I scoffed at his question, as if it were any of his business who I kill or why.
“Sorry, did I steal your glory, Matt?”I retorted, the taunt in my voice unmistakable.“Or are you just upset over your wasted time and effort coming here?”
His jaw clenched before he spoke through gritted teeth.“So, it is true then.”
I rolled my eyes in annoyance.“I’m surprised Sid didn’t clue you in any more after having already betrayed me by coming to you in the first place.Seems he had his own agenda to meet if he kept that very significant piece of information to himself.”
Matt shook his head, the hint of a smirk hiding in the corner of his mouth.“Yeah, what an inconsiderate asshole,” he replied, running his dirty hands through his hair.“But honestly, who would ever suspect one traitor of protecting another traitor?That’s just unheard of.”
My brows knitted together in confusion, the bait in his sarcasm just as distasteful as his arrogance.
Sid was protecting another traitor?It wasn’t a tough guess that he had grown soft on Jaden in his final dying year.And Matt would naturally consider her a traitor for helping Kayla escape him.
“Wow, Matt, what a puzzle you’ve truly presented me with.”
Asshole.
Charging forward, I kicked a nearby end table into Matt’s torso, the distraction enough for me to reach out and grab the AR he had pulled out from his back.We wrestled for control, throwing each other over broken furniture until we both fell over, the gun soaring well out of reach.
Fists flew in all directions, knuckles connecting with noses and jawlines as we exchanged blows throughout the house.Tossing him over my shoulder, I threw him into the next room, his ass sliding over the dining room table and crashing onto the floor.When he stood on the other side of the table, a sneer stretched across his face.
“You’re really not interested in who your other traitor is?Or have you already figured it out?”Matt snickered as he kicked the table in my direction.
I grabbed the edges of the table and tilted one side off the ground, then threw it out of my way so that it no longer separated us.“It’s no great mystery to me, Matt, besides, Jason already claimed your bragging rights.I’m sure Jaden and I will laugh about her silly story of revenge when we tell it to our future grandchildren,” I explained as I reared back to slam my fist against his cheek.“I just need you to die already so I can go find out how she did it.”
Matt laughed as he ducked down to avoid my second swing at his face, rolling out of my reach.“Wow, you really are that fucking delusional, and coincidentally, so is she.And you don’t even care.I guess you guys truly are a match made in Hell.”
I rolled my eyes as my elbow connected with his nose, sending him flying back against the wall.“It doesn’t matter what Jaden does,” I continued as I sidestepped his kick to my abdomen.“She will never be free of me.That will be her punishment.Whatever sabotage she plans in this life or the next is my burden to bear and my responsibility to correct.Death will not release either of us from that duty.”
Matt’s brows rose as he shot around me to create enough distance for him to stare back at me.“Damn, you really do love her, don’t you?”he murmured, his voice just as smooth as his curious observation.
I could barely contain the wolf-like grin curling my lips.“It’s so much worse than that.”
He cocked a brow as his mouth fell open in disbelief.“Clearly,” he commented, his bloodshot eyes widening despite all the bruising.“You’re willing to lose everything and everyone just to keep her.That’s not love, Darren, that’s madness.”
He had no idea.“Like I said, it’s so much worse.”
“No shit.She can try to kill you on multiple occasions, destroy your relationships, manipulate everyone around her into murdering her enemies, including your own kin, start several wars in secret, crumble your corporate and criminal empire, and even fake a pregnancy.She could literally burn your entire world down and you’d still worship her at her feet.”
I nearly rolled my eyes at his dramatics and ignored the accusations that had yet to be proven.I would eventually find the truth as I always did, through brutality and persistence.But until then, it was an absolute joke to consider my devotion to my own cause to be anything other than a strict testament to the family moto.
Absolutum Dominiumwasn’t some silly catch phrase.It was our eternal way of life.
“Sure, Matt, I’ll worship her from the comfort of my desk while she’s wrapped in chains and on her knees with my dick down her throat,” I growled as I rushed him, exchanging more blows until we slammed into another wall.
Despite my own confidence, the mention of Jaden’s pregnancy gave me pause as I wrapped my arm around the backside of Matt’s elbow, which I had trapped against my rib cage, keeping him locked in place.But I refused to acknowledge the possibility of such a wild conspiracy until I could confirm the truth with my own eyes.
“You know, at least I’m not the fucking moron who decided to abandon everything he knows to avenge his bitch cousin and partner with a complete nobody under the delusion that a little team effort could bring down the most powerful crime syndicate in the Western Hemisphere.And then have the audacity to expect that they’ll give me my woman back for being such a good boy.Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?”
Holding tight, I pulled Matt away from the wall only to slam him back against it even harder, but only a chuckle erupted from his throat.
“I guess we’re both just fools in mad love,” he mused, blood coating his teeth.“But at least I’m not so far gone that I can’t see through the smoke of my own world on fire.”
Bored of the exchange, I stepped back and twisted my body to the side, the pressure causing Matt’s elbow to dislocate from its socket.His sudden scream was minimal in satisfaction, so I yanked his ruined arm over my shoulder and threw him down to the floor, where he landed hard on his back.Lifting my knee, I then slammed my foot straight into his gut, causing him to hunch in on himself.
Standing over what was left of him, I sneered down at his broken body, ready to make him regret every move he ever made against me.
“I’ll bounce back, Matt.I always do.”