Chapter Twenty-Six
XADEN
I haven’t been able to quiet the simmering rage inside me. It’s like a constant stream flowing through me unable to be sated, not even tearing the limbs from those nurses and flaying their skin from their bodies, or slicing their lips from their face, quelled the growing fury inside me.
That cunt dared to hold a gun to me and make demands!
I’ve been snapping at everyone. Cas has ordered all the men to stay away from me and not approach.
I lost my temper and shot Con in the leg for laughing too loud as I walked past. I never wanted to be like Lorenzo and hurt my men who are loyal to me out of honor and not money, yet I did exactly what he would have done and it pisses me off more.
Cas checked me real quick and threatened to take me down himself if I ever did that shit again. I didn’t fight him because I deserved that shit.
Meekan tried to find something in the house to arrest me but the smug fuck didn’t find shit.
I made sure when I took over living in Lorenzo’s house that the house was swept and there is no evidence of our involvement in our extra curricular activities.
All the guns and firearms are stored in Stormsend at the warehouses I acquired.
They were all purchased under an alias and by shell companies that can’t be traced back to me.
The cocksucker and his buddies turned the house upside down.
That shit didn’t bother me but the instant I went upstairs and saw the state of my sister’s bedroom I lost it.
They fucking destroyed her sanctuary. This room was never touched, as I unintentionally made it a shrine.
Even Lorenzo knew never to come in here, but now as I sit on the end of her bed with the fucking pendant clutched in my hand, I feel nothing but the fury and thirst for vengeance.
I want to eradicate those sons of bitches from the world.
I want Meekan, Masen, Steven and Frank begging for mercy.
I want their screams to sound off the walls of my warehouse as I deal with each of them slowly and make them watch as I end their loved ones' lives right in front of them.
When they are barely breathing, I’ll drag her in there to see the mayhem I’ve caused.
I’ll show her exactly who I am without needing to look into my eyes.
Before her brother dies, I want him to hear her scream as I begin to carve the flesh from her bones so he’ll have the sound of her screams to keep him company on the way to fucking hell.
A knock at the door pulls me out of my thoughts. I look over at Cas standing there and raise a single brow in question as he knows not to fucking disturb me when I’m in here. When we moved in I told him he had free rein of the house and could go anywhere except for this room.
“You coming?”
“Where?” I snap.
“We have practice, then school. The game is this weekend.” I snap my head to the other side to look out the window and frown at the sight of the sun rising.
Fuck!
I lost track of time.
“Yeah, give me twenty to shower and change, then we’re out.”
“You need to fucking sleep, X,” he calls after me as I stalk past him.
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” I call back.
Practice is grueling. Coach is pushing the team and even asked me for my help.
I may not be in uniform but I’m on the ice in my skates with my stick in my hand.
I look down at the spot where I shot Kellan and try to find a trace of his brains or blood.
I find nothing. Those Denver King fucks must have cleaned the scene up after we left.
I snapped some pictures of the fucker and sent them to one of my guys so he could have them printed, then slipped into Masen’s bag while he was practicing.
I want to be inside his fucking head before the game.
I don’t like the idea of playing Somerset with one of their key players being taken off the board, but it is what it is.
Kellan Kyle fucked around and found out exactly what happens to motherfuckers who try to fuck with me.
“Devlin!” I snap my head and shoot Coach a glare that he ignores.
“Brady is too heavy on his feet. He needs to be quicker or he won’t be able to block for you.
” He says the last part quietly so no one else can hear.
I grit my teeth and nod. The last thing I want to be doing is helping that fucking idiot, but if it means getting the W, then I’ll fucking suck it up.
Before I can skate away, Coach grabs my arm.
I whirl around and yank free of his hold with a scowl on my face.
“Don’t ever fucking touch me,” I hiss.
He raises his hands as if surrendering. “Devlin, you got talent and the ability to make it.” A sigh escapes him as he scrubs a hand down his face before continuing.
“I’m gonna say this once. You have the talent but your attitude is shit.
” I open my mouth to rip the cunt a new one but he pushes on.
“I’ve seen pros with half the talent you have make it big.
If you train hard and keep a clean record from now on, I might be able to pull some strings and get you a shot at the big league, kid. ”
I stare at him in equal parts shock and apprehension. “What do you get out of it?” I snarl. “No one does me favors for free.”
He shakes his head in exasperation. “I already did you a favor years ago.”
I scoff. “I made the team on my own merit.”
“I sent a letter of recommendation to scouts to come watch you, Neave and Miles play. I pulled strings and used the contacts I have to get you a shot because I don’t want you to end up like your…” He clamps his mouth closed. I lean forward and get in his face.
“Father?”
“Yes,” he grits out through clenched teeth. “You could leave this behind.”
“Why would I want to?”
“Why would you want to stay?”
