Page 43 of Bathed in Blood

I shake my head, jerking up my phone to check the cameras. I’d managed to delay the news of our arrival for three days, but nothing stays hidden for long.

“And I’m still pissed about the wedding! I could’ve written a speech!”

Lana is standing in front of the window, her arms crossed tightly around her like it’s the only thing keeping her together. If you saw her from outside, I’m sure she’d look like a ghost. I’ve spent my last few days caring for her, fucking her, making her as comfortable as possible, but still, there is a barrier between us, one I’d laid the groundwork on. I'm not the kind of man who can chip away at it, who can give her space and time. No, if there was a barrier, I’d obliterate it. I’d smother her, force her to see all the reasons why she can smile.

And now, I have to leave.

A few hours away seems like too long, but I refuse… and Father is ready to load ammunition on why bringing her in was a mistake. I won’t risk her going with me, not when she’s so… delicate. Hurting. It’ll take time for her to see this place as a home. She’s not locked away, but she refuses to leave our room all the same. She’s safe. We have accounted for two out of the three Sullivan brothers' corpses, the third presumed buried underneath what’s left of the estate. My deep breath does nothing to calm my nerves, so I lock my phone and head back up the stairs.

Back to her.

Work can wait.

“Son.”

I should’ve lived off compound.

I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off when he gestures towards his wing. “My office.”

The sides of my phone dig into my palm as I squeeze, careful not to crack the screen.

“I’ll be quick,” he offers, shaking his head before turning towards the second landing hall, his cane pressed into the runner on the landing.

When you enter my father’s office, you’re always hit with the thick layer of the incense he burns. Looking at Aurelio Vanegas,burning incense, meditation, and crystals wouldn’t even cross your mind. Yet, here we stand, in a very expensive professional-looking smoke shop. I remove my shoes as he does, sitting them on the rack before shutting the wide double doors behind us. He doesn’t waste any time making me consider committing war crimes against him.

“Why is the Halum site still active?”

I walk to his serving cart, pouring myself a stiff glass of bourbon. “Perhaps because I was only made aware Halum was an issue a few moments ago.”

His cane rests against the side of his desk as he glares at me, his dark eyes creating a black hole in the side of my head. “If you’re having trouble managing—"

“I’ll have it handled before the end of the night.”

“And the princess? Her last stream was a work of art. The viewers enjoyed the raw show of emotion. If she can keep that up, the mess you made at the Sullivan compound might just be worth it, not to mention the mess you continue to make where that family is involved.”

The bourbon burns my throat as I toss it back. “There won’t be another stream.”

“You’ve lost your fucking mind. You sample her cunt one time, and—"

The thick, intricate glass hits the cart harder than I meant for it to, cracking the base. “Watch the way you speak about mywife.”

His eyes widen for a moment before narrowing. It’s not often you can surprise my father. If I was any less pissed, I’d savor it. “You really have lost your mind, then.”

“You assume I ever had it.”

That pisses him off? Good. Now we’re playing on the same level.

He surges up from the desk, his fist slamming down hard enough to send his crystals scattering to the floor. Not veryZenof you, father. “I told you—" he bellows, but I cut him off, stalking forward until my thighs meet the opposite side of his desk less than an arm’s length between us.

“Youtold me family comes first. Since that day, I have honored it to a fault. I have bled for this family! Now, she will be a part of it.”

“She will perform. We needed her!”

“The Blood Princess is dead! If she sets foot in that room again, your empire will burn, and I will light the fucking match. Would you truly haveyourdaughter-in-law broken, half naked and forced to perform in your shows? And when she is pregnant with your grandchild, you would have her under that duress?”

“She is pregnant?” he asks, leaning back.

“Maybe. If not now, she will be soon. Lamaison said she should have no issue carrying.”

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