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Prologue
Xavier
“No,”Lilycriedtome, tugging at my wrists as I grabbed my luggage and walked towards the door. “You can’t do this, Niccolò! What about Samara? She needs her father!”
I dropped the bags and restrained her arms, whispering soothingly to her as I pulled her close to me, her sobs wedging the knife deeper into my chest. She had to calm down. Our little princess was sleeping just down the hall.
“You promised me this wouldn’t happen,” Lily wept into my chest. “You said we’d be safe. That your father wouldn’t—”
“I know, baby, I know. And I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” I squeezed her tighter, a tear slipping out of my eye as I glanced down the hall towards Samara’s bedroom. I hated this shit. I didn’t want to leave them behind, to leaveherbehind, but I didn’t have a choice. We’d managed to survive for five long years safely under the radar, but now my family, my daughter, was in danger. Leaving was the only way to save them. To save my daughter from this life.
“You have to be strong for her, okay? I don’t have much time, so I really need you to listen to me.”
I paused and heaved in a sharp, painful breath, hating that it’d come to this. That I was losing my family.
My fucking home.
My reason for existing.
“As soon as I walk out of this door, you’ll never see or hear from me again.”
Lily cried harder, her body trembling against mine.
“I don’t like it either, baby, but we don’t have a choice. We knew the risks, which is why we’d already discussed this before Samara was ever born. I have to go, Lily. It’s the only way to keep you girls safe...”
I downed another full glass of booze, my throat burning as the thirteen-year-old memory faded into black.
Lily promised she’d take care of her and stay as far away from the Valley as humanly possible.
She fucking promised me!
I gave up EVERYTHING just so they could both live and this is how she repays me!?
I roll the tension out of my shoulders before pouring another glass and sipping it, Griffin’s pale face now in my line of sight.
“Are you kidding me?” he bellowed, his chest heaving and throat bobbing like he was about to puke.“Samara Campbell is your fucking daughter!?”
My eyes grew tight around the edges as I cocked my head to the side, assessing him closely. “You’re acting as if you know her, dear nephew.”
“Because Idoknow her, Unc.” Griffin tried to widen what he could of his battered eyes at me, a pained look on his face. He stepped back to reclaim his seat, wincing as he sat. “She’s a dancer at the Gentlemen’s Club. She’s one of Damien’s newest recruits.”
“What did you just say?” My deep voice shook in a venomous growl, my chest constricting like all of the oxygen had been suctioned from my lungs. “Did you just say that my daughter is a stripper? A fucking Outlaw?”
“She’s not an Outlaw yet, but she’s close.” Griffin paused and cursed under his breath, shaking his head. “Fuck,Unc, why didn’t you tell me about this sooner, like months, hell,yearssooner? I could’ve done something.”
“I wasn’t aware she was here until her name popped up on that goddamn recruitment list. She shouldn’t be here, Griffin. Lily, her mother, was supposed to keep Samaraawayfrom the Valley.”
“So why didn’t she?”
I ground my teeth. That’s precisely what I’d like to know.
“Have you not been keeping tabs on them?” he asked again after a slight pause.
“For a while, yes. I sent a few of my men to peek in on them every month for the first three years after I left. Lily had gotten herself a job. Samara was in school, thriving, and Lily still had more than enough money left in the account to cover their bills and expenses for several years. They were right where I left them, safe.”
I swallowed the last of my drink, then turned away from Griffin to pour another.
“I was fully convinced she had everything under control. That Samara was in perfect hands and would grow up to live an extraordinary life. A life free from all the horrendous strings our family legacy comes with. I thought I made the right choice leaving her in Lily’s hands. I see now that I was wrong.”
