I didn’t know—or care—what it was, as long as we got Athena out of here now.
Music thumped through the house, and when I entered, everything was so dark. The overwhelming scent of perfume, cologne, and alcohol drifted through my nose. People were kissing and getting off on each other.
If I had known this was a sex party, I would’ve never come.
If I had known my parents were into this, I would’ve cut contact years ago.
If I had thought Athie would be in this much danger, I would’ve never left her side.
But I knew better now. I fucking knew better.
Scanning the crowd, I spotted the one area in the center that was brightly lit so the entire room could see. A metal cage big enough to fit multiple people inside. A metal cage that housed Athena and Derek.
Athena sat on her hands and knees in the cage, completely naked. Her gaze was cast on the ground, her face scrunched up, and her smaller hands were balled into fists. Derek knelt behind her, with his shit-eating grin.
As if she knew exactly where I was, she snapped her gaze up and locked on to mine.
Rage took over my entire body. I shoved my relatives out of the way, pushed billionaires that my father worked with to the ground, elbowed their wives so they’d move because I needed to save her.
Derek hadn’t shoved himself into her yet, though he might have already scarred her.
My legs moved faster than I’d thought possible. Just as Derek slid into Athena and she let out a piercing cry that would haunt me for the rest of eternity, I snapped open the cage door, grabbed him by the neck, and yanked him out.
I slammed him down onto the ground and hurled fists into his face, my entire body trembling with rage and adrenaline. Fist after fist after fist. My vision and memories blacked out. But I kept raining fists, colliding with his face every time.
Before I could land another punch, someone swung a large and thick wooden beam.
“Go get your girl,” Heather said to me, slamming the wood into Derek’s face again and breaking his nose. “Nobody touches Athena!”
My hands were covered in blood, and I stood up and shuffled back to make sure that Derek wasn’t getting back up. When he flinched on the ground, I raced back to Athie, who was curled up in the corner of the cage, weeping silently.
How could I have let this happen? Why hadn’t I called her a few minutes earlier? I should’ve done something. Anything.
Pain squeezed at my chest. I scooped her up into my arms and pulled her to my chest.
For the rest of my life, I wouldn’t let myself live this down. My job as Athena’s husband was to protect her, and I couldn’t even do that. I should’ve put my foot down when my father asked me to come to the party. I should’ve killed Derek that night so many weeks ago.
This was my fault. All my fault.
But at least Athena was safe now.
CHAPTER
FORTY-SIX
ATHENA
Charlie held me tightly and pushed through the crowd that had just watched Derek touch me. A crowd that had done absolutely nothing to stop it. A crowd that had gotten off on my pain, on Derek’s superiority over me.
“I’m sorry,” Charlie whispered, holding me tightly. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
But I could barely hear him over Heather shouting like a maniac. She had a wooden beam in her grasp and repeatedly slammed it against Derek’s face, which had already been bashed in over and over again.
Hector was behind her, trying to grasp her arm, along with Steven. I spotted my other friends shouting at a couple other people at the party and even spotted a flash of a couple of police officers in the crowd, attempting to control everyone.
I squeezed my eyes closed and prayed to a god I didn’t believe in to disappear.
Everyone was staring at me. Everyone had seen what happened.
