I swallow hard, hating the way he’s become aware of a weakness. Even so, what choice do I have?
I need her safe.
The horrors she’s endured can never happen again, and while I might not know Owen personally, I trust Jensen’sword when he says his contacts vouch for him. Besides, what choice do we really have?
“I need you to keep her safe.” My eyes drill in to his. “I need you to use your contacts.”
I need him to provide her with everything I’m unable to.
A future.
“Okay.” He relents so quickly it seems too easy.
“Okay? Just like that?” I tilt my head.
A humorless laugh rumbles in his chest. “You hold my son’s life in your arms, Azrael, and my girl’s. I’d do anything for them. One day you might do the same.” If only he fucking knew, yet staring at him as he delivers his words, I have a feeling he does.
I’m aware of the lengths to which Owen has gone to get his girl. He literally stole her from a married man and planned his execution in order to secure her. “A deal with the devil for a chance of happiness,” he says.
“I just did.” My words are barely a whisper as I push back in my chair and stand. Then I hold his son out toward him, and he practically snatches him from my arms.
“You’re safe, buddy. Daddy’s here,” he coos, and heads out to his life with his small family, and a pang of pain punctures my heart.
The door closes behind him, and I sink into my chair.
I’m about to tear out our hearts, but one day, I hope I prove to her I was worth her holding it in the first place; maybe then we will both be free.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Azrael
I slip into her room again, the incessant craving to scratch the growing itch beneath my skin. She’s like my drug, and the next hit is basically to see her and bask in her presence, and knowing pretty soon my plan will slip into place makes it all the more critical.
All hell has broken loose lately, thanks to Stone, and the unraveling of his true identity and the fact Vector saw a bitter end to his sick life has given me further insight into our father’s lack of emotions. The man is a psychopath. There’s nothing more to it.
Vector may have been a bastard son, but he was a firm favorite. Sometimes, Czar and I wondered if our father actually preferred him and if he was going to screw his legitimate sons over in preference of Vector. When we broke the news of his demise, he called him a useless sack of shit and went about his day as if nothing had happened. He didn’t even shed a tear for the story we gave of how our sister was killed too. The man has lost three vital members of hisfamily, and he’s already planning another auction. It’s almost as if he’s celebrating their life while making others miserable in the process.
My mind wanders back a few days ago as we watched our sister and Stone from out of sight. They’re meeting his blood family for the first time, and the prospect of her having freedom became sobering…
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I stand on the top of the hill and watch my brother Stone welcome his blood family into his home. It’s a small coastal dwelling that doubles as a café for locals, and an unfamiliar warmth spreads through me as I imagine Sienna offering her recipes as meals to her customers.
She beams toward her husband, and a lump forms in my throat when I see the large bump that reveals her with child.
They’re safe. They’re together, and they’re building a life they previously only dreamed of. I’m proud of them. Both of them.
“You look like you’re going to smile,” Czar teases, and I throw him a glare, making him throw his head back on a dark chuckle that even I can admit sounds sadistic as fuck.
Sienna takes Stone by the hand and leads him inside, and the rest of his family follows suit.
“They look happy.” Czar motions toward them.
“They do,” I agree, but I can’t admit the way my heart hammers and jealousy floods my bloodstream and slithers through my darkened veins like a poison.
The thought of being free from the restraints of our father’s confines and La Familia has never looked so appealing, especially when I consider what I have waiting for me at home. What if I were free to do what I wanted too?
What if my slave were free?
Would she choose me?
