Page 56 of Contract of a Billionaire

Something icy rooted in my lungs. Everyone in this room knew whothe girlwas. That fucker couldn’t let a good thing flourish. He was destructive by nature. Everything he touched turned to ash.

“How far did it go?” I asked with the rage coiled tight in my chest. When they both remained silent, I roared. “How far did it go?”

“All the way.”

Three little words.

It was just those three words that turned the bile in my throat into acid and I vomited all over her. The mere fact that she had her hands on me caused me to retch.

Ricardo put the nail gun to her gut and pulled the trigger. But the whole time my ears buzzed and I pictured Autumn seeing it all.

“What’s your name?” I asked the man.

“E-Ernest Sizzling.” His eyes flickered to the woman. “René.”

The primal rage tore through my chest. The thought that Autumn saw it all. The thought that they could have hurt Autumn.

“Did she see?” I asked, my voice dull to my own ears.

“Yes.”

“It’s not my wife’s fault,” her husband attempted to defend. “If she hadn’t done it, I’d have to do it to the girl. If we refused, he had others. They were worse.”

That was when I lost it. Rage exploded, blinding me. The thought of him touching Autumn, snuffing out that light that always shone in her eyes.

The woman that loved to dance in the rain. The woman that kissed my scars. The woman that started healing me.

I rammed the sharp blade through the woman’s belly, then punched him. I alternated slashing the blade through him, then her. Somehow the nail gun was in my hand and I alternated between stabbing them and shooting the nail gun. I punctured his chest, then hers and watched them choke on their own blood.

An agonized howl split the air.

Hers. His.

I had no fucking idea, but by the time I stopped, my chest heaved and their throats were slit, their heads hanging loosely to the side and I was covered in blood.

I stared at the massacre I’d committed.

“You didn’t give me a turn.” Ricardo’s calm voice had me turning to face him. There was no pity in his voice. Just a mild curiosity.

“She’s the first woman I ever killed,” I muttered. I’d be meeting the first woman I loved in mere hours.

A strange kind of calm washed over me. The contrast to the lunacy and rage I experienced mere minutes ago was jarring.

He’d never let me have her. If I explained to her, assuming she’d believe me, and kept her with me, we could run. But my father would hunt us. He’d never give up, until one of us was dead.

I would die for her. Take a bullet for her. But I couldn’t handle Autumn coming to harm. That was something I could never forgive myself for.

I watched the guts hanging out of the two people I just slaughtered, and I knew.

I just fucking knew.

There was no chance in hell I could ever keep Autumn with me. Even knowing she was my one shot at any semblance of happiness.

I had to let her go.

Chapter20

Autumn