Page 61 of Thirst Trap

as hell. She was the face. Ruthless. Polished. Cold when she had to be.” I pause.

“She hated it.”

Maddison’s brows knit slightly.

“They had a kid, Jagger. Red curls, firecracker attitude, born right in the middle of it all. Grew up crawling through Creams Tower like it was a jungle gym.”

I swallow.

Then say it.

“One day, James snapped. Paranoia about betrayal, territory,who the fuck knows. He nearly killed her. Jagger. A six-year-old. Just because she was there.”

Maddison gasps, her hand tightening around mine.

“Darla walked out that night,” I continued. “Took Tristan. Took Jagger. Left the whole fucking empire behind. Never look back.”

I stare at the gun on the floor like it might start whispering again.

“She warned us. Said the Tower eats everything eventually. Love. Logic. Family. It takes.”

Silence stretches.

“After Darla, it was Callum,” I say finally. “Then James killed Callum. So Bonnie took it. And when it was my turn” I nod at the gun.

“I used the same one. Same room. Same blood-soaked chair.”

The weight of it hangs between us and Maddison shifts closer. Her voice is soft, but steady. “Why didn’t you walk away?”

I look at her. Dead in the eyes.

“Because someone had to stay.”

Her breath catches.

“I didn’t want Logan to take it,” I say. “He’s good with chaos, not control. And the others? Scattered. Selfish. I was the last option.”

Her palm presses to my cheek. Warm. Real.

“And now?” she whispers.

I hesitate. Then:

“Now I sit in villas at four a.m. wondering how long I have before something goes wrong again. Wondering how long until I lose the only person who doesn’t look at me like a monster.”

Her thumb brushes my jaw.

“You’re not a monster.”

I huff a bitter laugh. “I killed a man with the same gun that nearly murdered my niece.”

Her voice sharpens. Fierce. “You stayed. You contained the chaos. That doesn’t make you a monster, Lucas. That makes you the one bleeding quietly while everyone else pretends they’re clean.”

Fuck. That hits something in me I didn’t know was still raw.

And then she says it.

“I’m not going anywhere.”