Kai peered past me, his jaw set tight.
“I’m taking her to get this taken care of.” Silas was carrying Leni. His eyes were red-rimmed, worry creasing into his brow. He jerked a nod in my direction and mouthed his thanks before making his way out of the tent.
Leni peered from around him. “Amalia, give them hell.”
There was something uniquely thrilling about hearing the cries of a piece-of-shit man when faced with his mortality and all the creative ways one could find to test the threshold of just how far the human body can be pushed. Ten bloody nails and four teeth lay on the wooden table of a special cellar beneath the stables of my home. The bearded man’s head bobbled back and forth, bloody drool staining his chin and the facial hair that had once been a salt and pepper color. He peered at me through swollen eyelids and mouthed another “fuck you.”
“Kai.” With a tilt of my chin, I gave him the go ahead. Clearly, this asshole needed more persuasion.
My husband fisted the top of the man’s hair, yanking his head back and forcefully prying his mouth open. Muffled cries filled the dimly lit space as Kai removed another tooth.
“Please….” he begged, spittle spraying into the air as he wailed.
“Answer my questions, and I promise I’ll make it quick.” My patience was running thin.
“I don’t,” Derek growled from behind me as he paced idly in the background, practically foaming at the mouth for a turn.
I had no plans to take it easy on a man who’d set out to kill me and crashed my fucking wedding, threatening my family and guests. But if I only offered him a tortured death, then what incentive would he have to speak? I needed to know who wasbehind this and the attack at the compound, because there was no doubt in my mind they were related.
“I can’t help you… Please, let me go. I have a family.”
“I have a family,” Kai taunted, his fingers still wound tightly in the man’s hair. “Somehow, you think that will garner sympathy.” I’d never seen this side of Kai. I knew he was in there. He was a Cain, after all. But fuck me if I wasn’t already dripping wet. “You ruined her dress, and I liked that fucking dress.” The sharp blade of a knife pierced the top of his hand, impaling it to the table. “You tried to kill my wife. I’m going to rip off your head.”
Hell, Kai. I hadn’t realized I was staring and biting my lip. It was wildly inappropriate, considering the circumstances. But as I’d always said, there was nothing sexier than a man defending his woman’s honor in blood.
Feelings of jealousy toward Helena seemed so damn trivial now because Kai had never looked at Leni like he had me. And I would own that. He was mine. Temporary or not.
Hewas mine.
The man’s mouth gaped open, and hoarse grunts replaced the shrieks from just moments ago when another knife effectively nailed both his hands to the table.
“Shit, shit…please stop.”
“You know what you need to do. Now, give me names. Who gave the order?” I demanded through gritted teeth, leaning on the table’s edge.
“I don’t know. You know better than anyone how this works.”
I pounded the table—just an insignificant lackey. Those men at the bottom who are anonymously given orders in return for a payday. It was insurance for scenarios like these because, no matter what, spineless men ultimately broke—every single time.
Twisting around to a stone-faced Derek, I nodded, giving him the green light. A devious grin crawled across his lips as he unfolded his arms and reached for his blade.
25
Merehours felt more like days. Between combing the property, interviewing the staff, and quieting the witnesses not privy to our world, I had drained every ounce of strength left in my body. I was still in my bloody, raggedy wedding dress, dried blood still clinging to my skin. The sun would be rising shortly, but neither of us had the luxury of sleeping in, much less making a 6 a.m. flight for what would have been a honeymoon.
I leaned against a wall on the first floor, just outside Derek and Eva’s room. He’d booked a private plane for his family, and I didn’t blame him. He had a little girl to protect. Things here had gotten out of hand. Decades had passed since an enemy breached our walls, and I was determined to find who had betrayed my family.
“Amalia.” Holly’s soft voice and a hand on my shoulder pulled me away from Kai and Derek’s goodbyes. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. It was better than lying out loud. “Are you?”
She forced a smile and pulled me in for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay. What were you doing by yourself on your wedding day anyway?”
Looking back at Kai, I shrugged my shoulders. “Being foolish.”
“Were you able to extract any information?”
“I don’t think he had any to give. Either way, he’s not a problem anymore.”
