Page 132 of Abundance of Obsession

“Who are you? Who have you become?” I ask in disbelief.

“I’m the one my brother will fall to his knees before. But he’s not the one we’re talking about right now. We’ll see how much you’re willing to pay for this woman.”

I look deep into Zoe’s eyes. She doesn’t know what’s going on. Doesn’t know what happened down there. And I want to—have to—protect her from all of this.

“What do you want?”

“Finally, you’re speaking my language. It’s actually very simple. I want your position as general in the Pact.”

“What the fuck? You’ve lost your mind.”

“Have I? Here’s what we’ll do. You’ll step down from that rank, and someone I choose will take your place.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Giving up the position of general is one thing. But for someone Aisling chooses to take my place? Absurd. No one will agree to this. It will split the Pact.

“Absolutely not. Like father, like daughter, huh, Aisling? Fuck you!”

I move in Zoe’s direction, but the person closest to her instantly holds a gun to her temple with the magazine unlocked. Zoe flinches at the very sound. Her gaze darts nervously from the guy next to her to me and back.

My heart stops. My breath catches in my lungs. I don’t dare move.

“Are you sure, Eli? Is that your final answer?”

Eventually, Zoe’s gaze settles on me.

I can’t.

I love her more than anything. She’s my everything.

And I am who I am because of her.

I can’t lose her. For God’s sake, I just got her back.

Panic creeps into every cell of my body. My mind is completely blank. And I know only this one thing.

I love my brothers. I would do anything for Ryker. For Theo too.

But I love Zoe more. More than them, more than my next breath, more than anything else. And she’ll always be my number one choice.

My eyes close.

“Done,” I say in a quiet voice.

“Great. Oh, and one more thing. Say thank you to the person who killed Nico the other day. It definitely saved me a lot of time and trouble.”

“Fuck you.” I throw the phone on the ground and walk over to Zoe.

The question appears in her eyes.

No answer.

Without thinking about the situation we’re in, I take her in my arms. I hold her for a minute and whisper in her ear, “I love you, Raven. Now and forever.”

The Veirix members part as I open the car door and Zoe gets in. We pull away, leaving behind only the screech of tires and the smell of burning rubber.

Chapter 34

Eli