There was so much blood.That was all I could see. All I could smell. Achilles’ blood was soaking through my shirt, hot and thick, and my arms locked tighter around him as if I could stop it from leaving his body just by holding on. His weight was collapsing against me, and for the first time in my life, I hated how strong he’d always been. He was heavy, unmovable—like stone, but now he was crumbling in my hands.“Achilles! Look at me!”, I screamed at my brother, clutching to his body for dear life. My voice came out rough, ragged. I shook him, just enough to make his head loll toward me. His eyes blinked, golden but dimming, like a candle in the wind. “Don’t close those eyes, brother, you hear me? Don’t you fucking dare.”“Emi…” His voice was barely there, a broken rasp. “It’s nothing… I’ve had worse.”“Worse?!” I snapped, fury rising like bile. “A bullet in your chest is not nothing, cabrón! Stay awake!”Xiomar’s voice cut through the chaos, deeper, thunderous. “Get him in the car,
Lyla’s POVChristian laughed as the glass wound up. “Aww,” he said, wiping my tears away. “Are you crying for your precious?”I do not reply. “Where are we going?”“You seem confused about our agreement,Lyla. You don't ask questions, you just do what I need. Understood?” he snarled, grabbing my face.“Yes,” I murmured. He held my face for a long time, his eyes scanning my face. “Good,” he said. “When we get to our destination, you will know.”The car was blacked out, so I could not see anything. “Take your shirt off,” Christain suddenly said. “Come on, be fast.”I raised the shirt that Eli had roughly shoved down my body earlier. My chest was exposed and bruised. “So this okay?”“Mmmm,” he muttered underneath his breath. “You have to take care of what is mine, Lyla,” he said, touching my ribs. I hissed when he pressed a sore spot. “This would not do.”“Christian,” I cried, “stop.”“When we get to the mansion,” he continued, ignoring me, “you're going to prove to me just how much of a
Achilles POV“Achilles,” Emilio cried out. “Answer us brother,” X said calmly, not yet enraged like I was. “Achilles talk to us.”“You know,” the snake continued. “It was so easy to predict what you would do. It was almost easy to believe you did not see my tattoo. I thought for sure you saw the death looks your little whore was swinging my way. Playing with her was so much fun.”She touched lyla. My hands curled and next thing, I gave the man by my side a solid punch. “You bitch,” I screamed. “How dare you?”“Oh, hush,” Leilani said. The other man shocked me, and I closed my eyes, groaning as the feeling of the electric current wrecked my body. “You had me, Achilles. I was waiting, hoping you would realize and come to your senses that I was the one for you,” she got up and walked to where I was. I looked into her eyes and she chuckled, running her hands down my chest.“You should not have come after her, Achilles. Not after I had begged to make you mine,” she whispered. Her eyes fl
Lyla’s POVMy father walked into the small room, flagged by my elder brother and Eli. “The crow,” he said with a sick smile. “What an honor.”“The honor is all mine, Mr. Russo,” Christian accepted my father's stretched out hand. “You are legacy, of course. I could not refuse.”“Well, since you so expertly took care of my problem, on such short notice too. I couldn't help but feel grateful to you.”My hands hit the window pane between us, but there was no sound. My father sat down next to Christian, and took off his jacket. “A drink?” My ex husband asked.Two girls wearing lingerie walked into the room and poured the shots out for them. “I must say,” my father drank the whiskey, “you are a bold man.”“I just know what I was, Mr. Russo. I do not hesitate till I get what I want done too.”“Yes, but sneaking into here, taking over from those horrible brothers, starting the skin business again,” my father laughed. “I might just start mine again, you know, just for fun.”I felt sick to my s
Achilles POVI sipped my champagne, glancing at the crow on Leilani's back. She sat back upright. “Sorry, that was a mess,” she said, her lips curling into a small smile.“Yeah it was,” I replied, holding her gaze. She chuckled and picked her glass up, lifting it slightly to her lips.“To power,” she whispered. “Yes,” I raised my glass up, accepting her toast. “To power, and fishing out enemies.”Leilani’s nose frayed a bit. “Yes,” she downed her drink. “Ugh, this is so good,” she laughed. “I want another.”“You can have as much as you want,” I replied, kissing the back of her hand. “Since when have you been such a charmer,” she grinned.“I have a beautiful woman by my side,” I answered.“Geez, you're laying it on too thick,” Emilo laughed. The small comms I had on in my right ear was tiny enough to not be detected. How would I let them know what is going on?“This is number 334,” the auctioneer announced. The little timid girl climbed up the stage, wearing similar clothes that Lyla
Lyla's POV I stare at the man in front of me. “Impossible.”The words slipped past my lips with certainty, yet my eyes could not be failing me.“Lyla Russo,” he chucked darkly. “Or should I say,” his smile stretched wider, “Donovan?”My legs gave out under me and I crumbled to the floor. “How?”“Let's not think about that,” Christian Donovan laughed. “Let's talk about us, my dearest wife.”“I am not your wife,” I barely got the words out of my mouth when Christian crossed the small space between us, his hands digging into my chin. “What did you say?”This man was so different from who was at the altar. He wore a dark tan suit, his blonde hair now a thick dark brown. There was a scar on his face and as I stared at it harder, I could see it was actually reconstructed multiple times.His eyes followed my movements and he chucked again, his fingernails still digging deeper. “Oh this?” He laughed. “Your boyfriend didn't hit me. I mean yeah he did but luckily enough, the bullet grazed the