Lucien looks back at me with that same grin and teases me with the gun he holds at my boyfriend. He loves this. He loves the power, he loves how easily he can get to me, he loves that no matter what, I would do anything it takes to keep Slade safe, which is exactly what I did by coming here.
I’ve never wanted to kick Slade’s ass so bad. He was safe back home. I made sure of that. Lucien was never going to return now that he had what he wanted, and instead of seeing that, Slade walked right back into it, begging for more. Fuck, he wasn’t even begging, it’s more like daring him. What kind of moron walks in here, strutting around like an idiot? My moron, that’s who. The kind of moron who isn’t going to let his girl go without a fight.
Damn it. I love him so much.
I should have expected this. I should have stolen a phone or somehow got in contact with him and told him not to come. Instead, I just sulked in Blake’s room for most of the afternoon. How fucking stupid could I be?
Lucien steps into Slade, and with his eyes still on mine, pummels his fist into Slade’s stomach, winding him and forcing him to topple over. Slade’s face scrunches in pain but he doesn’t cry out, doesn’t grunt, doesn’t give up.
I’d give anything to be able to hear what’s going on out there. Though, is it really that hard to guess? The only thing that would have Slade willingly drop to his knees before Lucien Valentine is if my life was threatened. There’s no doubt about it.
He’d give his life for me just as I would do for him.
Lucien laughs as I fight against the lump in my throat.
Slade starts getting back to his knees and I silently beg him not to. If he just lays still, Lucien might give up, he might get bored and walk away. He might let him go, but the more he gives him the entertainment he’s craving, the longer this punishment will go on. The big question though, who is this punishment for? Is he punishing me because I ran? Or is he punishing Slade for coming here? Hell, this might not even be about us, this could be punishment for Daniella for having Slade in the first place.
Lucien walks around Slade in a slow circle, dragging the gun over his shoulders and I watch with bated breath as Lucien talks.
My fingers tighten around the window latch. I don’t like this.
Slade’s eyes flash up to mine and in a blink, something changes. The anger and devastation morph into a terrifying horror. He starts to tell me something but as he does, Lucien grins at me and straightens his arm, his eyes darkening with a look that I’ve only ever seen once before.
Fuck. He’s actually going to shoot him.
He’s going to kill my Slade just to teach me a lesson.
My heart thumps wildly and I suck in a breath, scrambling on the window latch. “NOOOO,” I scream and just as I tear the window open, the shot rings out loud, deafening me as the sound vibrates through my bones and right down into my soul.
I’m too late. Way too fucking late.
I scream, my voice box shattering as I hardly recognize the sound of my own voice. I throw myself out of the window, keeping my eyes on Slade as his body goes crashing down into the grass. It happens in slow motion. His eyes widen in surprise but it’s quickly replaced with agony.
His eyes never leave mine.
I run.
He’s too far away. I need to get to him.
Fuck, Slade. No. I love you. You can’t die. We need to grow old together.
Lucien’s booming laughter echoes through my mind and despite my eyes being locked on Slade’s, I don’t miss the way Lucien wipes the blood splatter off his face and hands. The gun is pocketed and I scream as Lucien walks away.
Slade lays in the thick grass bleeding and I’ve hardly gotten four steps out the window when a strong arm curls around my waist, hauling me back toward the house. “NO, LET ME GO,” I scream, desperately needing to get to him. I don’t even know where he was shot. In the back? In the head? Fuck, is he bleeding out? Is he struggling to breathe? Is he dying? Is he already dead?
My fingers dig into the guard’s arm, my nails clawing at his skin, prompting him to hold me tighter and making it nearly impossible to suck in another breath.
“SLADE,” I cry as I’m pulled away, refusing to tear my eyes off him. “GET UP. YOU HAVE TO GET UP.”
I don’t know if he doesn’t hear me or if he’s just…dead, but he doesn’t move. Doesn’t twitch, doesn’t blink, just keeps staring.
Why won’t he move?
Oh, God, no.
Tears stream down my face as I struggle against the guards hold. I need to get to Slade. Why doesn’t he understand that?
Lucien cuts in front of my vision and I try to look around him, refusing to take my eyes off my boyfriend. Lucien looks over my shoulder at the guard as though he doesn’t even see me here, as though he didn’t just tear my world into a million pieces and shatter it. “Take her to her room and lock the door. I want a guard on her door all night. She is not to move, not to eat, not to fucking breathe without someone knowing about it. Got it?”
The guard nods so forcefully that I feel my whole body rattle.
Lucien's eyes darken and as his eyes meet mine, he grins, and at that moment, I swear he’s the actual devil sent from hell to destroy me. “Next will be Shaylee, then Blake, Daniella, Emma, and Rain…You fuck up, you lose. Do you understand me?”
I swallow back fear for the only people I have left in this world while unable to stop picturing the way Slade’s eyes widened in fear. I didn’t even get to tell him that I loved him.
My whole body slumps against the guard in defeat, but Lucien’s not finished torturing me yet. “No one else has to die, Skylah. Their fates are in your hands.”
With that, he walks away, and as my heart tears right out of my chest. I’m hauled back into the house, staring at the man who lies lifelessly in the grass, realizing that he’s gone.
I will never love again. I will never find someone who completes my soul the way that he did, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to love another man, I don’t want to even try. I just want him. I need him, but he’s dead because of me.
Slade Cruz was my world, and now my world is gone.
I can feel the fight draining from my body as I realize that I suddenly have nothing to live for. Keeping my family in Aston Creek safe is all that matters now. I allow the guard to drag me away and lock me in my room. Here is where I'll live each day as a blur, knowing that my actions killed the man I love. I will never know happiness again.
Chapter 7
Slade
Agony pulses through my body.
I’ve never felt anything like it. Is this the kind of torture that Sky had to put up with while also drowning, trying to free herself, and then having her rib broken with resuscitation? Fuck, she’s more of a survivor than I could have ever known.
This is easily the worst thing I’ve ever felt in my life. It fucking burns like someone just stabbed me with a flaming sword and left it in there to burn me from within.
I lay in the thick grass, willing myself to move. I need to get the fuck up before Lucien decides to come and finish the job. His words ring in my ears louder than the echoing of the gunshot.
‘This is the only time you will ever find an advantage in being my blood. Next time I see you, this bullet will be through your eyes, but know, if you ever come here again, I will kill her.’