Page 238 of Blackwood

“And that one…” she looks at me “…that one’s Cade.”

I glance at Lex. His eyes haven’t left Vince. Not once. He’s one twitch away from shattering something. There’s heat rolling off him in waves. Raw, heavy, and volatile waves. He’s still in it. Still on that razor edge between control and detonation.

And me?

I’m just standing here trying to remember how the hell we got here. How the girl we swore to protect turned into a storm dressed in silk. And why watching her own this room, own him,makes me want her even more. Even when I know it’s going to break us all.

Chapter 66

LEX

Warehouse 29-A. Brooklyn,New York

About to lose my shit.

721 Days Since Zeke’s Death

I can hear Bella talking to Sabine behind me. She’s making introductions or some shit. Playing polite. But I can’t fucking see her.

All I see is him. Vince. The man who carved pain into our baby’s life like it was his right. The man who abused her little brother. Who set off a chain reaction that ended with Dylan in the ground. The man who bought Bella. Put a price on her like she was inventory. Like she was his to use. His to own.

Bella let me have a taste of vengeance. One hit. Two. Five. But it’s not enough. Not nearly fucking enough.I want back in. I need back in. I need to end him. Crack every bone in his face and let his body rot in this concrete tomb.

She walks back into my line of sight, eyes locked on mine, then grabs my face and kisses me again like she’s desperate. Like I’m the air and she’s drowning. I know what this is. She’s doing it to piss off Vince, the sick bastard who thought he could ever touch her.

So, I kiss her back. I pull her into me tighter, feasting on her tongue like I’ll never get enough. Because I will never get enough of this woman.

She pulls back just an inch, breathless. “I love you, Lex.”

“I love you too, malyshka.”

Then she turns, smooth as ever, and rips the blade out of Vince’s shoulder. His screams echo off the walls but refrains from calling her a bitch this time. She crouches in front of him again, and I catch the flick of Vince’s eyes. Down her goddamn shirt.

I step forward, fast and ready to rip his throat out, but she feels me. She always does. She glances back.

“What is it, Lex?”

“The fucker’s looking down your shirt, baby. He should know by now you’re mine. He doesn’t get to look at what he’ll never have.”

Bella turns back to Vince. “Now, Vincent were you violating my privacy?”

Vince shakes his head, frantic.

She clicks her tongue. “Well, then are you calling the love of my life a liar?”

He doesn’t answer. Doesn’t dare. Bella rises slowly, the queen of death, and walks over to me. She hands me her knife, calm and deadly.

“Baby, two times for a lie. No more, no less, and no vital organs. We’re taking our time with my old friend, remember?”

I nod. “Yes, baby.” I don’t delay. One stab deep into the opposite shoulder. He howls. Another straight through the palm of his hand. He screams like a little bitch.

“Motherfucking psycho,” he spits through the blood. “You’re just her goddamn lap—”

Before I can even lunge again, Bella is there. She walks up to him, boots clicking against the concrete like a metronome of fear.

“What did you just say?” she asks softly, tilting her head.

Vince shuts up. Mouth clamped tight. But it’s too late. Bella doesn’t break eye contact as she reaches out and gently takes the knife from my hand. Then she presses the tip right in front of Vince’s eye. Not stabbing. Promising.