Page 111 of Seizing Control: Part One

“I told you to stay away from my little Cherub, just like I told your old man to stay the fuck away from Scarlett.” Brutus drops down to his haunches. He spits in my face and grins. The maniacal gleam in his eyes sets my teeth on edge. I try to push back to my feet, but the screw kicks my knee out. The father of my old lady, my godfather, my ex-president chuckles. “There ain’t no escapin’, Venom. Your time’s up—and once I’m done with you, I’m sendin’ ya dear old dad to meet the reaper after ya, then Slash, then I’m finishing off that little brother of yours. He might’a got lucky last time, but his luck has run out too.”

“Not… dad.”

“Always a fuckin’ martyr.” The guard who let Brutus into my cell leers over me. “You would plead for daddy to live, but not yourself. I hate heroes—they’re so bloody boring.”

What the fuck?

I blink to clear my blurry vision, uncertain if I’m hallucinating or dreaming.

When I reopen my eyes, the same face greets me.

Hugh St. James.

Not only is Brutus all in with the Maddisons, but he’s also doing their dirty work for them now as well. I sway on the spot, kept upright by Brutus’ grip in my hair and sheer bloody-mindedness as the poison I willingly had pumped into my veins starts to get the better of me. I can feel my heart slowing down and my body turning to stone. My brain is filled with electric eels. They slip and slide, occasionally sparking an idea that burns out too fast.

“Don’t look so shocked,” Brutus mocks me when I blink in slow motion. “I have friends in low places… and high places. But I ain’t here at Hugh’s behest, he’s here at mine. Ya see, I promised him my little Cherub, but you fucked that up for a time. So, now he’s here to witness me make good on my end of the deal.” Leaning closer, Brutus presses his lips to my forehead. “You were a good fuckin’ biker, kid… it’s a pity you couldn’t keep ya hands to yaself.”

He draws the blade over my throat.

It cuts through my flesh like butter.

Hot butter.

I clutch the gaping wound in my neck with one hand as Lily’s father lets go of my hair.

Face down on the floor, blood pouring through my fingers, a gurgle is all I can manage when I try to scream for help. The small amount of light I can see dims. My eyes roll back in my head, and I seek out the sweet fucking relief that the beckoning darkness promises. It lulls me into a world devoid of pain, a world that doesn’t know how stupid I am.

Keeping its word, the darkness takes me away.

I float off. Safe for once. No one left to fight.

It’d feel good, except I can’t die without warning Lily.

Slash.

My dad.

My little brother?

Loud rattling disturbs my peace, then bright lights flare.

I’m turned onto my back and black spots dance in my eyes.

Hope flashes in me for a moment, then it, too, is snuffed out.

The darkness wants me again and I want it too.

Nothing hurts when it’s pitch black.

So, I give in to it.

Knowing that means I have to trust Slash to love and protect metukà shelì now that I no longer can…

18

LILY

The bedroom is bright when I wake up with a start. Slash’s heavy arm is wrapped tight around my waist, our fingers linked, and our bodies snug against each other as he spoons me from behind. I blink twice as I try to remember why we’re sleeping in the middle of the day. When I move to roll over to face the big man, he presses his face into my hair and refuses to let me move.

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