Page 109 of Renascence

I walk away laughing, eager to be with Emily. Before I can even get to the corridor, Tek fills the entryway, eyes focused on me.

He found something.

Approaching Gage, he whispers something to him that makes him shout, “Chapel!” over the noise in the room.

We quickly make our way there, taking our seats.

“What did you find?” Prez asks the moment his ass hits the chair.

“The link between us and Vitalli.”

“Well?” I ask in irritation.

Tek turns his computer around so the monitor faces me. The image on the screen solidifies my decision about Emily. It’s at this moment that I know I have to let her go. What happened to her is one hundred percent my fault.

“Who’s that?” Razor asks.

“The judge in Vitalli’s case. I think I should let Venom explain.”

The man on the screen has aged since the last time I saw him, but there’s no doubt as to his identity.

“Venom?” Prez turns to me. All my brothers’ eyes are on me. “Who is he?”

“My father.”

CHAPTER 18

***Emily***

Liam’s been gone a long time. I’ve moved past the anticipation stage and am now just plain restless. I paced, played on my phone, then took a long shower.Where the hell is he?I turn the TV on, flipping through the channels, but nothing is appealing to me. My mind is set on one thing, and that man of mine seems to be getting off on making me wait.

Man of mine.

It has a nice ring to it, but is it true? Is he mine? Let’s examine the facts: I’ve been sleeping in his bed since the beginning. He told me he didn’t do sleepovers, yet night one, there I was. Next fact: he’s been taking care of me, and not just in the bedroom. I’ve barely spent a dime of my own money since we started seeing each other, no matter how much I protest. Third fact: all the emotional support he gives me. He doesn’t play on my insecurities to get what he wants. The very things I hate about myself are the ones he seems to love. He even encourages my baking, eating everything I put before him and telling me I could be a professional. Surely a man wouldn’t do that if he wasn’t interested in more than sex? Fact number four: he brought me here, introduced me to all his brothers, integrating me into his club, his family. Fact number five: he’s willing to do illegal, immoral things for me. I don’t even want to think about those things. Fact six, and most important: he said I belong to him, that I’m his and he takes care of what’s his. That’s not blurring lines, it’s erasing them. I thought it was weird how the women wore cuts proclaiming they were some man’s property, but I get it now. It’s not about beingapossession but being possessed. Owned. It’s about handing over your trust, your heart, your body, your life, to a man who will protect them. I’ve never had that before, and I finally think I can.

With Liam.

A niggling voice in my head keeps chanting “he’s a murderer,” but there’s something comforting and a bit empowering about knowing someone cares so much for you that they’re willing to protect you at the highest level. The heart wants what the heart wants, and mine wants him. Every beat in my chest gets louder, drowning out my thoughts.

Fuck it.

I love him.

I’m in love with Liam “Venom” Hughes.

For years I was buried under the rubble of what was left of my life. Liam saw the potential beneath the broken doors and shattered windows, rebuilding me into what I am today—something better… stronger. He’s the reason my heart beats.

As if he can hear it pounding for him, the door opens and he steps inside, box in hand.

“You’re back!” I leap off the bed, but before I can go to him, his expression stops me. “What’s wrong?”

“Sit, Emily,” he says as he sets the box by the foot of the bed.

I watch him cautiously, not liking the tone of his voice. Whatever’s coming, I know I won’t like it. “You’re scaring me, Liam.”

“Don’t be scared. I just want to explain what’s going on.”

My heart drops to the bottom of my stomach. “You found him.”