Page 11 of Ours (The Possession Duology #2)

Wanting to push the girl further, Bloodbayne took a half a step closer into her personal space and continued with his story.

“You see, Kade’s extracurricular activities never bothered me because they never interfered with his work.

That is, until you came into the picture.

Somehow, you were able to bewitch him to the point where he wanted to keep you.

He begged me to bring you into the fold.

He promised me that you had a certain set of skills that could be useful.

I was skeptical but willing to give you a try.

... but then, well...we know what happened.

Don’t we? Blunt force head trauma from a kettle of all things, massive internal and external injuries from being run over by an SUV a couple of times. You really did a number on my boy.”

Noticing the remorse falling over her somewhat attractive face, he chuckled darkly. Pausing for a moment, he gave her time to relive whatever painful memory was playing out in her mind. He wanted her to suffer just as he had.

“You see, Lexi, in my business we believe in the adage of ‘an eye for an eye.’ You destroyed everything I had built so I was going to destroy you,” he purred, glancing over his shoulder to the statuesque woman guarding the office door.

“I sent Valentina to do the deed. She’s very efficient, only second to Kade, so I knew she would get the job done…

and she almost did...but then she overheard the conversation you were having with your husband about the child you were carrying.

At first, she thought it was his and was going to complete her mission but then she overheard you talking to yourself after you hung up the phone.

Didn’t you, Valentina? Do you recall what Lexi said? ”

Clearing her throat, Valentina gave a curt nod. Of course she remembered, it was the only time in her life where she had followed her gut and disobeyed her orders.

“I do, she said, ‘You’re a lying bitch. You know this baby is Kade’s, how dare you let Leo think it’s his. You know that you’re going to hell for this.’ ”

Soaking in her words, Lexi swallowed hard in recognition.

She knew the exact day Valentina was referring to and remembered the moment vividly.

Leo had called her to tell her he had hired a designer to set up the nursery.

He was so excited to become a father and did everything in his power to make her feel better about the unintended pregnancy.

Little did he know the true reason for her melancholy.

Leo was the most wonderful man she had ever met.

He didn’t deserve what happened to him. She would still be going to hell for everything she had put him through.

“Oh, Leo,” she whispered.

Thoroughly pleased with her apparent anguish, Bloodbayne took a breath and carried on with his story.

“And in that moment, there was a chance that my family’s empire would survive whether or not Kade did,” he stated with an evil glint in his blue eyes.

“God blessed me with a gift to right all of your wrongdoings.”

Hugging her stomach tighter, Lexi took the tiniest bit of comfort when she felt her son roll under her touch. She didn’t quite understand what the mobster was getting at. Her thoughts were too cloudy and jumbled, caught between her memories and reality.

“What gift? My child ?!” she asked incredulously.

“Well, only if it was a boy,” Bloodbayne answered.

“Why would it matter?” she spat back.

Leaning in uncomfortably close, he relished the way she recoiled in response.

It seemed as if the little bitch needed a history lesson.

“The Bloodbayne Organization goes back hundreds of years. My forefathers helped build this Country. Everything you see...everything you’ve ever known is because of us .

We shaped America into the great Nation she is today,” he said proudly.

“Oh?” she hissed without thinking, “I hadn’t realized that political corruption, drug smuggling, and human trafficking were the proud cornerstones of our soc—"

Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, Bloodbayne raised his hand and viciously backhanded her face. An audible snap could be heard just as his ruby ring caught on her mouth and tore her bottom lip.

“You would do well to keep your mouth shut!” he growled.

Whimpering from the sting, she lifted her hand to cover her bleeding mouth. Behind her, she felt Kade’s heavy hands move to her hips to steady her wobbly body. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to comfort her or hold her in place for another hit.

Keeping his beady eyes on her, Bloodbayne smoothed his hands down the lapel of his charcoal tailored suit jacket. He wanted to do more to her than a simple, little slap. She deserved all the pain he could inflict.

“The Bloodbayne Organization has been passed down from generation to generation through first born sons. This might shock you but yes, Kade is my biological son. His mother was going to abort him. Can you believe that? But luckily, I stopped the bitch before she could. And he’s everything I could’ve ever hoped for.

Raw. Vicious. Loyal to me. The perfect son. ”

Clenching his jaw, Kade honed his eyes on his father’s snarling face as he rambled on and on about his importance within the Organization.

Anger rose with every word, causing adrenaline to spike in his blood.

If Valentina wasn’t in the room, it would be so easy to dispatch the aging warlord and take control.

But even with the bond he shared with the woman, he knew she would gun both he and Lexi down if he ever broke his loyalty.

It was wise of his father to keep her around.

“So,” Bloodbayne continued. “You see, with Kade in his coma, I needed another heir. There was a chance that you were carrying one, so I let you live. Wasn’t that nice of me?”

Narrowing her eyes, Lexi bit into the flesh of her cheek to keep herself from saying something snide. Like she would ever consider that an act of kindness.

“Speaking of the child, do we know what it is?” Bloodbayne asked curiously.

“A boy,” Kade answered immediately, his voice deep and menacing.

Clapping his hands together, Bloodbayne twisted his burned mouth into a grotesque smile, “Wonderful! A grandson! Well, this calls for a celebration!”

“Wait,” Lexi interrupted. “What would have happened had this baby been a girl?”

“I would have killed you,” he answered without hesitation. “Lucky for you, you’re carrying precious cargo. Now, I can let you and the boy live...that is, if you swear your allegiance to me and agree to work for me as soon as you bring him into this world.”

Gripping his fingers into Lexi’s hips, Kade leaned forward and boldly placed a kiss upon the crown of her head.

He knew she would make the right decision and wanted her to know that it was ok for her to agree.

She would be working beside him; he would never let anything happen to her.

With her allegiance, they would be together as a family. This was their destiny.

Closing her eyes, Lexi took a staggering breath. If it was just her, she would choose death in a heartbeat. But she had another life to consider. It was her fundamental responsibility as her son’s mother to protect him. No matter the cost.

“Yes,” she said reluctantly, her voice breaking at the seams. “I’ll do it.”

Chuckling low, Bloodbayne raised his hand to cradle her cheek. Lowering his arthritic thumb, he smeared the blood dripping from her injured lip down her chin. He could tell that this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. All she needed to do was complete one small task.

“Smart girl. Perhaps my son is right about you,” he said, his blue eyes raking over her face. “Let’s find out, shall we? It’s time to prove your loyalty to me .”

Scrunching her face in confusion, she watched as Bloodbayne motioned to Valentina with his free hand.

Taking her cue, the commanding woman walked towards a large, rusty door behind the desk.

What the fuck was going on, she wondered.

She already agreed to working for him, what more could he possibly want from her?

Panic gripped her stomach, causing bile to rise in her throat as the hunk of steel slid open.

Ignoring the evil glee wafting from the mobster, she instead focused on the horrific image being revealed inch by painful inch.

Blinking at the grotesque scene before her, it took a handful of seconds for her brain to fully recognize the mangled shell of a man shackled to a folding chair.

Gasping audibly, she shook her head in disbelief.

This was a sick nightmare; it had to be.

She didn’t want to believe that what she was seeing was real.

“Leo,” she whimpered.