Goldilocks part 4

Dalton hovered over Maya, not noticing that his brother, Oliver had arrived and was in the kitchen with him.

"Dalton?" Oliver called out his name, drawing his attention away from Maya.

Dalton stepped aside so Oliver could see her. "Remember her? This is Maya, the waitress from the Venus City Gentlemen's Club."

Oliver smiled. "I remember her."

"Who wouldn't remember such a beauty?" a voice interrupted. Dalton turned to see Aiden, his reckless brother, lingering at the door. Dalton shot Aiden a cold stare and cast a questioning glance at Oliver.

Oliver shrugged. "Sorry, he was with me at the hospital when you called."

Aiden inserted himself into the conversation." I heard you bought that bald man's hotel. There will be a celebration, right? I'm here for the whiskey," he said, grinning at Dalton.

"And did you hire this attractive waitress from Venus City to spike up the celebration?" Aiden asked as he jaunted closer to peer at Maya. Dalton was about to harshly tell him off, but then someone else appeared.

"Hey, folks," said Oliver's identical twin brother, River at the doorway. As usual, he appears when they least expect it. It had been a month since they last saw him.

While Oliver's eyes are brown, River's eyes are green. That's how everyone can tell them apart—unless River decides to play his usual tricks and wear brown contact lenses to confuse everyone.

"Which damsel do we have here?" River asked as he approached.

"She is a waitress from Venus City," Aiden replied.

River crouched down to look at Maya, who was lying peacefully on the floor. "She is pretty and looks so innocent to be working in a place like Venus," he commented.

"If Hathaway hasn't started pimping her to his sex-crazed clients, he soon will," River added, a grunt escaping his lips.

His words affected Dalton; he didn't like the sound of it. From his brief interaction with Maya, Dalton could tell, she is an innocent dove who needs protection from this cruel world.

Aiden snorts, rolling his eyes. "Please, she looks innocent because she's wearing plain clothes right now. You should have seen how sexy she looked that night—like a temptress. She might have already started sleeping with Hathaway's clients."

Dalton didn't hesitate. His fist connected with Aiden's jaw and he punched him as hard as he could

"Don't ever talk about any woman like that again," Dalton hissed at Aiden.

Aiden coughed, spitting out blood. He glared at Dalton with a dark expression looming on his face and clenched his fist. Dalton fixed his rage-filled eyes on Aiden, challenging him to throw a punch. They stared each other down aggressively until Aiden unclenched his fist and surrendered. Dalton has won.

"Damn, that punch must have hurt like a bitch. Ouch!" River mocks Aiden.

Oliver shakes his head. "Man, I forgot to check her pulse. I always forget I'm a doctor when I'm around you guys," he said, groaning out aloud.

Aiden snickered, "Because you're a terrible doctor," he taunted, his swollen lips smeared with blood. Dalton's fist really did some damage.

Oliver ignored him and focused his attention on Maya. He checked her pulse. "She is breathing," he let out a sigh of relief.

"Let me," Dalton said as he gathered her in his arms and carried her out of the kitchen, into one of the mansion's hospital rooms.

He hates hospitals, so he sets up a hospital ward in the west wing of his mansion with all the necessary medical equipment, which allows Oliver to treat him at home whenever he gets sick.

He laid her on the bed and stepped away for Oliver to examine her.

"She fainted three times," Dalton informs him.

"I see," Oliver said as he turned Maya to the side so he could examine the back of her head. He ran his fingers through her hair to feel her scalp "Okay, there is no bump from falling to the floor, but she has an old surgery scar. She must have had head injury surgery some time ago, a surgery for traumatic brain injury, I think," Oliver deduced.

A sensation pulsed in Dalton's heart as he looked at her with concern. Traumatic brain surgery?

"Well, that explains why she passed out three times, losing consciousness frequently is one of the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury," Oliver explained.

"Let me conduct a proper examination." Dalton watched as Oliver measured Maya's vital signs, including her heart rate and blood pressure. He used his stethoscope to listen to her heart for any signs of an abnormal heart valve or irregular blood flow. After that, he performed a neurological examination.

Oliver stretched his arms when he was finished, "Alright, she needs a lot of rest, and she needs to be on medication," he said. "I will insert an IV on her," he added.

"Okay, I will leave you to it," Dalton replied. He gave Maya one last glance before leaving the room.

•••

Dalton went back to the kitchen. Aiden has left, or at least he hopes so. Dealing with him is a headache.

River was helping himself to the strawberry shortcake Maya made for dessert.

"Man, this is so good," River moaned as he ate. "And the lobster ravioli was delicious. Nana Rose finally got it right."

Dalton shook his head. "She didn't make it; Maya did."

River furrowed his brows. "The unconscious girl?"

"Yes, Nana Rose hired her to cook for me, that's why she is here," Dalton explained.

"Nice! She is a great cook," River praised Maya.

"What is wrong with her, though?" he asked.

"The side effect of a traumatic brain injury," Dalton replied sadly.

River grimaced. "Damn, she has been through hell then. I hope she is okay. I feel so sorry for her, man."

Suddenly, Aiden reentered the kitchen holding a bottle of whiskey. He took a swig and said, "Big bro, if that bald hotel owner comes for revenge, I'm going to kill him for you." A murderous gleam flickered in his blue eyes.

Dalton stiffened. "You will not be killing anyone, Aiden," he said firmly.

Aiden laughed in a deranged manner. " Well, I have already killed him. Take a look." He thrust his phone in Dalton's face.

On the phone screen was the severed head of the hotel owner, drenched in blood.

"Jesus Christ!" River screamed, he was standing behind Dalton, peering at the phone in horror. "You psychopath!" He glared at Aiden. He was petrified

Aiden laughed in a nonchalant, menacing manner, not giving a damn he had just murdered someone. "You're welcome, big bro," he said, winking at Dalton.

Dalton was experiencing inner turmoil, but he remained calm. His expression was stone-cold as he stared at the horrific image on his phone. This is what happens when his psychopath brother has a dark episode, and he is not there to monitor him, he kills people, and Dalton has to make their dead bodies disappear.

His brother is a monster, and so is he. He is also a killer; he took a man's life when he was just 10 years old.

Dalton and Aiden were kidnapped by dangerous men when they were kids. They both endured torture and experienced dark, damaging stuff at the hands of those monsters. That's why Aiden turned out the way he did: A psychopath killer.

And for them to escape, Dalton killed one of those monsters. And that's why he is the only man Aiden respects: because he saved him from those monsters.

During a psychotic breakdown when Aiden was 16, he located the men involved in their kidnapping and killed them all. He brutally and horrifyingly murdered five men and became a murderous psychopath, a killing machine. Dalton is the only one who can stop Aiden from killing, but today, he failed to monitor Aiden, resulting in him killing someone.