Page 84 of Serpent King's Prisoner

I had just found her, and he was threatening her, and I couldn’t…

“Speaking of losing,” Ba’s voice took on a grimmer tone, his eyes narrowing, “while you’ve been preoccupied with this woman, our enemies have taken action. Two Serpents laundering ops—torched while you were putting your cock in some whore.”

My jaw clenched at the news, my mind racing to grasp the situation even as I stifled the impulse to set him straight—with violence, if necessary. “How did I not know about this?”

“Because you were too busy playing house with that girl.” Disappointment laced his words, an invisible weight pressing down on my shoulders. “You let yourself get distracted, Nathan. And in our line of work, distractions can be fatal.”

“Ba, I—“ I started, but he cut me off with a sharp gesture.

“Listen to me,” he said, and the room fell silent except for the subtle hum of electronics from the corner where Alex, Neon, and Javi still counted cash. “I fear they are closing in on us, drawing tighter like a noose. And you, my son, have given them an opening.”

“An opening?” I echoed, my mind spinning. This wasn’t just about business; this was about survival.

“Enemies smell weakness from miles away,” Ba continued, his voice hard as steel. “If they see you distracted by some woman, they’ll think we’re vulnerable. It’s only a matter of time before they strike at something—or someone—you can’t afford to lose.”

I felt a surge of anger at his implication, the blood in my veins turning to fire. “Maybe you’re right,” I growled, taking a step closer to him. “But she’s not just some woman.”

His eyes narrowed, and I could tell he was weighing his words before he spoke again. “You should have killed her…or maybe I should.”

The air in the room seemed to freeze, my heartbeat thundering loud in my ears. “You lay one finger on Abby, and it’s the last thing you’ll do,” I snarled, the words ripping from my throat before I could swallow them.

Silence descended like a guillotine, slicing through any pretense of civility. Ba’s eyes locked onto mine, probing, calculating. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I’d gone too far.

“Is that so?” he said finally, his voice low but dangerous. “And why would you risk it all for her?”

“Because I love her.” The admission slipped out, unbidden and raw. At first, I thought I’d used the words as a shield, but as they hung between us, heavy and undeniable, I realized they were true.

I loved her.

In my own fucked up way…I loved her, and I had to protect her.

“Love?” Ba scoffed, a chuckle scratching the back of his throat. His amusement was like ice on my skin, but I didn’t flinch. “Nathan, you amuse me. I’ve been trying to set you up with Triad women for years—someone who would bring honor and strong alliances to our family. And here you are, falling head over heels for a white American waitress.”

I clenched my fists at my sides, feeling the dragon inked into my skin coil with restlessness. “You should’ve given me better options,” I said firmly.

“Romance,” he tutted, shaking his head. “Now is not the time for such distractions.”

“Maybe not,” I conceded, forcing myself to meet his gaze. “But think about it, Ba. What do you always say? Keep your enemies close and secure your legacy. Abby could be more than a distraction. Marrying her could give you what you’ve been after all along—me settled down, starting a family.”

Ba’s eyes narrowed as he mulled this over, the silence stretching thin between us. “Heirs. White heirs…” he muttered, the word hanging in the air like smoke. “Yes, that would satisfy some conditions…but can she handle being a Serpent’s bride?”

“Biracial heirs. You didn’t get this far by being stuck in your ways, Ba. And Abby’s stronger than she looks,” I said, my voice low but certain. Under any other circumstances, I wouldn’t have dared challenge him. But he’d just threatened her and I was doing my best to hold back from beating him into a bloody pulp.

I had never laid a finger on my father. I wasn’t insane.

But if he threatened her again...

And he was wrong. I had seen Abby go through hell—hell I had put her through—and she’d still come out with a smile on her face.

She was resilient, frighteningly so.

“Fine,” Ba finally said, the ghost of a smirk playing on his lips. “But you’re missing the point, son. While you’ve been distracted, there’s been trouble. We have a rat, and it’s time you got your head back in the game. You need to root out this traitor before they destroy everything we’ve built.”

My heart hammered against my ribs, knowing full well the stakes had just shot through the roof. The Golden Serpents weren’t just a criminal empire; we were an intricate web of loyalty and deceit, where one wrong move could bring death knocking.

And now, Abby was woven into this deadly tapestry.

“Especially now that you have something to lose,” Ba added, his voice laced with a warning as sharp as a knife’s edge.

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