Page 84 of Hate Mates

My blood runs cold as realization dawns. Grit has been Elias’s inside man all along, feeding him intel, making sure my father wouldn’t live long enough to stop their twisted plan. Bile rises in my throat.

Elias’s voice rings out, hard as steel. “I’m only asking once, Callahan. Where the fuck is my son?”

Blaze’s hand clamps down on my arm. A warning to stay put, stay silent.

Iron stares straight ahead, defiant. Says nothing. Elias digs the muzzle of the gun deeper into his skull and my heart skitters.

Blaze’s hand tightens on my arm. Tension rolls off him in waves. He’s going to do something stupid; I just know it.

His hand drops mine, and he steps out of the shadows, training the gun on his father.

“Let him go.” Blaze’s voice is unexpectedly steady.

Elias’s lip curls in a sneer. “You always were a disappointment, son. Too soft. Too weak to do what needed to be done.”

Time slows as Elias’s finger tightens on the trigger. The crack of the gunshot rips through the night, echoing across the water. Iron crumples to the ground, a dark stain forming around his head.

My scream lodges in my throat. Blaze stands frozen, face ashen, gun still raised. Elias turns in slow motion, fixing us with a cold, dead stare. He levels the gun our way, and a chill prickles my skin.

“You should’ve stayed gone,” he spits, “but at least you brought Nyx’s whore daughter to me. Saves me the trouble of hunting the bitch myself.”

White-hot rage surges through my veins, drowning out the fear. I bare my teeth in a snarl, knife gripped tight. “Fuck you, Elias. I’ll gut you like a pig.”

Grit chuckles, a mirthless sound. “Careful, sweetheart. Daddy ain’t here to protect you.”

I lunge forward, only to be yanked back by Blaze’s iron grip on my arm.

“Vina, don’t,” he grits out, gaze never leaving Elias. To his father, he adds, “Iron was a better father to me than you ever thought to be.”

“Blaze…” My voice cracks, because I know how this ends. The boy I grew up with, hated, the man I was now foolish enough to love, wouldn’t walk away.

“Leave, Vina. Find my bike. Ride hard and don’t look back.” Blaze’s eyes flick to mine, just for a second. Pleading.

I shake my head vehemently, dark hair whipping across my face. “No. I’m not leaving you.”

Elias’s cold eyes narrow, and he raises the gun, aiming it straight at my heart.

“What is this?” Elias sneers. “Romeo and Juliet? Ha! Love is weakness. A lesson my son never learned.”

Seconds stretch as his finger tightens on the trigger. But before the crack of the gunshot can shatter the night, Blaze is moving.

He throws himself in front of me, arms outstretched, shielding me with his body. The bullet tears through his flesh with a heart-stopping thud, crimson blooming across his shoulder like a macabre flower.

“No!” The scream rips from my throat, raw and agonized.

Blaze crumples to the ground, his blood black in the moonlight. I’m at his side in an instant, dropping to my knees, hands pressing desperately against the wound. “Blaze, stay with me. Please.”

His eyes flutter open, hazy with pain.

“Vina...” His voice is a ragged whisper. “I’m sorry.”

Tears spill down my cheeks, hot and bitter. “Don’t you dare die on me, Blaze Schwartz.”

A shadow falls across us. I look up to see Grit looming over me, face impassive. He grabs my arm in a death grip, hauling me to my feet. I struggle wildly, kicking and clawing, but he’s too strong.

“Let me go, bastard!” I spit, fury and desperation warring in my veins.

Elias steps forward, gun now trained on me.

---