Page 139 of Ink Deep Devotion

He grabs me, fisting my shirt in his rattling fists, but he doesn’t hit me. No, he wants me to hurt him.

“You want to make love to her, to ease your pain only to shove her back in a cage after. Or were you hoping she would kiss Blaze and move on?”

His face becomes the shade of a red velvet cake, lacking sweetness.

Cillian’s shadow falls over us, and his massive hands land on each of our chests as he shoves us apart.“Let’s calm down and rethink everything. Plans change. Dash, maybe you need to change your plans.”

He’s too stubborn to do that.

“You can’t be Mila’s shield from a distance,” I growl.

“Watch me.” Dash sneers.

Chapter 49

Dash

There’s a slight buzzing in my ear, like the last grains of the hourglass being sucked into the bottom chamber. I look at the screen; Mila’s in my bed, sleeping.

She’s safe for now, but everything is about to change. I wish I could freeze her in this image until the blood has been cleared away.

After Damian and Titan dropped their bombshell, we had to meet with the Brotherhood. We decided it was time to take control, and we hoped that in doing so, this secret group that controlled our parents would step out of the shadows. We just needed a target so we could plan an attack. Hopefully, this huge shift in power would make them show themselves to us.

April 1st would be the day we each took over the family business, whether our parents agreed or not. Which means some of the most powerful men in the world were about to be dethroned.

Our dads must have known this was coming; after all, they trained us to do so. They taught us how to hate and how to take power. They made us do this to them.

Leo and I had it easy since our dads were dead already. But everyone else would have to either shed blood or find a way to ensure their parents didn’t control them.

“If I ever thought Mila was in danger, I would have pulled her out.” Titan declares as he enters the storage room. His presence stains the air, polluting it.

I look at him from the corner of my eye. I should have locked the door to the storage room. I just want to be alone…and be with Mila. Her art is an extension of her.

“I lied to you. It was wrong. I fucked up. I’m sorry.” Titan remains at the door, blocking my exit.

“Do you think Damian can do it?” I look straight ahead as I change the subject.

“Does that mean you forgive me?” He pushes off the wall and comes closer.

“My father once told me not to trust you or Damian; he said even blood will try to kill you.”

“You know it would never come to that.”

My eyes slide to him,“Then never lie to me again.” My voice deepens,“And don’t you ever fucking risk Mila.”

His feet shift,“Understood.” He closes the distance and comes to sit on the floor next to my chair.“I know Damian will kill his father, but I worry about how it will affect him,” Titan admits.

I share that worry.“We could always kill him for Damian.”

Titan kicks his legs out.“Damian would never forgive us.”

“What about the other guys? What do you think they’ll do? How will April 1st play out?”

The day we craved was almost here, but instead of wearing wide grins, each breath we took felt forced. Changing the future was terrifying, and pretending otherwise would be foolish.

We had always been under our parents’thumbs. Soon, we’d be the hands gripping the world.

There will be small battles after this—others will test us to see if we deserve the power we claimed. It will take years to control what our fathers had built.

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