My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 737

Chapter 737

The heat climbed into my face, “You know… I put all this effort into trying to distract you because I thought you’d yell at me.”

“I noticed.”

“You noticed?”

“The second you answered,” he looked me up and down again, completely unashamed, “You were trying to manipulate me. It was cute.”

I buried my face in one hand, “Oh my God.”

“You failed,” a tiny smile tugged at his lips, “But I appreciated the effort.”

I peeked at him through my fingers, “So, you’re not distracted?”

“Mess,” his voice turned rough, “I’ve been distracted since you answered the phone but I’m also still pissed.”

I groaned dramatically and fell backward onto the bed, “I can’t win with you.”

“No,” he took one last drag before crushing the cigarette out somewhere off camera, “You really can’t.”

I laughed at that. Raphael watched me for a long moment then leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his knees.

“Keep the top on.”

I blinked, “What?”

“I changed my mind,” the corner of his mouth lifted just enough to soften the hard lines of his face, “I’d rather look at your face. I’ve missed that more.”

And those words undid me far more than his teasing ever could.

He looked at me for another few seconds before speaking again, “You’re going to call me every night?”

I nodded without hesitation, “Every single night. And if I don’t. I want you to assume something happened.”

His eyes hardened instantly.

“I mean it,” I whispered. “If I miss even one night without warning you, don’t think I forgot. Don’t think I stopped loving you. Think something’s wrong. I won’t stop calling you unless I physically can’t.”

He inhaled sharply, “The moment that necklace stops moving the way it should, I’m coming. I don’t care what council made what decision. I don’t care what lines they drew.”

He leaned closer to the camera.

“If something happens to you,” his gaze turned frighteningly empty, “They’ll wish they’d killed me first.”

I smiled through the tears threatening my eyes, “I know.”

Then Raphael leaned back in his chair and ran a tired hand over his face. The blood on his knuckles had already started drying, “I’ve still got work to do.”

“Hm?”

“I love you.”

Then, in the same calm voice he’d used all night, he whispered, “And I love you enough to make sure you come home… and then I’ll fuck you.”

I listened to his footsteps echo through the hallway as my eyes slowly drifted shut, holding onto the sound of his breathing, refusing to let go until sleep finally claimed me.

Raphael

The room had gone quiet again. The screaming had stopped almost twenty minutes ago. The man was still alive. I sat down in front of my workstation, rolling my shoulders once before waking every monitor.

Eight screens, three secured networks, two isolated servers. One air-gapped machine that never touched

the internet.

Gianna’s video call stayed open on the monitor to my far right. I’d muted her microphone the moment I went back downstairs, not because I didn’t want to hear her but because I didn’t want her hearing what happened in this room.

Now…

She slept, curled onto her side, one arm tucked beneath her pillow, dark hair spread across the sheets. Mom’s necklace still rested against her throat.

My eyes lingered there for a second.

I reached over and enlarged her video for a brief moment, checking her breathing out of habit, no movement outside her bedroom could be seen from this view. I minimized the window again but kept it visible.