Page 71 of Sinful Kingdom

I thought she was a bad-arse when I met her in Damien’s office earlier, but I was not prepared to see her in action.

She was fierce and strong and confident—everything I’ve always wanted to be from having a role model like Blakely as an older sister, only, she was fucking dangerous. Deadly. She shot those men without question or doubt. She knew they’d hurt us, were a part of all of this, and she took them down without a second thought.

Maybe it makes me as twisted as her, but I loved it.

“Evie,” Zay whimpers, clutching me tighter as if he can’t believe I’m here.

“I’ve got you, bud. I’m here.”

“Alex,” he whimpers.

I slam my eyes closed as the image of him strapped up against that cross with blood covering every inch of his body fills my mind.

A sob threatens to erupt from me, and as if she can sense it, Luciana reaches over and squeezes my shoulder in support.

Opening my eyes, I find hers. Even in the darkness of the car, the blue seems to shine. And despite knowing exactly what she’s capable of, I find something very, very comforting about her.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“Anything. And they’ll get Alex, Zayden. Don’t you worry.”

He whimpers in relief but doesn’t lessen his hold.

“You want to wait to see him come out?” she asks me.

I nod. I might be selfish not to take Zay back to Blakely immediately, but I need to see Alex leave that church with my own eyes. I want to be with him. Every inch of me begs to be beside him. But he’s got his boys, his dad, and Luciana has assured me that Gianna is here waiting to help him.

The person who needs me most right now is curled up on my lap, and I need to focus on him. Not me.

Alex will be fine. He’s surrounded by people who love him.

But all that blood…

There are so many things I want to say, so many questions I want to ask. But none of them find their way past my lips. The three of us sit there with only Zay’s quiet sobs filling our ears as men run in and out of the church.

But eventually, a small crowd emerge from inside the building, earning everyone’s attention.

My breath catches and I lean forward as if it’ll help me get a better look.

Come on, Alex. I need to see you.

My heart pounds in my chest, and the second it happens, the moment he emerges, I swear it stops.

With Stefanos and Daemon at his sides and the others behind him, they make their way out.

He’s a mess. But he’s awake. And for the first time, I allow myself to believe he might be okay.

Two slim figures approach him, and he just about manages to smile at the sight of Stella and Emmie looking as bad-arse as the woman beside me. I was floored when I saw them dressed head to toe in black with guns in hand. I couldn’t believe that Theo and Seb would allow it. But then I remembered who they were and that they’d hardly take no for an answer.

And then someone else goes running, and the second I see Gianna, the tears filling my eyes spill over.

In full-on nurse mode, she starts bossing everyone around, and in only seconds, Stefanos and Daemon are loading Alex into the back of a blacked-out van which I can only assume is an undercover ambulance of sorts.

“They’ll bring him back as soon as they can. Are you ready to head out?” Luciana asks me softly.

There’s a huge part of me that wants to say no. But then Zay lifts his head from the crook of my neck, his big blue, exhausted and terrified eyes staring up at me, and I know I can’t.

“You ready for a hug from Blakely, bud?”

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