Page 90 of Brutal King

Rowan shakes his head. “Doubtful. Come on. Upstairs.”

Cautiously, we move upwards, past the first floor. We look into every open space, searching. When we reach the third floor, Rowan goes into one of the rooms. I’m only a few feet away, watching his back like a hawk, making sure this little endeavor to find Louisa doesn’t cost him his life.

“You’re alive?” I hear from inside. A moment later, Louisa is in his arms. “You’re alive.”

He detaches himself from her. “What are you doing here?”

“We came to take the house back from Declan,” she says.

“Who’s we?”

“The Sinacore Alliance and me,” she tells him.

Shit. Luca’s here. I peek over the railing, searching for Sofia’s brother. He’s nowhere to be seen.

“You idiot,” Louisa continues. “If you’d told me the truth from the beginning, I would never have… But you’re here now and you’re alive. How are you alive?”

I come closer, wanting to see her face so that I can determine for myself if she’s being sincere.

“Gideon didn’t intend on killing me,” Rowan tells her.

She frowns. “But he told me he’d executed you.”

“When did he say that?”

“I went to see him,” she cries. “I begged him to return you to me. He gave me your necklace and two pennies.”

“Gideon didn’t say anything.” He reaches for the necklace, only to find it’s no longer there. “It must have fallen off,” he says absentmindedly. “You’re doing this for me?”

“Yes. I regretted everything the moment I did it. Then Axle told me the truth and I died a thousand times inside. I love you, Rowan. Please forgive me.”

“We’re both to blame, Lou. Fuck, what a mess.” When he brings her in close, her eyes land on me.

I take a step back. Perhaps I jumped the gun on judging her. Her murderous glare tells me I definitely did.

“You came with Gideon,” she hisses. “Are you working with him now?”

“He’s my brother.”

Her face snaps to his. “What?”

Shots ring out nearby and he turns to the door. “Another time. I need to get you out of here.”

Grabbing a hold of her, he tugs her past me toward the stairs. Although some of the fighting has died down, there are still men going head-to-head.

“Gideon!” Scarlet comes out from one of the rooms. “Luca’s here.”

“It seems that way,” I say. “Let’s go before he sees us.”

But escape isn’t easy. We descend the stairs to find Luca and Gunner approaching, their weapons ready.

Damn. I was hoping to avoid a confrontation today. It will make keeping my promise to Sofia very difficult, indeed.

“Well, will you look at this? The whole family’s gathered.” I mask my apprehension with a wide grin.

“Gunn.” Scarlet greets Luca’s minion.

“If I’d know you were here, I would have loved to fuck you up a little.” He blows her a kiss.

---