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“I know, Ryzen. I know.”
Kaviathin walked in, Althazair behind him with an enormous duffel bag. It looked like Ryzen’s head was going to explode as Cian strolled in, and I ran to him, jumping in his open arms and wrapping my legs around him. He stumbled backwards slightly, using the wall for leverage as he chuckled.
My lips crashed into his, and I clung to him, not wanting to ever be separated from him again. “I fucking missed you so much,” I choked out.
“I missed you too, little star,” he growled, cradling my face in his palms. “But I was always watching you. Always.” He gazed up at the small security camera embedded in the ceiling. His lips brushed against mine and I reveled in that moment. “We’ll never be apart again.”
“What the fuck? You bitch. You fucking bitch. You set me up.” Ryzen thrashed around, his eyes wild. “What is this, huh? What the fuck is this?”
Kaviathin took off his jacket and laid it on the back of the couch. He unbuttoned his cufflinks and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt slowly, his eyes never leaving Ryzen’s. “This is where you beg for your life, but I kill you anyway.” He squatted down in front of him. “Got it?”
Althazair and Delove moved the sofa to the back of the room and then laid out a tarp on the floor. Ryzen froze as he realized what was happening.
“Try not to make a mess. We’ve got a showing next week,” I murmured.
Althazair gave me a salute, and I nodded at Delove. Long ago I had made a deal with the devil, and now I was about to be set free.
Orin held the door open, and Cian and I walked out, hand in hand, not bothering to give Ryzen another look. He was going right where he belonged.
Straight to hell.
Cian held me tight against him as we walked to the car. I climbed in the back seat, him slapping my ass on the way. He reached over and buckled my seatbelt, grabbed me by the back of the neck and brought me closer.
“It’s over now. I love you so fucking much,” he whispered against my lips.
“I love you more.”
Orin turned up the radio, blocking out the horrendous noises coming from the house, and pulled down the gravel path.
“Let’s go home, little star,” Cian murmured against my lips.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cian
One Month Later
Icy rain pounded down on me as I ran along Lake Michigan. I relished in the numbness the coldness brought, anything to calm the deafening thoughts swirling inside of me. It had been four weeks since I had seen Goodacre tied to that chair. I would never forget the terrified look on his face. The fear when he realized what was about to happen to him.
Good. I was fucking thrilled that his last moments alive had been filled with horror and panic. The thought alone was enough to soothe me to my core as I ran through the downpour. I didn’t know the specifics, but what I did know was that Althazair was a sick fuck and enjoyed inflicting pain on others. I could only imagine what he had done to Goodacre.
My only regret was that I hadn’t been the one to end him. I had craved it, the need to make him suffer unbearable at times. Sometimes I worried about this evilness that dwelled inside me, the one that wanted to make people suffer for what they had done. Was it because of who my real father was? I would never know. The tumultuous thoughts I’d had about Goodacre, the way I had planned to make him bleed until he was nothing but bloody flesh and a pile of bones… But Nova… she hadn’t wanted that for me. She had pleaded and begged me to let Voledetti handle it. I’d stopped myself because of her. Because she was my whole fucking world, and no matter how much destruction I wanted to cause, it would never be worth it if it meant disappointing her.
Waves crashed against the concrete as I ran through deep puddles, lightning flashing in the sky. Such a contrast to just twenty-four hours ago. We had gotten back late last night from a three-week trip to Tahiti. I had convinced Nova that we were going as a reset for us mentally, but really, I had just wanted to selfishly steal her away, keep her locked up where nobody could get to her. Not her friends, her Grams or even my family. Just me and her in paradise like she deserved.
During the day we’d lounged on the white sand beaches, and at night, I’d memorized every single curve and plane of her flesh, worshiping her like the goddess she was. I was possessed by her, a pile of putty in her beautiful hands. She had changed me in a way I hadn’t known was possible. Before her, I’d been encased in darkness, solely focused on revenge. Then she’d brought her lightness into my life and altered my destructive path. Even after everything Goodacre had done to her, she was always a beacon of light, dragging me out of my madness.
And now he was gone. Dead. He would never be able to hurt another person. I should have been happy, and a part of me was. But the darker part of me, the one that craved violence, was unsated. There was nothing I could do now though except move on with Nova and show her every day just how much I loved her.
I bent over with my hands on my knees, attempting to catch my breath. My head snapped up as the iron gates to the Voledetti fortress slowly slid open. Two armed guards stepped out, their eyes narrowing on me when they realized who I was. They nodded with their guns towards the front of the house, and I jogged down the gravel driveway. I took the stairs two at a time, and right when I raised my hand, the door swung open. An older woman in a maid’s uniform stood, taking in my wet clothes.
“Mr. Blackwood. Come in.” She waved me in and rushed down the hall. A moment later she came back and handed me a towel, her lips pursed in distaste as water pooled around my feet. She clucked her tongue as I wiped my face and hair with the towel. “Right this way.”
I followed her down a dimly lit hallway, my hands clenched in fists as we got closer. This was something I had to do in order to move on. I didn’t want to be in this house. It only made me remember when I had come to see my real father and the betrayal I had felt when he called me a bastard and sent me back home to that monster.
My shoes squeaked across the marble floor and through the giant oak doors. Kaviathin sat behind his desk, looking as if he thought himself a king on a throne.
“Cian.” He nodded at the empty seat across from him. I sat, meeting his stare head on. “Why are you here?”
