Chapter 65
CADE
“Goddamn, baby,” Lex mutters beside me as the snake sinks its fangs into Vince’s neck.
Celeste, they said. That thing is a monster—thick and glistening like it slithered straight out of hell. Bella doesn’t even flinch. She just stands there, dead calm, watching Vince squirm under the snake’s hold.
“Really should’ve seen that one coming,” she shrugs as if she’s just commenting on the weather.
“Come here Celeste,” she says reaching for the snake. She lets it curl around her arm like it belongs there. Like she belongs to something darker now.
She walks the creature over to Sabine, who looks like some kind of voodoo queen from a fever dream. Her eyes glassy with thrill, like this is all just foreplay before the real storm hits.
Bella turns toward Vince, Tex steps up beside her on instinct. “Now, Vincent… if I take the tape off, you gonna behave?”
He is drenched in sweat, trembling like a coward. His eyes dart to Sabine. Then to the snake still hissing in her arms. Then back to Tex. Not looking at Bella, not even once. Apparently, that pisses Tex off because he punches him clean across the jaw.
I wince. Lex exhales like it’s a breath he’s been holding since we got here.
Tex growls, “Answer her. Yes or no. Are you going to behave?”
Vince nods, chest heaving. His eyes flick to Bella again, begging this to stop.
Tex looks at her. They don’t speak. They don’t need to. These two know each other so well, they can have a full conversation just on looks alone. She nods and Tex rips the duct tape off his mouth.
Vince gasps and then spits, “You fucking bitch, let me—”
Bella laughs. Not a soft laugh. Not even a cruel one. It’s unhinged. Full, wild, and gleeful. Like she’s finally snapped and decided to make art out of this madness.
“Now, Vincent. What did I just say?”
Tex doesn’t wait. Another punch. This one splits Vince’s lip, leaving a crimson trail down his chin.
I glance at Lex. His fists are clenched and his jaw is locked so tight I can hear the grind of his molars from here. His eyes haven’t left Bella, not once. He wants in. Bad. This is killing him to stand back here with me on the sidelines instead of up there in the action.
Vince finally shuts his mouth. Smart move.
Bella steps in closer, voice low and dangerous. “I’ve waited a long, long time for this.”
Her fingers trail to the inside of her wrist, brushing the small tattoo. Dylan. Vince, the sick bastard, smiles when he sees it. Laughs when he sees Dylan’s name on her wrist.
Something dark flashes through Bella’s eyes. She doesn’t hesitate. Just lifts the knife Sabine handed her earlier and drives it deep into his shoulder.
Vince screams, ragged and violent. “You little fucking bitch!” he roars, spitting blood across the concrete. “I will kill you.”
Bella tilts her head. “Like you killed my brother?”
Vince freezes for a heartbeat, then smirks. “Which one?”
Tex’s fist cracks across his jaw before he can finish the grin.
Vince spits blood, laughing through it. “Still a touchy subject I see,” he chokes out. “But no, I didn’t kill the mutt. Didn’t even have a hand in that explosion. But I heard about it. Hell, I got off on that shit. Watched it like a damn highlight reel.”
The room goes still. Bella’s jaw tightens, but her voice stays calm. Too calm. “You watched my brother die?”
“Over and over and over. I had my men get me the security footage from Chicago.” He grins wider, teeth pink with blood. “Should’ve been me though. Would’ve been one hell of a show.”
Bella leans into the blade, twisting it slow. Controlled. Focused. “Vincent,” she murmurs, “You really don’t learn, do you?”
He glares up at her, eyes wild. “I told you the truth, what else do you want, bitch—”
“Okay, fucker,” Lex lunges, explosive beside me, pure violence in motion.
Tex is faster. He throws an arm across Lex’s chest, holding him back like a damn wall. “Not yet, Lex,” he shouts, voice calm but firm. “She decides when we act. You understand?”
Bella’s head tilts, just a notch. “Tex, let him go,” she says quietly before turning her steel gaze to Lex. “Baby, come here.”
Lex stalks toward her, every step a threat wrapped in black.
Bella turns back to Vince like she’s hosting a fucking dinner party. “Vincent, this is Lex. One of the loves of my life.”
She steps aside, giving Lex a full view of the man who once had her price tag. “And I don’t think he likes you calling me a bitch very much. That right, baby?”
Lex doesn’t say a word. Doesn’t have to. His eyes are pure murder, slow, and personal. I’ve seen Lex mad before, but this? This is something darker, something completely terrifying.
Bella drops into a crouch, inches from Vince’s blood-slicked face. “So, Vincent,” she whispers, “I’m going to need you to say you’re sorry.”
He glares. Doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. Just seethes.
Bella stands, slow and steady. Then grabs Lex by the shirt, pulls him down, and kisses him like she wants Vince to choke on it. Like the kiss itself is a weapon.
When she finally breaks the kiss, her lips brush his and she breathes, “Baby… it’s your turn.”
Lex snaps. He lunges, and then it’s just fists. Fist after fist after fist. Every single one landing with a sickening crack. Vince’s face caves under the force. Blood splatters the floor. His nose collapses, his jaw twists sideways. Bella’s blade still juts from his shoulder like a goddamn flag.
“Lex,” Bella says, gently now. Calm again. “That’s enough, baby.”
His fist rears back. And for a second, I don’t think he’s going to stop. But he does. His arm drops, breath ragged, chest heaving. His jaw clasped so tight it looks carved from stone.
I just stare with my mouth open, because I’ve never seen anyone stop Lex mid-rage. Not Rez. Not any of the Hollow Kings. Not even Daniel. No one. But Bella just says his name, and the beast folds entirely.
Bella steps forward, hand soft against his jaw. “Thank you, baby.”
Sabine lets out a wicked little laugh. “Ooooh, baby girl, did you ever get yourself one hell of a man.” She shoots me a look, all heat and voodoo. “Two of them, from the looks of it.”
Bella walks over to her, calm and composed now like none of this touched her. Like she’s washed it off already. “Sorry, Sabine. Where are my manners? That one’s Lex,” she says, laughing and nodding toward the man still seething by the chair.
“And that one…” she looks at me “…that one’s Cade.”
I glance at Lex. His eyes haven’t left Vince. Not once. He’s one twitch away from shattering something. There’s heat rolling off him in waves. Raw, heavy, and volatile waves. He’s still in it. Still on that razor edge between control and detonation.
And me?
I’m just standing here trying to remember how the hell we got here. How the girl we swore to protect turned into a storm dressed in silk. And why watching her own this room, own him, makes me want her even more. Even when I know it’s going to break us all.