Chapter 22
22
I n unison, Raphael and I move to either side of the open bedroom door, a synchronicity that is surprisingly natural after all the years we’ve spent apart.
With my back against the wall, I hold my gun at chest height, finger gently placed beside the trigger guard.
Raphael matches my position on the other side, his breath steady and quiet. For a brief moment, the only sound is the thud of heavy footsteps in the front room as the intruder searches the house.
“Avery!”
The call chills me to the core.
Not because it’s threatening, but because it’s familiar.
Cassian.
My stomach drops as confusion ripples through me.
I exchange a quick look with Raphael, whose face hardens into a dangerous expression.
“Cassian?” My heart races. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Me?” His anger snaps through the air. “What am I doing here? What are you doing here with him ?”
At the venom in his words, I tighten my grip on my weapon. Cassian’s footsteps echo louder, drawing closer to the bedroom.
“Stop right there,” I command, using the tone that even my most hardened crew members know better than to challenge. “I’m armed, and I’m not in the mood for surprises.”
The footsteps pause, followed by the sound of a heavy exhale. “I bought Lena’s story about you being holed up in some clinic, dealing with the bond breaking, but then you didn’t come home when you should have.”
I shudder at the revelation that Cassian had staked out my home to catch me while I was still vulnerable.
“When I traced your cell phone, it led me to Lena’s location.” A pause sounds, and I strain my ears to hear what he’s doing before he speaks again, this time closer to my hiding spot. “So then I traced Rockford’s phone. I didn’t even have to search for which house you were in. The fucker parked his car right out front like he didn’t care who knew you were here.”
I flash Raphael a glare, who shrugs and mouths, One-car garage.
“I can smell it, Avery,” Cassian snarls. “Your Heat pheromones are all over this fucking place.”
My face burns despite myself. Of course, he can smell it. The entire safe house reeks of sex and Heat. Any Alpha within a hundred feet would be able to tell what’s been happening here for the past three days.
“That’s none of your business,” I snap, the words cutting through the air.
A bitter laugh echoes from the front room. “None of my business? None of my business when this piece of shit abandoned you? I’ve been the one standing by your side all these years! Waiting for you to realize I’m more worthy than him!”
“We already had this conversation, Cassian. We were never going to be a thing.” I pause, listening for his location, but there’s only silence from the other room. “You need to leave and cool your head.”
“Let me see you,” he insists, closer now. “Let me make sure you’re okay.”
Raphael shakes his head at me in a clear warning not to expose myself. But beneath the rage is genuine concern, and it tugs at my conscience. He’s been my right hand for years, loyal when others have betrayed me, steadfast when I pushed everyone else away.
Yes, he’s been pushing for more lately, but doesn’t his steadfastness deserve something?
“Stay where you are,” I tell Cassian. “We can talk, but you need to calm down first.”
“Did he Mark you again?” Cassian’s voice breaks on the question. “Tell me he didn’t Mark you, Avery.”
Raphael’s jaw tightens, and he motions for me to stay put, mouthing, Don’t go.
But I know Cassian. If I don’t face him, this will only escalate.
“I’m coming out.” I ignore Raphael’s furious glare. “But I’m still armed, Cass.”
“Don’t.” Raphael slices his hand through the air. “He’s not in his right mind.”
“He’s been loyal to me for years. I owe him a face-to-face.”
Before Raphael can protest further, I step around the doorframe into the main room of the safe house, gun raised. When I see Cassian is unarmed, I lower my weapon to my side but stay ready to raise it at the first sign of trouble.
Cassian stands in the center of the room, his tall frame rigid with tension. He freezes as he takes in my half-dressed appearance, wild hair, and skin peppered with kiss marks and beard burn.
His face transforms, raw pain morphing into fury in an instant. “After everything he did to you, you let him Mark you again.”
I don’t deny it. There’s no point. The evidence is written all over me, from the bite on my nape to the finger-shaped bruises on my hips to the lingering scent of Raphael that saturates my skin.
“Did he force you?” Cassian takes a step closer. “Did he take advantage of your Heat?”
“No,” I say, leaving no room to doubt. “He didn’t force anything.”
Cassian’s face contorts with disbelief. “Then why? Why go through the pain of breaking the bond if you were going to let him claim you again? We had a plan, and it wasn’t this !”
Before I can answer, Raphael steps into view beside me, and Cassian’s focus shifts to him, Cassian’s expression tightening as his hand twitches at his side.
“Breaking the bond was a final ultimatum,” Raphael corrects, steel beneath each word. “Avery’s way of telling me to get my head straight or lose him forever. It was never an invitation for you to step into my shoes.”
Cassian’s laugh is bitter, almost hysterical. “You already lost him! You lost him the moment you walked away. You don’t get to come back years later and steal him away now that he’s built a life without you.”
His focus turns to me, desperation clouding his expression. “We built this together. You and me. When everyone else thought an Omega couldn’t run the business, I stood by you. I believed in you. I protected you.”
I loved you. The unspoken words hang heavy in the air between us.
“I’m sorry, Cass,” I begin, unsure what else to say but needing to defuse this situation before it explodes.
But it’s too late. In one fluid motion, Cassian reaches behind his back and pulls out a gun, aiming it at Raphael’s head. “You don’t deserve Avery. You never did.”
Cassian’s eyes locked on Raphael, no hesitation in his stance, no uncertainty in his expression. Only cold determination. I recognize that expression. I’ve seen it a hundred times when he’s eliminated threats to our operation or protected me from rivals. I’ve always been grateful for his unwavering loyalty.
And now, that same loyalty might cost me everything I’ve just regained.
“Cass, put the gun down,” I say, far steadier than I feel. “This isn’t the way.”
His focus remains on Raphael. “Step aside, Avery.”
