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“Fuck you, Florian. What gives us a bad reputation is our enemies thinking we’re weak because we aren’t a unity. So I’m allowed to be happy.” A beat passes. “We stood like this for the first time twenty-six years ago after successfully playing a make-believe game together. We decided to be best friends forever. Now look at us.”
Years of friendship flash in a blur through my mind, happy and sad moments that shaped our characters and taught us to always stick together and count on each other.
Twenty-six years and counting.
“If he starts crying, I’m out of here,” Octavius deadpans, and Santiago snickers. “On a serious note…as Santiago said earlier, we all would have survived without each other, but what a lonely existence it would’ve been. Can’t imagine life without any of you.”
“Hey! How is that not corny?”
“It came from the heart.”
“And my sentiment, what…came from my ass?”
The familiar bickering cements once and for all that the storm that swept over our friendships when I fell for Jimena is truly over, and maybe I should have never doubted our brotherhood.
However, the wind whistling around us warns of the impending storm, so we really need to haul our asses. “As much as I enjoy this rather weird, sweet, and disturbing moment,” I say, and they roll their eyes, “let’s go to my house. In an hour, it will be impossible to drive.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Stepping back from the group hug, I quickly take it out because my Jimena is at home, only to freeze as coldness and fear penetrate every cell in my body.
My friends read my expression at once, the tension polluting the air as they focus all their attention on me. Octavius asks, “What is it, Florian?”
“He has her.”
We’re in the middle of the storm, and this psychopath who just kidnapped my pregnant woman sent me a picture with a long text describing what he intends to do to her.
The remaining chains on my sanity snap, setting free the madness residing in me.
Madness with one goal in mind.
Extinguish the evil before it takes away what I love the most.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Hatred is a tragic emotion.
Because it always hides pain.
And as such it’s incurable.”
Jimena
Jimena
A groan slips past my lips as the piercing pain piercing my scalp registers in my brain, and my eyes snap open, only to close again when any movement brings more pain.
Someone clicks his tongue and sighs heavily, the sound so innocent yet it sends fear through my entire system and makes me sit straight. “Ah, I expected a little more endurance from you. I guess that particular character trait solely belongs to the men in your family.” Pushing through the pain and peeling my eyes open once again, I gasp in shock at the sight in front of me as all memories come crashing back to me.
Specifically who I’d seen right before I was hit so hard in the back of my head that I lost consciousness.
The blond man cocks his head to the side, and a wide grin shapes his mouth contrasting with the coldness in his eyes that can probably freeze hell over. “Hi, darling. I think I need to introduce myself.”
I swallow past the dryness in my throat, scoot back when he steps forward, and only then do I study the environment around me.
We are in a dark cave with the humidity rising above us and water drips from the stones. The waterfall hums in the distance, indicating that he brought me to the farther end of the island. Price members rarely come to this end of the island because it has a lot of wild animals, and they prefer to preserve nature rather than harm it.
One of the reasons they built their house near the shore.
Several small lamps and tables are spread over the perimeter, holding knives, guns, and other instruments that promise nothing good. I notice red drawings all over the stones that look a lot like blood.
