Page 52 of Gaga for the Gargoyle
“Don’t move, or she’s dead,” Magnus says to them.
“Brother?” Xander asks, betrayal clouding his panicked face. “What are you doing? Does Father know you’re here?”
Xander’s eyes move to me, and he’s both relieved I’m alive and furious that my mother’s visions have come true.
“Father knows nothing. I’m here to take what’s mine,” Magnus says and gestures to Brandon, who pushes the knife in deeper. I cry out in pain, and Xander takes a step toward me. “Careful, little brother, I will have that man end her life. I don’t need her for my plan.”
“You don’t have to do this. Tell me what you want and it’s yours.”
“Xander, no,” I say, and Brandon covers my mouth with his palm.
“Transfer your royal powers to me. I will rule New York City, and you can have your mate and live happily ever after.”
“Done,” Xander says and holds out his hand.
“That easy? Are you so pussy-whipped that you’ll throw your life away for a human who has yet to accept the bond?” Magnus laughs. “How sad, little brother.”
He clutches Xander’s hand and light shoots out from the embrace, filling the room.
It lasts barely a minute before dimming. Xander releases his grip and stumbles backwards.
“It’s yours,” he says weakly.
“One more thing, brother,” Magnus says, smugness filling his voice. “We can’t have you bonding with your mate and gaining strength to fight me for your kingdom.”
A sharp pain rips through my chest. I look down to see a knife protruding from my heart.
“You stabbed me?”
“He told me I had to,” Brandon says, his voice still monotone, as if he’s been hypnotized.
I fall to the ground and darkness threatens to take me. Everything seems to move in slow motion, including Xander, who rips Brandon’s head off his body.
My mate’s agonizing roar as he takes me in his arms is the last thing I hear before I die.
Chapter 14 – Xander
Iscoop Evangeline into my arms and run through the abandoned Brooklyn warehouse where my brother brought her.
Magnus is long gone, making his exit the moment I collapsed to my knees next to my mate after killing the asshole who stabbed her.
“We knew this could happen,” Locheran says, running behind me. “We know how to fix it.”
“I know,” I growl.
Blood is everywhere, Evangeline’s blood and the blood of her ex-husband. I didn’t hesitate to kill him. The man had it coming, not only for how he treated Evangeline, but for all the crimes he’s committed as a sleazy lawyer.
I’ve had a private investigator following the fucker since the moment Evangeline told me about him. I needed surveillance on him to make sure he didn’t try to come back for my kitten. The investigator has also been compiling evidence of Brandon’s infractions: jury and witness tampering to win cases, bribery, and money laundering. I’d planned on turning everything over to the police but killing him was far more satisfying.
The building’s exit comes into view, and I extend my wings to prepare for takeoff.
“Call a cleanup crew and have them get rid of that lowlife ex, then meet me back at the penthouse,” I tell Locheran and launch myself into the sky. “Stay with me, Kitten.”
The flight takes less than ten minutes and when I walk through the door, Evangeline’s mother is standing next to the kitchen island.
“Set her down.”
I do, and Mira gets right to work.
