Page 54 of In the Midst of Chaos

“Finley!” I screamed so loud my throat went raw. The room smelled like her. It had her sweetness, her warmth, and I’d been an idiot who thought I could do without any of that for the rest of my life.

I ran back downstairs, ready to ride to hell if it meant I would find her.

My father was downstairs with Nate. He was shouting to whoever was on the other side of the phone.

When he ended the call, he turned to me.

“Dion just informed me that Duncan and Finley left for a ride.”

“Fuck,” I screamed.

I grabbed the first thing my hand made contact with and slammed it against the wall.

“That vase cost ten thousand dollars,” my father informed me coldly.

“I don’t give a fuck,” I told him.

“You need to stay calm. Yelling and throwing a tantrum won’t help us in this situation.”

He had a point, I knew he did, but I couldn’t think straight. All I could think of was the worst possible scenario.

“Gunner called for church. We’ll get the guys mobilized. If anyone can find her, it’s Andre.”

Nate squeezed my shoulder and left the house with a head nod to my dad. He was right—Andre was one of the best trackers, and if there was anything, he would pick up on it.

I turned around and looked at my father.

Every day I looked more and more like him. I think that’s why I got all the tattoos. To separate myself from him as much as possible. To remind myself that I had my own choices, and even though he was handing me a legacy, I did not need to make his same mistakes.

“I love her,” I told him.

“Did you call your brother?” he said, ignoring my previous statement.

“The night she took the vow, I made her mine.”

My father’s shoulders dropped. He knew I would never betray my family, but I had. I did it for her, and I didn’t regret one second of it.

“Fucking shit, Nash,” he scolded me and walked out the door, leaving me alone in this too big of a house.

Walking into Crull Manor was like rolling the dice. There was a chance that you would die. It happened to Finley’s parents, to my mom, and I was damned if I let it happen to my brother and Finley.

Chapter Nineteen

Past

Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was my brother holding onto my girl’s face and kissing her. My first reaction was to beat the shit of everyone and anyone who dared touch what was mine.

I couldn’t even call her mine. Just in the confines of our rooms, we belonged to each other.

Then I remembered that she was his. That she was going to marry him. I didn’t know that it was because she had chosen it to be that way.

I’d always thought it was something our parents had arranged. Something out of our control. It would have made this terrible situation somewhat tolerable. The fact that my brother knew she had chosen him made me feel like an idiot. Like I had been kept in the dark for a reason.

My father wanted him to know that he wanted him to fight for Finley. She wasn’t mine yet, but she was close. I could feel it with every touch and taste it with every kiss. I couldn’t keep saying no to her. She was my weakness—except she couldn’t be.

My brothers and I were in my father’s office, along with Leon, discussing business. It was something I felt Finley should be here for, but my father wasn’t as open-minded as Micah had been.

“Shouldn’t we ask Finley about that?” I asked, directing my question to Leon since he oversaw Micah’s shares now that he was dead and not here to oversee them himself.

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