Page 34 of His Paradise

“That still doesn’t explain what David’s mother has to do with this.” Irritation laces my voice and Alec walks towards the stairs. “David Killinger was Stefan’s cousin. Their mothers were sisters.”

The painting is slightly crooked, the image of a petite blonde woman. Her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes as she leans against a larger woman. They share the same features, same hair color and I can see the resemblance David once shared with them. Before I mutilated his face. Jared turns away from the image with a hand on his chest. I grip his shoulder, forcing his eyes to meet mine.

“You were the right hand to a cruel and twisted man. He manipulated you into burning down a building that you thought was empty. If you had questioned him or his orders, you would have been killed and another poor bastard would have been sent to finish the job.” I remind him. Jared nods once, but the guilt doesn’t ease.

“It’s silent.” Markus points out.

“I think we either killed everyone, they evacuated, or they’re after the women.” Alec points out.

“Or the place is boobie trapped.” Markus points to a cluster of brightly colored wires peeking out from under a dirty cloth.

We all rush for the stairs.

A second too late.

The explosion rocks the entire house, sending each of us hurtling in different directions as the building crumbles around us.

Chapter twenty-nine

Nina

My heart thunders behind my ribs, drowning out all other sounds until I shake my head. He has to be wrong, Aden can’t be dead. My throat is dry, and I struggle to swallow back the bile as it rises from my stomach. Luna inches closer, trying to put herself in front of me protectively.

“You’re a liar. You wouldn’t let anyone else have the satisfaction of killing him.” She tries to sound confident, but her voice still wobbles. David smiles, and the sight makes me want to vomit. His entire body is covered in bruises, from yellow to deep blue and his eyes are sunken in. Dried blood crusts his face and arms, one of his hands is swathed in a thick bandage and he struggles to blink.

“He was an idiot for letting me live, I won’t make the same mistake. I wanted him to watch me break the wife he stole from me, but that isn’t a risk I’m willing to take.” David points his gun at Grayson, and I shove myself between them.

“Nina, step back.” Grayson snaps. But I keep my chin up and shake my head once.

“Leo needs you. If what he says is true, that boy needs you.” His voice is low, meant only for me to hear. My stance wavers, and Grayson shoves me behind him.

“What a hero,” The woman under David’s right arm smirks, and my heart aches when I recognize her.

“Anne,” disbelief makes me want to deny what I’m seeing but there’s no reasonable explanation. For just a moment, she looks at me with guilt but immediately covers it by rolling her eyes.

“Don’t be pathetic. In war, you have to pick a side.” My previous bodyguard dismisses me. David grins and the feeling of helplessness grows. What if Aden is dead? Grayson and Luna didn’t have a chance of taking on the half dozen other men that step up behind David and his two lackeys.

“You are hurt, sweet boy.” A woman's high pitched voice calls, and I turn to see the woman who trapped me in our marriage arrangement all those years ago.

Hannah Killinger, David’s mother. The disgust on her face as she passes me is the same as it was the day we met and she declared I was a poor choice for her son. The cold metal that digs into my jaw can’t be mistaken for anything else. A hand threads through my hair, fisting tight to wrench me back against a hard chest. The smell of cheap cologne and cigarettes makes me want to turn away, but I keep my body still. Before Grayson can turn, two men flank him and Luna is grabbed by another.

“Awful lot of effort for something so plain,” The man behind me chuckles, his warm breath fanning my neck. Hannah stands near David, not reaching out to him as she frowns at his appearance. He stands taller, always the boy who wants his mothers approval. Disgust replaces the pity I fleetingly felt for him.

“Had a bit of a pest issue, but the problem has been dealt with. I do believe it’s time to finish this. Bring that one to me,” Hannah’s eyes light up with malice, their intensity growing as Luna is wrenched by her arm towards the woman. She fights the entire way, thrashing and clawing until the man jams the barrel of his gun into her ribs.

“Would you prefer to bleed out in the dirt or cooperate?” Hannah waves her hand, and I try to jerk forward, desperate to do anything to protect Luna. The man holding me grunts, but doesn’t budge.

“Move and I’ll kill the traitor and his bastard child.” Hannah pulls a gun from the pocket of her pantsuit, pointing it at Grayson as he struggles against the two men holding him.

“Touch my daughter and I’ll kill you.” Grayson snarls. They kick the backs of his knees, forcing him to kneel as his arms are wrenched painfully behind his back. This can’t be happening. If Hannah is here, that means Aden is dead or trapped. My heart starts thundering as Hannah leans close to Luna, gripping her face harder until I can see her fingers digging into her cheeks.

“Let her go, this is my fault. She’s innocent.” I plead, trying to reason with Hannah. But her frigid glare stops me, and it’s plain to see she’s beyond conversation.

“Innocent? Her barbaric husband took somebody I love from me, not once, but twice. And her brother sealed your fate when he dared to steal my sons betrothed. Our family has been torn down many times over and it will stop here and now.” Hannah steps back, straightening her clothes as she looks towards me with hatred.

“Jared accepted a job to burn down a building, he didn’t know that woman was inside.” Luna is fiercely protective of him, and she holds her chin high as she defends him.

“That woman was my sister, and she was knocked up with an heir of the Barone family. She was a coward and tried to run from her destiny, from the power we could have had. As if that wasn’t enough, you all had a hand in killing my nephew Stefan when he took you in! He could have been something great. You ungrateful whores were all offered a chance to support powerful men and chose this.” She spits the words.

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