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Bang! A single shot blares out and we all duck. “Fuck!”
I turn slightly. “Who got hit?” Someone is lying on the side of the ATV, clutching his stomach. Please be a fucking guard.
When he turns his head, I already know it isn’t. “Fuck!”
Bishop runs toward Cash, holding his hand over his stomach. “Hold it there. Hold it right fucking there and don’t you dare close your eyes. We fucking need you.” Cash shakes his head, harsh and desperate. “Hey!” Bishop shoves Cash as Hunter finds his way to him, too. “We need you.”
“I’m sorry, B.” Cash coughs and blood spills down his throat. Rage fills my veins and I reach into the back of the ATV, grabbing another shotgun and pumping it before swinging it over my shoulder. I raise the AK up and shoot out the windows I can see, while walking straight through the front door. I see fucking red. Enough people have died because of her.
Nate is firing shots behind me, but all I can see is the tunnel in front of me. As if everything to the side is blurred and all I need and want is blood. I raise my gun up just as someone comes flying down the staircase. I pull the trigger and he falls instantly. Another comes down, and again, I point and shoot. I move into the sitting room behind the stairs and on a single white sofa sits Veronica, a cigarette in her mouth and her body completely naked.
I snarl. “I’m not going to make this easy for you.”
“Ah!” She raises her finger and twirls it, signaling for me to turn around. I do. Samael has Nate locked into his arm in a chokehold, a devious fucking smirk on his face. “Oh, how unfortunate. And if you’re wondering why the rest of your army hasn’t barged in here, it’s because they have an extra little dot directed straight to their forehead.”
“What do you fucking want, Veronica?” I lower my gun. No point in keeping it on her. I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize anyone else’s life.
Yet.
“Ah, the question you’re all wanting to know.” She stubs her cigarette out in the carpet. “I want Saint, Brantley. As I was to have her until you decided to destroy all of that by falling in love with her. You know I knew I couldn’t get her through Lucan, so I knew I had to get close to you.”
I pause.
“Why Saint?” I ask, confused. I take a small step closer to her. Enough, but not too much so she doesn’t notice. “Why her? Why the obsession with her all these years?”
She laughs, crossing her legs. “Well, I guess I should expose it all to you.” She cocks her head, her long black hair covering her tits. Thank fuck. “Saint is not my daughter. That was a last-ditch effort to pull you both apart, which is ironic really, since the reason I became close to you to begin with was to get close to her. Shame on me because your bond is even stronger than the possibility of incest.”
“Hold up,” I seethe. “We already know we’re not related, you sick bitch. We wouldn’t have married had we thought that was true.”
“Ah, how disappointing. I thought that was quite impressive.”
“You would.” I raise my eyebrows. “You’re disgusting.”
She laughs, her head tilting back for a brief second.
Another step. Turning my head slightly, I notice Sam watching Nate instead of me. I still can’t get a read on him, whether he’s working for us or for her. Confusing fucking bastard. I’ll put a bullet between his eyes anyway, I decide. Just for making it so hard for me to read him.
“There was a reason Hector brought Saint to your father instead of me, Brantley. It’s because Lucan, though he is who he is, cares about one thing. The Vitiosis line continuing. Hector didn’t bring her to you to raise; he brought her to you to fuck.” She slants her head. “Why do you think he had you have sex with all those girls? He wanted you to impregnate one—or all—and got his rocks off while doing it.” I hold my breath, my shoulders tight. What she’s saying makes sense, but she’s no better than Lucan. “Your father was smart. He knew with her being Hector’s child and being a Swan, she would be worthy of more than just your spawn one day, so he allowed you to raise her how you wanted. The reason he never outed her was because of this fact. Even in his final hours. Even as much as you hated your father, he still protected you. Even her.”
I raise my gun to her head. “Shut the fuck up. You don’t know shit about that piece of shit, and I know more than you think.”