I nodded as I slid my gun back into its holster—an action he noted as his muscles relaxed just as I’d expected. “You’re right,” I said. His eyes widened in surprise. “I haven’t earned your loyalty, except I don’t have to. You belong to the Price Empire and soon, I will own that Empire. Evangeline Price will be mine.”
Without giving him a moment’s warning, I shifted—moving quickly before he could react. Out of instinct, he reached for his weapon, but it was too late. I had already withdrawn a blade I always kept hidden at my side. A bullet wouldn’t earn their respect, but proof that I had more than ability … that would do something. If a Master couldn’t contain his subjects, then he was worthless.
Gripping the man about the waist, I turned and slammed him down against the surface of Raff’s desk. He cursed andthrew his first punch, I dodged it—letting it fly over my shoulder as he struggled against my hold. A moment later, he froze as I dug the tip of my knife into the fleshy side of his abdomen.
“Careful,” I said slyly. “One wrong move, friend, and I might just disembowel you.”
He cursed again and bucked against me. “Fine,” I replied. “Have it your way.” I shoved the blade home but didn’t twist or slice through his stomach.
A pained grunt filled the room as I pulled the blade back and let the man slump forward, going to his knees between my legs and the desk. Blood seeped over his fingers as he pressed against the wound. The room was frozen.
“Let this be a lesson,” I stated, holding up the blood-soaked blade in my hand. More blood dripped over my fingers as it slid down the metal and handle of the knife. “Fail at your duties again, especially when it comes to Evangeline Price, and you will pay dearly.”
One of the guards reached for his gun with shaking hands. “You can’t just—” he started, only to freeze as Raffaello held up a hand.
“Enough,” Raff barked, his eyes shutting for a brief moment. When they reopened, they were blazing with fiery anger. “Gaven’s right. My daughter,the Price Heir, was almost murdered today. You don’t have to agree with his methods, although you do need to accept the consequences of what happened and the lack of respect the rest of you have shown him. It won’t happen again, am I clear? Because if it does, then Gaven will handle the punishments.”
Silence echoed back from the guards at Raff’s statement.
I slid the knife back into the sheath without caring to wipe the blood from the blade. The guard’s quiet groans of pain filled the room as I twisted my shirtsleeves around my forearms. “I’m going to check on Angel,” I informed Raff as I headed for thedoor, “and then I’ll be making the arrangements to have the ceremony moved up.”
My sentence ended as I turned the handle to the door and pulled it open, storming from the room without glancing back. Anyone I passed within the halls stiffened and shifted out of the way, even if they were a distance from me. They sensed the dangerous predator in their midst and were quick to keep their heads down and stay out of my way.
After finding one of the maids to direct me, it didn’t take long for me to arrive at the wooden door to Angel’s room. Crushing the urge to storm in and ensure she was alright, to inspect each and every part of her despite having her looked over by the physician, I didn’t. The few raps of my knuckles on the door were sharp and loud within the quiet hall, but the silence that followed seemed to be even louder. My eyes narrowed. I knew she hadn’t been okay after what happened, and I wondered if she had tried to sleep off the shock and adrenaline of the day.
Not waiting any longer, I shoved the door open. It only took a moment for my gaze to sweep over the large bedroom and the scathing anger of the day pulsed deep within my chest when I found it empty. It wasn’t that she wasn’t in the room that fueled my rage, it was what caught my attention in the simply decorated space. The closet door hung ajar and hangers, clothes, and dresser drawers littered the area.
I closed my eyes and inhaled sharply. That darkness I was so accustomed to swarmed my blood; it lit me up from the inside out. She was gone. The evidence was clear. I’d seen this plenty of times before when tracking down my targets. She thought she could escape me.
Angel hadrun. From me. From our engagement.Our future. She had run from the one person she should have trusted to protect her. The key to everything I wanted had taken flight, and my path to power was quickly dissolving. The anger I’d heldtoward the guards and the asshole who thought they could touch what wasmineshifted.
Angel would be found, and she’d be punished for thinking she could escape this—for thinking she could escapeme.
She belonged tome, wedding or not, and once I found her, I’d be sure she never forgot that. If I had to clip her beautiful wings to make her realize there was no way she could crawl out of the hell she now found herself in, well, so be it. She was the angel to my devil, and now it was time to corrupt her. To damage and stain those pretty white wings until she couldn’t fly away from me ever again.
I swept from the room and withdrew my phone from my pocket. There were only so many places she could go. Only so many ways to travel. Where would she have hidden? How long had she been gone? I couldn’t have been far behind. Did she have connections? Someone to help her escape? If so, I’d kill them. I was already prepared for as much.
A sickly sweet voice pulled me out of my tunneling focus. “Oh, Gaven, I heard what happened—” Jackie’s words abruptly cut off when I whipped around and my glare landed on her. She stared back at me, stopping in the middle of the corridor with her eyes widening.Would Angel have gone to her sister for help?I twisted fully as the thought occurred to me.
My arm lowered back to my side as I advanced on her. “Where is she?” I growled. Jackie’s brows drew down as confusion covered her face. A trick? Potentially. There was something beyond the confusion—pleasure. Try as she might, she couldn’t hide it. She was more transparent than she realized. I stalked forward until there was only a breath of space between us. “I won’t repeat myself again. Where. Is. My. Wife?”
Jackie tipped her head back and, unlike most, met my gaze head-on. There was no fear in her eyes, just excitement—like a bloodhound scenting prey. She paused for a moment before asmall, impish smile appeared. “She’s not your wife yet, now, is she? As for where she is, I don’t know.”
My fingers curled around my cell. The sound of cracking reached my ears. The urge to grab her by the throat and strangle her surfaced, a familiar feeling, but I tampered it down.
“Whatdoyou know?” I demanded.
“That she’s a little dove who finally wanted to spread her wings, lest you clip them. Or lock her in a gilded cage,” Jackie answered. “Outside of that, I know nothing. As I’m sure you’re aware,Angeland I have never truly seen eye-to-eye.” The bitter vindictiveness in her murmured words was cutting, but I didn’t press her further.
I sensed that Jackie was smart enough to be telling the truth now. Either it was by design or something else, but she likely didn’t care to know where her sister had gone, and I was wasting precious time. I had to wonder if her mocking taunts were meant to be a distraction. The idea that Jackie wanted Evangeline gone couldn’t be ruled out.
I turned away from her and kept moving. The phone’s screen had a singular line through it, but thankfully it still worked, and I used it to call in every fucking favor I had. It didn’t matter where Angel had gone—soon she would be back in my grasp and I would ensure that she would be too wary to try and leave again.
Within hours, Raff had been informed and the entire estate was turned on its side. Guards combed the grounds, but I knew the truth. Angel was too smart. She wouldn’t hide in the manor. No. She’d left completely and likely thought she’d never see me again.
Raff barked orders at his men as I stood by a set of computers that had been set up. I watched the last bit of the security feed containing Evangeline Price as she walked down the path with a suitcase in hand, looking back every so often. Her brows were pinched and her lips were chewed to hell. She had to haveknown I would catch her. She wasn’t a dumb woman. So, why now? Because of the attack? It was a scare tactic. No doubt the family who had ordered the assault had never really intended to harm her—they were just expressing how angry they were at our upcoming union. That was all.
My phone rang and I answered it before the second shrill sound could reach my ears. “Speak,” I snapped.
