by Penelope Sky
My knuckles were white because I gripped the steering wheel so hard. I was livid that someone had tried to attack her on her way to her car, but I was also pissed that Kamikaze had crossed me like that. I refused to sell her, so he decided just to take her.
Now we openly despised each other.
It would result in a war with lots of causalities…like I didn’t have enough on my plate already.
But that wasn’t her fault. She couldn’t control her beauty, the fascinating allure that surrounded her. And whenever she opened her mouth to sing…she captured the hearts of everyone in the room. Kamikaze fell under her spell just the way I had so many times…so he had to steal her from me.
Killing Kamikaze wouldn’t be easy. He had a lot of loyal men, men who wouldn’t stop fighting until their skulls were demolished by bullets. This wasn’t the last attempt he would make. He would try again.
So I had to kill him.
It would be much easier if I weren’t at war with my father right now. He had a horde of men I could use. Not to mention, he had a disturbed mind obsessed with bloodlust, so he was the perfect ally to have at the moment.
But Arwen had fucked that up.
We returned to the house and walked inside, most of the lights off because it was past midnight. I didn’t ask if she wanted something to eat because she probably didn’t have an appetite.
We headed to the stairs and started to walk up.
She winced, grabbing the banister for support. Her eyes closed, and she grimaced like the pain in her feet was simply too much.
She was lighter than air, so it was easy for me to scoop her into my arms and pull her to my chest. One arm supported her shoulders while the other hooked underneath her knees. With her cheek pressed into my shirt, I carried her the rest of the way.
I stepped into my bedroom and set her on the bed, feeling the defeat in her limbs. She lay down right away, like she had no energy to remove her torn dress from her body. Kamikaze disturbed her so much that she was practically broken.
With lifeless eyes, she lay there, probably remembering the horrific event again and again.
I pulled the zipper down on the back and got the ruined dress loose before I removed it altogether. I tossed it into the hamper with the intention of throwing it out in the morning. She wouldn’t want a reminder of what happened tonight.
I took off her panties too, knowing she wouldn’t want those either.
I pulled the sheets down and tucked her inside before I removed my clothes and set my gun on the nightstand. I went into the bathroom and did my nightly routine, washing my face and brushing my teeth before I returned.
She hadn’t moved.
I turned off the lamp before I got into bed beside her, her back facing me.
I’d already saved her, but that wasn’t enough. She’d had a taste of my world, the cruel reality of dealing with men like me. She’d saved those women from the barn, but she’d never imagined she would be in their shoes herself.
I pressed my chest to her back and wrapped my arm around her waist, reminding her I was there. Surrounded by these four walls and an indestructible fortress, no one could touch us. And even if they could, I would be the last man standing. “You’re safe, Sheep. I won’t let anything happen to you…I promise.” I’d made a vow to her father that I would protect her from the psychopaths that wanted to use her, but my commitment didn’t stem from just that. I wanted to keep her safe because that’s what she deserved…not to be assaulted in an alleyway.
She turned around and faced me, her blue eyes gazing into mine like she thought I was her hero. Her fingers gently touched my arm, and she was nude under the sheets, her tits barely covered by the thin fabric. She was naked and beautiful, but sex wasn’t on my mind. “I know you will, Maverick. It all happened so fast… I haven’t had time to process it until now. I was in survival mode and just trying to get to the next place. But now that I’m here, safe and sound, I’m more disgusted by that man than I was before.”
He was garbage. “I’ll kill him. He won’t be around for long.”
“He’s enormous…the guy was like seven feet tall.”
“Doesn’t matter how big he is. He bleeds like everyone else.” A bullet to the skull would kill him just like it would kill me. In hand-to-hand combat, it might be a little different. If he landed a single punch in the wrong spot, he could kill me. But I had speed to compensate for that.
“I still don’t want anything to happen to you. I want him dead, but I don’t want to lose you in the process.” She had been terrified just minutes ago, but now she was worried about me. When her mascara was smeared down her face and her lips were tight with unease, she somehow looked more alluring. When she was scared, she allowed me to console her…and that was sexy.
“No matter what, he needs to die. He crossed me, and I can’t let that go unpunished. And if I don’t kill him, he’ll just try to take you again. In his eyes, you’re already his property. You’re his investment.”
“I’m no one’s property—except yours.”
I did my best to control my dick’s reaction, but it was in vain. My cock hardened automatically at her confession, growing plump and full of blood. But I kept my mind in the game, focusing on what mattered. “He was at the party where you played the piano. We spoke privately while you sang, and he offered me more money. When I refused, he offered me a cut of your profits.”
Her cheeks drained of blood and turned pale. Shock entered her gaze, like her mind couldn’t believe something so vile.
“Then it became clear that he was planning to get you one way or another—so I might as well take his money.”
“Who the hell does he think he is? My father may have scammed him, but that’s not my problem.”
“That’s not how the real world works, unfortunately.”
Her eyes filled with rage, offended that she could be seen as a product rather than a person.
“I have to kill him before he kills me. No other way around it.”
