Chapter 16 #2
“I give you my word, from the moment I laid eyes on your daughter that hasn’t been my intention,” I say and he still smiles wickedly.
The kind of smile that tells you I’m going to lose a finger or two.
“I suggest you stop trying to kill me or you’ll get Love killed.
Do you know what Mitkus were planning?” I ask and he stops by the table, grabs a knife and walks towards me.
“I’m not going to be of any use if I’m dead, Vance,” I say when I see the psychopathic gleam in his eyes. Something shifts in him.
“You’re smart. Not smart enough. Mitkus are allying with us,” I can’t hold back a laugh.
“Think like that and it’s going to end great... for them,” I say not ready to let go of the last card on my sleeve.
“You’re bluffing,” he says and stabs the table next to me, the knife stands straight vertically on it.
“I don’t bluff,” I say and I mean it. Mitkus are playing dirty. They are building and destroying alliances when convenient to break the old legacies and gain more power. They want us bent to them. I’d rather have my guts pulled out with a spoon. “You don’t see their games?”
“I see yours,” Vance says and punches me, I spit blood to the floor, and take advantage of his small loss of control to trip over the chair and grab the knife on the way down. I cut the rope around my wrists and get up. “Put the knife down,” Vance demands I couldn’t care less.
“Let Love make her own choices and don’t force her to do things she doesn’t want to,” I say getting way out of line to test a theory.
“She told you about Aiden?” Vance says and curses under his breath.
“She didn’t, you just did,” so he wants Love with Aiden. Aiden is partially Mitkus, which makes sense having a marriage within an alliance, if it were the eighteenth century.
Vance grabs a hammer and tries to break my fucking skull. This guy, even being Love’s father needs a hell of a lesson.
I twist his wrist so that the hammer falls to the ground. Then I immobilise him and hold him still, even when he tries to break my arms, legs or neck. I obviously don’t let him.
“Get your hands off me,” Vance says trying to shake me away.
“Stop trying to kill me, I’m on your side-”
“Highly doubt that,” Vance responds and I know he needs to get a mental check when he tries to take me to the ground. Does he not understand that if he falls in this position, he’s the one to die?
“If you hurt me, you’re hurting Love. If you kill me she’ll never forgive you.
I can help you mend what you broke inside her but you have to let me.
I’m not going to give up on Love. Ever. You can beat me.
You can break every bone in my body. I’ll still crawl to her.
You’re not getting rid of me, whether you like it or not.
The sooner you accept it the less damage you’ll do to both Love and the cherished legacy you built,” I push and he finally manages to get loose.
I kind of let him. I want to see what will happen.
One of two things, he kills me or he resigns to hate me in silence.
He seems to be calculating his next move.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I advise but he still throws the knife at me.
It hit my shoulder, however, it only grazes my skin and goes through it against the wall behind me.
“Not immortal,” Vance says and I flinch, my father won, partially, I did turn invincible, the one who’ll walk through the fucking apocalypse and remain unharmed. I look at my arm. Almost unharmed.
“Not immortal, just insistent,” I confirm and can tell Vance went from hating me vehemently to creating a cult against my person.
“What do Mitkus want?” Vance asks and I have to close my mouth that opened in surprise.
“If I tell you, I get to be with Love if she wants me to be with her. And you can’t interfere in her choices-”
“All choices or choices related to you?” Vance asks trying to get a hold on Love’s life but if I’m getting this deal, I’m protecting my girl. Just one last time. She doesn’t need to know about this one.
“All choices,” I clarify and Vance nods his head.
“Think you can give me my daughter back?” Vance asks and I nod trying to seem sure, when in fact I’m terrified I won’t get to her.
Not at first. “All non-suicidal choices and you’ve got yourself a deal,” Vance murmurs and I reply “Deal,” we shake hands and I tell him almost all the intel I have on Mitkus and their previous endeavours.
Vance, as agreed, led me out of the torture room, and when we leave the abandoned building. I notice we’re a couple of streets away from the hospital. The hospital Love is probably in.
“My phone?” I ask Vance and he hands it to me. “Is Love-”
“Yes, she’s at the private hospital psychiatric ward,” her father says and I swallow hard before stepping towards Love.
I walk and walk and feel out of breath. I’m panicking, I don’t panic, but I’m panicking.
I can’t cry before I see what I’m up against. Which demon resurfaced and needs to be kicked out of Love’s mind.
“How can I help you?” a nurse asks when I almost enter the urgent care rooms without permission.
“My fiancée is here. Love Amelia Kane,” I say my finger trembling, inside my jacket’s pockets.
“Visiting hours have passed but I can let you in for five minutes exceptionally,” the nurse says and I accept thanking her, and asking for the visiting hours so I won’t miss them ever again. Every day from 4 pm to 6 pm. Two hours.
“Dom!” Love exclaims, “I’m so sorry I thought the gun was unloaded. Marxis told me the gun would be unloaded”
“You never miss,” I say thankfully. Love didn’t try to kill herself.
But I might have to plan someone else’s death.
“What and when did Marxis tell you that?” I say telling Karl to keep an eye on him on my phone.
While holding Love’s small frame in my arms, my lips meet her forehead.
Just the contact with her made the arrangement with her father worth it.
“Marxis appeared when I entered the party, he cornered me and told me you had a plan. He told me you needed me to pretend I’ll shoot myself so that my father wouldn’t kill you if things went south, I got too invested,” sounds like him, “I was assured the gun would be unloaded-”
“It’s ok, I got you. You missed, you’re fine! He’ll pay,” I guarantee her as well but my promises are true. He will pay with his life and he’ll be my reason for the second purge. Enemies are within our ranks, and our grounds need clearing.
“What are you plotting?” she asks looking up slightly parted from me.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” I say and seal our lips once before the nurse comes in to drag me out.
“Will my father approve?” she asks me and I nod, not letting go of her hand until I have the door closing on it.
“He will support it,” I whisper. “I’ll get you home,” I mouth, she nods and says something back, I can’t understand what, and that stresses the shit out of me.
She’ll be discharged by morning, I’ll make sure she is.
I need her to be. She needs to come to the island with me.
It’s not going to be as peaceful this time.
But it’s needed. We need to identify our enemy so we can nullify them.
They’ll shake, run, and hide, but they’ll never escape.
Because they? They dared hurt Love, they’re the ones behind it, and they shall be punished.
They’ll wish they were dead by the time I end things with them, and I’ll never let them have peace.