Page 50 of Dark Consequences

Raphael steps around me and immediately goes for his uncle, landing a punch to the jaw before the heartbroken man can stop it. He lands another two before Michael is there, pulling him back to my side.

Dante reaches for his brother and stops him from retaliating, shoving him away like he weighs nothing. “That’s enough, Leo. We do not strike women.”

Pointing a finger at me, he growls, “This is your fault. If you weren’t here, Xiao wouldn’t have gone after my son. Because of you, my son is dead! You killed him!”

“Uncle Leo—”

“No!” He interrupts Raphael with a shout. “Dominic’s death is on you as well. You should have killed her and that wretched child the night you found them. Instead of thinking with your cock and taking her like some grand prize to be won.”

“Leo, that’s uncalled for. The only one to blame here is Xiao. Focus on that, brother,” Dante urges. “We will make the bastard pay for what he has done.”

Leo shoves his brother off him, and with one last angry look at us and then his son, he storms out of the room, shoving past Enzo who stands like a statue in the doorway. The front door slams open and closed a second later as he leaves the house.

Since Mr. Ruthledge, I’ve lost my fair share of patients. And maybe it’s horrible to say, but death became a regular occurrence afterward until, eventually, I grew numb to it. Some were harder than others, but few stuck around as much as the first.

And something tells me that this moment will stay with me forever.

23

Raphael

The scalding water pounds down on my skin as if the flames of hell are trying to take my soul. And I’m tempted to let the devil have it.

My cousin didn’t deserve to die. And when I get my hands on those responsible, I’ll make sure they feel the same pain ten times over.

In our line of business, we play with death every day. We never know when our last day could be. It’s why we do everything to the extreme—why we hate so hard and love even harder. It’s the reason we don’t let go when we find that special one.

I bow my head and watch my cousin’s blood flow down the drain until the water runs clear. The rhythmic patter of the water against the tile is interrupted by the opening of the shower stall door.

I already know who it is without turning around. We’re connected in a way that I would recognize her presence instantly.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I warn her, my voice devoid of emotion, though my heart and body scream the opposite. I crave her touch. I need it to remind me that I’m alive.

She’s quiet for a long moment, and it’s only because of our connection that I know she waits behind me.

“Do you hate me?”

Her question is so soft, I nearly miss it over the rushing water.

I turn immediately, then slam to a halt at the sight before me.

Lily stands naked as the day she was born in front of me. She’s shivering, but I know she’s not cold because the space is near boiling hot. She shakes because of how vulnerable she is at this very moment. Standing there, completely exposed, with every physical scar and mark on display for judgment.

And what a fucking sight she is.

My eyes trace over every inch of her bare skin, lingering on the subtle silver stretch marks left by pregnancy and the faint pink scars that tell the story of the past six years of torment and pain she’s endured. Breasts just the right size to suffocate in with perky pink nipples. Nipples I remember feeling against my chest the night she fell asleep outside.

My eyes drop to her bare pussy, and I about fall to my knees. Because I’m ready to worship at this woman’s feet. She’s it for me. She has been since the second she opened her eyes that night with my gun pointed at her. The moment her blue and my gold clashed and mixed into something beautiful, I was hers.

Lily drops her head, mistaking my silence as an answer. “I tried to save him, but there must have been something else I couldn’t see. I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me.”

I reach out to lift her chin, witnessing the pain and sorrow storming in her brilliant blue eyes. “I could never hate you. My uncle was wrong. None of this is your fault—” She opens her mouth to argue, but my fingers holding her chin move to her lips, silencing her. “And I know you may think it is because of Xiao, but like I’ve said before. He is a grown man capable of making his own decisions. And his decision today has guaranteed his death.”

Lily slowly nods, but I’m no fool. It will take the bastard’s head at her feet to prove my words to her. Just like how Dr. Rodriguez’s severed cock showed her that he would never hurt anyone ever again.

Actions speak louder than words.

“How’s your face?” I ask, tilting her head to the side so I can get a proper look at where my uncle slapped her and the small red cut splitting her bottom lip.

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