Lib Novel Page 108
Justin’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, wide with alarm. “Where to?” he asked, throwing the car into gear even as he spoke, wheels screeching in protest.
“Hospital,” Derek chimed in from the passenger seat, his voice edged with fear for me.
Justin shook his head, the movement sharp and resolute. “No way. My father’s men could be anywhere.”
Panic and pain warred within me, but clarity won out. “I know a place—118 California, in South Beach,” I managed to say between gritted teeth. They didn’t need to know the significance of the address, didn’t need to know it was where Nathan had first kept me captive. That secret would stay locked down, just like the others.
My trembling fingers fished out my phone, and I dialed Nathan’s number, each ring echoing in the tense silence of the car.
I needed him to answer. I needed to know that he was alive…because if he was, I would get him.
And I would fight for him until I wasn’t able to fight anymore.
Chapter Fifty: Nathan
Ihad no idea how I was going to get out of this…and I was almost certain I was about to watch my mother be executed.
My heart pounded a relentless rhythm, but my body was frozen in place. Ma, bound and bloodied, sat tied to a chair in the center, her eyes defiant even as they flickered with pain. Ba paced before her, his presence monstrous in the silence.
“Did you know?” Ba’s voice sliced through the quiet, tight and teetering on the edge of madness. His eyes, dark pits of fury, were locked on me. The question was absurd, rhetorical. He didn’t expect an answer, not really.
I swallowed hard, my gaze flickering between the unfamiliar bodyguards lining the walls and Ma’s bruised face. They stood like statues, their hands resting near holstered weapons. I knew arguing would be useless, offering excuses even more so.
Still, the urge to defend her clawed at my throat, begging for release.
I had to choose my words carefully.
This was Ba’s killing floor, and Ma wasn’t the only one at risk.
“Say something, Nathan,” Ba demanded, his voice growing louder, eyes wild with anger and hurt. I could see the strain behind his facade; the betrayal had wounded him deeper than any knife ever could.
“I don’t…” I paused, struggling to find the right words. “I don’t know what you want from me—“
“Your mother and Knuckles,” he spat, the words laden with venom, “have been plotting my death. Justin isn’t even my son.” His hand sliced through the air as if he could cut the truth into smaller, more digestible pieces. “I don’t know about Alex or Lily either. The only one I thought I could trust was you,” he said, his eyes boring into mine. “But even you’ve been softened by her doting.”
His words stung, a slap of reality that made it clear just how much had unraveled in the fabric of our family. Ma’s gaze met mine, a silent plea for understanding, for forgiveness.
“Ba, this…” My voice broke through the heavy air, barely above a whisper, but enough to halt his tirade. “You don’t have to do this. Think about how it will look.” My mind raced, desperate for a reason he might accept, something to stall for time. “We can work this out, find another way.”
My appeal hung between us, a thin thread of hope against the suffocating dread. Ba’s face twitched, a brief flicker of uncertainty that quickly hardened back into the cold mask of the Serpent. There was no room for error now; every word, every gesture mattered.
“Work this out?” he echoed, his tone mocking, skeptical. “With a traitor?”
Ma’s eyes never left mine, her strength unwavering even as she remained bound to the chair. She seemed somehow above it all, even in her vulnerability—a queen awaiting judgment from a king who’d lost his way.
“Please, Ba.” The title felt foreign on my tongue under these circumstances, an uncomfortable blend of respect and fear. “There’s always a price, but blood doesn’t have to be it.”
His snarl cut through my plea like a knife slicing silk, and I went entirely still as Ba raised the gun in his hand until it was level with my forehead. The cold metal of the barrel pressed against my skin, a cruel kiss from the man who had taught me how to be a monster.
“Are you a traitor too, Nathan?” His voice was a venomous hiss, demanding allegiance or blood.
“Kenny, no!” Ma’s voice shattered the tense silence, her words thick with desperation. “Don’t hurt him.”
I could see the struggle in her eyes, the fierce maternal instinct clashing against the chains that bound her. Her body strained against the ropes, as if sheer will might set her free to shield us from the storm we were caught in.
Turning his gun back on her, Ba’s lips curled into a sneer, and a dark chuckle rumbled in his chest. “The dutiful wife, the loyal Triad daughter…oh, Evelyn, you always played your roles so well.” His gaze bore into hers, stripping away the years of pretense. “And yet, here you are—a snake hiding in the warmth of its nest.” He spat the words at her, each one laced with poison. “You vile fucking whore.”
“Kenny,” she said, her voice low but unyielding, “you can break my body, but not my spirit. I am more than the lies you convince yourself of.”