“Can I help?”
I wouldn’t let her be anywhere near him again. “No. I have to take care of this on my own.”
“How? You’ve got men and he’s got men. This will be a war.”
“Unless I can figure out a better way of doing it…” An idea came to mind, but I wasn’t thrilled about it. It only left me a fifty percent chance of survival, and those odds simply weren’t good enough for me. “They call him Kamikaze for a reason. He’s unhinged and a psychopath He’s just as likely to kill himself as he is to kill his enemies. He’s unafraid of death, so he does crazy-ass shit. That gives him the upper hand because you never know what he might do next.”
“I hate this guy more and more…”
“Sometimes, when he’s at a stalemate, he plays Russian roulette with his enemies.”
When her eyes widened, it was obvious she knew exactly what that entailed.
“He’s pulled the trigger on himself before…but he managed to survive.” A bullet shattered his skull and sank into his brain, but doctors were somehow able to remove it and keep him breathing. He didn’t lose any mental abilities.
“And he still plays it?” she asked incredulously. “That didn’t deter him?”
“No. That’s why they call him Kamikaze.”
“Well, you aren’t doing that. We’ll find another way…” She scooted closer to me and rested her head against my chest.
I didn’t want my life to be decided by a lone bullet in a barrel, but Kamikaze was too powerful of an opponent to conquer on my own—without my father’s help. I was just as likely to die in bullet warfare as I was to roll the dice.
How could my life be worth gambling for Arwen'? She was someone I’d been forced to marry, someone I didn’t even want when we first met. But now, I really did see myself as her husband…and that’s what husbands should do. They should do whatever it took to protect their wife…even if it meant their own death in the process.
I woke up the next morning wit
h her on top of me. She was snuggled so close, her body using mine as a crutch to get through the night. She seemed to feel safer the closer she was. When we were practically a single person, she felt the most secure.
After what she’d been through, I let her get away with whatever she wanted.
My hand stroked her hair, and I admired her beautiful face, loving the beautiful fairness of her cheeks. There wasn’t even a freckle on her skin, making her look like a porcelain doll. She had the face that could grace billboards and star in commercials. But instead of being a famous face, she was in my bed.
I stared at her for another minute before I rolled her to her back then scooted out from between the sheets. I skipped a shower and pulled on my clothes before I quietly slipped out the door. I headed downstairs, skipped breakfast, and went to my office at the factory. My workers were producing twice the amount of product we normally shipped, but since my cheese was in demand, we had a lot of orders to fill.
I took advantage of the privacy in my office and made the call I’d been thinking about all night. If I were to avoid it altogether, it would make me seem like a pussy. I didn’t have a plan right that second, but it was better to face him without a clue than avoid him instead. I made the call and held the phone to my ear.
Ring.
Ring.
Maybe that asshole wouldn’t pick up.
Ring.
His booming voice came over the line, like we were old friends sharing an inside joke. “Maverick. I thought I would be hearing from you today. Was hoping to see you in person…but this will do.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to see me in person right now.”
He laughed. “Ooh…big man.”
I was glad my father and I got out of the business when we did. I didn’t have the energy to deal with crazy people anymore. Kamikaze was a pain in the ass, and every second he was still alive was obnoxious. “I warned you not to cross me.”
“I know,” he said with a chuckle. “But all of that went out the window when you lied. I have a debt that needs to be repaid, and your little bitch owes me.”
“Lied about what?” I never told him a lie because we hardly spoke to each other. I spent most of my time not talking rather than digging myself into a hole I couldn’t get out of. “I have better things to do than be a coward.”
Instead of laughing, he turned quiet and formidable. “Maverick, I know your marriage is a hoax. You cut a deal to get what you needed—and I respect that. But you need to respect the fact that her father owes me millions—and she’s going to give it to me. We can still be allies. This doesn’t need to get ugly. We just need to understand each other.”
I looked out the window, but I couldn’t enjoy the beautiful fall morning we were having. There was dew on the grass and the leaves of the trees. The summer heat had faded away, replaced by an inviting breeze that licked the sweat off the skin. But all I could feel was the deep pounding of my heart, the shock that his announcement gave me. My marriage was bogus, but I didn’t expect him to know that. He seemed confident in his assessment, so someone must have told him…but only a couple people knew the truth.
“Just give her to me, Maverick. You can go back to your bachelor life, and I can get what’s mine. We both walk away winners.”
My dreams would be haunted by her face, and my heart would be scarred by the guilt. I wouldn’t be able to close my eyes without thinking about what was happening to her, whether it was Kamikaze or some sheik who’d traveled across the ocean to pay a fortune to fuck her. I’d rather blow my brains out then carry that burden. “Despite what you’ve heard, it’s not a hoax…at least, not anymore. She’s my wife and she’s mine. She’s not for sale, and she’s not for the taking.”
He was dead quiet, like the phone might have lost the signal. “Looks like her value just went up.”
My heart dropped into my stomach.
“She steals the obsession of every man around her…including Maverick DeVille. Her pussy must be one hell of a ride.”
