Page 135 of Monsters Wear Crowns
Louder.Closer.
The man who had first fired dropped instantly. Blood bloomed across his chest, soaking into the polished wood floor as he stilled. For a heartbeat, I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.
And then I looked over to see Rafe still holding the gun, smoke curling from the barrel. My eyes widened, and my stomach dropped.It was him.He’d killedhis own man…forme.
Rafe’s voice sliced through the thick silence. “If any more of you go to hurt her, I willfucking kill you, too.” The room fell still, but he didn’t look away from me. His jaw was rigid, the muscle twitching. His entire body was a live wire, rage humming just beneath the surface. But when he spoke again, his voice was eerily calm. “Get out.”
One of the men hesitantly stepped forward, lowering his gun.“Boss–”
“Now.”
Reluctantly, they backed off, their eyes flicking between us like they were waiting for someone else to bleed. The door shut behind them with a heavy, final thud, and then it was just the two of us.
“Is this what we’re doing now, Adela?” Rafe’s voice was low, but there was something almost…mocking in it. “Pointing guns at each other?”
“I wouldn’t have to if you just believed me,” I spat back. “I didn’t sleep with him. Nor did I want to. I got out of there really fast once he tried to come onto me. That is thetruth,Rafe.”
“Believeyou?” His mouth twisted. “There is a goddamn video of you.”
“You think I’d fuck you over after everything I–” My voice cracked, but I forced it steady. “I’m so sorry. He tracked me down. In that time, he told me about how this conflict between you started. He also told me I should leave you and work with him. But I demanded he take me home. And he did.”
“Did you doanythingwith him? Be fucking honest. Because he may send me another video.”
I gulped, my grip tightening on the gun. “He ran his fingers down my arm and up my thigh. But I stopped him before he could take it further.”
He took a step toward me, his body trembling violently.
“Don’t,” I warned, tightening my grip on the gun.
But he didn’t stop. “Do it, then,” he said roughly, pressing his chest against the barrel. “If you’re so sure I’m the enemy–if you really think I deserve it–pull the fucking trigger.”
My finger twitched, but I couldn’t. And he knew it. He saw the moment of hesitation, and he struck. He was on me before I could react, his hand closing around my wrist, wrenching the gun from my grip. In seconds, the weapon was gone and I was defenseless.
The cold kiss of metal pressed against my throat. The sharp scent of gunpowder lingered in the air, blending with the coppery tang of blood from the body lying on the other side of the door.
My pulse pounded, a frantic, stuttering rhythm that seemed deafening in the silence. The world had narrowed to this moment, this breath,this choice.
“Tell me,” his voice was low, rough, laced with something dangerous, “Is this what you wanted?”
I met his eyes. A thousand unspoken things burned there–anger, lust, and something terrifyingly close to possession. His lips curved, a cruel smile that promised I had already lost. The pressure against my throat eased, but his hand caught my chin in a rough, unforgiving grip as he tilted my face up to his.
“You wanted to play with monsters,” he murmured, his breath brushing my lips. “Now you’ll see how they break their fucking toys.”
The shot rang out.
And the world tilted.
He spun me around after firing his gun in anger, the bullet shattering his office window. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out? Did you think Moreau wouldn’t use this against you? Against me?”
I shook my head, tears slipping down my temples. “No, Rafe–”
“You’remine.” His fingers curled into the desk, his knuckles still raw. “And he fucking knows it.”
I was shaking. Every nerve in my body frayed to its limit. He didn’t give me a chance to speak. He shoved me down, bending me over the dark wood, and his breath was hot against my ear.
“You want tochallengeme?Betrayme?” His voice was a growl, thick with rage. “Then you’d better be ready for the fucking consequences, little doe.”
My pulse slammed against my ribs, but I refused to cower. “Let me go. I’ll sever our contract, and you’ll be fucking defenseless.”
