others I have deployed on your behalf have also been put in place to protect you.”
“What? How long have you been watching me?” The question was barely audible. Silvia’s words were out there now, they resonated, but I didn’t understand them.
“Why would you send men to protect me? Who are these men?”
She didn’t answer, but stood and paced, her heels clicking as she was contemplating what she wanted to say. Corvel also seemed to be failing to keep a lid on something as he wouldn’t meet my eyes anymore.
What the fuck were they hiding? Were they the reason Raymond had gone missing? Had they killed him so I could remain in charge of the Black Saints? Was this their plan all along?
“Raymond, at one point, was dependable and honorable, even for someone so young,” she began.
Was she reading my damn mind?
“I trusted he would keep you safe, but after he allowed you to get attacked and shot, I put a protection plan in place. Or to be more precise, I set one in your path: you know them better as Angel and Devil.”
I’m going to kill their asses for being Silvia’s fucking spies.
“Why?”
She hadn’t explained why she believed she needed to protect me, and I wasn’t sure if I had asked the question out loud. Silvia resumed pacing again before she took a few careful steps closer.
Why did it seem like she was the one afraid of me now? Her heels clicked with the lightest steps as she closed the distance between us. Her aura reached out before she reached me.
Arjen’s grip on my hand tightened enough to pause my circulation, but I knew that he would protect me with his life if need be. Besides, he and I still had our weapons.
Silvia stepped around the table, scooting it back with her leg to free up space. She gave a quick wave as she stood in front of us and directed us to stand. Arjen came up with me.