Page 4 of Consume Me

Fucker.

With his hands shoved in his pants pockets, Cato cocks his head. A deadly vibe ripples behind the carefully crafted exterior.

“You want an escape, but you won’t find that here. You’ll be free of the shackles you were born into only when you die.Now, get in there and win me this fight. I haven’t come all the way from Boston for nothing.”

“And if I don’t?”

He gets in my face. Eye to eye, he says, “I’ve never met someone like you. And I have met a lot of fuckers in my life. Proud, arrogant, stupid, cunning. But no one so desperate to fight just so he can feel human.”

No one looked at me and fucking saw the darkest corners of my soul. He said it so confidently as if he knew what he was talking about. I flinch, and the asshole smirks.

“Thought so. Go before I forget what you could do for me and kill you.”

Stepping into the ring, anger courses through me. The instant the other fighter steps into the ring, all cocky and displaying his gold teeth and tattoo-covered body, I go at him until he’s nothing more than a pile of blood and broken limbs.

Taking the stack of money I won, I flip Cato the bird. He throws his head back and laughs. Call it gut instinct, but something tells me our paths will cross again. The Syndicate wants to rule the underworld, and there’s nothing like having a connection to one of the most influential families in the country. The Family is the fucking epitome of American royalty.

I walk back to the motel and take a quick shower, washing the blood off of me––a killer. A monster. Any of those titles would fit me better than that of an heir.

Everywhere I go, I carry that with me. Nothing I do would change it. I don’t fit anywhere. Even in the underground, I would be someone no one could control. I would never obey anyoneagain. Rules can’t keep me in check. Nothing can keep me in check.

I glance at my burner phone and see a new message from Bailey.

Leave.

With that, the frail hope that they have stopped searching for me vanishes. Fuck.

Changing quickly, I pack my bag. The moment I open the door, I come face-to-face with Cassandra.

I expected Kaden, not her.

“May I come in?” she asks. Dressed in a black suit with golden buttons and a silk shirt, she wears a pearl necklace, and her hair is styled in an elegant updo. I guess being the firstborn always comes with that invisible cloak of power. Seeing her healthy and strong gives me great satisfaction. She was held captive by Felix and Caleb for years, yet they didn’t break her.

I look behind her, expecting to see more guards. Instead, it’s just one black Mercedes SUV. Leaning against the side of it is her husband. Sebastian plotted for years, seeking revenge and searching for his wife. He faked his death, abandoning his daughter Celine, to make it convincing. Then he sent her back to gather the intel he needed to gain the upper hand.

I hold my arm out to gesture for Cassandra to come inside. She doesn’t look fazed as she sees the room. I doubt much does after what she went through. Another shot of guilt poisons my veins.

Silence drops heavily between us as we look at each other.

“Don’t make me come back.” Because she could. She has the authority to do that.

“Are you happy?”

I feel my brows furrowing. That’s the last question I expected. “I don’t think that’s something you or I will ever truly find.”

“There are days that I feel like I am happy.”

“I am sorry for your loss.”

“Mother would have wanted you at the funeral.”

“That would have been inappropriate.”

The secrets we carry stretch between us.

“You should kill me. That would be the only right thing to do.”

She inhales deeply, looking at me with compassion. “I’ve read the file your father kept on you. And I burned it right afterward. No one will see it. No one will know.”

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