Page 84 of Wicked Knight

That does it. I growl and step forward, my body taut with fury, and throw a fist smack in the center of his face. He staggers backward but doesn’t lose his footing, nor his hold on the gun.

Instead of simply aiming it, he cocks the hammer.

“Get out of here,” he barks at Mackenzie, shifting his callous gaze to her. “Get the fuck out of here, or I’ll make youandour family pay.”

Tears steam down Mackenzie’s cheeks, and I want to unleash the beast inside me to rip him apart. But not while he has a gun. The bastard would probably shoot her to teach me a lesson.

He steps forward, getting closer to her, too close. “Go to your parents’ cottage. They will talk to you aboutthis.” He shoves the contract in her hands and backs away. “Your father had it dissolved.”

The moment he says that, I realize how he found out about it. Aleksander would have told him. Had I been anyone else, he may not have said anything, but he knows our families are at war.

Knowing my father, he probably tracked me down after that with his above-board military surveillance.

Damn it.This is a fucking mess I never saw coming.

Trembling, Mackenzie risks a glance at me, then she walks away.

I want to stop her. I want to tell her that I’m not giving up on us and that I’ll deal with my father, but getting her out of here safely is the most important thing right now.

I don’t trust my father not to use that gun.

Mackenzie leaves, taking my soul with her.

Father lowers the gun and faces me. “You. You’ve defied me before. But this…?” His gaze rakes over the apartment, disgust twisting his features. “How could you? After what her father did to Tommy?”

“It had nothing to do with her!” I shout the words I’ve wanted to say all these years. “You fucking act like she killed him.”

“Fuck you. You’re a fucking disgrace to me,” he snarls. “It doesn’t matter what she did. Her fucking father killed my son. Your brother.”

I want to say that we don’t know that, but that would sound like I’m pussywhipped or like I’ve lost my fucking mind.

The truth is, we don’t know anything one way or the other. Only what we saw that day—Adrian Domachenkov standing over Tommy’s body.

If I say anything that sounds like I was supporting Adrian, my father would shoot me dead right here.

“Does that fucking matter to you?” He gets up in my face.

“Of course, it does. But you’re blaming her, and I don’t fucking know why.”

“That girl is the cause of all this shit. Mark my word, I’ll make sure you never see her again.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means whatever it needs to mean.”

“If you hurt her, so help me God…”

“I’m still holding the gun, Dmitri.”

I give him a wild smirk. “You’re holding that gun because I’m letting you. You and I both know I could take it from you before you got the chance to aim it at me again.”

“You bastard.” The words hit harder than I expect, but I don’t let it show.

“Yeah. I’m a bastard. I’m also part of the elite. Fight me, and you’ll see what I’m made off.”

He shakes his head at me, his face hardening, his jaw tightening. “I don’t know you anymore. Maybe I never did.”

“Maybe so.”

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