“Not happening.” I tighten my grip on my weapon. “You need to leave. Now. We can talk about this tomorrow once you’ve cooled down.”
“I’ve been cooling down for years,” Cassian says bitterly. “Watching you pine for him. Watching you check your phone every time it chimed, hoping it was him. Watching you turn down every Alpha who showed interest because none of them were him.”
Each word lands like a blow. Have I been that obvious? That transparent all these years?
“And now he waltzes back into your life to reclaim what he threw away?” Cassian’s resolve hardens. “I won’t let him hurt you again.”
Beside me, Raphael tenses. “This is between Avery and me. You don’t get a say in it.”
It’s the wrong thing to say as Cassian’s face contorts with rage. “I don’t get a say? I’ve been here! Every day for years while you were playing family man with the Rockfords. I’ve taken bullets for him. Killed for him. Bled for him.”
“Cassian—”
“Tell me, Avery.” His eyes finally shift to mine, pain evident in their gray depths. “If his family called tomorrow and said they needed him back, would he stay? Or would he leave you broken again?”
The question hits too close to home, echoing my deepest fears. But before I can respond, I see the subtle shift in Cassian’s stance, the tightening of his finger on the trigger.
He’s going to shoot.
My body moves on instinct, stepping in front of Raphael, my gun raised and now pointed at Cassian. “Don’t do this. Please.”
Shock flashes across Cassian’s face, followed by hurt. “You’re protecting him? After everything?”
“I’m protecting us both.” I shake my head. “This isn’t who you are, Cass. You’re better than this.”
Resignation settles over his features, followed by resolution. “You chose him. Even knowing he’ll leave again, you still choose him.”
“Put the gun down.” I keep my weapon pointed at his chest, my hand steady. “Don’t force me to do this.”
For a second, I believe he might listen as his features soften, and his shoulders drop. But then Raphael shifts behind me, and Cassian’s jaw hardens once more.
“I would have done anything for you.” His jaw sets. “Anything, but watch him destroy you again.”
Everything happens in an instant. Cassian adjusts his aim to get a clear shot at Raphael behind me, and my finger squeezes the trigger. The deafening sound of the shot echoes through the confined space of the safe house.
Cassian’s expression shifts to surprise as my bullet finds its mark, hitting him in the heart. But his own shot rings out a split second after mine, and white-hot pain explodes through my abdomen as his bullet tears through me.
As the impact knocks me backward, Raphael shouts, “Avery!”
Strong arms catch me as my legs give way, lowering me to the floor. I look up into Raphael’s panicked face, his mouth moving, though the words sound muffled to my ears.
I turn my head toward Cassian. He lies motionless on the floor, staring blankly, a dark stain spreading across his chest. My second-in-command. My protector. My friend. Dead by my hand.
A wave of dizziness washes over me, and I stare down at myself, at the spreading crimson soaking through my shirt. The pain feels both intense and distant, as if happening to someone else.
Raphael’s voice breaks through the fog. “Avery! Stay with me!”
His hands try to stem the flow of blood, and the pressure sends sharp spikes of agony through my body. I gasp, my back arching.
“I need to call for help.” Raphael’s face pales with fear. “Hold on.”
My blood slicks his hand as it lifts, and the sight of it fills me with sudden terror. He’s going to leave. He’s going to walk away again.
“Don’t leave me,” I beg, grabbing his wrist. “Raph, please, don’t leave.”
Understanding glisten in his eyes. “I’m not leaving you. Not for a second. I just need to get my phone.”
He keeps one hand pressed to my wound while the other fumbles in his pocket. The room tilts and spins around me, darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision.
“Stay awake, Avery.” Panicking, Raphael jostles me. “Look at me. Focus on my voice.”
I try to obey, focusing on his hazel eyes. They’re the same eyes I fell in love with all those years ago. The same eyes that watched me across countless illicit deals and passionate nights. The same eyes that turned away from me when he chose his family.
Now they’re wide with fear, brimming with unshed tears as he barks our location into the phone, demanding immediate medical assistance.
“They’re coming.” He tosses the phone aside to use both hands to stop the bleeding. “Just hold on. Please hold on.”
I want to tell him I love him. That despite everything, I never stopped. Even when I hated him, I loved him. But the words won’t come. My mouth works silently, my strength fading.
“I’m not leaving you,” Raphael repeats. “Never again. Do you hear me, Avery? I’m staying right here.”
He lifts me, cradling me to his chest as he stands. The movement sends fresh waves of agony through me, and I can’t hold back a cry of pain.
“I’m sorry.” His lips brush my forehead. “I have to move you. We need to meet the medics.”
My blood soaks his bare chest as he carries me through the safe house, past Cassian’s body, toward the front door. Each step jostles my wound, but I bite my lip to keep from crying out again. I don’t want to make this harder for him.
“Stay with me,” he keeps saying, the words broken. “Please stay with me, Avery.”
The edges of my vision grow darker, my limbs turning heavy and unresponsive. I’m so cold, despite the warmth of Raphael’s body.
I think of Cassian, of the hurt I caused when he realized I was choosing Raphael over him. I think of my crew, who will now have to follow Rico’s orders if I die. I think of the Mark on my neck, still fresh and tender, that might once again be severed by death and how much it will hurt my Alpha.
“Raph,” I manage, his name barely audible to my own ears.
His face blurs in and out of focus. “I’m here, baby. I’m right here.”
“You said you’d stay,” I remind him, the words taking all of my remaining strength to form.
“And I meant it.” Tears roll down his stubbled cheeks. “I’m not leaving you. Not now, not ever.”
As consciousness slips away from me, I want to tell him that I believe him. This time would have been different.
The last thing I feel is Raphael’s lips on my forehead, sobbing promises I can no longer hear as darkness claims me.