“And how…” Felix starts, eerily calm, “do you expect me to do that?”
“You are her twin. You are Roman’s best friend. You are in a unique position. Beg, borrow, lie, steal, kill. I don’t care,” Father growls, “but you are here to make sure it happens, and you,” he spits, pointing at me, “are here to be reminded of the consequences if it doesn’t.”
“I will never help you sell her,” Felix spits.
Father moves so fast I barely register it. His hand swings toward me, not Felix. The slap explodes across my face. My head snaps to the side and the metallic taste of blood blooms instantly in my mouth. Everything around me goes white as my vision blurs and my ears ring.
“Disobedience,” Father says coldly, “has consequences.”
“You son of a bitch,” Felix roars as I try to steady myself.
The first thing I realise is that Felix’s voice doesn’t even sound like him anymore. I turn just as he jumps up… then he swings.
The punch connects with Father’s jaw with a sickening crack. He staggers back against the desk, as shock flashes across his face before it twists into rage. I’m already on my feet, my heart racing so hard I can barely breathe. Fear claws at my throat, not for me. For Felix.
“Run,” Felix growls, grabbing my hand and trying to pull me towards the exit.
Father recovers quickly, blood at the corner of his mouth as he spits onto the floor. His eyes blaze, but he makes no move to stop us. Just as my hand touches the handle, his voice cuts through the room.
“If you walk out that door, Felix,” he warns, his voice low and lethal, “my protection goes with it.”
I hesitate, looking back at Father, knowing he has no limits when it comes to what he’ll do to his own children. Felix doesn’t hesitate. He yanks my hand away, pushes the door open, and pulls me through it.
Just before we lose sight of Father, Felix pauses and turns.
“Don’t forget, Father. Legacy over everything. And I would rather burn our whole empire down than let you sell her to her rapist.”
The flare of anger on Father’s face isn’t missed by either of us as we square our shoulders and walk towards the exit. Every step feels like we’re walking off a cliff.
But I don’t look back. I refuse to give him that.
The car door slams harder than it needs to. Felix peels out of the drive as gravel spits behind us, like the house itself is trying to drag us back home. My cheek throbs in time with my pulse, a dull reminder of Father’s hand.
Neither of us speaks at first. The silence is thick, suffocating, until the radio flickers on and ‘Survivor’s Guilt by Dave’ hums low through the speakers. Felix’s knuckles are white around the steering wheel. He’s seething. I can feel it rolling off him in waves of barely contained violence. But when he looks at me, his voice softens.
“You’re not going back there,” he says.
I’m not sure what he means. Not the house? Not Fisher? It feels bigger than that. Bigger than us. It’s something we’vebeen fighting for years and we still haven’t won. In fact, we’ve barely made a dent in the business and the only reason we even have a lead is because of Robyn. Otherwise, we would still be floundering with nothing to show for it.
“I don’t care what he threatens. I don’t care about protection or contracts or empire. He doesn’t get to touch you again,” Felix spits.
My throat tightens. I stare out of the window at the blur of trees, trying to steady the storm inside me. Tears prick at my eyes as I slam my head back against the headrest.
“I’ll kill him,” Felix adds, his jaw flexing. “I swear to God, Fae, I’ll put him in the ground before I let that happen.”
“No,” I say quietly, turning to face him. My reflection in the window looks harder than I feel. “You don’t get to put yourself in danger.”
“Fuck that,” he barks. “He’s putting you in danger. It’s him or us, Fae. Choose.”
“I will always choose you, Felix. Fuck,” I shout. “Why do you think I can’t let you kill him? If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t survive it. Do you hear me? Without you, what the fuck do I have left? My mum’s gone. My best friend’s gone. Over my dead fucking body will my brother be gone too.”
“Fae,” his voice drops to a harsh whisper.
“No. Felix, my answer is no. If anyone is killing him, it’s me.”
Felix glances at me, a sense of pride flashes across his face. I can see it shining brightly but I can also see the fear too. He nods once before turning back to the road.
“Then I’ll stand beside you while you do it.”
