I was frozen.
Stuck.
Glued to the floor beneath me until I witnessed him backing her up against the wall, hauling her up to straddle his waist. That was all it took for me to snap. I heard it loud and clear. Something broke inside me, snapping in half like it was nothing more than a twigpretending to be metal. The crack echoed in my chest, vibrating deep into my core.
It reverberated all around me as I flew through the crowd, feeling like a man running to his own execution. In the end, it didn’t matter what way I decided to go. I was already going to be burned at the stake with no mercy.
I took off from across the dance floor, shoving people out of the way in the path of my own destruction, needing to get to them as fast as possible. Once I could see them right in front of me, his hands moved from her waist up her body.
Why isn’t she fighting him off?
Rage quickly slammed into me as I roughly tore Kraven off her, causing her to squeal from the unexpected jolt. I caught her before she hit the floor. In a heartbeat, I threw his ass out the back door into the alley, trying to respect Marco’s request.
“Julius!” Isla hollered, running behind us.
It was obvious she was overwhelmed by the turn of events. Kraven’s body stumbled out the door, struggling to remain upright, but he managed not to fall.
Her eyes flew from Kraven to me. “It’s not what you think, Julius!”
“It’s never what I think, right?” I roared. “Months of this and how many times have I walked in on something I’m ‘not thinking’?”
“Actually,” Kraven chimed in, regaining his balance, “it’s exactly what you’re thinking.”
Isla glared at Kraven. “Stop it! Don’t do this! He’s your brother!”
“My brother just put me out the door! What loyalty are we pretending we have tonight?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I spewed, disgusted by his response.
“There’s no better time than the present,” Kraven antagonized, leading me on.
“Julius, please… It’s obvious he’s fucked up!” She gestured to him. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“And what about you?” I countered, fully facing her. “What’s your excuse?”
“I’m as shocked as you are. I wasn’t expecting this! He blindsided me, too.”
In one sudden movement, I shifted her aside and stood up to my brother. This was the first time in all our lives I didn’t give a shit about putting myself before him. He was done being my priority.
From brothers to enemies in a matter of minutes.
The tension was thick and palpable, swarming through the air and hitting us firm and solid. I didn’t expect Kraven to back down. It wasn’t how he was made. Squaring up to me, he cocked his head to the side.
“Julius, please,” Isla begged, grabbing my arm.
Everything happened so fast, yet it still felt like it played out in slow motion.
“Yeah, Julius,” Kraven mocked, smiling like a fool. “Be a good boy like the bitch that you are.”
I jerked my arm out of her grasp.
“Julius, no!” Isla shouted as my fist slammed into Kraven’s jaw, causing his body to whoosh back from the force of my blow.
Kraven tried to catch his balance, stumbling around for a second, while she stared at us with a wide, petrified expression. Not knowing who to focus on more. He caught his bearings, moving around his jaw.
She lunged into action, gripping my arm again. Her attempt at holding me back was pitiful. She was no match against my strength.
“Julius, come on,” she pleaded. “This isn’t the right way! He’s your brother!”
