Draven smirked, then his face got serious. “I couldn’t let you get blinded by rage and throw away the love of your life. You spent your whole damn life wanting her. The war was the only thing in the way, and you were about to bulldoze your own happiness just to win a fight. I couldn’t let you kill her, K. You’re my best friend and I know you’d never survive the regret. That day, I was your fucking conscience, bruh.”
He looked down over the balcony, and I followed his gaze, spotting Serenity pacing by the pool, still furious. I tried to keep myself in check, tried to stay put, even though every part of me screamed to go after my wife and pull her back into my arms—right where she belonged. Dancing with her had awakened a hunger I’d been trying to suppress since we left the Korven estate. If she knew how hard I worked just to act civilized in front of all these people, when all I wanted was to be alone with her in one of Vixen’s rooms, to show her just how much my body ached for her. It was fucking torture not being able to touch her like I wanted. But I had to hold back. I had to keep it together for a few more hours, because there was no way I was going to ruin the last two nights we had left. After that, she’d probably hate me for good. And God only knew when—or if—I’d ever get the chance to touch her again.
Draven shook his head. “I don’t believe in love Konflict, but you—you gave her your heart a long time ago. Yeah, her father killed your mother, and yeah, you wanted revenge. But you love Serenity. You finally have the chance to rewrite your story and get everything you always wanted. I don’t get why you chose to play the fool and waited a year to let go of that stupid grudge.”
His words hit hard. I wanted to snap back, tell him he didn’t know what went on in my head, but the truth was, he did. He always had. Everything he said was nothing but the truth because Serenity was my everything, and I could never accept the idea of losing her, let alone killing her myself.
Before I could say more, Marquette and Hollister approached with their faces tense, all business. Crowhurst didn’t give a single fuck—he just stood in the corner, silent, eyes scanning the whole room behind his big nerdy glasses, catching every move. That guy was strange as hell. He was in charge of security and information, so nothing ever slipped by him. Sometimes I wondered what went on in his head, because you could never predict his next move.
“We need to find a way to replace Veylor’s business. The balance is off and we lost the Sawyer’s after you torched their estate,” Hollister said as they came up to us.
I stopped myself from rolling my eyes, not wanting to show how exasperated I was. These two old bastards swore by Sawyer, when if they actually opened their eyes, they’d see we’d avoided a fucking disaster with them. Draven and I were never about to tie gun manufacturing and profit to the Sawyer’s, that would’ve been a death sentence, but Marquette and Hollister couldn’t see that.
“Veylor’s operations are solid if all you want is a place to wash your cash. Serenity’s running the casino like a pro. Everything can be absorbed. Only difference is, Veylor answers to me now. We don’t need a council seat for that. The BigFivecan handle the load,” I said, trying to give them a safer, smarter angle.
At this point, it was way too risky to hand the sixth seat to a family nobody knew. It made more sense to keep the council smaller than to open ourselves up like that.
“We can’t function with five. And I doubt your wife can handle all our business the way it needs to be done. Vince Veylorwas sharp, knew how to manage the risks that come with this life. You can’t cover both sides by yourself. Too much power and territory, Korven. I can’t let that happen,” Judge Marquette snapped.
I let a nervous smile curl at my lips. “So that’s the problem? You’re afraid I’ll be too powerful because now I’m holding down two houses with strategic operations?”
“And you’ve got an ally in charge of gun distribution,” Draven added, straight-faced. “Maybe the old men are just scared of losing ground to the new generation. Maybe it’s time you guys finally retired.”
Hollister and Marquette looked pissed at the provocation. Everybody knew that since Draven took over his father’s seat, things had gotten cold between him and the old men—no way was he ever going to play by their rules. D ran guns, sourcing raw materials and supplying finished product. I was the center of manufacturing operations with my industrial tech. Our alliance was inevitable, especially since we were best friends, but the old men hated it. Now I was starting to think they regretted marrying me off to Serenity, because the power was clearly shifting.
