My vision blurs with tears, my entire body shaking as the full weight of what’s happening crashes down on me.
Then the silence shatters.
I try to get to him, to reach my brother, but the chains around my wrists jerk me back as the barrel of the gun digs into my skull. I’m powerless, helpless to do anything but watch, as the man who’s destroyed everything good in my life smiles down at my broken family.
To my left, Nyx erupts, his voice a feral roar that shakes the very walls of the prison. He’s on his feet in an instant, the chains around his wrists straining as he lunges forward. The guard holding him at gunpoint stumbles back, looking terrified. Good. He fucking should.
“You sick bastard!” he bellows, his voice raw with fury. “I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll tear you apart, you hear me? I’ll rip you to shreds for this!”
On my other side, Maddox is a mess of desperation. He’s on his hands and knees, crawling toward the cage, the sound of his palms and feet scraping across the gravel floor echoing in the now chaotic room. His cries for Stone are guttural, ripped from the depths of his soul as he inches closer, his hand outstretched as if he can reach our brother through sheer force of will.
“Stone!” Maddox cries, his voice cracking in a way I’ve never heard before. “Stone. Brother, please! Please, look at me!”
The sound of Maddox’s broken sobs, the sheer despair in his voice, is enough to shatter my heart into a million pieces. I want to move, to rush to Stone’s side, to do something—anything—to help my brothers.
But I can’t. I fucking can’t, and it’s maddening.
All I can do is watch. Watch as Stone remains motionless, curled into himself like a dying animal. Watch as the seconds tick by with agonizing slowness, each one a knife twisting in my chest. I stare at Stone’s prone figure, my eyes wide, unblinking, desperate for any sign of life. Any twitch, any movement, anything to show that my brother is still alive.
I wait. And wait. And wait.
It feels like an eternity passes before I finally see it—a small twitch, a slight shift in Stone’s fingers when Nyx turns his rage toward the man with the gun.
It’s barely anything, a movement so small it could be imagined, but it’s enough. Enough to send a wave of relief crashing over me, leaving me breathless and trembling.
Stone is alive. Barely, but he’s alive.
I tear my eyes away from him, my gaze snapping to Gus, who stands in the center of the room, watching the display with a sickening smile plastered across his face.
Around us, Gus’ men are cackling, their laughter a cruel, mocking sound that grates against my ears. They’re laughing at the sight of three broken men on their knees, crying for their fallen brother. They’re laughing at our pain, our fear, our helplessness.
But inside, I’m fuckingburning.
A rage so deep, so pure, ignites within me, spreading through my veins like wildfire. It’s a cold, calculated fury, one that sharpens my focus and hardens my resolve. I can feel it coiling in my chest, a force that drives out the fear and replaces it with something darker, more dangerous.
Gus’ smirk widens as he meets my gaze, clearly reveling in the chaos he’s created. The sight of it, the sheer arrogance on his face, only fuels the fire inside me, stoking it until it’s an inferno.
“You should have given her up, son,” he says coolly with a shrug. “All of this could have been avoided if you and your little bitch boys would have given up your whore. Simple as that. Her location for your lives.”
“I will kill you,” I vow, my voice so cold, so clear, it cuts through the noise like a blade. The words hang in the air, heavy with the weight of the promise they carry. For the first time, Gus’s smile falters, his eyes narrowing as he registers the seriousness in my tone.
“Before this is over,” I continue, my eyes locked on his cold ones, “I will rip your heart from your body while it still beats. Mark my fucking words.”
The room goes silent, the laughter dying instantly as the gravity of my threat sinks in. Gus stares at me, his smirk gone, replaced by a look of wary caution. He flinches, just slightly, the only crack in his facade of control, but it’s enough for me to know that my words have hit their mark.
And they will be fulfilled.
I don’t break eye contact, don’t waver as I hold Gus’s gaze. The promise has been made, and it will be kept, no matter the cost. This isn’t over. Not by a long shot. And when it does end, it will be with Gus’s blood on my hands.
My chest heaves with the intensity of my emotions, but I force myself to stay still, to hold on to that rage, to let it drive me. I won’t let my father see me break, won’t let him see the fear, or the pain, that’s tearing me apart inside. All I’ll show is the fury that’s been unleashed, the promise of retribution that will come.
Gus doesn’t say anything, his eyes locked on mine with a mixture of anger and something else—something that looks a lot like fear. The silence stretches on, thick and heavy, until finally, Gus tears his gaze away, his lips curling into a sneer as he turns his attention back to the cage.
But I don’t care. My eyes are already back on Stone, on my brother, my best friend, the one who’s suffered more than anyone should ever have to. I watch his shallow breaths, the slight rise and fall of his chest, and I vow once more, silently this time, that I’ll do whatever it takes to get us out of this.
Even if it means tearing down every wall, spilling every drop of blood in this cursed place. Even if it means becoming the monster my father always said I would be.
Because I won’t let this be the end. Not for Stone. Not for Maddox. Not for Nyx. Not for any of us.
