Her nostalgia, however, is about to be ruined by the truth.
“The night my brother died… he, your beloved Michael, was the one who could have called an ambulance. Your brother gave him the choice, but he chose wrong. He ran away like a fucking coward, leaving Damian to die. Although he wasn’t the one who delivered the fatal blow, your brother was the one who did that. He held my brother down like he was nothing but a rabid dog.”
“Stop,” she pleads, but I won’t. She deserves the truth—finally.
“Scrooge broke his wrist and then stole his championship ring. Hero pressed his boot on Damian’s spine, while your brother pissed on him. Kong held me back, leaving me helpless as I watched them. When your brother split Damian’s head open, he killed me too. They all did.
“So when I found Hero”—I deadpan her—“I had no issues ending his life.”
“He changed after that. I knew something had happened. He wasn’t like them,” she says, enraging me.
“I’m glad it took my brother’s death to change him into your Prince Charming!”
She turns her cheek, wounded, but I have no regrets. The only regret I have is letting her in.
“He was going to propose to you,” I reveal, without emotion, while a stunned gasp leaves her. “When I shot him, he was reaching into his pocket to show me your engagement ring, to thank me for sparing his life. I wasn’t one for sentiments, however. He took that away from me.”
“Oh my g-god,” she sobs, muting her cries behind her hand.
“So maybe you’re right. Maybe he did change. But that change came at the expense of my brother.” I can’t stop the venom from spewing. I need to hurt her because I am angry, so fucking angry. She is standing in the way of my revenge.
But I’m not angry with her—I’m angry with myself for being so weak. If only I had fought her harder, they’d all be dead. But now, I have to sacrifice everything I’ve learned to keep her safe.
I already destroyed her once before. I can’t do it again.
“Michael was terrified of Jaws. He didn’t mean to—”
But I storm forward, gripping her chin hard. “Don’t you dare make excuses for him! Scared or not, he should have done the right thing. But he didn’t. And he paid with his life. And so will your brother.”
“I beg of you, don’t hurt him. Christopher is all I have—”
“Then I feel sorry for you, Tiger,” I spit, leveling her with nothing but pure disgust as she begs for his life. If only she knew what he thought of her. “You had no issues turning a blind eye before you knew who it was.”
Her lower lip trembles as she casts her eyes downward, ashamed. “Everything is different now.”
“You’re right. It is. Your brother, he’s the enemy. And so are you if you side with him.”
“He’s my flesh and blood,” she reasons, sealing this forevermore. This is the last time I will ever feel anything again.
Letting her go, I slam my lips to hers, owning, possessing, and devouring her because she is mine. She always will be. She gasps, then wraps her arms around my neck, violently kissing me back. I thread my fingers through her long hair, committing the smell, the taste of her to memory because this is the last time. Our goodbye kiss.
Our tongues collide in a frenzied union, unable to keep up with what our bodies want to say. She is the only person I am willing to sacrifice everything for—and to do that, I have to hurt her. To keep her safe, I need her to hate me. It’s the only way.
Her small whimpers, and the way she twists herself around me, regardless of what she knows, shows me that what she feels for me is more than just a casual fling. And I feel the same way. I wondered if she meant more to me than revenge, and the answer is yes. She does.
“Let her go.” That voice. I’ve missed that voice. But I suppose I can hear it now because finally, for the first time in my life, I’m doing the right thing.
With a final kiss, I do what Damian says…I let her go.
Her eyes flutter open, unsure why I stopped. Kissing the tip of her nose, I cup her cheek, hating myself more than I already do. “I will kill your brother. And I’ll…kill you too if you stand in my way.”
She blinks once, turning a sickly white. “Wh-what?”
There is no emotion in my eyes. It’s gone. And I doubt it’ll ever return.
I stumble backward when she shoves me off her. I silently praise my fiery girl. I knew she was there. She just needed a little push.
“I remember thinking nothing could be worse than when you told me you killed someone. That someone turned out to be the only man I ever loved. But I was wrong. We are so done. Over. If you come anywhere near me or my son, I will fucking kill you.”
I applaud her slowly. “Try it, darlin’. I dare you.”
“You ruined my life, and then you threaten to kill me. I should tell Franca what you’ve done.”
Her threat is empty. She wouldn’t do that. No matter how badly she’d like to think she could, she won’t. It’s the reason she didn’t call the police when she found me covered in blood.
“Do what you gotta do, and I’ll do the same.”
She doesn’t flinch as she slaps my cheek. “You don’t stand a chance against Christopher.”
“We’ll see,” I challenge with a smirk, moving my jaw from side to side.
Everything good inside me, the good because of her is washed away, leaving behind the blackness I’ve carried for fourteen years.
“Your brother isn’t a good guy,” I warn, wishing I could tell her everything I know. But what would be the point? She wouldn’t listen. I am the boogeyman, after all. I am the man who destroyed her life.
“Neither are you,” she counters, daring me to argue. But I don’t.
“I never said I was,” I deadpan.
Her expression hardens as she pulls herself together. Every part of me hopes she will fight, fight for me. I need her to be the one. As selfish as that is, I can’t be the one who walks away. But Tiger proves just who has the bigger balls. “Shame on me for not listening. It won’t happen again.”
She shoves past me, a newfound confidence running through her veins. This is her claiming back her life, putting an end to an era of doubt. She saw herself as someone unworthy of love because everyone left her behind. But now that Jaws is back and she knows the truth about Lachlan, she realizes that she is worthy.
She always was.
She looks at me like I’m nothing, and I am. What I did to her, to her son, unmasks the monster within me. And I like it. This depravity makes me feel alive.
I’ve orphaned three children, and if I had the choice…I’d do it again. I may be in bed with the devil, but the finale will be worth the burn.
“If you’ll excuse me, it’s time I told my son the truth. It’s time I told him all about his father who didn’t leave us, but instead, died an innocent victim because of you.” And there it is…hatred.
Finally.
“He will never be innocent. Never forget that.”
“No one is,” she counters with fire. “But with Christopher back, we can try to be a family again.”
“You can try,” I patronize with a smirk.