Fallen Actress' Comeback: Torn Between the Director and the Mafia Lord-Chapter 25: Like Who?

Chapter 25

~Xavier’s POV~

A day earlier...

The moment Ren pulled away from the curb after dropping Xena and her daughter at the hospital, he cleared his throat.

"Boss, if I may—"

"You may not," I cut in without even looking at him.

Silence swallowed the car instantly. Ren cast a quick glance at the rearview mirror, hoping to catch me staring. And when I did, he swallowed, seeing the cold look in my eyes.

Quickly, Ren kept his eyes on the road, his shoulders becoming stiff as a board.

Good.

Some peace was necessary before his nagging began. My thoughts were already too loud, and sharp, circling like wolves around one simple truth: Xena Winter.

Five minutes passed before I finally exhaled.

"Speak."

Ren didn’t relax, but he obeyed and spoke his mind. "Nothing much," he started carefully, "but you seem to be... invested in her."

I glanced away. "You think too much."

"Do I?" he countered. "Because you ignored your father’s summons. And you know what that means."

"Delayed," I corrected coolly.

"Right. Delayed his summons... for a woman who isn’t yours."

"She’ll soon become mine," I responded, not sure why I did because I did not owe him any explanation, yet I was giving him one.

My words and the implication were heavy, but I needed him to know she was not to be trifled with.

Ren’s throat bobbed. "Uh... okay. But what about her daughter? Are you going to adopt her? Would she bear the Xander name? And if so, what about the Master?"

I suppressed a sigh, though annoyance flickered beneath my ribs.

"You ask too many questions. When we get to that bridge, I’ll cross it. For now, I just need to make sure that she is mine."

Ren nodded and kept driving. Thankfully, he wasn’t nagging me today like Ares would have done if he were in my shoes.

Suddenly, a chime vibrated through the car, signalling a notification or a message on Ren’s phone.

He reached for it at the next red light, glanced at the screen and...

I looked away. I was not bothered with his personal life, but when he reacted... I knew something was wrong.

"Shit."

My attention snapped instantly. I turned my head slowly, my eyes narrowing on his phone in his hand, the way a predator looks before it strikes.

"Speak."

Ren jolted a little but cleared his throat and smiled. "Umm... nothing, boss. It’s nothing."

My hand drifted toward the gun tucked behind my lower back and pulled it out for him to see that I wasn’t joking.

Ren paled immediately.

"L–last chance," I repeated quietly. "Speak."

"Yes, sir!" he blurted. "But promise not to kill anyone."

"Ren Riaus..." I drew in that dangerous warning tone he hated so much.

"Fine!" He exhaled hard, squeezing his eyes shut before looking forward again, his irises now a darker shade — fear. "It’s Ares."

Ares? My jaw clenched. "What about him?"

Ren swallowed and tightened his hand around the wheel. "He... uh... went to see Ms. Xena an hour or two ago."

For one full second, I didn’t breathe, and then...

"What?!" The roar ripped out of me before I could tether it.

Ren slammed the brakes in panic, and the car lurched violently, throwing us both forward. Horns exploded behind us. But all I saw, all I heard, all I felt... was red.

Ares, my second-in-command, went to meet Xena.

How come I never sensed anything from her? Fear? Anything?

My vision narrowed, and the only thing stopping me from ripping the steering wheel off was the thin thread of reason still left in me.

"Ares went to see her," I repeated in a dangerously calm voice.

Ren nodded slowly. "Yes... boss."

My fingers twitched over my gun. Ares knew better. He knew what she meant and he knew who she belonged to.

Or who she would belong to.

A storm simmered in my chest, black and violent as several thoughts concerning what he might have gone there to do.

"Drive," I ordered coldly, and Ren did — faster than before.

******

By the time we arrived at the estate, I was holding onto my self-control with the thinnest thread.

Ren parked the car in front of the mansion. I did not wait for the butler to open the door for me, and I stepped out.

Ares was inside the foyer, scrolling through his phone like he wasn’t one second away from losing his life.

The moment our eyes met, my vision snapped.

I closed the distance in three strides, grabbed the front of his shirt, and slammed him so hard against the marble wall that the sound cracked through the hallway.

Ares grunted from the impact.

"What did you do?" I growled. "Why did you go against my wishes?"

Ares blinked, feigning confusion. "I don’t know what you’re talking ab—"

"Lies," I cut sharply, tightening my grip. "Try again."

"But I..."

"Xena." I ground her name out through my teeth. Recognition flickered in Ares’ eyes.

Then the bastard smirked.

My vision reddened. I yanked him higher by his collar, cutting off his air.

He lifted both hands, palms open in surrender. "I—" cough "—nothing. Just..." cough

"Just what?" I pressed harder. My eyes must have been showing black all through, judging by the fear that flashed in Ares’s eyes briefly.

"Went to get the drugs," he choked out.

My grip loosened a fraction. "Why? I told you to leave her be. I am pretty sure she could dispose of that garbage herself."

"Liam tipped off the police."

My fingers froze.

"You said?" I released him fully.

Ares stumbled forward, grabbing his neck, and coughing roughly. The bruise forming across his skin didn’t bother him nearly as much as the look in my eyes did.

"Speak," I ordered, shoving my hands into my pockets, my tone turning colder.

Ares straightened, clearing his throat.

"After Liam was beaten and shaken up to get the other stash, I bugged his apartment. Idiot panicked and called the cops." He shrugged, as if the stupidity was contagious. "I had to react fast. Made sure dispatch thought it was a prank. Then retrieved the drugs before they could sniff around."

"Where are they?" I asked flatly.

"Burnt."

I did not care for much, but I loved making stupid people pay, and have them learn through pain. "And Liam?"

"Locked up in the basement. His girlfriend’s losing her mind, though. Might strip the paint off the walls if she keeps screaming."

I inhaled slowly, once... twice... Then turned my gaze on him fully.

"Make sure they stay away from Xena," I said. "I won’t have Skai getting scared."

Ares’ brows lifted. "Skai?" His smirk returned, and I wished I had punched him hard on the lips or nose, or even eyes to mar his handsome look. " So that’s her daughter’s name."

"What of it?" I deadpanned.

"Nothing, boss. Just..." He smirked again. "Haven’t seen this side of you since your—"

"Save it."

Ares chuckled under his breath. "You like her?"

Before I could answer, a deep creak echoed. The large double doors of the Master’s suite opened and the air shifted.

Father stepped out with a black cane carved with gold, tapping softly against the floor. His presence alone swallowed the hallway.

"Like who?" he asked, voice dripping in cold authority.