Chapter 25 Reign
REIGN
Iheld her as she broke apart in my arms, her tears hitting my skin, each one feeling like a thousand whip lashes against me.
I buried my face in her hair, doing the only thing I could think of to comfort her.
I held onto her.
It was as much for her as it was for me.
No fucking more. My heart couldn’t handle it if she were taken from me again.
I wouldn’t allow it. I tightened my arms around her when I heard movement coming from the doorway.
I looked up to see Caine standing there.
His face was still as expressionless as ever, but something dark entered his eyes as he took in Jamie crying violently in my arms.
He loved her, didn’t he? As much as he was capable of, I’d say.
He met my eyes, and I knew we had some sort of understanding then. He nodded.
Gently, I pulled her away from me, wiping away her tears with my hands. Her face was red, and her eyes puffy. She wasn’t a pretty crier.
But that was okay because there would never be a time when I didn’t find her beautiful.
“Your brother is here,” I said softly.
She blinked dazedly at me, as if she couldn’t figure out what I was saying. Then her eyes moved to the doorway, stopping when they connected with her brother’s.
She offered him a pained smile. “Hey, Caine.”
He walked over to her slowly, as if he was afraid that any sudden movement would cause her to break.
“Hey, Jamie.”
She looked around, her eyes focusing on Tito’s body, until I cupped her cheek to get her attention.
“I seemed to have made a mess of things.”
He shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “Are you sure?”
“He’s sure,” I said firmly. Fuck, but this shit wasn’t her fault. She just happened to have the bad luck of being born a Caparelli daughter.
“Come on, let me take you to my car. You can stay there while Caine and I take care of everything.”
She didn’t say anything to that, barely reacting when I lifted her in my arms and walked out of there. She buried her face in my neck, trying to get closer to me. I looked at Caine as I walked past him.
There was nothing either of us could say that would make this better for her. I quickly got her to my car and placed her in the passenger seat.
“Just stay here and don’t worry about anything,” I said, straightening. I was about to walk away when she grabbed my arm.
“Where are you going?”
“Baby, I have to go clean up the cabin.”
She turned her red eyes toward me.
Fuck it. Those bodies could just rot in there for all I fucking cared. I was about to call Caine to tell him just that when she said, “Okay. But you won’t be far from me, right?”
I bent down until we were at eye level and pointed to the cabin. “Just right there. I’ll be able to hear you if you call for me, okay? I don’t have to leave. I can call Baran over to help Caine.”
She seemed to think about it before shaking her head. “No, you go. But hurry. I just want to go home.”
Fuck, we couldn’t go back to my apartment.
Not with my dad hunting me. But she didn't need to know that now.
I nodded and pressed a firm kiss on her lips before standing up and heading back to the cabin.
Caine already had the bodies in a pile. I grabbed the can of gasoline he must have brought in with him and poured it everywhere.
It wasn’t until I reached one small corner that a red blinking light caught my attention. I frowned and pulled it out.
A fucking camera. This had been a setup.
I froze for a brief second.
Fuck me.
Not for Jamie, but for me. And I bet whoever was behind this camera already had everything recorded, including the murders.
I turned to Caine when I heard him approach, then covered the lens and showed him part of the camera. He frowned slightly before his expression smoothed over, realization dawning on him.
I nodded, then dropped the camera and stomped on it, crushing it into a hundred little pieces.
“If anything happens to me, you take care of Jamie,” I said, already preparing for the shit show that was about to happen.
His lips pressed together in a thin line.
“It’s time to burn down everything and get out of here,” I said.
Jamie and I didn’t stick around to watch the flames destroy the evidence of my killings. Caine stayed behind to make sure the fire was contained to that area while I drove off, heading straight to the bank where my safe-deposit box was located.
I never even made it through the doors. A flash of red and blue hit our faces as soon as I parked the car. Jamie looked at me, completely terrified.
Fuck, how I hated that look on her face.
“Reign, what’s going on?”
“It’s okay,” I said as voices carried from outside. I ignored them and focused on my baby. “Everything is going to be okay. I promise. I just need you to be a good girl and listen to Caine, okay? And I know you don’t trust him, but if for some reason Caine can’t be with you, go to Kingston.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand. What are you saying? What is happening?”
The window on my side shattered before an arm reached inside and opened my door. Someone pulled me out roughly and pushed me to the ground. I grunted when I felt a fucker’s knee on my back as my hands were cuffed.
They really brought out an entire police force just to capture little ol’ me, didn’t they?
Fuckers.
I wasn’t fucking resisting.
“Hey! What are you doing? Leave him alone!” Jamie screamed. I tried to look up, searching for her, but the fucker on top of me made sure I couldn’t fucking move even an inch.
Someone read my Miranda rights to me as I was hauled to my feet and escorted to the police car. I was shoved in the back, and the door shut firmly behind me, encasing everything in silence once more.
I looked out the window for Jamie but couldn’t find her anywhere. Hopefully, she was somewhere safe. But I didn’t fucking know, and a more paranoid part of me was afraid my fucking bastard of a father might have placed some men nearby and grabbed her…
I closed my eyes, feeling so fucking helpless, I wanted to destroy the entire police cruiser.
Fucking hell.
To be continued…