Page 18 of Hostile King

That honest declaration is all it takes for her to show me I’m human after all. It sears our future with white-hot solder, binding our paths together in an incomprehensible way. To sacrifice my feelings for her would have the worst repercussions.

I may as well be destitute, powerless, and insignificant. I should renounce my title and return to the family crypt.

The truth is, I’m worthless without her. But my father taught me how to defy emotions and focus on building an empire. I’m a mastermind at strategy and planning—that’s all I know.

Carina climbs into the helicopter’s cabin, expecting the pilot to take his seat in the cockpit, which he does once I signal to him five minutes before takeoff. The thought of her leaving wraps my chest with chains and tricks my heart into believing it will never beat again.

Can I really let her go?

Or could I keep her and my family safe while she stands beside me?

One monumental decision outweighs the rest. Fate had brought us together and now we’re struggling to grapple with the aftermath. Now I understand why she happened to me. Her bittersweet journey showed this hardened criminal that love is more potent than narcotics, that it's equally about survival as much as it is death.

It’s a coveted, bone-deep emotion that surpasses all boundaries.

I had forced her away the first time she unexpectedly dropped into my life…it wasn’t random how she reappeared again. It was a second chance to do the right thing, to mend my soul—to fall in love.

I stagger towards my brother, shoving shaky fingers through my hair in an attempt to establish some sort of flimsy decorum. The serious look in his eyes winds me. He understands Hell is one decision away—either my personal misery or my entire family’s.

Reaching him, I extend my arm. “Give me your shirt, Dré.”

“Fuck, Tommy, I can see why you’re crazy about her. The girl has grit.” He drags his black shirt up and over his head, the top three buttons already undone to speed up the process. “I like her.” His playful chuckle haunts my rankling temper, mollifying it with a wash of pride.

This isn’t a laughing matter, not when I’m wrestling with such an unknown emotion and a possessive surge so strong I could easily punch my brother in the teeth for admitting he likes her. As if sensing the pain in my chest, he grips my bicep, his firm fingertips burrowing into the tense muscle.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

I take hold of his cologne-drenched shirt and peer over my shoulder at the helicopter. “Don’t question me. Carina and I had a temporary arrangement…and now it's over.” My skin prickles with the weight of my conclusion as my eyes settle on Carina’s self-hug in the back seat. “I have to marry the Mexican girl. Business is business.”

I start walking away from him.

“But you don’t love the Mexican girl. You love her.” He points at Carina.

“What’s love got to do with it?” My voice cracks like the eternal flames of damnation. “I don’t know how to love, Dré.”

Without waiting to hear his response, I storm towards the open passenger door and climb in after her. She shuffles over, making it obvious she doesn’t want our bare skin to touch. It takes every last drop of willpower I have left to keep a measure of distance which is proving exceptionally difficult in the back of a small aircraft.

My mouth dries, knowing what I’m about to say will be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to express. Even more difficult than ending my uncle’s life when he was already dying and finishing my father’s reign with a dutiful bullet.

“That money could have set you up for life.” I swallow down the impure urges taking control of my tarnished soul. She sucks in a slow breath as if gathering the courage to speak. “Cover yourself up before I do something I’d regret.”

Her head rotates sharply, bringing watery eyes, and an expression so fierce it makes my pulse stutter. “Regret?” she hisses with as much venom as she can muster.

“Carina…” I sigh heavily. “The only thing I’m going to regret is sending you away.”

Her brows snap together. “Then don’t do it.”

“And kill you?” I offer a sad smile feeling sick to the pit of my stomach. My lashes lower, drawing my gaze to the fresh bruises marring her fragile neck. “I’m a dangerous man, Carina.” She shivers when my fingers skate from her chin to her shoulder blade. “You need to forget all about me.”

“So, you expect me to go back to the city and pretend nothing ever happened?”

I swallow the hard truth and punch the leather seat in front of me, my thinning temper dangling by a solitary thread. “Carina…that was always the plan.” The words bite out with remorse. “I was upfront about my intentions from the beginning.”

Her eyes glow in the darkness. “Fine.”

I clamp my hands on her cheeks and stare into glistening rings of blazing amber. “I’m the head of my family and the fucking cartel. We come from different worlds. Mine is dark and destructive…whereas yours will be so much brighter without me.”

She cuffs my parallel wrists, the grip so arresting it sparks dangerous impulses from her body to mine. It’s a magical energy I’ve surrendered to countless times and one I’d easily give in to again. A rare connection we’d kindled from the very second our eyes met.

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