Chapter 41
In Grandmother’s office, I twirl my promise ring, and a small sigh parts my lips. I wish I could be with Dane right now and watch him on the track. Of course, he insisted on coming to the Family meeting, but he needs to focus on training before the final race of the season. He’s in my heart, embedded in my life’s fabric. Our promise of love adorns my ring finger, making my insides jubilate.
My parents are in the corner, talking in hushed tones, and all the other senior members have a shadow of unease crossing their faces.
Grandmother walks inside with a cane, limping slightly.
When she’s seated, the senior members of the Family glance from us seven, the youngsters, to her in stiff silence.
Guards bring Felix and Caleb inside, and Grandmother says, “This is your process.”
“You fear her. She’s got one foot in the ground, anyway.” Felix spits, looking at the senior members with accusation.
“Silence.”
Grandmother didn’t even have to raise her voice, and that’s true authority.
“The Family has prided itself on one thing. Loyalty above everything else. It went well for generations until times changed and values shifted. Instilling fear is nothing when we cripple the next generation to the point of fighting against their own family.”
I play with my ring while Felix glares at it. He’s the first to look away, and I love every second of his face contorted in fury.
Grandmother makes a small pause in her speech, and I redirect my attention to her.
“In my time, the initiation was a vow. Family comes first. Nothing and no one else. That’s all you needed, and it became your credo. I would have never condoned these types of barbaric initiations. But again, these youngsters became people you could have never been: resilient and devoted. A new generation that will restore the right order. They are smarter than all of you together and have followed one simple rule: love. None of them wants this legacy and that makes them worthy leaders. The legacy is tarnished anyway, but I will give the next generation all the tools they’ll need to rebuild it from the ground up.”
Grandmother looks at Kaden and says, “What do you say?”
“I’m not speaking for the group. We are a unit.”
She smiles, a genuine one, pride flickering in her eyes.
“This is what you all forgot. Sadly. An acute selflessness and sacrifice comes with upholding a dynasty.” Her sharp gaze lands on Felix. “This is your punishment; you will spend the rest of your time in a cell for betraying the Family, and for giving orders that were never yours to give.”
“I did everything for this family.”
“No, you did everything to steal the leadership of this family. Greed is a snake, and you drank its venom until you became one.” She moves to Caleb. “And you. You lived for one thing.For your research, for your projects, and revolutionizing the health industry. But passion without a balance is madness. I will put you in the cell right next to Felix so you can keep each other company for the rest of your days.”
She sweeps her assertive gaze toward the other senior members. A reverent silence falls among them, and then chaos erupts.
Celine takes off, ramming a letter opener straight into a guard’s arm, and I notice the alarm on his watch.
“You fucking bitch. You’re too late,” Felix roars. That can only mean one thing: he plans to kill us all.
“Everyone out,” Celine yells.
Grandmother’s guards shove me out before I can protest.
“Where are Kaden and Celine?” I ask no one in particular. I move to go back inside when I see Kaden and Celine running down the entrance stairs with the Family’s crest. They throw it in the fountain. Water ripples with the explosion, pushing us on our backs from the impact.
Moments later, another explosion ensues. I stare at the side of the building as windows shatter and glass flies in all directions, raining down on the ground. Flames engulf the curtains, striking viciously, but the firefighters show up quickly, containing the fire and bringing a bit of calm to the chaos.
When the fire is extinguished, it’s confirmed only one body was found, and it was not Felix’s.
He survived. I should have killed him when I had the chance. And now I might never have another.
Back at the house, we’re all seated on the couch in the living room. Thick silence falls around our group. Dane walks inside, and instantly, his brows furrow.
He looks at our crestfallen faces, and I say, “We almost died.”
“Are you all right?” He rushes to me, cupping my face. His eyes flit over every inch of me, and only when he sees that I am fine, he sits beside me.
Hunter stands up and grabs a bottle of whiskey before slumping back on the couch.
