Page 37 of Midnight Salvation

His laptop and folders still sat on the shelf where I left them. The velvet boxes had been removed briefly for Lucrezia to authenticate the origins of the diamonds and sat back on the shelf because those blood diamonds would never see the light of day again in my lifetime.

I lifted the relevant items, staring at the remainder of the relics in here. There were objects in here that people would kill for, other artefacts that people had been killed for. My family history was steeped in blood and all those deeds were finally catching up with us. Grandpa always used to say that the Blackwoods were untouchable. What he never reckoned on was that one of his heirs would be the assassin who would seek vengeance.

“You good?” Xavier stood at the entrance since none of us tended to go into the private area of the others.

“No.” I shook my head, my eyes trained on the shelf related to my mum. She had had a breakdown a few years ago and told me all the horrendous and sordid acts inflicted on a new female member of our family. I’d gotten her counselling and as far away from Dad as possible. That shelf was the reason Lucrezia was hidden. If they knew she was my wife, she would be fair game to the sexual deviants in my family.

I was born from a legacy of pain and violence. If I had any chance of a future, I needed to ensure that a new generation with different values steered our family forward. Oliver wanted to protect his fiancée and Aaron had been nearly beaten to death. My brothers were looking to me now to guide them and that weight sat heavily on my shoulders.

“I know.” Xavier sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground. “Once upon forever ago, Dad was my hero and now I find that he was the villain all along.”

“I never thought that Dad was a hero, he was always an evil bastard.” I closed my eyes against the evidence that surrounded me of his transgressions. “I just never had the motivation to destroy him before now.”

“Then let’s get this over with,” Xavier replied. “We both have wives to protect and I hate being away from Cassandra more than I need to be.”

The metal door slammed shut behind us and we made our way to the main operation room at the back of the house. Jordan was already logging us into our servers. I set the laptop beside him to connect into our isolated network for him to work on it. Xavier and I took the folders to search through.

Part of me didn’t want to do this. I already knew that Dad was capable of unspeakable acts, but I was about to cross a line that turned me from son to executioner. Was I capable of killing the man who sired me?

The coldblooded killer in me automatically reared his head with a feral grin playing on his lips. Every day I fought against that side of my personality, and today I was losing that battle.

“If we do this, we can’t go back,” I said in a low tone.

Xavier sat back in his chair and stared at the paperwork on the table. “Yeah, I know. Dad raised me and at one point was the most important person in my life.”

“You don’t have to do this,” I offered. “There is no evidence that Hugh is involved in all this nonsense.”

“No.” Xavier shook his head. “The Council is corrupt and we all know it. Uncle Lucas tried to change the past by creating a new organisation and has only added to the problem. We need lives away from all of this where we can have love with our wives and children. Jordan is entitled to find happiness without looking over his shoulder and hiding Megan. We made a vow to each other a long time ago, and the time has finally arrived to complete that mission.”

Jordan appeared at the side of the table. “We need to bury the past,” he said. “Even if that means adding a few more bodies to the funeral pyre.”

I sucked in a deep breath. “Okay, then we do this. One goal, no compassion.”

“Agreed,” Jordan replied. “We hit hard and fast so none of them see us coming. Lucas is only involved if we need something, otherwise we call the shots and pull the punches.”

The day to enact our blood oath had finally arrived. We’d spent years preparing, but the risks had never been higher than they were right now. Each of us had too much to lose. That feral beast that lived inside me laughed in my ears because he knew that I was about to release him to ensure there were no survivors in this war on the other side. My soul had never been pure, but it was about to become tarnished beyond redemption.

***

Chapter Twelve

Lucrezia

Forty-eight hours without Ash and I was starting to crawl the walls. Every minute I was awake I imagined him in danger with a horned devil chasing him. In my dreams, I tossed and turned until I woke up in a sweat.

I had transferred my workshop from his business premises to Papa’s townhouse. I needed to be in London since the other women and their constant natter were driving me insane. Harold had asked me to help him with the next round of the goldsmith competition, and I sat sketching the outline of a design on the pad in front of me.

A rap at the open door behind me grabbed my attention.

“Lunch?” Francis asked.

I only ate because others forced me. I didn’t feel like eating when Ash was in danger, and the more I heard about his father in hushed conversations the more I was sure that the man was related to Lucifer or some other demon from Hell.

“That would be great,” I replied, hiding my unease behind a smile. “Maybe this afternoon we can go to Harold’s to show him my design?”

“Sounds like a plan.” He headed back downstairs and I diligently followed.

Catarina was already in the kitchen, pretending to help cook by poking into pots with a spoon. My sister didn’t have a domestic bone in her body.

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