“We need to find a sixth member, and fast. The council is six families, not five. Veylor is out. We need another money cleaner,” Marquette fired back, locking eyes with me. “Maybe we should all reconsider accepting the Sawyer application, since they’re the most suitable candidate. You’ll have to stop this war you want to start with them right fucking now. We can’t afford to lose more than we already have with what Veylor and your house have already done. It’s affecting all of us.”
Before I could answer, a scream split the night. My world cracked open the second I heard shouts from below. My eyes searched for my wife, and when I spotted her fighting in the pool, struggling to keep her head above water, everything elsefaded. Blood thundered in my temples, terror flooding me, and I was already moving. I sprinted across the ballroom, my heart crashing in my chest, tearing off my jacket and ripping open my shirt as I ran. When I reached the pool’s edge and saw Serenity had already vanished beneath the surface—gone in a heartbeat, bubbles barely breaking—the panic that tore through me was pure hell.
“Serenity!” I screamed, raw with desperation, before diving in headfirst, running on nothing but the drive to pull her out and keep her close. Just like that day nineteen years ago, every part of me screamed to bring her back to me.
The water burned my eyes as I reached for her. She was already deep at the bottom of the pool, like she’d given up on life, like she’d decided to stop fighting and just leave for good. The thought of her abandoning me before I ever got the chance to love her in the open, to cherish her, to show her how hard my heart beats for her and always has, killed me. I never gave her permission to leave me. I never allowed her to walk away. I needed her more than my next breath. Since I was twelve, I’d only ever seen her, only ever breathed for her. She was the only reason I existed. So if she thought she could just let go and get rid of me, she was wrong. I would chase her into the afterlife and drag her back to me.
My lungs were burning, breath running out, but I refused to give up. I reached her at the bottom, grabbed her, and gave everything I had to haul her back to the surface. When I pulled her up to the edge and took my first breath, it didn’t feel like living. It felt like inhaling poison, because my wife was lying there, pale, showing no sign of life. But I refused to believe she was dead.
“Serenity,” I gasped, falling to my knees beside her. “Breathe. Please, baby, breathe.”
Nothing. Her chest barely moved.
I pressed my mouth to hers, giving her my breath, compressions, counting out loud, hands shaking. People crowded around, busy doing God knows what. I didn’t give a shit. All I cared about was bringing my woman back to me. My world narrowed down to her, and her alone. I pressed her heart again, breathed into her mouth, pinching her nose shut. The pain in my chest grew sharper with every second she didn’t breathe. My tears mixed with the pool water.
I heard Draven’s voice from somewhere far away, asking if he should take over. But there was no way I was moving, no way I was letting go. No one else was saving her but me. She had to come back to me. She needed to hate me when she learned I was Knox. She needed to forgive me for lying to her all those nights, give me a chance to make up for this lost year of marriage. God, give me one more chance to love her right.
“Don’t leave me,” I whispered, voice shaking. “You can’t leave me. You’re not allowed to leave me, baby. I can’t survive without you. Please, Serenity. Come back. I need you.”
I breathed for her again, pressed her chest, cursed the universe, cursed myself for leaving her alone. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I pressed my mouth to hers, poured air into her lungs. Then, as if God Himself had mercy on me, I felt her chest stutter under my hands.
She coughed, water bursting from her lips as her body jerked and she gasped, sucking in air.
Oh my God. I could breathe again, like my body and soul had reunited, like life had just returned to me. Relief hit so hard I nearly collapsed. I pulled her into my arms, holding her tight, pressing my lips to her forehead. My heart pounded so hard it could have broken out of my chest. I’d never been so scared in my life, never felt pain like this. I’d never felt so empty, so close to death myself. Losing my mother had filled me with rage, but the thought of losing Serenity left nothing but a terrifying,suffocating void, a black hole so heavy it felt like I’d fused with oblivion. It was more than pain. It was something I never wanted to feel again.
“Thank you. Thank you for coming back to me,” I whispered.
Slowly, the world came back into focus while my heart kept pounding.
“Call a doctor, now!” I shouted, cradling my wife in my arms.
She was breathing, but her pulse was weak and her eyes barely opened. I had no idea how long she’d been down there, but she needed help immediately.
