Page 138 of Cain

His eyes drop to Landon’s gun and then right back to him. “Let her go.”

“Or?”

“Or you make a choice you can’t take back. Think wisely.” He takes a few confident steps closer. “You either walk away now with your pride intact, or it ends badly for you, one way or another.”

Landon lets go of me and prowls closer to Grayson.

“I’d suggest you keep your mouth shut unless you want your brains all over the wall, old man.”

Grayson doesn’t recoil. He steps right up to him, his pale green eyes locked on Landon’s. “You never scared me, boy.”

Landon sneers. “That’s one of the many mistakes you’ve made tonight,” he hisses, shoving the gun up under Grayson’s jaw.

But Grayson’s done waiting, and in a split second, he moves.

His hand snaps up, grabs Landon’s wrist, and twists hard. Landon lets out a guttural groan, dropping the gun. Grayson catches it without blinking.

Now, the roles are reversed.

The muzzle presses against Landon’s forehead, and this time, it’s Grayson who doesn’t waver.

“You pointed this at the wrong man,” Grayson hisses. “I told you, you never scared me, big boy. Now get your fucking ass out of my sight.”

Landon grits his teeth, seething with rage, but the humiliation cuts deeper than the pain.

“We’re not done, old man.”

Grayson doesn’t reply. He remains composed, the gun steady in his hand. Landon turns around, gives me a final glare, and walks away, banging his feet on the floor.

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“Are you okay?” Grayson asks, furrowing his bushy, gray brows.

I nod sharply, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Thank you. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up.”

“It’s all over now.”

“Cain will kill him,” I pant.

“Don’t tell him,” he says quietly, sliding Landon’s gun into the waistband at the small of his back.

“What?”Is he serious?

“Cain’s soul is already heavy with the lives he’s taken. Don’t let it burn for one more.”

“But … I can’t lie to him about it.”

“Katerina.” He gently holds my arms. “I’m not asking you to lie. I’m asking you to protect him. You know what this would do to him.” My eyes lower as I contemplate. “Cain is like a son to me, and I want to protect him as much as I can.”

There’s something about his voice. A serenity. A kindness. I know he really loves him; I’ve seen it. He loves both him and Adam equally.

But can I trust him?

It’s too damn early to have gone through half a pack, but fuck it. I haven’t slept. Not a single hour.

Adam’s arrival pulled something loose in me. Memories I thought I’d buried deep. The good, the bad, and the shit I swore I’d never let touch me again.

He reminded me of everything I tried to forget. Of everything I left undone. And now those loose ends are starting to look like nooses that I need to fix.