I’m here to check on Karl. The rest of the guys are out. When Karl didn’t respond to any of the group text messages, I knew I needed to stop by before heading to Le Toucher to meet with Matthieu.
As I enter the house, all I can think is how the entire summer has been shit. Senator Baker has given power to one of the most vindictive bitches I know. Samantha Davenport makes all my issues with Vivian seem like minor disagreements. And the person struggling the most with our current circumstances is Karl.
Not only was he kidnapped and tortured for weeks, but he was also dropped off on the side of the road with an explosive in his arm, barely alive.
Climbing the steps, I ruminate on how devastated he was once he discovered Emma was gone. Part of me is glad he wasn’t around to see the utter heartbreak on her face when Rowan chose Samantha.
It’s an image burned into my memory, haunting me in my daydreams and nightmares. Emma opened me to the possibilities of life after heartbreak-to pouring love into someone who doesn’t take advantage, instead returning it in spades.
I’m about to knock on Karl’s door when I hear her voice.
“You broke me. Each of you stole pieces of my heart and carelessly discarded them.”
I wait for his reply, but I’m greeted with an anguished cry.
“How could I have been so foolish to believe that any of you were ever genuine? H-h-how?” Emma chokes out. “This is my fault. I lowered my guard with the whispered promises of forever, and we all know that a promise is a comfort to a fool. And guess what? I’m that fool.”
My eyes snap shut at the hurt in every word as I wait for Karl to rebuff her-to chastise her for the asinine thought that she’s foolish.
It never comes.
“This is the last time I’ll ever reach out to any of you. It’s time for me to make peace with how stupid I am for ever believing, for ever trusting the sweet poison that was your I love yous.”
Her words slice through me.
“I need you to hear this and pass the message on to the rest of your cowardly friends.”
My breath hitches, resting my palm against the wall, waiting for the fatal blow.
“I may be down, but I’m far from out. You and your fianc?e can have this moment because it’ll be the last one I ever give any of you. You’re all dead to me.”
My eyes spring open, and I fight the urge to drop to my knees. The finality in her tone spears me through my chest, sending chills down my spine.
“Nooooo,” Karl shouts, his broken screams the perfect representation of the torment coursing through me. “No. . . no. . . no! You don’t mean that, Angel. I’ll fix this-we’ll fix it. I promise. Karl mutters almost incoherently.
I burst through the door. “Emma,” I growl as I take in the scene before me.
“Press one to delete this message. Press two to save this message. Press three to replay this message. Press four to return to the main menu.”
It’s a voicemail.
Karl’s so lost in his phone that he doesn’t acknowledge my presence, and the message begins to play again.
“No. . . no. . . no. You have to forgive us. Don’t lose faith,” he exclaims before turning his tear-streaked face at me. “She’s going to forgive us, right? She has to, doesn’t she?”
Searching for the right thing to say, my lips part, but no words come out.
“Bash, we have to fix this-we have to,” he trails off, standing and pacing the room as the voicemail plays again.
My nostrils flare as I dart forward, snatching the phone from his hold and pressing one.
“Message deleted,” the computerized voice announces.
“What the fuck did you do?” Karl roars, charging at me. I wrap him in my arms, squeezing until he stills.
“She’s ours, O. She’ll never be able to be anyone else’s-we won’t allow it,” I declare.
Twisting, he works to free himself, but I only tighten my hold.
“Do you hear me,” I bark, gripping his arms and shaking him. “Emma Bradford is ours, and we’ll fight every obstacle, known and unknown, trying to keep us apart.”
He pauses as if only just registering what I’ve said. Nodding, he mutters, “She’ll forgive us-she has to.”
“Damn fucking right, she will,” I insist. “She’s coming home, Karl. Senator Baker and Samantha don’t get to win.”
I release him, and his arms hang limply at his side before he looks up. Fire blazes in his hazel eyes.
There he is- my brother who doesn’t know the word surrender.
With each deep breath Karl takes, his determination sets in, fueling my resolve.
Meeting his stare, I proclaim, “We’ll work on freeing you and ending Baker, then we’ll bring our girl home.”
AUGUST
“You stupid fucking bitch! We had a deal,” Rowan snaps, charging at Sam, but Sebastian’s arm shoots out, halting his forward progress. He’s not fast enough to stop Karl, though.
Karl’s knife is pressed firmly against her carotid artery. “You fucking tried to kill her. What’s stopping me from actually killing you?” he seethes.
I watch in revulsion as she tries to grind into Karl, and her eyes pool with lust. “If you wanted to play, Karl, baby, all you had to do was ask,” Samantha moans. At the sight of our disgust, her lips curl into a snarl. “The bitch was only safe if she stayed the fuck away. Now she’s back. All bets are off.”
Tilting my head, I study her, narrowing my gaze until she feels my attention boring into the side of her face. She turns, and at the simmering rage in my eyes, some of her bravado slips from her demeanor.
Good. She’s finally realizing she’s not the biggest beast in the room.
“It’s funny you think you can change the rules, Sam,” I hiss, stalking toward her. She tries to turn her head, but I grip her face. “This deal only works if she’s alive. We’d end ourselves before we ever let you kill her. So don’t be stupid,” I command and drop my hand in time for Karl to pat her cheek with his blade and back away.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.