Page 42 of The Darkest Prince

“Good boy.” He pats my back. “Take care of your brothers. Bash will need you the most.”

He doesn’t realize that I need Bash even more than he needs me. But that part of our relationship we never talk about. Luca and Marcello know, so I’m sure our dad does, too. However, he’s never confronted us about it.

“I’ll take care of them,” I promise before I slip into the limo with my brothers.

* * *

The scenerybelow us is breathtaking. Nothing but blue-green water for miles. I know the island is somewhere off the Atlantic Ocean. But I’m not sure where the hell they are taking us.

When we’re about to land on the island, I lean over and wrap my arm around Bash. “We’ll get through this together,” I whisper in his ear. “It’s you and me. Forever.”

The rotary blades are so loud it’s hard to hear over them.

He presses his lips to my ear and says, “Always.” His hand grazes my thigh, and I wish he would keep it there but pulls away immediately, knowing Luca is watching us. “Two months. We can make it, D.”

I know we will.

Or die trying.

There’s no way in hell I will disappoint my father. I don’t care if they starve us to death because the three of us will find a way to survive.

As our bodies separate, Luca is glaring at us. He doesn’t have an issue with us being into each other. But he does have a problem with us showing what he considers unnecessary affection. I don’t think he’s ever hugged Marcello. In fact, he tried to kill him a bunch of times when they were kids.

“If you two act like pussies on this island,” Luca hisses, shaking his head. “I’m disowning you.”

The helicopter lands and the door opens. Luca takes one look at us and hops down from the chopper without another word.

“Fucking asshole,” Bash mumbles, hand balled into a fist on his lap. “I might kill him before we leave this goddamn island.”

ChapterSeventeen

There’s blood.So much fucking blood and the air smells like metal. It’s all I can think about, consumed by the bloodlust. My heart races uncontrollably, clambering in my chest.

I need Bash.

But he can’t fix me, not in the way I need him to. Not with all of The Devil’s Knights in our pledge class surrounding us.

He’s forced to watch me lose my mind, kneeling on the ground and tearing through organs. Right through the muscle. Discarding the bones like a vulture picking apart the scraps of a corpse.

They made me do this.

I didn’t have a choice.

I have to survive.

For him.

Forthem.

* * *

Two months later,we come home from Skull Island bruised and battered. We’re not the same men. Our father was right about that.

As the three of us exit the limousine, our father waits for us on the front steps. Dressed in a black Brioni suit, he grins, which is unusual. He rarely smiles, but today he can’t contain his excitement. A man of few words, Arlo pulls each of us into a one-arm hug, starting with Luca and saving me for last.

I’m everyone’s last choice.

Always.

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