Page 59 of Merciless Wager
Walking farther into the penthouse, I retrieved a bottled water from the refrigerator and held one up for them. They both declined and were silent as I twisted off the cap and forced down two aspirin from the bottle on top of the counter.
“This won’t take long, as we don’t have much time,” Kingston said.
Little did he know how wrong he was. All I had was fucking time, and with the pain sitting like a sharp weight on my chest, it’d likely be a long and miserable life at that.
“The private plane is fueled and ready on the tarmac,” Cillian said.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked, although I knew what it was.
They’re going to cut the rest of my heart out, then leave me broken and empty.
"We're going to turn the girl over, then?—”
A final vision of Aurora flashed in front of my eyes, and this time it was after our final orgasm when I’d told her in no uncertain terms that she was mine. Goddamned mine at that.
"I can't let you do that. Iwon'tlet you do that."
Kingston let out a growl, but Cillian gripped his arm as if to tell him that he would straighten this out. Straighten me out. Kingston was having none of it as he tore his arm from his cousin’s reach.
“What the fuck are you talking about? You knew the plan up front."
“Plans can change?—"
"Not this one, Z. She has to go," Cillian interjected.
Rage filled me, and I suspected that this was what Aurora had felt when she’d heard me earlier. Panic filled my veins, and I was willing to do anything to keep her here with me. As I looked at the only two men I’d ever respected, I realized what foreign territory this truly was. I’d never denied them a thing, and their incredulity might’ve matched my own had the circumstances not been so dire.
“Over my dead body. Unless you're prepared to take me out, Aurora stays with me.”
"Do you hear yourself right now?” King asked me.
"Are you in love with her?" Cillian asked.
“She’s mine, and I refuse to let her go. Call it love, lust, or some deranged and twisted obsession, but whatever it is, it's real. I will not turn her over to another man, no matter who the hell he is and what the hell he can do for us. No one else will touch what's mine and live to breathe afterward. I'll take out anyone who comes between her and me.” Both men stared dumbfounded at me, until I added, “That includes family as much as foe.”
“You fucking ass—” Kingston started to say but was cut off by Cillian.
“They're going to be out for blood.”
“Then shed mine because I won't live without her.”
Kingston threw up his hands as Cillian sighed deeply. The two men walked to the other side of the room, and I downed what was left of my water. The seconds ticked away, and with every one that passed, the weight on my chest grew heavier. Finally, my uncles returned.
“You're actually willing to start a war over her?” Cillian asked.
Staying resolute, I nodded once before solidifying my response. “If need be, then abso-fucking-lutely.”
“Fuck! The position you're putting us in...” Kingston said as his voice trailed off.
I glanced upward, expecting the pause to have been because Aurora surfaced from her room, but there was no one up there. His pause had been because of me, and as my gaze met his, I could see the disappointment in his. But I also saw something else I couldn’t quite describe, either.
“Don't expect an apology because I'll never feel sorry for a single second I've spent with her. Not a goddamn one of them.”
“You're as stubborn as your father. If he could only see you now, he'd?—"
“No! I'm nothing like him. I'm me, and I wish this family could finally see and accept me for who I am and not who they want me to be.”
“While your father lay on his deathbed, I'd promised him that he’d live a full life if he’d only come back to me. I couldn't fulfill that vow to him, but I realize now that I can keep my promise to his son instead.”