“Don’t talk about my wife like that.”
The sick bastard laughed. “It’s nothing personal, Maverick. She’s the best investment I’m going to find, and I won’t stop until I get her. I suggest you save your own ass and let it be. If you force me to kill you, I will.”
Now the line had been drawn in the sand, and there was no going back. War had been declared. My only two options were to fight or surrender.
And I definitely wouldn’t surrender. “It looks like you’re forcing me to kill you. And I will.”
I shot two of his men near the front gates and barged into the house from the rear. I knew my childhood home better than he realized, and sneaking into the place wasn’t difficult. I broke the window instead of picking the lock just to be an ass.
I made my way inside and found him sitting in the dining room.
Instead of pulling out my gun and pointing it at his head, I stilled in the entryway and stared at him.
He was alone. A decanter of scotch sat beside him along with a full glass in his fingertips. The remains of his dinner looked like fish with a side of lemon. On the wall was a painting of my mother on their wedding day. There was no way for him to have known I was coming, not when I killed his men and got here so quickly.
So this was really him.
Sitting alone in the dark—booze for company.
He looked up and met my gaze, not the least bit surprised by my appearance.
That meant my suspicion was right—he betrayed me.
I stepped into the room, my pistol sitting on my hip. My footsteps sounded loud against the hardwood floor, just the way my mother’s heels used to echo when she carried dinner into the room.
He kept his hand on his glass like it was a life raft.
I stopped in front of him, stared into those heartless eyes, and then drew my weapon.
He still didn’t flinch. He looked at me and ignored the barrel pointed right in his face. “Perfect solution. Kamikaze wants to torture her—and I want that woman to be tortured.” He brought the glass to his lips and took a long drink.
I cocked the gun. “And you’re willing to die for that solution?”
“Die?” he asked. “You’re my son. I know how weak you are.”
I pressed the tip of the barrel right against his skull.
He still didn’t react. “Then do it.”
My hand started to shake as my finger held the trigger. All I had to do was make a quick squeeze and his brains would explode on the wall behind him. My mother was dead, and my father would join her. It was probably exactly what he wanted—since there was nothing left for him in the land of the living.
With a bored expression on his face, he watched the gun shake in my hand. “You aren’t going to do it, so don’t bother with the gesture.” He lifted his hand and gently pushed my gun aside.
I dropped it, feeling like less of a man for not pulling the trigger. “That’s the difference between you and me. You’re an asshole who will kill his own son. I won’t kill my own father.”
“It’s still better than threatening to do something that you’ll never do. It hurts your credibility, makes you seem weak. Next time you point that gun at my head, have some balls and actually shoot. At least I’ll have some respect for you if you do.”
My shoulders sagged in defeat, and I stared at my father with new eyes. Just when I thought my opinion couldn’t get any lower, he somehow made it possible. “I can’t kill you because you’re going to help me.”
“Do what?” he asked, his eyebrow raised.
“You started this mess with Kamikaze. You’ll finish it.”
His eyes shifted away, and he chuckled. “Actually, I didn’t…” His underlying meaning hung in the air, but he never elaborated. He kept whatever secret he had to himself.
I refused to play his game, so I didn’t ask. “We’re going to take him out together. I’m not letting him take my wife.”
“Stop calling her that. She’s just a pawn
in a big chess game.”
“No. You’re the pawn now.” I tapped his shoulder with my gun. “You’re going to help me keep her safe.”
“I’m not, Maverick. I wouldn’t have told Kamikaze the truth if that were the case. He’ll get rid of her, and that will fix our problems.”
“No, it’ll fix your problem…if you can even call it a problem. Mom is dead. Arwen isn’t going to change that.”
“But she’s a little bitch who deserves what’s coming to her.” He clenched his jaw as if he hated her more than Ramon.
Now I looked at my father with new eyes. He was a psychopath like Kamikaze, just in his own way. “You did a really fucked-up thing when you went behind my back and told Kamikaze the marriage is bogus. If you ever want to make it up to me, you’ll help me kill him. Otherwise, I’ll never forgive you.”
He took another drink of his scotch, uninterested in what I’d said. “All I care about is putting that little bitch in the ground. I don’t care about your forgiveness, and I certainly don’t want it.”
Why couldn’t I just lift my gun and kill him on the spot? Was my father right when he called me weak? He was just as guilty as Kamikaze. He didn’t deserve a free pass just because of our relationship. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill me, so I should do the same. But when I looked at that man, I still saw childhood memories. I still saw birthday parties and afternoons when he taught me how to kick a ball. I still remembered Christmas and every other beautiful moment we had.
So I couldn’t do it.
I was livid that he’d risked my wife.
I was livid that he was a terrible father.
I was livid that he became such a piece of shit.
But I still couldn’t do it.
Maybe I was weak.
I turned around and left the dining room, unable to stare at his arrogant expression a moment longer. I turned around at the threshold and barely made eye contact when I said my final words. “If Mother is watching down on us right now…she’s so disappointed in you.”