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My mother’s death was my fault. If I hadn’t contacted Viktor, his brother wouldn’t have come to my house looking for Grace. He wouldn’t have killed my mom.
I stared at my mother’s casket, tears spilling down my cheeks. We ordered dozens of calla lilies—her favorite flower, which littered the space. It was a small funeral, with only family and close friends.
Grace would have wanted to be here. And my mother would have liked that, too. But The Knights couldn’t risk Grace’s safety. Viktor and his men could have been watching, waiting to kidnap her. So we had to do everything in our power to protect her.
She was at the safe house in Beacon Bay with Bastian and Damian on guard twenty-four hours a day. It was just as much their duty to protect her as mine. The Devil’s Knights answered to The Founders Society. We had to defend our Grand Master’s heir.
My heart felt like it cracked open from losing my mother. The pain was so intense my entire body was numb. I felt like I was dying. Like I couldn’t fucking breathe. I wanted to climb into the coffin with her.
Without my mom around, the house wasn’t the same. I never got along with my father. Neither did my brothers. She was the glue that held our family together.
A small group of people gathered around the gravesite. It was a shame we couldn’t give my mother the funeral she wanted.
The funeral she deserved.
My dad stood at my side, the same height as me, and touched my shoulder for support.
Like I needed him.
It was my mother I went to for comfort. He was often the source of my anger or frustration. My mom let me vent and made everything better.
After the funeral ended, people offered more condolences. I just wanted to get the fuck out of here and forget about the past week and drown my sorrows in more alcohol.
You could cut the tension with a knife on the ride home. The awkward silence was almost unbearable. Knox and Sloan sat across from me with tears in their bottom lids.
The boys hadn’t spoken more than a few words since they heard about our mom. Sloan yelled at Dad and blamed him for her death. Knox ran to his bedroom and stayed there until this morning.
All of us were handling her sudden death in different ways. We didn’t know how to communicate with each other without her. Mom made living with our father bearable. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t the worst dad. He also wasn’t the best.
My dad cared more about being the commandant of York Military Academy than being our father. Sure, he loved our mom. But he didn’t see her for most of the school year since he lived on campus.
I lived at the academy for ten years, only coming home for Christmas and summer breaks. My mom spent most of her time alone in our house while we were at school.
And now, she was gone.
Dad lounged by the window with his ankles crossed, the black dress shoes so shiny I could see my reflection. I didn’t own a pair of dirty shoes. All of mine sparkled, clean enough to use as a mirror.
“We’ll pick up Grace tomorrow morning from the safe house,” Dad said on our way home from the cemetery. “Fitzy expects us to arrive by two o’clock sharp.”
“What?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Arrive where?”
My father folded his hands on his lap, holding my gaze. “At his house to discuss eliminating Viktor.”
“And how does he plan to do that?”
He blew out a deep breath. “By using Grace to draw him out of hiding.”
“No,” I shot back. “It’s too dangerous. Look at what Viktor has already done. He killed Mom. We can’t let him anywhere near Grace.”
“Andrey Romanov killed your mother,” he snapped. “He wouldn’t have come to our home if Viktor hadn’t sent him for Grace. We have lost everything because of her. I’m done playing this game with a terrorist, and so are Fitzy and The Founders. They have agreed it is in our best interests to give Grace to Viktor.”
“But Viktor has information on Fitzy that can take him down,” I pointed out. “We could get rid of the old man with his help.”
Dad shook his head. “No, Cole. Fitzy isn’t the problem here. It’s Viktor and his attachment to his daughter. The Knights are in the middle of a war we have no business fighting. This is not our problem anymore. Look at what protecting Grace has cost all of us.”
“Fuck Grace,” Sloan interjected, speaking for the first time in days. “She’s the reason Mom is dead.”
“Why do you even care about her?” Knox hissed. “Stop trying to save her. She’s the daughter of a fucking terrorist.”
