Page 61 of The Casella King

It’s empty, besides a few pieces of patio furniture. It’s surrounded by thick shrubbery and tall trees. I squint as something glints in the moonlight behind the trees. This whole time I’ve been searching in here, but I never once considered she could be out there.

My heart drops low into my stomach at the thought of her in the dark, in the woods, unprotected. I exit through the back door, scanning the area with my gun raised as I head into the thick forest, beginning my search. I walk for a whilst and come across nothing.

My jaw clenches at the thought that I’ve wasted all this precious time.

Aries, where are you?

I turn back to head toward the house when I notice the gunfire has stopped. This could mean two things, and I sure as fuck hope it’s the outcome that’s in my favour.

I make my way around the side of the mansion toward the front, and when I reach the fire, my heart sinks and fury igniteswithin me. I watch as Nico is being forced to his knees, some of my men alongside him.

Still no fucking sign of Aries or Leo.

“Let them go,” I demand, walking toward the men pointing their guns at Nico.

“Fucking took you long enough, brother.” Nico smirks, the crazy in his eyes swirling.

“Lower your weapons,” I say as I drop my gun on the grass. “It’s me you want, so let them go.”

“I would’ve expected so much more from you Casella brothers,” a voice says from behind me, and I turn to watch as Leo and another man stacked like a fucking tree walk toward us. As they get closer, I notice he’s carrying a woman on his shoulder. My blood curdles at the familiar brunette hair swaying with each step he takes.

Please be alive.

Please be alive.

She groans, and relief rushes over me.

He will die first.

The pressure in my temples rises as I clench my jaw, forcing myself to stay where I am, when every part of me screams to be next to her. Leo nods to the man, and he places Aries on the ground, then moves to where Nico and the rest of my men kneel.

“So, this is it, Ezra?” Leo asks as he walks to me, a smirk playing on his lips. I don’t give him the satisfaction of a reply. I just stare back at him. “You know what I’m going to enjoy the most?” He leans in, and it takes everything in me not to pummel him to the floor and gouge out his eyes. “Killing her right in front of you.” All my muscles tense at his words.

“If you lay a single finger on her, I will have your head on a fucking pike.” My voice is laced with venom with every intention of poisoning him with it. He laughs at my words, leaning back, his laughter grows louder and eventually stops.

“I’m not going to stop at her. I will kill your brother, and then I will kill you.” He nods to the man standing behind Nico, and in a flash, a bullet flies through the air as Nico’s screams pierce my ears, and my heart lodges in my throat.

Nico.

I watch as he falls to his side, groaning in pain. I can’t see from here where he is shot but if I don’t do something now, I might not get another chance.

“Why don’t you stop with the spectacle and get to the fucking point.” I take my jacket off. “You want to kill me?” I shrug, my arms wide. “I’m right here, Leo. Just like my father was.”

He aims his gun at me, and in this moment, it isn’t the promise of death that scares me, it’s the fear of losing the people I love.

“No!” Nico shouts, and I watch as Leo’s finger dances with the trigger.

“You don’t know how many times I dreamt of this very moment.” His face lights up with a sinister grin. “How many times I’ve killed you in my dreams.”

“The world is too small for the both of us, Leo.” I take a step toward him. “So fucking do it.”

“Indeed, it is.” He aims the gun between my eyes. “But before you die, I will do you a kindness.”

I raise my eyebrows, surprised by his words.

“I will tell you a secret that the Brayford family has held on to for almost thirty years. A secret that your pretty wife no doubt figured out tonight,” he smirks. “You are not the eldest Casella.”

My brows draw in, chest rising and falling as my fists clench beside me.

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