Page 108 of Hidden Empire

“They’re real,” he comments. “You don’t need to worry about them though.”

“I don’t?”

“No.”

I hesitate, finding that hard to believe. “Um, why not?”

“It’ll be handled.”

Ominous.

“What do you mean?” I ask cautiously. “If there’s actually a group of people practicing mind control, why wouldn’t I worry about that?”

Apollo looks at me. “Because the first thing I’m going to do when I leave this room is make damn sure The Knights aren’t protecting Bruce. And then I’m going to make them pay for not killing him when he clearly failed to join them. That’s all you need to know.”

“Please don’t,” I plead, immediately latching my hand around his wrist. “Don’t start some kind of war to avenge me. I just want it to be over. The last thing I want is for any of you to get hurt because of me.”

Apollo lowers his gaze, eyes finding my hand shaking in a tight grip around his arm. The part of me that’s desperate for his approval is screaming at me to let him go, to apologize for even touching him. But I can’t. I can’t let Apollo do something that could backfire on this whole family, not when I’ve just gotten them.

“K-kill Bruce and Kim if you have to,” I say shakily. “They’re just people, but I don’t know what The Knights are capable of. Please don’t?—”

“I do know what The Knights are capable of, Jade,” Apollo interrupts, voice as steady as it has been this whole time. There isn’t even a hint of worry on his face. “I know what they’re capable of, and I know that I can crush them like an insignificant little bug.”

“But—”

“Jade,” he cuts me off again, voice firmer. “You’re new here, I understand that. But when it comes to matters of The Outfit, you don’t have a say. I’m sure that sounds unfair, but you should remember, just like you don’t know about The Knights, you don’t know about The Morettis.”

I can’t argue with that.

“But don’t worry,” he adds. “You’ll know soon.”

Chapter 29

Dmitri

Present

“Istopped stabbing him when I saw blue and red lights bouncing off of all of the trees and heard sirens piercing through the air,” Jade says shakily.

“The cops found me stumbling around, shaking, covered in his blood, and it was like they just knew. No one yelled at me or accused me of anything; they just started covering me with their coats and looking me over for wounds. I knew my feet were bad because this girl officer turned green when she saw them, but they were pretty numb from the cold at that point.”

Hot blood rushes through my veins, my heartbeat slamming in my ears. I have to hit something or kill someone; the need is pounding and unrelenting, but I can’t move. I have to listen to this because it’s my Jade.

Coming back to find her sniffling in my brother’s arms was already enough to have violent thoughts bouncing around in my head. And now she’s told us everything. From the kitchen counter to the hunt, stopping to cry and collect herself at times.

“I was so cold, but I still felt this relief. Until someone yelled that they had a heartbeat, and all of a sudden, I wished Bruce had been able to kill me. I wished I hadn’t fought back at all because it was for nothing. I knew they’d get him back, and I knew he’d never leave me alone. I failed. I didn’t escape, I just?—”

“You didn’t fail,” Ivan murmurs, rubbing her back.

“I screamed,” Jade continues. “I just fucking broke down and started begging them to let him die, but they couldn’t.”

“They should have,” my brother agrees, continuing to comfort her while I remain frozen in place.

“There was a news van pulling up,” she states bitterly. “They couldn’t be caught not trying to save him. I’m just glad I was still seventeen, so they couldn’t say my name or talk about me at all because of minor protection laws. Just that an underage girl was attacked, and her assailant was in critical condition.”

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was attempting to convince me not to kill the news reporters who crushed her spirit while she was already hanging on by a thread. It doesn’t really matter because it’s not working.

With watery eyes, Jade uses her sleeves to wipe at her damp cheeks. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you both sooner. I shouldn’t have let you get close to me without warning you. It seems like everywhere I go, someone wants to get rid of me.”

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