Chapter 56
Chapter Fifty-Six
Azrael
Sixteen months later …
Czar glares at me from across the table, and who can blame him? He still feels utterly betrayed by the one man he always defended, and now he’s burdened with a wife he doesn’t want nor trust.
Every move I made was to protect him. When will he see that? Has he learned nothing from Hevan’s assault?
Still, the hatred rolls off him in venomous waves.
When my world crumbled over a year ago, he was the one who helped me succeed, the one who collected the empty bottles along with the dozen full ones and disposed of them.
The one who threatened every one of our dealers with decapitation if they so much as came within one hundred feet of me.
Difficult, considering we’re drug dealers.
My father noticed me slipping and, truthfully, he believed my lie because of my reaction to Hevan’s absence.
He was told she had been moved to a safehouse after the night he assaulted her, but her refusal to accept me pushed me away, and the guilt of his actions caused me to tailspin into the abyss.
Thankfully, he’s a cruel, coldhearted bastard who takes enjoyment in others’ misery, and after a year of coaxing me, I finally relented and agreed to have “the whore” moved back into the auction house “where she belonged.”
Our father claps his hands together, and I refrain from wanting to leap across the table and throat-punch him. Not with so much at stake. “I’m relieved you’ve finally come to your senses, Azrael.”
I lift my glass with an equal expression.
“Tell me.” He leans forward. “Is her cunt still tight?” I feel my body pale, and in return, it’s replaced with a rampant jealousy.
“Bet she hasn’t let him near her, am I right?” Czar adds, and again, I’m thankful for my brother stepping in to add to the crafted story.
Our father clucks his tongue. “Fucking take it, then!” He slams his fist down on the table, and it’s ridiculous how quickly he can go from happy to angry.
The man really has no control over his emotions at all.
The redness of his face seems to deepen somehow, and I wonder when he burns in hell if his face will flare the same shade. Will mine too?
“I might take it tonight. Force her to see the error of her ways,” I state.
A loud, rumbustious laugh erupts from him.
“Yes. Yes. I have the first of the latest shipment arriving too.” His eyes dance with jest, and I curl my lip into a knowing smirk.
The only thing that keeps me sane as he discusses the abuse of children like they’re cattle is the thought of what tonight will really bring.
I was named after a devil, and tonight, I will rain down hell on our empire.