“It’s my home,” I sneer.
“You can make a new one.”
“Why the fuck do you care so much?”
“Believe it or not, kid, I actually care about you and want the best for you. Staying in Stormsend is a dead end. You will follow in your… family’s footsteps and waste your talent.
I asked some friends to come to the game.
No one else knows you will be taking the ice.
Keep it that way or they will be making the long drive for nothing.
” He spins and skates away, leaving me here staring after him, wondering what the fuck that was about and why he would fucking care enough to do something for me, when we all know he and I have never seen eye to eye.
I brush off what he said and choose to ignore it.
Nothing in this fucking life is free and if that cuntflake thinks he is getting any form of gratitude from me, he’s fucking wrong.
I skate over to Brady and tell the weak ass bitch to skate.
When he questions my reasoning, I silence him with a look.
Cas comes to a stop beside me and watches for a second before saying. “He’s digging his skates in.”
“No shit,” I bite out. “Coach wants me to show the fucker how to be lighter on the skates. He isn’t using his whole body to propel him forward.
” For the next hour and a half I tried to teach Brady how to complete an axel and every single time he failed.
Figure skaters know how to use their entire body and keep light on the ice, trying to convey that to this dipshit is like trying to explain to a newborn you can’t suck your mom’s tit to eat.
Cas and I arrive at school with plenty of time to spare as we had to be out before Somerset got there for their training.
I’m worn out and tired but don’t let it show.
Some of these cunts may be loyal to me but I know others are looking for an opening to take a shot at me.
Only a select few in this school now know who my family truly is, but the others still speculate and think they know.
I allow the rumors to continue circling because the fear alone keeps them in line.
As we enter the building, the first thing I notice is the crowd of students lining the hall. I follow their line of sight to see what the fuck is going on only to freeze mid step at the sight of her smiling at something Brady said.
Her standing there isn’t what has the crowds attention though, it’s what she’s fucking wearing!
She has her long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, her face free of any trace of makeup.
The fact she doesn’t need it irritates me.
She should be fucking hideous and look like damn road kill.
Even her fucking button nose suits her perfectly.
Her blue eyes shine with mirth but I can see the pain of her loss lurking beneath the surface.
I know the second she feels me, she grows tense and subtly shifts away from Brady to stand closer to Harper.
The stupid fuck hasn’t noticed the change in her body language but Harper has.
She flicks her gaze up and spots me and Cas.
I stalk toward them, ignoring the stares of the others.
Her smile becomes strained as I get closer, her body growing taut in anticipation.
She knew she would get a reaction out of me wearing that fucking shit.
The jeans she wears hang low on her hips and suction to her legs like they are an extension of her skin, but it’s the jersey she wears that has everyone’s attention captured. It’s certainly not mine or Cas’s, it’s not even her fucking brother’s or his dead fucking best friend’s.
When I’m a foot away, she turns and faces me with a devilish look in her eyes and a smile on her plump lips that can only be described as triumphant.
“Took you long enough,” I snarl at the bitch, which just makes her smile wider.
She steps forward and places her hand on my chest. Cas whistles between his teeth at her bold fucking move.
I’m itching to rip her hand off me and break her wrist, to teach her a lesson for thinking she can touch me.
But, I refrain when she pushes up onto her tip toes and ghosts her lips over mine, drawing resounding gasps from everyone watching and recording this exchange.
“I can see it in your eyes that you want to rip this jersey off me,” she says low enough that only Brady, Harper and Cas will be able to overhear.
“If you do that, then you will have to explain what I’m hiding beneath it. ”
I grip her waist in a bruising hold that makes her flinch, but she doesn’t cry out or fight against my hold.
I press my forehead against hers and use my strength to push her down so she stands flat on her feet.
To everyone watching we look like a couple and the thought alone makes me sick to my stomach.
“I’ll rip that fucking thing out of you,” I warn.
Her eyes harden and fire swirls in those blue eyes.
I savor the challenge that look is sparking inside me.
“Hurt my baby and next time I will shoot you.” I bare my teeth at the cunt, ready to tear her fucking head off but she continues on before I get the chance.
“Don’t do anything rash… Because you and I both know these videos are going to go viral and my dad and brother will see them. ”
“Toren!” At the sound of her name being yelled, she reels back out of my hold and spins around. It fucking grates on every one of my nerves that she feels safe enough to turn her damned back on me!
She goes as still as a statue at the sight of Masen storming through the halls of my fucking school, toward her with his teammates trying to pull him back.
The murderous look in his eyes has me smirking and taking a step back, to allow him to have some fun with her before I intervene and show this cunt what happens when he crosses into my turf.
The smug prick probably thinks he’s almighty and powerful because the guards never stopped him from crossing the boundary, but he’s wrong.
I told them to let him cross if he tried and not to stop him.