“Wanna join the fun?” Hunter asks Dane, uncapping the bottle and tossing the amber liquid back.
We pass the bottle around.
“We could have died today,” I say, and Dane squeezes my hand.
“To family,” says Hunter.
“To friendship,” says Mia.
“To new beginnings,” says Blake, avoiding our gazes.
“To teamwork,” says Bailey, and Hunter rolls his eyes.
“To second chances,” says Dane.
“To life,” says Kaden.
“To ending the corrupt legacy. To us.”
Celine ends the toast, putting the empty bottle on the table.
A pensive silence falls around us, our group exchanging looks. We could allow panic to swallow us whole, or we could enjoy the fact that we’re alive and have survived.
Laughter erupts, and Bailey puts on some music.
Felix has no chance. Unbeknownst to him, he made me realize I need to stay and fix this. I already won. Having all the power he dreamed of and having the one I love—two things he never truly had.
Standing up, music takes over my body. I grind my ass against Dane’s lap, needing to feel him inside me so he can take me to that euphoric place. His hand rests on my thighs, fingers digging into my skin, telling me of his need while he gyrates our hips to the rhythm of the song.
But I need to talk to him about something before that. Being in love also means being vulnerable, showing it, and knowing you draw strength from your partner.
I grab his hand and pull him to my bedroom.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“I love my friends, but I love you the most, and I can’t live without you.”
“Okay… go on.”
“I have to do something I never intended to do because it’s the right thing. And I think it’s selfish to ask you to support me in this. I don’t want to put you in that situation.”
“What fucking situation?”
“This is my life. They are my responsibility.”
“So what?”
“I don’t want to be selfish.”
“Princess, I fucking love you, and I take you however I can. Fuck it, we already have our house in Greenville. If you’re okay with staying here, that’s what we’ll do.”
“I still don’t know what I did right to deserve you.”
He pulls me to his chest, kissing the top of my head. “Abigail, where you go, I go. Where you are, I am.”
“Take me home, then.”
And he takes me home. No longer a haunted, decrepit mansion, but our place.
We walk inside hand in hand, and I tilt my head to him. “Now, I’m going to finish that drawing of yours. At our home, in our bedroom. Where we will build our future.”
He smiles so brightly it lights up my insides.
“Lead the way, princess.”
As we walk up the stairs, I lean my cheek against his arm. “I want to make a home here. Private, just us being normal. I mean, our kind of normal.”
“I have only one condition.”
“And that would be?”
“Never ask me if I’m sure about something regarding us. The answer is always yes.”
In the hallway, he scoops me into his arms, carrying me bridal style to our bedroom.
“Say what I have been longing to hear since the very beginning.”
“I’m your girlfriend, your woman, your future fiancée, wife, and mother of your children, and everything in between— your little whore and good girl.”
He shuts the door with his foot and says, “Welcome home, my everything.”
***
I insisted Dane continue his training, so he wasn’t there when Kaden and Hunter went after Felix and found him just days later. He was hiding in a cabin not far from Greenville and planning his escape.
After Felix was caught, I went to Grandmother and told her I would continue her legacy. In exchange, she granted me a favor. This time, we’re taking the fight to Felix. Dane is next to me, his body oozing impatience for exacting his revenge.
At the tunnel, a guard opens the door for us. Grandmother had the room where Felix had his eyes on everyone rebuilt into two cells where both he and Caleb were incarcerated. That’s a dish of irony that I hope Felix chokes on.
Dane has his palm on my back as we step inside Felix’s cell, side by side. It’s a gray and musty room with no windows. A bed rests against the opposite wall, and there is a small table with two chairs and a steel toilet in the right corner. Quite the fall from his powerful position.
His escape was short-lived. He sits at a table with a chessboard, playing alone.
“Remember when we used to play chess when I was younger, but we stopped because you couldn’t handle that I won?” I ask him.
“What do you want, Abigail?” he asks, voice laced with barely contained rage.
