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SEAN
I grab him by the collar and slam him back into the dark-blue wall. “If you’re a threat to my wife, I’m going to kill you right here and now.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “I only told you that I could be a threat to her, not that I was. You should learn to care a little less about what happens to her. You get too attached to your wife, and it’s nothing but a liability.”
As I let go of him, it feels like my entire body is vibrating with anger. “You would rather I be like you, then. You would want me to keep everyone I should care about at a distance. Maybe make it clear that I would be fine if they died.”
“Don’t pretend that you care about that woman.”
My hands ball into fists, knuckles turning white and tiny crescents pressing into my palms with the bite of my nails. “I care about her. Ellie is my wife. She’s a good person.”
“And that’s all it takes to make a marriage, is it?” Dad snorts and spins on his heel, walking out of the office and into the kitchen. “You’re going to be fucked when Noah comes for her. I’m doing my best to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Don’t pretend this is about you. You don’t give a shit whether I live or die. You’ve made that clear plenty of times. All you care about is how you can use your family to your advantage.”
He opens the fridge and pulls out a beer, cracking off the top. “You’re the heir to the Andino empire. I care.”
“Only about what happens to the empire.” I scoff and glare at him, wondering how the hell I’ve put up with this for so long. “Whatever you’re doing is only going to get us into more trouble. You realize that, right? You’ve never been able to deal with Noah on your own, and now that Aiden is willing to help us, we might stand a chance.”
“You wouldn’t have given a shit about saving the family if Aiden hadn’t come to you in the first place.” His neck bobs as he sips the beer, a dribble appearing at the corner of his mouth and rolling down his chin.
“I didn’t think it was on me to save the family since I’m not the head.” I sneer as I throw his words back at him.
He can’t claim control and blame me for everything going wrong at the same time.
Dad slams the can of beer down on the counter, fizz foaming over the top and sloshing over his hand. “You’ve been too comfortable sitting back and letting me do the dirty work. You’re a grown man and you should have taken your place in this family a long time ago, but instead, you sit back and watch.”
“I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked of me!” I rip the can from his hand and toss it in the sink. “I got married to a woman I couldn’t fucking stand because you told me to. I killed people because you told me to.”
He smirks and gets in my face, the stench of stale beer on his breath. “Don’t pretend that you did that for me. You crave darkness as much as the rest of us. You like being in power.”
“When have I been in power my entire life?” Snorting, I turn and stride down the hall to the front door. “I’ve done nothing but what you’ve asked and look at where it’s gotten me.”
Dad’s heavy footsteps follow me down the hall. “You’re right about that. You’ve always been weak, no matter how strong I tried to make you. You’re never going to be the kind of man who can lead this family, and I’ve known that for a long time.”
“Maybe if you had tried acting like a father instead of beating the hell out of me every chance you got, I would have been a better son.”
“A better son?” He grabs my arm and throws me into the wall, his other hand planting in the center of my chest. “You wouldn’t have the first idea what to do.”
“I’ve been on my own forever, even living in this hell house. You turned your back on me, and you decided that I was nothing but a prop.”
“That’s all anybody is.” He pulls the knife from his pocket, holding it to my throat. “Your heart is racing. I bet Ellie’s was when she was attacked the first time. You didn’t even know there was something you could have done then.”
I wrap my hand around his, wrenching the knife away from my throat. “You can’t threaten me like you used to.”
“No, but I could threaten Ellie, couldn’t I?”
“Do it.” I push him back a step and he stumbles, his foot catching the edge of the carpet and his knee knocking into the hallway table.
He catches himself before he can fall over. “You think that you’re a big man for pushing your father?”
I bark out a bitter laugh. “Please, save the fucking theatrics.”
“You’re right. You always have loved fighting back. You know, you could have been a great assassin, but you let your sense of right and wrong get in the way.”
“Better than keeping a wall of trophies in my office.” I cross my arms, fuming as I look at him.
I never should have come over here.
Even though I knew this was only going to result in a fight, I did, I wanted to know the truth, and just like every other time we’re around each other in this house, we explode.
Dad stands up straight, adjusting the knife in his hand. “Get the fuck out of my house. You’re no longer welcome here.”
“Happily.” I storm through the rest of the hall, flinging open the front door so hard that it leaves an indent of the handle in the plaster wall.
He comes flying after me, shoving me off the porch. My foot catches on one of the steps and I sprawl on the ground, the cement not breaking my fall at all. A sharp pain radiates through my shoulder.
“Feel like a man now?” I ask as I get to my feet and roll my shoulder, easing some of the ache.
“You’re not to set foot on this property again. If you do, I’ll have you shot where you stand.” He crosses his arms, looking down his nose at me.
“Well, that would be one less problem for you to deal with.”
