Page 72 of Duchess

" And so will you,Son. Secrets are always revealed, Caleb. You didn't think I wasn't aware of every movement you made? Iwitnessed how you fucked your family's enemy, showing her off and waving her in front of our noses. A pure insult directed at me."

“You will not lay one hand on her.”

“Don’t worry, Caleb. I’ll make sure she dies a very long and torturous death.”

I clenched my jaw in pure disdain and anger. "You have no right!"

"I have every goddamn right!" He screamed back in anger.

"My own grandson, my own flesh and blood, betrayed me." His voice broke at the end of that sentence, and I nearly laughed.

My grandfather not only had crocodile tears that he shed when he wanted to manipulate, but he also knew exactly when to strike, he had perfected the talent.

"You betrayed me!" I screamed. "You used me!” My voice went low and menacing. “And like you said, Grandfather, all secrets are revealed. And yours came out right on time, didn't they? How dare you judge me when you were willing to hand over your own flesh and blood to save your own neck?"

Looking back, he gave a signal, and I was suddenly dropped onto my knees. The impact made me grimace in pain.

I seethed as I watched him approach. "You were always a problem, Caleb. You were always the one who didn't listen, who wanted to have his way."

"You have kept things from me my entire life. I've been covering your ass for the last ten years! I won't do it anymore. I will not follow your orders and kill again."

He chuckled, the harsh sound grating on my nerves. "I want you to know your value has diminished. You have no power here nor with the family. That was your main problem, Caleb. You could never understand that they all are ruled by me.”

“Your vengeance means shit to me!”

He slapped me then, hard enough to bust my lip. I spat out the blood on his expensive shoes. “She’s strong. Stronger than you or any Killic, and she will not hesitate to kill you.”

He smiled. “I have other means of getting to your precious Duchess now."

He slid the bottom of his cane under my chin and forced my head up. "You did a great job of having her fall in love with you. It will be easy now to have her come to you."

"No!" I tried standing up only to fall on one knee once again. "I won't let you hurt her!"

"It's too late now. She should already be on her way."

"No." I struggled against the wire. "No!" I screamed as the crane pulled me up off the ground.

"I'll kill you if you hurt her. I swear to God, you will burn in hell for this!"

He slowly walked away as the crane went back into its position facing the water, my feet once again dangling off the ledge.

"Whyyyy?!" I screamed.

My grandfather stopped misstep and turned. "Because you are of no use to me, Caleb. You never were."

I felt the emptiness in the air, and I screamed in rage out into the night. There had to be a way out of this. But as I hung there, I knew I was completely helpless. I had no one. I was alone in this goddamn world, all except for her. I didn’t know if she loved me enough to come find me, but I needed to trust that she knew what she was doing. My Duchess was a fighter, and for the first time, I prayed that she’d find a way to win.

Chapter 26

Duchess

The building looked so far away but I could see something dangling from the ledge. When I received the text message, I didn’t know how to react at first.

Was it a trap?

Was he playing a game?

Should I just ignore it?

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