“You said the queen’s only role is to protect the king, another pawn with a fancier title.”
He rolls his eyes, swiping a hand through the air. “Enjoy this fake power while you can.”
“Look at me. I am the queen who overthrew the king. You are at my mercy. Never forget that. The fact that you are here is not out of my good heart or will, but to make an example out of you.”
I turn my wrist so he can see the tattoo I proudly wear.
“A little whore with no class.”
In one swift move, Dane has his hand curled around Felix’s neck, lifting him a bit. Felix’s eyes bulge out. I offer Dane a small nod, and he lets him down. Felix sputters and inhales deeply, sinking back into the chair.
“Dane is a bit impulsive when it comes to me. I’m trying to keep you alive, but I can’t guarantee it when you’re insisting on being irresponsible.”
Dane takes the seat in front of Felix, never losing sight of him. Pulling me onto his lap, he smirks at him.
“Get out, you little whore, and take that scumbag with you.”
Dane shifts to stand up, but I place my hand on his thigh, giving a little squeeze. This asshole is trying to rile me up. He won’t succeed.
I tsk. “Uncle, I’m very proud to be a little whore. I’m his little whore.”
Just then, Dane flicks a strand of my hair back, nibbling my neck.
The vein in Felix’s neck might burst at any moment.
Felix jumps up, and Dane says, “You have two seconds to sit back down, or I will light your ass on fire and watch you burn.”
“He has a penchant for setting things on fire. Like with the college house… the laboratory…”
“You did that? I knew I should have killed you. And you, I should have—”
He leers at me as Dane touches me. He grazes his thumb on the side of my breast while his other hand rests on my waist.
“Stop touching her.”
“You would have loved to take her for yourself, but you never could,” Dane says, his fingers caressing from my neck down the valley of my breasts. His sensual touch creates a throbbing between my thighs, and I clench my legs automatically—to get a bit of friction or still my need for more, I’m not sure. His touch always makes me lose my mind.
I look at Felix, expecting him to deny it.
“Abigail has always been mine. And she falls apart beautifully on my tongue, fingers, and cock. I molded her pussy to the shape of my cock.”
I see Felix swallowing, the perverted asshole, while he fists his hands on the table.
“Stop talking. Get out.”
Instead, Dane snakes his hand under my pink and cream tweed skirt. He kisses along my neck. I’m so wet and getting the last pieces of my control back is a potent aphrodisiac.
Dane lifts me a bit so he can take himself out. I have no panties on, so I slide down on his cock inch by delicious inch.
“No panties, princess. Such a dirty girl for me. Such a wet and greedy pussy, taking every hard inch, squeezing my dick so fucking good.”
“I can’t help it…” A long moan parts my lips, my eyes rolling in their sockets.
“What are you doing?” Felix asks, his pupils shifting from right to left in a fit of anger.
“Showing you what a whore I am. So you see how much I enjoy being his. His big cock is the only one I’ve wanted. He’s the only one who will ever be inside of me. Dane will be the father of my children. And you can’t stop that.”
With his hands on my waist, Dane pushes me down, filling me up. A moan tumbles out of my mouth, the pleasure so intense I have to close my eyes for a moment.
His arm snakes to my front, and he curls his fingers around my neck and presses me back to him. In this position, Felix can’t see even an inch of my exposed skin, but he can hear what is happening. The squelching sounds of my pussy, our skin slapping whenever he thrusts back inside of me resound.
To see the color draining from Felix’s face brings me great satisfaction. But it doesn’t come close to the pleasure coursing through me every time Dane hits that spot deep inside that makes me delirious and insatiable for more.
“Tell him how it feels to be my little whore?” Dane asks, pushing me up and down on his cock while I dig my fingers into the table, leaving half-moon marks. He feels so good inside of me, making it hard to think.
Letting go, I embrace the euphoric madness.
“I’d do anything to feel his cock inside of me, Uncle Felix. He takes me so hard that I can’t walk straight afterward, stuffing my little pussy full of his big cock with no mercy. He makes me take all of him.”
