Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“Get the fuck off her,” I roar as I grab Sophia by the arm and throw her onto the floor. She hits hard and rolls. I yank the pillow away to reveal Camille lying on her back, her eyes shut, not moving.
“Guards! Ambulance! Guards!” I bend down, terror lancing through my body as I try to listen for her breathing, as I look for her chest rising and falling, as I feel for a pulse—
If she’s dead, I’m dead. If she’s gone, I’ll burn this city down, and I’ll be gone with her.
But it’s there. Her heart’s beating, fucking hell, her heat’s beating. I lift her into my arms, saying her name again and again, and she takes a massive breath, choking and gagging, but she’s breathing again.
I hold her tight to my chest. “It’s okay, I have you,” I whisper. “I have you, I have you, you’re safe, I have you.”
“Evander?” she whispers, coughing as she struggles to get more air. “Evander? You’re here? How are you here?” She touches my face, blinking rapidly, color returning to her lips.
“I was bringing you breakfast. I came in and found her—” I look around for Sophia, but she’s gone. “Sophia. Fucking Sophia.” I want to get up and chase after her, catch my cousin, chain her in the basement and cut her to tiny pieces, make her suffer—but the look on Camille’s face stops me.
I can’t leave her, not right now.
“I have you,” I whisper, holding her tight. At the same time, I take my phone from my pocket and call Lycus. He answers on the second ring. “Find Sophia and my Aunt Anissa. Find them and take them into custody.”
“Evander? Are you joking?”
“Sophia tried to kill Camille. Do it now, Lycus. Everyone’s on high alert. Don’t let them get away.”
“Holy fuck, okay, yeah, I’ll catch them.”
I hang up, toss the phone away, and hold Camille tighter.
“I thought I was going to die,” she whispers, crying now. “I thought she was going to kill me.”
“It’s okay. I’m here. I’m here, and she won’t ever hurt you again. I swear it, she won’t ever come near you again.”
“After everything, I thought this was it.”
That breaks my fucking heart.
The girl has been through so much, and now my scum family decides to put her through more.
Camille doesn’t deserve this, and yet here I am, holding her tightly, wondering what I would’ve done if I had lost her.
Burn the house. Burn the world.
But she’s here in my arms, and I won’t let her go.
Chapter 55
Evander
I stand behind my desk in the office of the Lord of the Kazan Family. To my left, Camille leans against the bookshelf, looking exhausted. Her eyes are bloodshot from the struggle of staying alive and there’s an ugly yellow bruise forming on her cheek. Dr. Kalivas says she’ll be okay—she doesn’t seem to have any permanent damage, which was a relief beyond measure.
To my right is my mother. She’s in all black like always, her face cold and passive, showing no emotion. She stares straight ahead, unwilling to look at me.
That’s okay. I can’t blame her. This won’t be easy for my mother. She’s lost so much already, but now there’s more to lose.
Straight ahead, Anissa and Sophia kneel on the floor, their hands tied behind their backs. Sophia doesn’t look great—apparently, she tried to fight when Lycus caught her, screaming obscenities, halfway to the dock and the jet skis, and the guards might’ve gone a little overboard when they captured her. Aunt Anissa came peacefully though, and her hair is in a perfect bun, her clothes neat and orderly, her chin held high.
Behind them, Lycus and Alonzo stand with guns aimed.
Rage simmers in my stomach.
Rage and a sorrow I can’t describe.
How did my family get here? After everything I’ve been through, how am I here right now, looking at these two women?
I didn’t hate Sophia, not before I took over the family, and not after. I didn’t love how her and her aunt were always trying to undermine me—but I never blamed them.
Back when we were kids, I was even close with my cousin. We used to play together, her and her brother and I. We’d explore the grounds, go out on the lake, get into trouble in the city. Typical kid shit. We grew apart as we got older, but I’ve never forgotten the girl I used to spend so much time with.
That girl is gone now.
And I mourn for her. I mourn deeply, so deeply it hurts, clouded only by the anger that drives me.
I understand why my mother always wears black.
But I won’t succumb to my bitterness.
Along the walls are my captains, at least those that could come on short notice. There’s Spyro, Damon, Kosmos my consigliere, and Stavros, one of the old guard. The other captains are on their way, but this can’t wait any longer.