Page 6 of Gilded Kisses
“Shh, beautiful.”
A hand finds mine. Luther, I realize. His pinky ring is unmistakable. I squeeze back and for one second I think maybe everything will work out. We can talk and my father will realize I’m not a little girl anymore.
Think, Aster. Come on. But a solid plan of how to explain this all to my father slips through my fingers at what I hear next.
“I trusted you with her life. Nothing else. You don’t get to take what I haven’t given you.”
Bile rises to the back of my throat, burning. Tears swim along the rims of my eyes. My heart stutters. “What…what the ever-loving fuck…”
Wind leaves my lungs. One second I’m wrapped in their warmth and in the next I’m being jerked away by Godzilla-sized hands.
Steel beams wrap around me and I’m suddenly thrown over a shoulder. Bone digs into my midriff and any hope I had of breathing doesn’t happen. Arms and legs flail before I’m dumped like trash at my father’s feet.
“Ugh.” It’s a grunt more than a groan.
Before I think better of it I kick out, landing the heel of my foot against a vulnerable part of the enforcer’s knee. “fucker,” I seethe.
“Shut the fuck up, girl.” Knuckles strike the back of my cheek, stinging.
I sense their movement more than see Viper and Luther draw blades and slit the throats of the enforcers closing in on them. Others stand behind my father with powerful flashlights highlighting the horror show unfolding in front of me.
Rage pulls my godfather’s once handsome faces into masks of revenge. “You’re next, Constantine.”
That is Mirsha. Luther and Viper flank him.
Death has taken over.
Strong fingers dig into my hair and I’m suddenly hauled to my feet by my cold-hearted father. The depths of his brown eyes reveal pits of hell burning deep in his soul. I try to fight his hold on me but the more I struggle the tighter his hold becomes.
“Your betrayal will handled later.” Cold metal presses against my temple. And my father whirls me around.
Feet shift and the men at my father’s side close in, guns aiming for my godfathers’ hearts.
“Come a step closer and you will watch her die before my men end your pathetic lives. You of all people know how I handle betrayal.”
“Come a step closer and she dies.”
My godfathers’ chests heave with the wrath of a thousand demons. Invisible chains made of sheer willpower keep them from rushing forward. If they didn’t obey my father’s command the amount of blood that would spill…oh, God! I can’t let them get killed over my impulsiveness.
“Listen to him,” I urge furiously. Fear widens my eyes and I can see they are on the cusp of not giving a shit if they die tonight. Luther’s eyes bore a hole into the hand gripping me by the hair. One little push and he’ll be on my father beating the shit out of him. And dying. He would very much die if he tried to save me.
“Stop!” I force all my love into that one word hoping they calm down long enough to hear me. Flames flicker in their eyes when they finally drop to mine.
“If you love me, walk away. Just go.” I force my voice not to tremble, but it’s not working.
“No.”
That’s Viper.
“Stubborn fools.”
My father’s laugh is evil enough to wake the dead. “Leave and I’ll let her live long enough to suffer my punishment for her betrayal against the family. Royal blood does not mix with the filthy of mere killers.”
If this is how he treats his best friends, I can’t imagine what he’s done to enemies.
“One more step in her direction and you will all watch me bury a bullet in her head.”
Fear slams my eyes closed. Silence takes over. Coldness drowns the heat in my veins and I instantly plunge into a sense of dread feet first.