Page 115 of I Stop Somewhere Waiting For You

My stomach sours the longer I stare at him. Any ounce of pity or compassion I felt toward him instantly dissipates as the bile rises in my throat. I try to keep my composure, for the sake of the boys. My arms instinctively loop around their own, tightening as I attempt to anchor them. Yet their bodies literally vibrate with rage, serving as a reminder that if one of them loses it, I stand no chance at stopping the ensuing bloodbath.

“Caleb.” His name rips from my mouth, assaulting my throat as though it’s wrapped in barbed wire. Memories of him, of us, replay in my mind from the past year. Each one making me physically sick as I realize it was all a lie.

It’s like being raped all over again. Only this hurts more.

Caleb—or Cabir—stands stoic. His expression doesn’t bare the same amusement as his uncle. Cabir actually looks almost pissed, his eyes firmly locked on Maverick, who maintains his fierce gaze.

“Why?” Nicky forces out, his composure quickly deteriorating. “I was playing ball. You had your claws in Daphne and Luc as a contingency.” My head snaps up toward him, wondering what he means, but he continues. “There was no reason for you to come for her. You didn’t need her.”

“Rest easy, Daniel.” Yuri waves him off. “This one was actually not about you. Do you know who Maverick’s assets transfer to in the event of his death?”

Mav’s body goes rigid just as Yuri’s gaze fixates once more on me. It takes me a minute, but he sees it when it clicks.

Holy shit.

“Yes, that’s right, Joanna. All his businesses, his properties, his savings… it all goes to you. That’s a sizeable sum even without the extracurricular activities that Maverick runs on the side. But the things I could do with that empire? With the channels he has already established? I would be an idiot not to acquire it. Well, that and then there is the fact that I just do not fucking like him,” his hisses, his eyes narrowing as they flicker to Mav.

My head briefly swirls as I try to catch up, questioning everything in my life I think I know to be true. Luc introduced us. Daphne vouched for him as Luc’s best friend. How deep does this go?

“So, your plan was what, exactly? Hmm?” I shrug, eyes boring into Cabir. “Marry me? Inherit the kingdom through me?” He appears unfazed, though his eyes briefly shift to me before returning to Maverick.

“That was our thought process,” Yuri replies. “Once I uncovered you as the beneficiary, I made arrangements to establish Cabir in his role. You were introduced to one another the following year. It was a long-term goal, though I was hoping to speed up the process by Cabir putting a baby in your belly. However, your updated contraceptive methods foiled that plan. Apparently, unlike you, Maverick, Joanna does not make the same mistakes twice.”

I've never been so thankful for my IUD.

I release Nicky so I can wrap both arms around Mav to prevent him from lunging. He stills as I jump in front of him, latching onto me like he’s on the verge of spinning off into a million directions and I’m his anchor. “Mav, shhh… it’s okay, baby. It’s okay.” I press my palm to his heaving chest, the feeling of his racing heart threatening to punch through his rib cage.

His voice drops dangerously low, his tone practically seething through gritted teeth. “If you ever fucking touch my wife again, they will be picking up pieces of you across this city for years to come.”

“She’s not your wife,” Cabir bites.

“She is my fucking Queen!” Mav’s voice jumps a couple octaves as he leans forward, his arm holding me in place as I’m forced to lean backward in response.

“Something’s still not adding up,” Nicky speaks, his voice breaking Mav’s death stare, prompting him to right us. “Amber. Why enlist Amber? She brings nothing to the table. Everything you needed was accomplished through other means. You didn’t need her photographs.”

“This is true, Daniel,” Yuri acknowledges, patting Cabir on the shoulder. “Even when I confronted you at the club about the photos, I was not surprised at all to learn their paths had crossed.”

“So what was with the fucking interrogation?” Nicky scoffs, tossing his hands up in the air.

“Because you two needed to remember your places in this arrangement.”

“And Amber?” he presses.

Yuri gestures toward Cabir. “Your sister, Daniel, must fuck like a porn star because she locked this one down fast.”

Mav’s muscles tense as though preparing to lunge, my grip tightening in response. My stomach rolls with disgust. I didn’t even fuck Caleb the first six months we were together and nothing we did after that could ever be worthy of even the shittiest of porn films.

“Cabir, would you care to elaborate?” Yuri nudges him forward, clearly enjoying this as he encourages him.

I glance over my shoulder at him just as his gaze falls to me.

“Those fucking flowers,” he whispers with disdain. “The ones for your birthday, fine. We were still new. But then Valentine’s Day? And you kept them?” His face twists into a look of contempt. “Four years later and he still sends flowers. I knew he was going to try and take you from me. You were mine, Joanna. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“I was never yours.” I turn to face him, my head slowly shaking. “You were something to pass the time. He and I were always inevitable.”

“You were mine!” His shouts are drowned out by joyous screams aboard a nearby ride. “I found Amber. Hooked her up with Luc. Encouraged her to stir up some trouble.”

My eyes go wide. Amber and Luc? What the fuck is going on? I look to Maverick and Nicky, yet neither of them seem surprised by this revelation.

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