My father’s thick hand grasps my shoulder, and he releases a loud, heavy chuckle. “The devil has risen!” he declares. “Let us celebrate!” He throws his hands toward his men, releasing me. Loud cheers congratulate him, and his maniacal grin widens, and slowly, their excited voices drift into his office.
I remain staring at the one woman who always showed me compassion. The one woman who showed me love, and I destroyed it.
Coldness sweeps over me as the room fills with emptiness.
She’s gone.
Blood pools around her limp body, but it’s the brain matter that twists my stomach, and I hate myself for the mess I caused to her delicate body.
Maybe I can fix her.
“Nonna?” I whisper. Wetness gathers in my eyes, and my feet move before I can stop them. “Nonna? Are you there?” I touch her arm, and she’s surprisingly warm. “I won’t let you down, Nonna. I promise.” Snot drips from my nose as I give her a gentle shake. “I’ll be the man you want me to be. I promise.”
“She’s dead,” Czar says from behind me.
“I know that!” I snap back, glaring over my shoulder at him. His face is pale, his teeth chatter, and he looks more broken than ever before.
Tonight will be a memory we will both be haunted by.Where evil knew no bounds and two boys became the brutal monsters they were created as.
A choked sound catches in my throat. “I killed her.” Pure self-loathing rises inside me, and I take note of her empty eyes—the spark in them gone forever.
The room closes in around me, and I hold my throat; it’s like a rope is tightening around my neck. I have an overwhelming urge to run, but knowing I can’t, I stumble outside into the garden, desperate for air. Desperate to breathe and expel my sins once and for all.
I can already smell the scent of their cigars and brandy as I open the patio door, and that only adds to my growing unraveling.
The cool air hits me, and like a magnet, I search the sky, finding the brightest light in the darkest of nights, and a lone tear slips down my face.
My chest heaves as I let out the sob I’ve been fighting to keep restrained, but I allow myself this moment because one thing is for sure, I won’t be allowed it again. From this day forward, I will be what is expected of me. I have to, otherwise my sins will be for nothing. Her death will be for nothing, and I refuse to allow that.
My mother’s fate has come to fruition, her tumultuous life finally liberated from our living hell, and my nonna is gone by my own bloody hands. I’ve taken the first step into the life of a man I never wanted to be.
My hand trembles as I take the ring from my pocket, and with a promise I’m unsure I can keep, I slip it on my finger.
Then I stare at the light head-on. “I’m Azrael Carrera, the devil in the dark. This is my destiny.”
Chapter One
Azrael
Present day
The excitement in the car causes irritation to infect my veins like poison, and I turn to face the window in the hope of blocking it out. My father is his usual overzealous self, full of excitement and anticipation. His behavior mirrors that of an infant, and I don’t have the patience to deal with him. Least of all, the bastard sitting beside him, Vector, my father’s right-hand man and confidant. The man is beyond deranged on every level. A sick savage who has very little control, and I’d pity whoever ends up in his hands if I had feelings, which I don’t. I decided a long time ago that I was totally incapable of such things. Perhaps the issue lies with sharing genetics with my father. Somehow, our younger sister, Sienna, is more than capable of experiencing emotions; the girl wears her heart on her sleeve despite my urging her not to.
But the men in our world are created differently, crafted from a young age to be… unfeeling, if you will. They then utilize the ability in order to protect themselves and their family.
Our father always taught us that having feelings for women is a weakness, and the potential of an enemy discovering a weakness is not one we can afford, so we simply don’t.
Women are to be used for what they are created for, to take our pleasure from, and should we choose to grant them theirs, we provide it. Women are here to procreate our heirs, to birth them safely, and be discarded appropriately before any feelings can be reciprocated.
I’ve had the same speech drilled into me time and time again for as long as I can remember. Women are to be used and disposed of as we see fit. If they’re not a financial asset, they’re a hindrance.
“I’ve heard there’s a new shipment arriving from Florida. The whores there are of good quality,” my father says with glee. “They’ve already had all the enhancements.” I watch his reflection in the glass as he waves his hand over his chest and face.
My appetite for sex sours in an instant, and I’m pissed I’ve come along for the auction if all I’m going to see is the type of women my father likes to fuck. Is that why my sexual preferences are so unlike his? I’d rather be anyone but him, and as much as I’d like to be the complete opposite of him, even I can’t deny the similarities in our appearance. The jet-black hair, coal-colored eyes, and sharp features; the only thing missing from him is the scar he delivered so savagely to my face as a teenager.
Unfortunately, I’m a younger version of the devil himself, and worse, he likes to remind me of it.
“What are you looking for tonight, Azrael?” Vector prods, and I slice my gaze toward his. The man would love my position in the Carrera dynasty, and if he could change my father’s mindset and lead him to believe I’m incapable, he would. He’s not to be trusted, not in the slightest, yet my father allows him to remain by his side, adamant that he is loyal to La Familia.
