Hades? Anna?
“Dad.”
My heart fell.
“He took him to another location and intended to shoot him in the back of the head—to punish me. You want to know the only reason that didn’t happen?”
Oh my god.
“It was because Hades got there first. Hades got there, killed the guard, and saved Dad’s life.” He leaned forward. “Dad would be dead right now if I didn’t make the right calls. Heath would have executed an innocent old man.” He fell back into the chair. “If you wanted to be with someone like me, I wouldn’t give a damn. Not all criminals are evil. I don’t hurt innocent people, and I don’t kill cops. I stay in my world and never cross that line.” His hand straightened and fell onto the table, mimicking a line with his straight fingers. “But that motherfucker crossed the line. He doesn’t stay in his lane. He tried to murder a harmless, sweet man—for money. No, I’ll never let that go. I’ll never forget that he nearly killed my father. I’ll never forgive, never forget. And now that you know the truth, you’ll see what he really is—and dump his ass.” His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked in mine. “He played you like a fool, Catalina.”
I did my best not to cry, but the truth was so overwhelming. The idea of someone doing that to my father, my best friend, made me so sick that I couldn’t keep my lunch down. And the fact that it was Heath who did it, who fucked me without telling me the truth, who omitted that critical piece of information from me…made me feel as stupid as Damien had predicted I would.
“You betrayed your own brother—for him.” His hand rested on the table, tightening into a fist. “You betrayed your own family. That’s not you, but he got into your head and turned you into a disloyal, stupid girl.”
Tears splashed down my cheeks.
But my brother gave me no pity. “I’m gonna kill him for what he did to our father. I don’t care if he stops collecting my cash. I don’t care if he apologizes. I don’t care if he steps down as the Skull King and gives me every coin to his name. He. Crossed. The. Line.” He slammed his fist onto the table, bringing his speech to a close.
I held my breath so I would stop crying, but that only halted it for a few seconds. My chest started to rock, like water slamming into the doors of a dam. The doors flung open and my tears spilled out, turning into soul-crushing sobs. I covered my face because I couldn’t stand the way my brother looked at me, as if he’d never been so disappointed in me, as if he didn’t even know me anymore, as if he’d lost all respect for me.
I couldn’t stop crying.
I couldn’t stop the pain.
When I pulled my hands away from my face, I saw Damien looking out the window, indifferent to my tears. He didn’t want to touch me, didn’t want to comfort me. He was disgusted by my betrayal.
I’d chosen Heath over my brother, and it’d all been for nothing,
Heath lied to me…and destroyed me.
Eleven
Heath
I parked the truck in the garage and noticed her car wasn’t there. I was two hours later than I said I would be, so I hoped she didn’t grow impatient and leave. There was a well-stocked fridge and pantry, along with a huge tub for her to take a bubble bath, so she had lots of reasons to stay—even if I weren’t there.
I was disappointed.
I’d been looking forward to this moment all day, as if I hadn’t slept over last night, as if I hadn’t been with her just eight hours ago.
I took the stairs to the next level.
When I rose to the top, I saw her.
She stood on the other side of my kitchen island, her arms across her chest, her eyes furious.
The energy in the room was different, so unusual I couldn’t even describe it. It was sunny outside but a hailstorm on the inside. She was still, but her energy twisted around like a tornado. And the way she looked at me…with blinding fury.
I halted as I stared at her, immediately detecting every hint of her rage.
She started to breathe hard, her chest rising and falling as she sucked in more air to prepare her for whatever her intentions were. Her eyes were wide open and coated in moisture, but not from tears, just emotional rage.
I stepped farther inside. “Baby—”
“Don’t ever call me that again.” The words tumbled out of her mouth like a somersault, quickly unfurling without taking a breath. There was a wooden block of knives in front of her, like she wanted to stay close so she could grab a blade if she needed it.
This wasn’t the kind of reaction she’d given in the past when she lost her mind to hysterical jealousy. She wouldn’t stand that far away from me. She wouldn’t wait in my house until I got home to speak her mind. She would ignore me until I came after her.
That meant something else had happened.
It took me only a few seconds to figure it out. She knew.
She fucking knew.
I stepped closer to her, my eyes locked on hers. “Catalina—”
“Damien told me everything!” she shouted, her yells making the walls vibrate the way mine did. “How fucking dare you? How fucking dare you touch my father? What the hell is wrong with you?”
When I’d pulled into the garage just minutes ago, my life was different. I was happy, coming home to the woman who took full occupation of my life. But now it felt like an eternity had passed…like it was a whole different lifetime. Even though I was about to lose everything, I stayed calm. “That was a long time ago—”
“And that makes it okay?” she hissed. “You lied to me, Heath. You fucked me and lied to me. You used me. You humiliated me.”
