Kissed by the Killer

Chapter Twenty: Ballad of Brokenness.

Violet Virgilson.

The safehouse was too quiet.

The kind of quiet that doesn't soothe-it suffocates.

Every tick of the old clock on the wall thudded in my ears like a countdown. Countdown to what? To Daigo's return? To Marco's next betrayal? To Vincent finally snapping and burning the whole damn city to ash?

The silence pressed in, dragging Marco's smirk back into my mind. That smile-the kind that says, I've already won.

And maybe he had.

Because no matter how many times Vincent growled his threats, no matter how many glasses he shattered against the walls, Marco wasn't afraid. He had chosen Caroline, and this time, there was no regret. No guilt. No hesitation.

He had traded us in like old currency, and Vincent's empire was bankrupt.

I hugged my arms around myself, pacing across the narrow room, my bare feet whispering against the cold tile. If I closed my eyes, I could still see Daigo tied to that chair in the warehouse, the ropes biting into his wrists, the blood on his lip. Daigo, who never flinched. Daigo, who never broke.

Where is he now?

The door groaned open, and I froze. My breath caught, waiting for Vincent. Or Marco. Or worse-Dominic.

But it was Daigo.

Two of Vincent's remaining loyal men staggered in, half-carrying him. He looked like he had gone ten rounds with the devil and walked away just to spite him. His shirt was torn, his knuckles split, and bruises climbed his jaw like storm clouds. But his eyes-sharp, stubborn, alive-met mine.

"Daigo!" I rushed to him, my hands hovering as they lowered him into a chair.

He waved me off, even as pain carved lines across his face. "Don't you dare cry, Violet. I'm not broken." His voice was gravel, but his pride was intact.

I bit down hard on my lip. "What did they do to you?"

He chuckled, then winced. "Caroline tried words. Dominic tried charm. Neither worked."

My stomach turned. Dominic.

I crouched beside him, studying the rope burns around his wrists. "You should be in bed, not making jokes."

Daigo's hand shot out, gripping my arm with surprising strength. His voice dropped low. "Listen to me, Violet. Don't let them in your head. Caroline wants you to feel like a weakness. Dominic wants you to believe you're already his. Both of them-" his eyes locked onto mine "-thrive on your fear."

Heat pricked the back of my eyes. "Daigo, I-"

"You're not the burden," he snapped, fierce even in exhaustion. "You're the reason Vincent hasn't drowned yet. Don't forget that."

But the words only twisted tighter in my chest. Because wasn't I exactly what they said? The reason Vincent was unraveling? The reason Marco saw an opening? The reason Dominic smiled like a predator every time our eyes met?

Before I could answer, the door slammed again.

Dominic.

He leaned against the frame like he owned it, dark suit sharp despite the late hour, tie loose as though chaos was his favorite accessory. His smile was all teeth and amusement, the kind that could cut and caress at the same time.

"Well, well," he drawled. "Songbird looks even lovelier in candlelight."

My pulse jumped. I straightened, placing myself between him and Daigo instinctively.

"Get out." My voice came out harsher than I meant, but his grin only widened.

"Relax," Dominic purred, his gaze sweeping over me like a brushstroke. "I came to deliver a message. Daigo here-" his eyes flicked toward the bruised man, then back to me "-wasn't much fun. Too loyal. Too stubborn. Caroline lost interest."

"Go to hell," Daigo rasped, coughing blood onto the floor.

Dominic clapped slowly, mock applause echoing in the room. "Spirited. I'll give you that. But loyalty is boring, Daigo. Unshakable men are predictable men."

He stepped closer, ignoring my glare, his voice dropping into that infuriating velvet. "But you, Violet... unpredictable. You walk into a room and Vincent forgets how to breathe. I see it. Everyone sees it. You're not his weakness. You're his addiction."

Heat crawled up my neck, fury and shame tangling together. "Stay away from me."

He tilted his head, smirk sharpening. "Oh, I will. But only after I've had my fun."

Marco's laugh drifted from the shadows of the hallway. That smug, mocking laugh. He strolled in, hands in his pockets, bruises absent, betrayal worn like perfume.

"Don't waste your breath, Violet," Marco said. "Dominic doesn't leave what he wants. He circles it. Claims it. Just like Caroline." He leaned against the wall, eyes glinting. "You think you're safe? You're already theirs."

My throat tightened. For the first time, I had no words.

And Dominic-Dominic leaned in, lips brushing the air just above my ear.

"Careful, songbird. Broken men don't sing. And Vincent?" His breath was hot against my skin. "He's breaking."

---

Vincent Virenson.

Daigo's return was supposed to feel like a victory.

It didn't.

Yes, he was alive. Yes, he hadn't broken. Yes, he still snarled Caroline's name like a curse. But the moment I saw him stumble through that door, half-dead and grinning, I knew what Caroline's real play had been.

It wasn't to kill him.

It was to prove she could take him.

And she had.

I stood in the shadows of the room, arms crossed, watching Violet rush to Daigo's side, her hands trembling as she touched his bruises. Watching Dominic lean in like he owned her. Watching Marco-my Marco-laugh in the corner as though betrayal was a card game he'd just won.

My blood boiled so hot it was a wonder the walls didn't catch fire.

"Marco," I said, my voice low. Dangerous. "Still smiling after betraying me twice?"

He smirked, not even pretending guilt. "Business, Centy. You taught me yourself-no loyalty in this world. Just survival. Caroline offered more. I took it."

"More?" My jaw ached from clenching. "More what? More lies? More blood?"

He shrugged. "More future." Then he leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "Face it, Vincent. You're finished. And when the dust settles, all you'll have left is her. Which makes her..." His gaze slid toward Violet, slow and deliberate. "...a very convenient target."

I snapped.

My hand shot out, grabbing him by the collar, slamming him against the wall. "Say her name again, and I'll rip your tongue out."

Marco just chuckled, unfazed. "Touchy."

Dominic's laugh joined his, smooth and amused. "See, Centy? This is why I like her. She brings out the beast in you. Makes you sloppy. Makes you dangerous. Caroline doesn't even have to touch you. She just has to touch her."

I turned, fury blazing. "You so much as look at her again, Dominic-"

He stepped closer, smirk dripping arrogance. "And what? You'll kill me? Or will you watch her slip through your fingers like everything else you've already lost?"

The room pulsed with silence. Violet's breath hitched. Daigo muttered a curse. Marco smirked wider.

And I realized-Caroline's biggest scheme wasn't about territory. It wasn't about money. It wasn't even about Daigo.

It was about Violet.

She wanted me to see her as the burden. She wanted Dominic to circle her like a wolf. She wanted Marco to remind me that loyalty was a myth.

She wanted me to break.

And God help me, I was breaking.