CHAPTER 55
C HAPTER 55
MADDOX
“Maddox, stop this now.”
Angelo’s voice cut through the silence, filling the room with an urgency I hadn’t expected. His eyes locked on me, more insistent and demanding than usual. He almost got through to me—almost.
“Are you trying to kill us all?”
“Watch your fucking tone, brother,” I reminded him, taking a much- needed sip of scotch, letting the burn of the liquor settle in my throat. “You’re trespassing on my territory, trying to give me orders.”
“You’re starting a war.”
“The war started a long time ago.” I interrupted, irritated.
He had some nerve, showing up here and bossing me around.
I saw him clench his jaw, his hands balling into fists. I tracked his movements with my eyes, smirking. My big brother wanted to hit me. It was written all over his face, but he knew damn well he couldn’t do that. That is why he stood there in silence, burning holes into me with his eyes.
“Release her,” he tried again, his voice even more forceful, and that shit was starting to piss me off. “It doesn’t have to end with blood.”
I’ve always admired Angelo.
He had always been the more reasonable one of us—the softer one. The King who thinks first of a way to handle things rationally before resorting to the ugly side.
And me? I usually go straight to violence. He’s naive enough to think that reason can lead to success in our world. It doesn’t.
Violence and fear—that’s what earns respect.
But my stupid brother hasn’t figured that out yet. He’ll have to learn the hard way.
“Leave my property, Angelo,” I muttered, turning my back on him. This conversation was pointless anyway. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“You’re keeping my fucking fiancée against her will in your fucking house!” he yelled from behind me, his voice deeper, stronger—drawing my attention. “This has everything to do with me.”
“Ex-fiancée,” I corrected quickly, my voice sharper than necessary. He’s one step away from meeting my darker side.
“I can fix all of this,” he tried to convince me, but I laughed, shaking my head. Stupid idiot.
“I can save our family and stop this war. The only thing I need from you is to let Allyn go, and I’ll set up a meeting with her father. Now that Theo Stone is out of the picture, Mikael is likely to give me her hand in marriage. They’re vulnerable now.”
And that was all it took to snap me from any semblance of reason.
I saw fucking red.
In a flash, I had Angelo pinned against the nearest wall, squeezing his throat so hard I could feel him gasping for air around my fingers.
He struggled to push me away, but there was no survival chance for him. The veins in his neck bulged as he fought for breath—breath I was determined to deny him.
I tried to be fucking reasonable. I really did.
But Angelo just had to test me. He’s in no position to come here and give me orders—especially not when he dares involve Allyn in this.
His voice came out in a rasp, my name like a whisper mixed with choking as I watched the life drain slowly from his eyes. I wanted him to look me in the eye as I said my next words, so they could stick in his stupid fucking head if he wanted to make it out of here alive.
“She’s not yours. Never was,” I spat in his face. “I don’t give a fuck that you’re my blood. Keep provoking me, and you’ll end up just like the others—dead.”
After making sure my words hit home and he was on the brink of passing out, his face ghostly pale, I finally released him. He coughed violently, crumpling to the floor, clutching his neck where my fingerprints were imprinted in red.
I felt no guilt—only disappointment that I let him live after the sharp words he threw at me.
Theo Stone wasn’t so fortunate to see another day. He truly thought I would let him marry Allyn, but I let him hold onto that delusion for a while. Watching him fool himself was almost laughable from a distance.
It was a fucking thrill to watch him at the masquerade ball, strutting around with confidence, holding Allyn in his arms like she was his.
He wanted her, I could see it, and honestly, I couldn’t blame him.
She’s chaos and beauty wrapped in one. Powerful enough to destroy you, innocent enough to deceive you. But this fool wasn’t equipped to handle the fire that burned inside her.
He tried to tame it.
I wanted to watch it burn the world down.
Allyn needs more. She craves more.
She wanted the pain, she wanted it rough. She’s the type of woman who thrives on that. The only way to handle a woman like her was to dominate her.
And Theo Stone was too weak to do that.
That’s why he’s dead. If he hadn’t laid a hand on her, maybe I would’ve spared him. Maybe.
Angelo was still breathing right now only because he’s my brother—my blood. Otherwise, he’d be keeping Stone’s dead body company by now.
“You can’t keep me away from her forever, Maddox,” he rasped, still coughing, gathering enough strength to speak. “Allyn is not your property.”
A dark grin spread across my face.
Oh, brother, if only you knew.
But maybe it’s time he learned the truth. Time to put all our cards on the table and reveal the dirty little secrets we’ve been hiding.
His secrets—the ugly ones I only recently discovered.
If he wants to play this game with me, who am I to refuse?
I was in for the fun, especially when I know I was going to win.
I signaled to the guards standing by the door, giving them the command. They’re loyal— they’d follow my orders without hesitation.
That’s why one of them swiftly trapped Angelo in a hold while the other delivered a single punch that knocked him out cold, his body crumpling to the floor.
Maybe a normal person would feel bad— doing this to their own flesh and blood. Maybe a normal person would feel regret watching their brother lying unconscious on the floor.
But not me.
Not when it came to Allyn.
Not after everything Angelo’s done behind my back.