Page 23 of In the Shadows

“Because I wanted to give her a chance to heal before you assholes started fighting over who’s going to take it.” We haven’t decided she’s staying yet, but at this point, I’m assuming she is because Kovu and I are in so deep.

“Or you wanted to keep it for yourself.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s not how we work, and you know it.”

“In the past, maybe, but you’re different with her. She makes you soft.”

I lunge for him before I realize I’ve done it, slamming him into the wall so hard it vibrates beneath the force. He’s larger than I am, by a decent margin, but I’m deadly when I need to be, and Camilla brings out a protective streak no one ever has before, not even my family. “Shut the fuck up,” I growl. I shove him harder into the wall, and to my surprise, he lets me, just staring at me with a dark smile.

“Maybe one of us just needs to fuck her and it will break your obsession. Is that why you like her so much? Because she’s a pretty little virgin? Do you think once you fuck her virgin pussy, it will break the spell and we can finally get her out of here? She doesn’t fucking belong here. She belongs with the man who bargained for her.”

My fist slams into his cheek so hard a loud crack fills the long hallway, and a second later, I find myself being tugged back. A line of blood drips down his lip, and he uses his thumb to track the crimson across his bottom lip. His eyes are wild with anger and something else, something darker, something he wants to keep hidden from the rest of us. But he should know I can read him, and every other member of this family, like a fucking book.

“Bishop, calm the fuck down,” my father snaps. His arms are wrapped tightly around my torso, but I break free and slam another fist into Kaos’s face. He’s always been so fucking opinionated, it’s about time one of us puts him in his goddamn place. He’s been an asshole the last few years, even more so than he was before, but we all went through that shit together. She betrayed all of us. We all lost someone close to us. And we all had to pick up the fucking pieces. I’ve had enough of him acting like he’s the only one who went through it.

I manage to land one more hit before my father drags me back again, kicking the backs of my knees until I fall to the ground.

Blood drips down Kaos’s cheeks, from his lip, and from his eyebrow. I may have only gotten a few hits in, but I made them count, and the smug son of a bitch inside me is pleased. He deserved it.

A door opens, and I look up to see Kovu look at each of us with furrowed brows, followed by a slow smile tugging at his lips. “I didn’t know we were having a party.” He looks over his shoulder and quickly shuts the door behind him. “But can we keep it down? Camilla just fell asleep, and this asshole riled her up today, so she needs her rest.”

“What the fuck did you do to her?” I growl. “You better not have hurt her. I will fucking end you if you laid a finger on her.” My voice is low and full of rage, but the anger simmering inside me is so much darker. I can’t remember the last time I felt this out of control, because that’s what I’m known for. I’m in control of every situation, every deal, every chess piece that makes up this city. It’s perfectly balanced and something I pride myself on, but right now I want to lose it. I want my baser instincts to take over, and I want to be the monster I try so hard to hide from the world. Because that’s not the part I play in this family, no matter how naturally it comes.

“I didn’t touch the precious princess.” He rolls his eyes as he wipes the blood from his cheek. “She really thought someone was going to give a fuck about her here. Seems the bitch is starved for it, so I just set her straight, made sure she knew her place.” He shrugs smugly.

Kovu makes a low noise immediately before he lunges for him, just the way I did. Right now, it feels like our family of four is split right down the middle, but Kaos and my father are going to quickly learn we’re not going to back down on this the way we normally would. This is different. This is about Camilla. This is about the missing piece of our puzzle.

CHAPTER TWENTY

KOVU

Blinding rage takes over my body, and I’m no longer in control of my own reactions as I lunge for Kaos. It’s hardly the first time we’ve come to blows, but I can’t remember a time I wanted to tear his head off quite like I do right now.

The vile words he said about my little lamb swirl around my mind until they’re playing on repeat, and I can’t hold back the anger anymore. I land three punches before he gets his hands between us and shoves me roughly across the hallway. My back slams against the wall, and before I know it, he’s on me. It’s not that I forgot Kaos can fight just as hard and dirty as I can, it’s that I don’t fucking care. I crave the pain. I live for it.

There’s shouting and yelling, but I’m focused on one thing and one thing alone. Making him hurt for the things he said about Camilla.

“Kovu! Kaos!” Crew bellows, but he can’t get between us without letting go of Bishop, and the minute he removes his grip from his son, there will be two trained killers on the loose.

“How dare you?” I growl as I throw myself at him again. I’m blinded by the rage beating down on me violently, and although Kaos is my best friend, the person who dragged me out of the deep, dark corners of my own mind, I could tear him limb from limb right now.

“She’s just a girl, brother. There are millions of them out there. Why does this one have your knickers in a twist?” he taunts as he blocks my advance.

The blood thundering through my ears is so loud I don’t hear the door behind me open, and a gasp of shock fills the space, making everyone else still like guilty children who have been caught getting up to mischief. I’m the last to turn to see Camilla standing in the doorway with one of my T-shirts wrapped around her small frame and falling just above her knees. Fuck, she’s sexy as hell in my clothes, and every time I’ve seen her in one of my shirts, it’s taken all I am not to tear it from her and drown myself in her sweetness.

“What the fuck?” she snaps, her eyes flaring with anger. “What the hell are you assholes doing? And why is Kaos bleeding?”

We all remain silent for long seconds, waiting for someone else to answer, but it’s Crew who finally breaks the silence. “It seems the boys have some differences in opinion regarding your stay with us.”

She lets out an annoyed sigh. “I told you to hand me over, but none of you listened.”

“If it were up to me, Princess, you’d already be with your new husband,” Kaos says, and I immediately turn back to jab him in the ribs, knocking the air from his lungs.

Something crosses her gaze, much like hurt, but it’s gone as quick as it came. “Okay, let’s go then.” She steps toward us. She’s still unsteady on her feet, not that you would know by the way she closes the distance with her head held high. There aren’t many Mafia princesses willing to hand themselves over to a dangerous man, and that only makes my cock twitch in my jeans.

To my surprise, there’s hesitation in Kaos’s eyes, and I can’t help but smirk. He wants us to think he’s unaffected by Camilla, but that’s not the case at all. Of course, I already knew that. Why would he come sit in her room each day if he wasn’t drawn to her the way the rest of us are? But this is the confirmation I needed. “I’m not on your time, Princess. You’ll have to wait until I’m ready.”

Bishop chuckles from where he’s kneeling on the ground a few feet away, with Crew’s hands holding his arms behind his back. He sees it too, and he’s not going to let his cousin get away that easily. “Yeah right. Mr. I-don’t-give-a-fuck-about-anyone has been awfully concerned about our houseguest but doesn’t want to admit it.”

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