Page 80 of Filthiest Of Them All

She shakes her head. “No, I still lost. You won your war, you got your vengeance but it cost you me.”

She pulls back and I stare at her with fear thrumming through me. “Bambi, please don’t turn your back on me. I can’t let you go?—”

“Why?” she screams and climbs to her feet. I mimic her move and stare down at her. “I can’t trust you, Alex. You hurt me.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t. Do you know what it's like to not be able to breathe daily because your heart wants to give up? You didn’t just break my heart, you obliterated it. You fucking destroyed me worse than Ray ever could have.”

I recoil. “I’m nothing like your foster father.”

“You hurt me, maybe not in the same way he did, but you still hurt me.”

“I left you so I could do all of this!” I say and wave my arms around me.

“Do what?”

“I gave up everything. I no longer run the Denver Kings. I handed everything over to the guys. I made a deal of my own with CJ.”

Disbelief is clear in her eyes. “What deal?”

“The Denver Kings get the firearms. I bought into the hotels CJ owns. You own five percent, the guys own fifteen, CJ owns fifty percent and I own the rest. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make a life with you if I was still The Butcher. I couldn’t stomach the thought of you hating the sight of me coming home drenched in someone's blood, so I gave it all up. I did all of this for you!” I roar.

Tatum

My mouth is agape as I stare up at him in shock. “You gave it all up?” I mutter.

He nods. “When I told you that I loved you, Bambi, I meant it.” His words implore me to believe him and eradicate this distance I’ve put between us.

“No more killing?”

“I won’t lie to you. If someone comes after my brothers or you, I will kill again. I can’t control the side of me that will come out when someone I love is threatened. Please don’t make me promise?—”

“I get it,” I say, cutting him off. I nibble my bottom lip, debating how to ask my next question. “Did you kill Desire?”

His face blanks of all emotion. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to, baby,” he warns.

“I’m asking,” I push.

“Yes.”

“Did she suffer?”

“Not nearly as much as I wanted,” he growls.

“Why?”

“I showed her mercy because of who she was to my brothers. Her death has taken a toll on Omen.”

I sigh dejectedly. “I know.”

He frowns. “How?”

“I saw it in his eyes,” I admit.

“He’s… dealing,” he grits out.

“What about…” I take a deep breath and force myself to woman the fuck up. “What about Nexus?” Alex’s features harden, his nostrils flare in anger and I study him for a while, trying to get a read on his emotions but fail. “Alex, I need–”

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