Page 91 of Secrets of Euphoria

My body tensed. He crossed a line, and I could no longer touch him until I received strict orders from Ian. Jade rested her fists on her hips, but Tyler marched over to her, pulling her out of the way, placing her between him and Chance.

“If he doesn’t end him,” Tyler muttered, “I’m going to.”

Nico took a step back, glaring at the scene. Ice Man positioned himself in front of the weapon table, effectively blocking James from reaching for any potential defenses. I turned to Ian, seeking guidance on how far I could take this.

He strode over, turning his back to the rest of them. “Kill him,” he whispered, and I dipped my head before he sauntered over to Nico’s side, crossing his arms.

Jade gasped at Ian. “Did you tell him to kill him?!”

Ian remained stoic as he stared at James and me.

“You better not kill him, Luke!” Jade shrieked. “You’ll never find Dante and his family if you do!”

Her words may have held some truth. After all, she knew Dante better than anyone else here did. But as much as I loved and respected Jade, I couldn’t let my personal emotions cloud my judgment. Without responding to her cries, I raised my fists in preparation for what was about to come. James wasn’t leaving alive.

20

INHERITED WAR

JADE

Truthfully, I didn’t know if our entire plan rested on James or if he was our only ticket to drawing Dante and his family out of hiding. With that family, anything could happen. I didn’t want to take any chances, and in my mind, it seemed like the best option.

If they were anything like the guys here, they’d go in guns blazing, to defend anyone who’d been hurt. But Dante was also heartless. He wanted his own daughter dead so nothing in me thought he’d save James. He’d only use it as an opportunity to go further into hiding and hire more people to do his dirty work like he always did.

Normally, I would’ve been turned on by Luke beating the shit out of anyone, and a part of me still was. But now, I was pissed. Ian told him to kill him. Of course, he’d listen to him before me.

I watched as Luke’s fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, muscles rippling beneath his bare skin. His eyes were hard and focused, but also tinged with a hint of uncertainty. Would this fight really bring us any closer to ending the feud? As his knuckles connected with James’s face, I felt a surge of anger course through me. It wasn’t the way things were supposed to go. But then again, nothing ever went according to plan in their world.

James stumbled back, his face a mask of blood. He frantically wiped at it with his shaking hands, trying to clear his vision. “You fuck?—”

Luke’s fist connected with his jaw once again. James fell back over the chair behind him, the metal frame scraping the floor beneath him. With a fixed look in his eyes, he stood. Luke advanced on him again, ready for another round of this brutal fight. James swung wildly at him, but Luke easily dodged the attack with a swift sidestep. And just as quickly, he responded with a fierce punch to James’s temple, sending him crashing to the ground once more.

“Get the fuck up!” Luke bellowed, his voice laced with rage. “Fight me! Why aren’t you fighting?!”

But James could barely stand, let alone put up a fight against anyone. As Luke turned to inspect the weapons on the nearby table, Ice Man moved aside to give him space. He scanned over the array of sharp objects before settling on a knife. He picked it up and held it up to examine it, weighing its potential as a weapon.

Meanwhile, James had picked up the knife from the floor and charged Luke with all the strength he had left. With a swift turn, Luke evaded James’s initial attack but caught the dirty blade into his shoulder instead.

“Fuck!” Luke barked through gritted teeth. “You motherfucker!”

Enraged, he dove at James again with his free hand, while gripping the knife hard with the other. He struck with powerful punches. Each blow landed with sickening force and sent James stumbling backward until he finally collapsed onto the concrete floor beneath him.

But Luke wasn’t finished yet. He straddled James and continued to unleash a brutal assault on him; stabbing, punching, and inflicting as much pain as possible. Every move was calculated and precise, each strike aimed at causing maximum damage without killing him. He wanted him to suffer.

“Luke!” I screamed, my voice filled with desperation. “You better not kill him!”

But in that moment, Luke’s mind was consumed by a red-hot rage, and he couldn’t hear my plea. To no fault of his own, he was doing what he was trained to do and was only obeying his boss. He was done holding back. And when James let out a gurgled cry of agony, I knew there was no turning back now. It was done.

Frustrated and seething with anger, I let out a low growl under my breath as he stood over James with his scowl in a violent fury. He reached behind his back, grasping the handle of the knife embedded in his shoulder blade, and yanked it out with a grunt. The metallic tang of blood and old dust filled the air as he let the weapon clatter to the floor. Turning toward us, he wiped the sweat and blood from his brow with a grimy forearm, his bare chest heaving.

I stared at Luke in silent disbelief, my heart racing with hurt and betrayal. The air inside felt stale and suffocating, as if it was closing in on me. Angry tears prickled at my eyes as I took off for the exit, lifting the heavy metal door open with all my strength, my gaze fixed on the ground beneath my feet. As soon as the metal rolled down, slamming shut behind me, I caught sight of a pair of shoes just a few feet away.

Gasping, I stumbled backward, my eyes slowly trailing up the muscular figure until they met his piercing gaze. He stood backlit by multiple headlights, almost blinding me as I struggled to focus on him.

“Dante,” I mouthed, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Ciao, darling,” he replied with a disturbing smirk.

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