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“Because Black’s in love with her,” Langston slumps back in his chair. “I told you that pussy would be what destroyed us. Everything we’ve spent our entire lives working for. All the shit your father put us through will be lost because you want to fucking get laid.”
I slam my fist down on the table. “No, I don’t love the girl.” Truth. “And I sure as hell don’t want to fuck her.” Lies.
“Then what, Mr. Black? Why didn’t you kill her?” Westcott asks this time.
“Because it’s not who I am. It’s not who any of us are. I didn’t want to start my reign by killing someone who didn’t even know what could be hers. It didn’t seem fair.”
The men nod.
“I was a boy. I was stupid. I won’t make the same mistake again.”
“So you’re going to kill her now?” Zeke asks.
“No, I’m going to follow the rules and earn my kingdom the way the contract was written. I’m tired of feeling like a fraud.”
“Kai’s not ready for that. She’s weak. It would be kinder just to kill her,” Langston says. He’s the only one who truly got any insight into who Kai really is. Westcott may have spent time with her, but he doesn’t know her. She never opened up to him.
“She is now,” I say.
“What changed?” Langston asks.
“Everything,” I answer.
I turn my attention to Archard, my lawyer. The real reason I brought all of my most trusted men together. To understand what my next steps are now that I know the last few years have all been a lie.
“So tell me what happens now,” I say to Archard.
He thumbs the papers. “Well, the contract you signed three years ago is void now that we know the conditions haven’t been met.”
I nod, I knew they would be. But everyone else in the room gasps, realizing what it means.
“What are my choices now? What are the conditions for me to regain everything I just lost?” I ask.
Archard looks concerned as he pulls the paper and slides it over to me. The paper I haven’t seen in over twenty years. One I only faintly recognize. I skim quickly, already realizing what I have to do.
It’s the same choice as before. Save her or save myself. Never both.
I’m used to surviving. I don’t know how not to survive. I don’t know how to lose.
Kai is stronger now; it could be a fair fight.
Liar. It would never be a fair fight. I should have just killed her all those years ago. I should have snuffed out her life like you put a wounded dog to sleep, because it’s kinder than letting them suffer.
I could choose her this time. I could save her, and find a way to lose.
But it’s no longer just about me. I look at the four pairs of eyes focused on me. Their lives rely on me too, as well as the hundreds of other men who work for me. The entire city’s survival depends on having a strong Black at the helm—protecting them from the evil. And as much as I’d like to think you need good to drive out the bad, it isn’t true. Only the cruelest, darkest of men can do what is needed to drive out the darkness.
I’m the worst kind of man. Because I brought Kai Miller back to life, only to destroy her. She thought she was broken before, but when I’m done with her, she will never recover. This time she will remain broken.
31
Kai
“Meet me in the library,” Enzo says, poking his head out on the balcony where I drink another iced coffee as dawn ascends. I don’t know why I’ve resisted sitting out here for so long. Why have I resisted everything?
“Okay. Why?” I ask, not tearing my eyes from the still haunting ocean.
“For once, can you just do what I fucking say without asking any questions?” Enzo snarls before leaving.
