Page 16 of The Heart of a Villain

“Your little captive is unharmed. I think.” Rafael gets up, dusts his jeans off, and clicks his tongue. “You ruined my favorite lighter.” He looks behind me as I hear William and George running, judging by the quick footsteps and heavy breathing. “And the faithful servants are here too.”

“Rafael,” William starts, stopping by me. “Raf—”

“Save it, old man.” My brother grits his teeth, and then the familiar sadistic yet amused smile shapes his mouth. “The penalty for breaking the rules is death.” His eyes widen, and he gasps dramatically. “Should I be worried?”

I fist his shirt, bringing him closer. “Where is she?” I’m barely holding onto my sanity trying not to put a bullet through his head and barge inside his house to get her back, and the only thing stopping me is the knowledge that my brother is not a monster.

He’s a king of court and values law above anything else, and while his methods are questionable and cruel, he isn’t like me.

He’s not a murderer or a sadist who gets off on someone’s pain. Not physical at least.

Now psychological, on the other hand…

If he has Aileen, then it means he wanted something from her, and on some level, I’m even glad he was the one to find her because he saved her from the storm.

However, the rational part of me right now doesn’t call the shots. The irrational, possessive, and jealous one does that screams at me to get Aileen back and stake my claim on her all over again so no other man even dares to think about protecting her.

That’s when my brother surprises me, as he squeezes my wrist and rips my hand away from him, blocking another blow coming his way and showing me his alpha tendencies for the first time. “Control your anger, Rush. You’re on my part of the island, and you’ll follow my rules.” His voice drops an octave.

I step closer to him as we face off, and I grin, although it lacks any happiness. “Careful, little brother. Don’t start something you cannot finish.”

“Boys, please stop,” George intervenes, distress evident in his tone. “For the love of God, for once, please stop. He’s wounded!” He points at me, and Rafael’s gaze slides to my stomach, an emotion crossing his face, but it’s gone in a second.

“Too fucking bad then, I guess.” Rafael wipes the blood from his chin. “And if I were you, I wouldn’t be throwing threats left and right, considering a little girl just stabbed and left you to die.” He laughs, and my hand fists, the remaining traces of sanity rapidly slipping. The vicious monster inside me prepares to attack him again, but this time it won’t stop until he begs for mercy. “This whole plan to kill off Lachlan and you can’t even handle his daughter?” He hisses through his teeth, “Shame, brother, shame.”

William groans, “Oh God,” right before my fist connects with my twin’s jaw, and we both fall on the concrete, pain shooting through my system as we punch each other, our blows mean and hurtful, destined to bring agony. “Boys, stop!” he shouts at us, but we are already rolling to the side while we try to best one another.

And it feels so fucking good to finally let my rage out, to find an outlet for this pent-up frustration.

“Rush!” A distressed female scream pierces through the fog of my anger, and I still, both of us breathing heavily while I try to ignore the instant calmness inside me at the sound of her voice.

No one should have this much power over me, much less a woman who betrayed me.

“Rush!” Aileen calls my name again and pulls me back from my rage. “Please, stop.”

I raise my head, Rafael smirking at me, and I can almost hear his amused tone at my obedience as I get up.

He follows suit while my eyes settle on Aileen, the rage returning full force, seeing her in his shirt that barely covers anything while distress is evident in her every feature.

Mine.

The roar in my head is all-consuming, and I’m about to lunge at my brother again for daring to see her naked, when a young woman emerges from the house, blinking in surprise at everything, and then gasps when she looks at Rafael. “He punched you?” She points at him and then at me, her lips widening in a smile, and she gives me a one-sided high-five in the air. “Awesome! Can you do it again? I’d like to watch this time.”

What in the fuck?

“Who the hell is she?” I ask my twin. “I guess you broke the rules first, little brother. I can take away your half,” I warn him, as we had two rules set in stone.

No stepping on each other’s territory. And no bringing any fuck buddies to the island, as this land has always been reserved for family members or close friends only.

Considering how Rafael goes through women, bedding sometimes three at a time, because they just can’t resist his charms, I had to implement the rule.

Sometimes, I wonder how his dick hasn’t fallen off from all the fucking he does. Rumor has it my brother loves it on the rougher side and even has a membership at a certain club in Boston.

“Oh, please do!” the girl pitches in and bounces up and down. “Then we can leave and go back home.” She sends daggers my brother’s way while I wonder why she seems vaguely familiar.

I must have seen her before, but where?

Aileen still watches me warily, as if expecting me to strike her for stabbing me.

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