“I bet the fuck you were.” My knuckles tore the skin above his right brow. “Now, you’re the loving Uncle James, aren’t you? The successful doctor.” Another right hook whipped his head back against the couch.
“Derek, please. If I could go back, I—”
“You’d dowhat?” I shoved the suppressor into his mouth. “Not leave your bastard son to rot in the system?”
He was breathing hard through flared nostrils, tears running down his cheeks. I leaned close to his bloodied face, a sadistic grin on my lips.
“Tell me, James, who is Evangelina? And what is a pretty little thing like her doing with a piece of shit like you?” He thrashed beneath me, his cries muffled by the hot titanium searing his tongue. “I know she’s not your niece.”
Saliva sputtered out of the corners of his mouth as he shook his head in defiance. “I’m losing my patience, James.”
Several teeth fell into his lap when I tore the gun from inside his mouth and pressed it to his temple. Blood ran down his chin, staining the front of his shirt.
The man was a sorry fucking sight.
“Don’t you touch her. She has nothing to do with any of this. Kill me. Just me.”
“Oh, that’s still the plan. But death is much too easy for what I endured because of you. No, you don’t just get to close your eyes and die in peace.”
“God, Derek… I’m so sorry. I really am!”
I fisted the collar of his shirt. “I’ve been a man for a very long time. Never once heard shit from you. So, goddamn you and your apologies.” Pushing his head against the hardwood, I growled through clenched teeth, “Who is she, or so help me—”
“My goddaughter! She’s the daughter of a colleague and close friend.” His tormented eyes met my feral ones. “Please, Derek, I’m begging you; leave Eva alone.”
I pitched my face close to his ear and whispered, “No.”
James seethed in protest. “You son of a bitch! Goddamn you to hell. I should have killed you and that whore when I had the chance.”
A low, cynical chuckle rumbled in my chest. “Ah, there you are. I knew you were in there. You might put up a front for everyone else and your Evangelina, but I know the type of man you are.”
He scoffed with a groan. “What, a ruthless monster… just like you?”
I gritted my teeth, revolted at the thought that I was anything like this spineless fuck.
“Shut up.” I pointed the barrel between his eyes. “I’ll see you in hell–Dad. But before you go, know this: Evangelina ismine. Please take your last breath, knowing I won’t stop until she’s writhing in my arms and screaming my name.” He shook his head as I laughed. “Yeah, I’m going to taint and destroy everything you’ve ever loved. Starting with that sweet piece of ass you care so much about. No other man will ever touch her. I promise you that.”
James gnashed his mangled teeth. “You mother—”
Two bullets split his skull, leaving a trail of bone and brain matter splattered against the floor.
I wiped the hot barrel on a cushion and holstered it as I got to my feet. Blowing out a sated breath, I walked to the mantle and snatched Eva’s picture.
She would hate me with every fiber of her being. But by then, it would be too late. She’d be too far gone, and I would own her. Entirely and utterly ruin her.
The glass shattered as I smashed the frame against the hard brick, wrenched the photo and tore it in two. James Ford’s face fell into the ash as I shoved Eva’s half into my front pocket.
With one last sharp glance at the corpse of my sperm donor, I stepped out into the cool night. A starless black sky hung over my head, mirroring the state of my tortured soul. For seventeen years, I had done nothing but fantasize about that moment of retribution, yet his death failed to quell the demons or fill the void in my hollow chest.
Leaning against the rough bark of a tree, I lit a Fuente as a loud explosion rocked the surrounding forest. Wildlife scurried, coming alive as the flames at my back set the world ablaze.
CHAPTERTWO
EVANGELINA
The needle pierced into my skin. My gaze focused beyond the blood, numb to the pinprick of pain I’d been forced to inflict on myself for the last eighteen years. As if on autopilot, the bloodied strip was already in the meter before I was conscious of my actions. Staring impatiently at the screen, I waited while the timer idled for what seemed to be an eternity.
My Dexcom’s reading was within normal range, but I’d woken up in a cold sweat and my heart thundering in my chest. Two hours later, and I still couldn’t shake it. This cloying weight of anxiety and the irrational feeling of some impending threat were hanging over my head. Either my meter needed to be calibrated again, or I desperately needed to just chill the fuck out.
