With wide eyes and a promise of violence in his limbs, he looked at me like I was the sheep he was about to slaughter—not protect. “You’re my wife, and you’re supposed to obey me. How dare you go behind my back and do this? You have no idea what you’re doing. You have no idea what game you’re playing. You’re supposed to be loyal to me and no one else. This is a violation of that trust. And once trust is broken, it can never be mended.”
I swiped my tongue across my lips, my heart hammering a million miles a minute. I had to save those women, but I also felt terrible for how much I’d upset him. “I didn’t mean to—”
“What did I say?”
I shut my mouth again.
“This is why I don’t trust anyone. You let your guard down for a goddamn second, and shit happens.”
His words hurt me far more than I expected. I didn’t want him to think I was disloyal to him, that my decision had anything to do with our relationship. There was so much pain in my chest, heartbreak that came from an unidentified source. Knowing I hurt him hurt me. Knowing I made him regret trusting him killed me. This relationship was the only good thing I had in my life. He was the only man I could depend on. “Maverick, please…”
He raised his hand, and that was enough to shut me up. “You have no idea what you’ve done. You have no idea the consequences I’m about to face. If letting them go in the middle of the night was such a simple solution, I would have done it. You’re a stupid girl who doesn’t understand how the real world works. You’re a liability that I now have to pay for—”
The sound of the front door flying open and slamming against the wall reached down the hallway and entered our ears. It was such a loud explosion, like a car crashing into a brick wall.
I flinched in my chair.
Maverick didn’t react at all, like he’d been waiting for the sound. “Leave. Now.” He stayed in his chair, his eyes averted as he listened to the sound of marching footsteps approaching the dining room. He was calm but tense at the same time, his back turned to whoever was approaching. “Don’t make me ask you again.”
I listened because that was what he wanted. I got out of my chair and headed to the staircase.
Caspian entered the room a moment later, looking twice as tall when he was furious. His eyes were wider than I’d ever seen them, and invisible flames burned from all of his limbs as he stormed into the house.
Maverick rose from his chair and faced him, moving with calmness despite the wrath he was confronted with.
Caspian stopped in front of him, looking at his son like he wanted to shoot him right between the eyes.
I should keep moving up the stairs, but I stayed, watching the way Caspian showed all of his rage in just a single look. The loathing was paramount, the hatred profound.
Caspian turned still as a statue, but it was just a pause before the storm. “You are so fucking worthless.” