AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I brace, expecting the room to flood with men. Nothing happens.
“Guards!” she screams again, this time with a little hint of desperation in her voice.
“No one is coming,” Zeke tells her. “We took a leaf out of your book and played the game you’ve been teaching us subconsciously since we were able to talk.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means, dear mother,” Luke says, “we played you at your own tactics. It took us a while, but honestly, it was embarrassingly easy to bring even the most loyal of your men to our side. You’ve been something of a tyrant over the years. A lot of your men hate you.”
She glances between her sons, and for the first time, I see a flash of panic. Is she starting to realise the mistake she made here? She trusted her kids would, as they have always been, remain under her control. I doubt there’s a single scenario in this world where she envisioned her children standing up to her. Why would she? For years those boys have been compliant. Zeke had gone rogue marrying Bailey, but the alliance brought in the Untamed Sons. It wasn’t a loss. Kane dutifully married Elena without a murmur of complaint. Luke had done the same with Sariah.
Aurelia is the first time her children have ever stood against her. It’s clear she saw it as some silly rebellion, rather than the hostile takeover it, in fact, is. That mistake is about to cost her and Anthony their lives.
“Bullshit,” she hisses. “My men have always been loyal to me.”
“No, Mother,” Kane says. “They were loyal to Anthony, but over the years, he has shown himself to be a weak leader, under the thumb of his wife. Your need for power left the family open and in a dangerous position.”
I twist Charlotte around and pull her arms behind her back. She tries to stop me, but she’s no match for my strength. I get the cuffs on and then cuff Anthony in front. The stain on his stomach is growing bigger by the second, his face clammy and grey.
“For fuck’s sake, help your father.”
“He’s the only person on this planet you have ever cared about,” Zeke says.
“Anthony killed his own brother to have you. You left Gemma fatherless.”
“Don’t pretend you care about her. You drag her around like she’s your personal doctor.”
They do, and it was why I’d told her to run away. I don’t know if she’ll do it, but I hope she does, for her own sake.
“Guards!” she yells again, but still, no one comes.
“Your loyal men were easily bought,” Luke says, his voice colder than I’ve ever heard it.
“Money can’t buy loyalty.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised what money can buy,” Zeke adds. “They wanted a good leader, a man who isn’t led by his cunt of a wife.”
Charlotte glances away, her mouth curling into a snarl. “So, my darling boys, what is your plan here? To kill us?”
“Not immediately,” Kane says. His words send a shiver skittering up my spine, so I can only imagine what they plan to do to her.
I know what brand of violence Kane deals in. I’ve seen his handiwork in the past. Charlotte should be scared. She lifts her chin. “Let me help your father.”
“No.”
“He’s going to bleed to death.”
“That’s the idea,” Zeke says.
Charlotte snaps her gaze to her son. “You ungrateful little shits. The sacrifices we have made for you! The things we’ve done—”
“You’ve done nothing!” Kane roars. I’ve never seen him lose control like this and neither have his brothers, judging from the way they turn to him. “You made us soldiers! You have controlled every aspect of our lives. You were more interested in your legacy than loving us.”
She tilts her head to the side. “Is that what this is about, Kane? I didn’t love you enough? Did I not give you enough hugs?”
The patronising tone of her voice makes Kane’s eyes darken. “You should never have had children. The shit you did to me, to Zeke, and Luke to make us your fucking soldiers is unforgivable.”
I have no idea what he’s talking about, but Charlotte clearly does. Her cheeks hollow as she sucks in a breath. “Seriously, I didn’t have you down as a cry baby.”
