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Chapter 1
Dante
Ilieawake,staringup at the ceiling. It’s mid-morning and I still can’t seem to pull myself out of bed. I have zero motivation to face whatever hell today brings.
I’m choosing to avoid everyone at all costs.
Give me one day of peace and quiet. That’s all I need—just one.
As soon as the thought crosses my mind, my cell phone buzzes on my nightstand.
Fuck me. I guess that was asking for too much.
I quickly roll over and pick it up, taking a quick glance to see who is calling before tossing it on the bed beside me.
Whatever Royal wants can wait.
He’s probably calling to bitch me out about our fight with Angel anyway. I’m sure the two of them have made up by now, so he’s calling to plead her case. Well, I’m not ready to hear any of their bullshit, so avoidance it is.
I’m still trying to process the shit storm that’s gone down in the past few weeks. My life has turned into one hell of a rollercoaster ride, and I’m ready for it to end. I just need some time to myself—time to think and figure out what all this shit means and how I’m going to handle it from here.
Gabriel has always been the devil in my mind and now, after dropping his big revelations on me, I can’t figure out which way is up. My whole life has been one big lie. How does a person get over that in a day, a week, or a month? My thoughts are spiraling out of control and I can’t seem to stop them no matter how hard I try.
Loving Angel is the only thing that’s come easy in my life. Protecting her is even easier, which is one reason why I didn’t think twice about keeping her safe when Gabriel threatened her. I’d give up my freedom and my life to keep her safe. It’s always been that way for me. But I spent two fucking years away from her and the guys to keep them safe from a threat that didn’t exist, losing the only family I’ve ever been able to rely on, and for what? It was all just a part of Gabriel’s mind games to keep me in the dark. He didn’t want me to find out the truth until he was ready.
Anger burns red-hot inside me, caged without an escape route.
I take a deep breath before sighing out loud.
What I really want is to aim this rage toward Gabriel, that’s what has always come naturally to me and what I’ve always done because, in my mind, he deserved it. But now, I’m seeing things in a different light.
The grudge I’ve held against him since I was a teenager is slowly dying out and being replaced with empathy, which I never thought I would feel toward him. It’s like I’m trapped by all these emotions and can’t find a clear path out.
Turning to Angel and the guys for help isn’t an option. We have our own shit to deal with. So I need to man up.
Hell, Gabriel has been dealing with this by himself for all these years. How did he do it without going insane?
The man who murdered my mother turns out to be my father—what a fucking joke.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t wrap my mind around it—I can’t, and I don’t think I ever will. How is King fucking James my biological father? My sperm donor and the true villain in all of our lives? He’s had this whole town fooled for years and literally got away with murder. My mother and God knows how many others have died at his hands.
My phone lights up, buzzing beside me.
I know I’m not alone and Royal has to be struggling just as hard as I am to deal with all this. But we have two different perspectives. At the end of the day, he loves King and doesn’t want to believe his father is the monster Gabriel has made him out to be. I know otherwise, Gabriel was telling the truth. I could see it in his eyes.
I’ve already made up my mind, King needs to die. I want him to suffer for all of the sins that he’s committed against my family and this town.
My phone lights up again and I know Royal will not stop calling until I give in. Reaching over, I pick up the phone and hit accept.
“What?!” My voice comes out harsh and unforgiving, but I’m all worked up over King, and Royal is being annoying as fuck right now.
Can’t he take a hint? I don’t want to talk.
“Whoever pissed in your Cheerios this morning, it wasn’t me, so chill the fuck out, dude,” Royal mumbles into the phone. “Look, we need to talk—”
I cut him off before he has the chance to finish whatever ridiculous statement he was about to make. “Royal, why can’t you just let me be? Your inability to let shit lie is irritating.”
“Well, put your big girl panties on, brother, and man the fuck up. I get it, you’re pissed. I’m pissed too, but nothing’s going to get resolved if we don’t talk this shit out, and you know that.” He sounds so smug it makes me want to reach through the phone and punch him. Of course, I know that, but it doesn’t change how I feel right now.