“You—”
“Open that mouth to say another word, and I will cut your fucking dick off, stuff it in your mouth, and choke you with it.” Dane delivers that threat in such a low and hard voice it makes me even wetter.
Dane grips my chin and makes me look back at Felix. “Look at him and tell me what you see.”
“A pathetic man who wanted what he could never have.”
Felix dashes to us in a flurry of movement, but Dane’s arm shoots out. Gripping his neck, he smashes his cheek onto the table. Bones crack with the impact, but I don’t care if it’s his nose or jaw.
While Dane keeps Felix down, he fucks me until I come, crying out his name, trembling with the aftershocks of my orgasm.
Every time, it gets better, if that’s even possible.
Dane drives into me so hard I don’t only see stars, but I’m dancing among them. And then he erupts inside of me.
He smirks in Felix’s face. “We might just have produced the first heir of the Family’s next generation.”
I’m on the pill, but Felix doesn’t know that. Dane and I decided to wait a bit longer to have children because we want to spend more time together.
Felix whimpers, looking at us with sheer venom. “No. Over my dead body.”
“That can be arranged. But then we want to deliver the good news personally.”
After Dane pulls my skirt down and rearranges my shirt, he tucks himself back into his pants.
I bend over the table. “I won’t spend even one more minute thinking of you. But I’ll make sure you remember me every day of your miserable life.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Dane flicking open a lighter we bought from a gas station on our way here. From his jacket pocket, he pulls a prod out. He had that specially made. It’s our initials looped together like a logo.
“What are you doing?” Felix asks.
“Princess, where do you want it?”
“On his hand.”
Felix backs into the wall as we both approach him.
He yells for the guard while I grin in victory. No one is going to come to his rescue. And when he tries to fight me, I press my fingers into his palm and wrist, making him bend over in pain.
Dane hands me the prod and slams Felix’s hand on the table, keeping it in place while I sear his hand with the brand.
His wails are the sweetest music.
Once I’m done, I look at the fiery “A” and “D” in a little flame branded in his skin.
“You will regret this. Mark my words.”
I ignore it, and hand in hand, Dane and I leave.
In the next cell, Caleb looks ashen and has backed into a corner.
“This one is even more pathetic,” Dane says.
“A follower.”
The sight of Caleb is enough for me, but not for Dane. He puts on a brass knuckle.
“No, please. Felix made me do it…”
Dane cracks his fingers. “If you beg, it will be even worse. You’ll get two hits.”
One for me, one for what we lost.
“Where is my son? I didn’t turn him into a traitor,” Caleb yells.
Sadly, we don’t know where Blake is, and thinking of him makes my chest constrict.
Maybe it’s because I made peace with the past and what happened to me, but I just want this over with. I don’t want to waste a moment more seeing these two.
As if Dane senses my eagerness to be done already, he delivers one punch straight to Caleb’s dick. The sheer force has his eyes rolling in the back of his head. He drops to his knees on the floor, sobbing. Dane delivers the next one to his jaw, and by the sound of crunching bones, he won’t be able to eat for a while.
“Goodbye, Uncle Caleb. Rot in hell.”
And then we’re out.
“Do you think we’re crazy?”
“Princess, who fucking cares? Love means you’d die for the other person. And I would, gladly, but living for you is what I choose to do.”
“I live to love you too.”
When we leave the tunnel behind, Mia is waiting for us at the exit.
“How are they?” she asks.
“Hating every second,” I reply.
“Good.”
“We need Blake back.”
“I warned Kaden,” Mia sighs.
I know two things: Blake won’t be found until he wants to be found. But knowing Kaden, he will take it personally to find him. Bailey is very uncooperative, insisting she won’t reveal his location.
“We’ll figure it out. I’ll be back on Monday.”
Dane leans on his car, waiting for me.
It’s the Formula One final this weekend, and I’m going to be there, cheering for my love.