Page 131 of Rear View
My stomach dropped, my world tipping on its head. I clenched my fists so tight, my bones hurt. He’d done it—ripped open the door that couldn’t be closed. Therewas no going back. My career. Alec’s. My team. My chest goddamn hurt.
Derek leaned in. “You’re done now,” he said, pitching his voice low.
“You should’ve learned,” my father said, smirking as he stabbed a finger into my chest. “Don’t ever fuck with me, boy.”
My blood turned hot, my body coiling as the calm I’d worked so damn hard to contain, my restraint, my control, everything inside me, snapped. I drew back my fist and swung. It connected hard. Blood exploded from his nose, and he staggered back.
Screams broke out as the media scrambled away.
Derek shoved me, and I swung on him too, catching him across the jaw with a crack. Alec moved in, grabbing my uncle by the scruff and blocking his path. Peter righted and squared off, nostrils flarin’ when he charged my way. I sidestepped, then latched a hand around his throat. His eyes went wide, and he grabbed my wrist, trying to pull me off.
No such luck.
I tightened my grip, digging in until his skin buckled. His face turned red, whites of his eyes showing when they bulged outta his head.
More cries sounded, calling for me to stop. Ryah’s and others I couldn’t place. My team rushed in, and security followed next as all hell broke loose.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ryah
The Parc Ferme fell deathly silent, the pounding of my pulse the only sound. I stared at Xavier, lost. Completely and utterly lost.
My chest hurt, the drumming of my heart hard against my ribs as Xavier’s crew and security piled in, trying to pry him off his father, who gasped for air.
“X!” Alec roared, hooking his arms around Xavier’s waist before he pulled. Yara joined him next, then Earl and my father. Five people later, and they tore him away.
His hands were bloodied, his chest heaving, his expression savage.
Zoya slipped her arm through mine, while Mom stood wide-eyed beside me, her hands over her cheeks.
Spitting to the side, Peter offered Xavier a bloodstained grin. “Nowthey know the real you.” He turned that grin on me and winked.
Xavier lunged again, but the army at his back kept him at bay as he roared, “Fly the fuck outta here!”
Security closed in, getting between them, and, a second later, dragged a laughing Peter and his sleazy sidekick, Derek, away.
“Assholes,” Zoya mumbled.
I wanted to go to Xavier, but with so many cameras around, the walls started closing in. God, so many cameras. It stole the air from my lungs, making it impossible to breathe. I rubbed the scar over my brow. My soul hurt in ways I didn’t know it could.
“Let me go!” Xavier snarled. “LET ME FUCKIN’ GO!”
Arms flew up when they released him. His feet pounded the concrete as he approached me fast. “Ryah,” he said, words strained. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I’m so fuckin’ sorry.”
I didn’t know what expression painted my face, but he winced at the sight of it.
Mom gave my hand a squeeze. “We’ll be just over here, sweetheart,” she said, pointing off to the right before she and Z edged aside to give us space.
A storm of flashes fired when photo after photo was snapped. Ducking my head, I hid behind the curtain of my hair, twisting my fingers in the hem of my coat sleeve while I tried to gather my thoughts.
Xavier moved in front of me, his towering, broad frame blocking me from sight.
My pulse thrashed in my ears. His father, that threat, the spotlight, it was all too real. Too much. “This isn’t your fault,” I uttered, barely recognizing my own feeble voice.
He dragged a hand through his hair so hard, it pulled his scalp. His expression was tight, as if he was warring with himself. “Nah, dream girl. I should’ve known.”
Somewhere nearby, a phone rang.
