Chapter 22 Kingston
KINGSTON
“The choice is yours, Kingston. Kill Cormac O’Callaghan or die.”
My eyes fly open as I suck in a breath and shoot up from the mattress.
“Goddammit,” I bite out, wincing at the pain slicing into my slinged shoulder. The black sheets knot around my ankles. I kick them away, my eyes darting around for any sign of Livvie since her spot beside me is empty.
Maybe she’s in the conservatory. The walls are soundproof so I wouldn’t hear her playing from my bedroom.
Swinging my legs around the side of the bed, I slowly stand up. I don’t bother with clothes, kicking them out of my way as I head for the door. Livvie stripped me down before we got into bed last night so I didn’t strain my shoulder and pop any stitches.
Then she kept my cock thoroughly occupied for the next few hours. We fucked until the glow of early dawn peeked in through the blinds. She fell asleep before me.
I can still feel the tickle of her hair against my chest, the warmth of her body cocooned into my good side, the possessiveness displayed by her long, toned leg slung over mine.
She held me tight, her even breaths fluttering softly against my skin as she slept.
My mind trips back to the verbal lashing I got from my father at the hospital for letting her fuck with my head.
I rake a hand through my hair as I walk down the hallway toward the conservatory.
He fucking knew, didn’t he? He knew the Tribunal would come to me wanting blood. He knew I’d be forced to kill Cormac. He knew Livvie would be collateral damage. He knew everything.
And because I’d dug my heels in so deep and resisted this wedding in the first place, he figured she’d be out of the picture before the ink on our marriage certificate was even dry.
He never expected us to…
To fucking what?
Like each other?
More than like each other?
No. I can’t. I won’t.
My plans to take over my father’s legacy have to keep me very fucking far away from that.
Liking her, more than liking her… it’s too dangerous.
She’s innocent in all of this. And even though she doesn’t deserve to be in the center of this shitstorm, that’s not my problem. I have one job to do and that’s to secure my future as head of the Viacava family.
Figuring out how I can use the Blood Vault to my advantage can buy me some time from delivering on my order to kill Cormac, but not much. And my plans aren't to protect Livvie.
It’s to protect myself and my interests.
I grit my teeth as I repeat those words to myself.
I wonder when I’ll actually start to believe them.
Pushing open the door to the conservatory, I recoil slightly. She’s not here.
I furrow my brows and head toward the kitchen. It’s spotless and unused.
She’s not here either. The espresso machine isn’t even on.
I wander into the foyer. Her sneakers, which usually sit by the front door, are missing.
My spine stiffens and I stalk back to my bedroom in search of my phone. Grabbing it off the nightstand, I swipe to unlock it and stab her number onto the screen. Just as I’m ready to call her, another call comes in from Ray, my head of security.
I click to accept the call. “Where the hell is Livvie?” I growl into the phone.
Fuck the hellos, how are yous.
“Sir, she left earlier, saying she wanted to pick something up for you.” He pauses for a second too long.
“And?” I snap. “What happened?”
“When we finally located her, Roman approached her in the street. She got into his car.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? And you didn’t have someone follow them?”
“Of course I did, sir. Henry went after them. But Roman must’ve seen the tail and managed to evade him. That’s why I’m calling. We lost her, sir.”
Blood rushes between my ears, my pulse jumping into my neck and pounding hard against it. “You fucking lost her. My wife. To that fucking asshole.”
“I know you’re upset, sir, and we are doing everything we can to find her but—”
“But you can’t because he fucking lost the tail,” I bellow. “Do me a favor, Dom, and deliver a message to Henry that he is fired and if I see him again, ever, I will bury a round of bullets in his goddamn brain. Do you have that?”
“Yes, sir.” Dom’s voice shakes. “What else can we do to—?”
“Nothing,” I say darkly. “I will handle this, and then I’ll handle the rest of you.”
I end the call and open the tracker app. I will fucking find her myself.
Scanning the screen, I click on the tracker installed in the necklace I gave her. She was wearing it last night. She has to be wearing it now.
I click to get a location pin and my eyes widen.
What the fuck?
The penthouse address flashes across the screen.
I look up, my eyes scouring the room for the necklace. I open and slam shut drawers, sweeping my eyes over every surface.
No necklace.
I stalk into the bathroom and put my good hand on the side of the marble sink when a glint of gold and diamonds catches my eye. I turn my head, my jaw tensing as I grab the necklace from the shelf.
She took it off. Left it here. Fucking rejected. Cast aside.
A raging knot twists my gut.
Besides the fact that it was always a device used to keep her under my thumb, her complete disregard of my gift burns my blood. Carelessly cast aside, left in the goddamn bathroom.
Hairs on the back of my neck spring up.
She left it here, left me here, to run off with that motherfucker.
She made her choice.
And when the world finds out about it, I’ll be seen as weak. Discarded. Betrayed.
I grip the edge of the sink, digging my fingertips into the stone, imagining they’re digging into Roman’s fucking eye sockets instead.
She’s a liar. A two-faced fucking liar. And none of what happened between us was real. It was all bullshit.
And I shouldn’t care. At all. This was always just for show, nothing more.
But again, my body resists the words my brain keeps screaming.
I grab my phone and dial Cormac’s number.
He answers on the first ring. “Kingston, this certainly is a surprise. I expected you’d still be recuperating from your rather, ah, suspenseful evening.”
“Don’t fucking play me, O’Callaghan,” I seethe. “Your daughter took off with that asshole Roman this morning. You know anything about that?”
“No, of course not.” His voice morphs from his normal dickheaded tone to one of genuine shock. “Roman didn’t say anything to me about it.”
“You’re full of shit. You really think I’m that blind? Your daughter told you where to find us the other night, didn’t she? And you put out that hit, you slimy fucking bastard.” I grip my phone tight.
“I didn’t do anything,” he insists. “Why would I put a hit on you when we just merged our families?”
Because you’re a lying, two-faced snake like your daughter and the apple doesn’t fall far from the fucking tree?
“Who else could want me dead, Cormac? Your head of security has a shit ton to gain if I’m out of the picture.”
“He would never go against my orders,” Cormac says gruffly. “He knows how important it is for you and Livvie to present a united front.”
“Well, maybe he just doesn’t give a fuck,” I say. “Maybe he’s got his own agenda and taking the mafia princess gives him a fuck ton more leverage than you think.”
Losing control of his own people would make Cormac look just as fucking weak as my wife slipping out on me and bedding the goddamn enemy. We both have a lot to lose here if Roman is acting on his own.
“I’ll find him,” Cormac says. “I will fix this immediately.”
I end the call without responding, then toss the phone onto the bed. I pace the length of the room, fisting the side of my hair.
Just when the pent-up rage boiling my insides is about to spew all over the fucking place, my ringtone blares out. I grab it from the bed and stab the Accept button.
“Kingston,” Cormac says. “Roman…” He pauses and my throat tightens. “Roman has gone rogue. He’s off the grid. I can’t reach him and nobody has had contact with him today. He’s… gone.”
I don’t speak. I just hurl my phone at the wall, an inferno of ire blasting into every cell. I hate her, hate that she turned me into this person.
She betrayed me in the worst possible way.
And I…
I fucking almost bought into her games, whatever I thought was happening between us. I almost let myself think there was more to us than just this sham marriage.
But what really has my dick in a twist isn’t that she sold me out to her lying sack of shit father.
It’s that she chose Roman over me.
And when I find her, because I fucking will, I’m going to make sure she suffers for it.