without a mother?â
I can take Eric on in a fight. Thereâs no question about that. I could kill him right now, but it wonât get me out of here. Will it save Dex from his brotherâs hate though? I wonât get past the men outsideâthereâs too many of themâand Eric hasnât tried to physically hurt me yet. Will he?
I wish Dex were here right now, not because I need him to tell me what to do, but because at the end of the day, Eric is still his brother, and that means something. You can not talk to your family, or have a falling-out with them, or even hate them, but you still donât want them dead, especially at your own hands. I donât want what happens today haunting Dex. And it will. Heâs human, after all; it would haunt any man or woman with a conscience.
âNot going to kill you, Faye,â he says, lip twitching. âIâm going to kill Dex.â
âI see,â I murmur, marveling over his stupidity. You canât kill Dex without killing me, because I will hunt you down. Heâs underestimating me. Heâs seeing me as the girl he knew, not the warrior woman Iâve become. âAnd then what?â
âAnd then the Kings are going to have my back against any retaliation the Wind Dragons plan. It will be war,â he says proudly, like war is a good thing. The more he speaks his idiocy, the more I want to take him down myself. The Kings have obviously used him as a pawn, a secret weapon against Dex, and heâs fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. They probably made him feel important, and they have something in commonâtheir dislike for Dex.
I hear banging noises, followed by gunshots and men yelling, and Iâm instantly on alert. I push myself off the ground, my back still pressed against the wall. Eric lifts up his gun and points it at me.
âDonât move,â he barks, standing up and crooking his finger. âCome here, Faye.â
Itâs just me and him in the room, and he still thinks he has control. I have a few moments to decide what to do. I can kill him, or I can just fight and disable him until Dex walks through that door, as I know he will. I decide to go with that. I walk toward Eric, about to knock the gun out of his hands and punch him in the throat, when the door is suddenly kicked open. I freeze as Dex storms in, gun in hand. Eric grabs me by my hair and jams his gun into my ribs. I keep my eyes on my husbandâs face, on his expression when he sees who is standing in the room with me.
His own brother.
That has to hurt.
Dex looks me over first, from head to toe. His jaw tightens when he sees my cut lip from where my captor slapped me. He returns his gaze to his baby brother.
âEric?â Dex whispers, shaking his head in disbelief. âWhat the fuck are you doing here?â
He takes a step forward, but Eric brings the gun to my temple. Dexâs face turns to stone. âGet the gun away from my wife, Eric. Now. Donât be stupid. Whatever theyâve promised you, it isnât worth it. Iâm your fuckinâ brother!â
âYou donât get to make demands, Dex,â Eric sneers. âYou make a move toward us, and Faye is dead. Donât think I wonât shoot her, because I will.â
âWas it you who hit her?â he asks, hands clenching to fists. âDid you lay a hand on her?â
âNo,â Eric says, sounding wary, which he should be, considering the fury I can hear in Dexâs tone. âI havenât laid a hand on her.â
âWhoever touched her is a dead man,â Dex announces through clenched teeth. âNo one puts a hand on my fuckinâ wife. And if you want to live, Eric, loosen the hold you have on her hair, or I will shove my foot down your fuckinâ throat, you little bastard.â
âEmpty threats, Dex,â Eric repliesâbut he does loosen his hold. He can pretend he isnât scared of Dex all
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