Page 22 of The Pretty Psycho

"But we don't kn?—"

"Go."

I understood why he didn't want us to split up. We had no idea if any of the assassins sent to kill these people were still out there, but Jax didn't know my father as well as I did.

This was just the beginning, and as usual, he was resorting to dramatics. This was just a warning, a prelude to what was about to come, and I didn't want to be unprepared. There was also the fact that my father didn’t want me dead.

He wanted me compliant.

He wanted me to keep saying ‘yes, sir’ to every single one of his orders.

But that wasn’t going to happen.

He loved playing with his enemies the way cats played with their food before eating it. He thought he'd be able to beat me or derail my plans just because he attacked the Academy, but he was wrong.

Gerard Zylla forgot that once upon a time I was the general of his army, a dutiful soldier more than a son. I was the one that gave him half of what he currently had, and I'd be the one to take it all away.

Jax eyed me for a second too long, but he didn't argue any further. With one last glance at the bodies at our feet, he turned around and joined Dante who kept watching us from the door, his eyes calculating, probably already thinking of our next steps.

"There's something on the desk," Dante said, looking at the object in question. I slowly turned around, taking in the bare walls and the lack of all those little things that littered Andries's office just a couple of days ago, until my eyes landed on a folded piece of paper sitting there on the mahogany desk.

It was there for a reason and as I sidestepped the bodies right in front of the desk and took a hold of the paper, I knew who left it there. Well, maybe not personally, but this had my father written all over it. I took a deep breath, opening the paper, seeing only one sentence there.

Everything you have belongs to me, and it always will, written in my father's cursive handwriting.

My fists closed around the paper, the anger I was keeping at bay roaring to life with full force. "What does it say?" Jax asked, his voice sounding far, far away. "Adrian?"

I turned toward them, my eyes connecting first with Dante's and then Jax's.

Jax lifted his left eyebrow, imploring me to speak, to say anything, while Dante stood stoically, waiting for me to elaborate.

"This," I lifted my fist up and looked at the ceiling. "This means fucking war. Jax," I continued, knowing we had no time to waste, "call everyone."

"Everyone?" His eyebrows hit his forehead. "Seriously?"

"Yes," I bit out. "Every single man and woman who are part of The Brotherhood. Everyone. I'm gonna call Arseniy. We need to sweep the area, but once that is done," I added, "they need to come back to the Academy now." Because I wouldn't put it past my father to try and harm Vega.

It wasn't as if our blood relation had ever stopped him from hurting those I loved before.

8

VEGA

I wasin the middle of an earthquake.

Or at least it felt like an earthquake as I slowly peeled my eyes open, seeing Yolanda's panicked face right in front of mine.

"Oh, thank fucking God," she wheezed out, her hands still firmly holding my shoulders. "I've been trying to wake you up forever." It sure didn't feel like it.

After Adrian left the room, leaving me with Arseniy, I all but collapsed in the bed, suddenly feeling every little ache in my body, and I just wanted to sleep. I guess the medicine the nurse gave me was stronger than I thought.

"What time is it?" I croaked out, lifting myself slowly. Every part of me hurt, and I tried ignoring the ache between my legs and the bruises on my thighs that became visible as Yolanda ripped the blanket off of me. "Hey!"

"It's time to go." She dashed inside the bathroom within seconds, leaving me with a reeling mind and more confusion than ever.

"What's going on?" I called out, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and trying to get my body to cooperate with the fact that we apparently had to get up. "Is the building on fire?"

"No," she said as she came out, bringing me clothes I hadn’t seen before. "But it might as well be."

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