“I will never letanythinghappen to anyone important to me,” I growl quietly. “That includes my brotherandyours.”
I slip the gun into my belt, then wrap my arms around her.
“And thatvery muchincludes the woman I love.”
She shatters, her fists clinging to my shirt as she sobs into my chest.
“He showed me a video?—”
“Whatever he showed you was fake, princess. You know what AI can do now. And you just heard Thomas. Our brothers are currently sharing creme fucking brûlée.”
She shudders, gasping for air.“He—he?—”
“What he did,” I rumble, “was take agiantfucking step too far.”
Getting into bed with a snake like Andrés was a lapse in judgement for me.
But threatening what’smine?
That’s a fatal fucking error for him.
I grab Evelina's hand and storm out of the office, pulling her after me.
“Come on.”
“Where are we going?” she asks, her hand tight in mine.
“To give Andrés his gun back,” I growl. “At least, the bullets inside of it.”
46
EVELINA
Andrés looks alarminglyrelaxed when Vaughn kicks in the door of his luxury hotel suite where he’s been staying under a fake name.
“Ah-ah-ah,” he says with a toothy, predatory smile, standing from the couch as Vaughn storms across the room, pointing his gun at Andrés chest. “You might want to dial back the hostilities.”
“Oh?” Vaughn hisses. “What makes you so delusional to think there wouldn’t be consequences for threateningher,” he rasps, shoving the gun in Andrés face. “Or for sending her after me with a loaded fuckinggun?” His jaw tenses. “Did you really think she’d?—”
“Blanks, Vaughn,” Andrés sighs. “They’re just blanks. Though if we’re being honest, Iwasrather hoping she’d pull that trigger anyway.” He grins maliciously. “I can’t imagine any couple survives one of them trying toshootthe other one.”
Vaughn’s jaw ticks as he looks at the gun. He flicks the safety on it and then slides out the clip.
His lips curl into a snarl as he slams it back in and then throws it on the coffee table in front of Andrés.
“You sick bastard,” I hiss as Andrés chuckles.
“Oh, it was all in fun, Evelina,” he smiles darkly. “And they’re just blanks?—”
“Well, these ones aren’t.”
The smile drops from Andrés’ face when Vaughn pull hisowngun out of his jacket and levels it at the Spaniard’s chest.
“Before you do something reckless and stupid, Mr. Bancroft,” Andrés spits, his eyes narrowing. “I would suggest you let me speak.”
Vaughn smiles darkly. “What makes you think I'm interested inanythingthat comes from your fucking mouth.”
Andrés cocks a brow. “Blow my head off, and you’ll never know.”