As much as I want to throw him to the ground and teach him that I can’t be pushed around anymore, I know that his men are lining the edges of his property. They wouldn’t think twice about killing me if I attacked him.
He needs to be one to throw the first punch.
After that, all bets are off.
“Stop!” Rebecca flies out of the house as Dad charges down the stairs toward me. “The two of you are going to kill each other one of these days.”
I smirk as Dad stops in front of me, his chest heaving and his hands balled into fists. “Rebecca, you should go inside. This isn’t going to be pretty.”
Dad’s nostrils flare. “Tough words coming from a man who allowed his little whore to be branded by someone.”
Rebecca’s hand flies to her mouth as I hold back, teeth grinding, my entire body coiled tight.
He laughs and shoves me. “I knew that you wouldn’t do anything. You’ve always been pathetic.”
Before I have a chance to stop him—not that I would since I’m dying to beat the hell out of him—his fist cracks forward, catching me in the same spot Aiden punched me earlier.
If there isn’t a bruise there yet, one will be there shining a deep shade of purple in the morning.
I run my tongue over my teeth, checking for a loose one. The second I determine there’s none, I lunge.
Dad groans as I take him to the ground, getting on top of him.
My thighs keep his arms pressed to either side of his body as I deliver one punch after another to him. He groans, head shifting from one side to the other.
Cuts open on his cheeks, blood pooling at the corner of his mouth. His nose crunches beneath another punch, more blood obscuring his face as Rebecca screams something I can’t quite make out in the background.
It’s only when I hear tires screech and the crack of a gunshot through the air that I roll off him, diving to the side.
More gunshots echo through the quiet neighborhood as Dad shouts for his men.
I scramble to get to my feet, pulling my gun from my waistband and firing at the white car as it zips away.
The car doubles back, a man with a black bandana and a gun popping out of the window. Another shot cracks out, the gun pointed just past me.
A pit opens in the bottom of my stomach as I spin around just in time to hear Rebecca’s pained shout and her hands clasping together over her stomach.
Crimson blood seeps around her hands as she sits down on the front steps, reclining and taking shallow breaths.
I hurry to her, ripping off my shirt and wadding it up. “Hold this to the wound. You’re going to be okay, you hear me? Everything is going to be okay and you’re going to get through this. You just need to hold this.”
She takes the shirt from me with a shaking hand and presses it against her wound. The color is gone from her face, her skin so pale it’s nearly translucent, even as sweat beads on her forehead.
Men rush from the edges of the property, picking Dad up off the ground and hauling him inside.
A couple stay back with me and Rebecca as I stand and look around, no sign of the white car anywhere on the street.
A red car pulls up along the curb, and the door opens.
I tense, finger wrapping around the trigger of my gun as I take aim.
Noah steps out of the car, a wide smirk on his face as he waves, the car blocking a good shot. “It’s a shame about what happened to your sister.”
Even from several yards away, I can hear the sarcasm dripping from his tone and all I see is red.
My finger squeezes, but the shot goes wide, pinging off the car.
Noah laughs, eyes narrowing. “If that’s the best you’ve got, I have a good feeling about the outcome of this war.”
I’m torn between running closer to him and turning back to Rebecca. “Hunt him down.”
The men beside me take off, running through the yard and firing shot after shot as Noah gets back in his car. From what I can tell, not a single shot makes contact.
Spinning, I turn back to Rebecca, pressing my hands hard over hers. “I’m going to get you help, okay? You just need to hold on.”
Rebecca’s breath comes in gasping waves. “It doesn’t feel like I’m going to be okay. I didn’t think getting shot would hurt this much.”
My chest tightens as I force out a laugh at her bad joke. “Normally it feels better.”
She rolls her eyes before she starts coughing, the horrible hacks turning into wheezing. “I think you should hurry and get that help, Sean.”
Tears blur the edges of my vision as I push down harder on the wound. My hand shakes as I reach for my phone, calling the one person I know who is going to be able to help.
“Hey.” Ellie’s voice is warm and friendly, but there’s a tension there too. “What’s happening? Dominic said you were going to meet with your dad.”
“Rebecca is dying. I need you to get here now.”
Something crashes in the background, sounding like glass shattering. “I’m on my way. Me and Dominic are leaving right now, and I’ll be there soon.”
“Hurry.”
I end the call and toss the phone to the side, focus returning to Rebecca. “If you die on me, I’m going to be so pissed off. I’m never going to forgive you for this.”
She laughs before wincing. “You’ll be just fine without me.”
“Hold on, Rebecca.” I press harder, reaching up with one hand to tap her cheek as her eyelids start to close. “Stay awake, okay? Ellie is on her way and she’s going to make everything better.”
I hope.