AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Better men’s bullets haven’t stopped me before. What makes you think yours will?”
He narrows his eyes. “You’ve always thought you were better than me.”
That’s what it comes down to for Benedict at the end of the day: respect and humiliation. Betters and lessers. His world is a game of chutes and ladders, a squirming pile of rats vying for top position so they can shit downhill on everyone beneath them.
Which is why he can’t just put a bullet in my head and be done with it.
He needs me toknowthat he’s won.
“Does the better man lose his own fiancée the day of his engagement?” he continues, sauntering closer with the gun held loosely in his pale, unscarred hands. “What kind of manallowshis woman to be kidnapped?”
A gasp escapes Celine’s lips, but I don’t chance a glance in her direction. I keep my eyes on Benedict. He’s smiling now, smirking from ear to ear. His canines are sharp and gleaming in the light.
“Does it matter?” I ask. “I’m here, I’ve got her back, and at the end of all of this, there will be a wedding.”
Benedict laughs. “You’re a fool if you believe that.”
“The fool is whoever makes the same mistake over and over again. You underestimated me once before, didn’t you? And here you are, doing it again.”
The smile withers on his face. His eyes are beady and bulging in their sockets. “Death is too kind for you,” he hisses.
“Do it, then,” I growl. “Pull the fucking trigger.”
“No!” Celine cries, scrambling up to her feet. She places herself right in front of me. “Please, Benedict—don’t kill him.”
Oh, for God’s sake.What is it with these Theron women? She’s as much of a fool as her sister is. I go to move her out of my way, but as soon as my hand finds her hip, Benedict’s voice lashes out in a shrill shriek.
“NO! Don’t move! I will slaughter you both.”
The two of us freeze at the same time. Through my hand on her waist, I can feel the terror coursing in Celine’s body. But she stands her ground, right in front of me.
She’s like her sister in that regard, too.
Stubborn to a fault.
“How touching,” Benedict drawls, with an expression that says it’s anything but. “She really is a prize, Ilarion. Where did you find her?”
The cloying sweetness in his tone puts me on edge for a moment. If he decides to call my bluff, this entire dance is done. I’m saved from answering when Benedict launches into a speech, spurred by his love for his own voice.
“Pretty, smart, interesting…hopelessly loyal,” he drones.
“Is there a point you’re trying to make?” I ask, rolling my eyes.
“Tell me, which quality would you consider the most important in a woman?” Benedict asks. “Because if you were to ask me, I would suggest that loyalty stands above the rest. And yet…she certainly enjoyed my company.”
Celine stiffens. “What are you—”
“She was more than happy to talk to me, listen to me. To do whatever I asked of her.”
“Ilarion, don’t listen to him. None of it is true.”
“None of it?” He arches a brow. “I wouldn’t go quite that far,fiore mio.”
She hesitates, her eyes darting back and forth between the two of us. “I mean, we did talk. We had conversations. All I did was listen.”
“Is thatallyou did, Celine?” She tries to turn to face me, but Benedict roars, “Don’t move! I won’t warn you again!” Then he switches his gaze to me, the hate burning deep in those listless eyes. “I fucked her countless times, on that very bed. Your own wife-to-be, moaning like a whore not two feet from where you’re standing right now.”
“It’s not true!” Celine wails. “I swear, Ilarion. It’s not true!”
