Page 65 of Ours

“Actually, I’ll be takingeverythingfrom you,” she hissed, her body shaking slightly from the adrenaline coursing through her. “Your money...your power...your Organization...yourlife.I’m taking itall!”

Scoffing at the screaming kitten, he turned away from her and headed towards his desk. He was unimpressed by her little display and didn’t appreciate the way she was speaking to him. It seemed as if he had been too soft with her. She needed a reminder of her place.

“Oh? Is that so? You and what fucking army, Alexandria?” he asked, plunking his empty glass down upon the desktop.

Stepping around the ornately carved desk, he pulled out his high back chair. Sitting down on the leather seat, he waited for an answer. Expecting a bitchy retort, he was distracted by a series of loud sounds coming from behind his office door. Sweeping his gaze from the bleeding bitch to the noise, he stilled as his semi-inebriated mind tried to make sense of it.

“Right on time,” she said under her breath.

Curling her lips into a wicked grin, she stood firmly in place. Kade really did have impeccable timing. In less than thirty seconds, he was already wreaking havoc. Various masculine yells, solid thuds, and sharp crashes came from behind the door. Even without being able to physically see the fight, she knew exactly what was happening by the sound of breaking glass and muzzled bullets whizzing through the air. Locking her eyes on Bloodbayne, she memorized the terror seeping through his expression.Now the fun was really about to start.

“What the fuck is going on?” he wondered aloud. “Who is that?!”

Reaching under her tunic, she slipped her fingers under her waistband. Grabbing the hilt of her Stiletto, she pulled it from the fabric. Gripping it in her hand, she offered a smug reply. “My army.”

Widening his clear blue eyes, his breath hitched as he heard a pair of heavy footsteps make their way towards his office. Springing into action, he reached for the desk drawer to his right. Ripping it open, his deformed hand found his Desert Eagle at the same time the door was kicked open.

Busting into the office with his Baretta raised, Kade scanned the space. Finding Lexi only a handful of steps away, he took immediate comfort in the fact that she seemed relativelyunharmed. Stalking towards her, he pointed his gun directly at his father.

Consumed by a mixture of fear and rage, Bloodbayne lifted the gold-plated pistol towards Kade. How the hell was his son alive? The bastard had more lives than a cat. He knew he should have personally handled his assassination.

“Well, well, well...what a pleasant surprise,” he hissed through gritted teeth. “Look who came back from hell.”

Scanning her gaze across Kade’s flushed face, Lexi exhaled a ragged breath. He was bruised and bloodied from a few good licks but otherwise seemed fine. She was relieved and thankful to finally have him back by her side.

Glancing at her from the corner of her eyes, Kade hovered his finger over the trigger of his gun. Giving her a small nod, he turned his attention to his father. There were plenty of bullets still left in the chamber, he wondered how many it would take to completely decimate his decrepit face.

“You’ll be taking my place there soon enough,” he replied.

Shaking his head, Bloodbayne laughed at his inherent arrogance. Moving his gun to the left, he pointed the barrel directly at Lexi’s lower torso. “My boy, you know better than to threatenme,” he snarled.

Clenching her jaw, Lexi pressed her thumb on the side of her hilt. Slicing through the air, the five-inch blade unsheathed itself. Daring him to pull the trigger with a searing look, she gripped her Stiletto in anticipation.

Hardening his masculine features, Kade kept the silenced muzzle of his gun on his father. Aiming the barrel at his chest,his thoughts drifted back over the years. Replaying all the sick and sadistic abuse he suffered, he channeled the acute pain. Using it to override the miniscule part of him that would always be terrified of him.

“It’s not a threat,” he said, his tone low and menacing. “Iamgoing to kill you.”

Unamused by his display of faux bravado, Bloodbayne hissed a sharp expletive. Tired of wasting time listening to his empty vow, he pulled the trigger of his Magnum without a second thought.

Instinctively wincing, Lexi froze as he shot his weapon. Waiting to feel pain that never came, her mouth fell open as she heard a series of empty“clicks”coming from the golden gun. Lifting her lips into a shit eating grin, a laugh bubbled from her throat.

Well would you look at that,Nikki said from the corner of her mind.Kade told you the truth. Maybe I was wrong about him. Guess he’s worth keeping around.

Silently agreeing with her alter, she looked at Kade. His handsome face twisted with a rage she had only seen once before, right before she had hit her with the car back at the cabin. It was a look that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up on end. With bated breath, she watched him retaliate against the cowardly attack.

Unleashing his pent-up fury, Kade let out a low growl. Without hesitation, he popped off four quick rounds from his gun. Within the span of a single heartbeat, they hit their target like a surgeon’s blade. Lodging themselves deep within Bloodbayne’s shoulders, the old man screamed as he fell back into his oversized chair, nearly toppling it to the ground.

Lowering the Baretta to his side, he gave his father a tiny smirk. Relishing the pained sounds escaping his twisting mouth, he studied his bloody handiwork. He had made sure not to hit anything too critical, he wanted to save that honor for his love.

“Valentina removed the bullets from your clip. You know, you should’ve been kinder to her,” he tsked, walking towards the desk.

Unable to pry himself from the high back chair, Bloodbayne writhed in pain. Gasping for air, his mind reeled from his words. Of all the people he had surrounded himself with, he trusted Valentina the most. Her betrayal was more painful than the oozing wounds in his shoulders and upper arms.

Following her love as he worked his way around the desk, Lexi studied Bloodbayne. He looked so old,so frail, that she almost wanted to laugh. She couldn’t believe she was ever afraid of him. He was just a pathetic old man. Nothing more, nothing less.

Standing next to the chair, Kade lifted his free hand. Wrapping it soundly around his father’s thin neck, he yanked the injured man from his seat. Squeezing his fingers into his fire kissed flesh, he roughly dragged him towards the wall.

“Come, Sweetheart. It’s time for you to play,” he said, glancing over his shoulder.

---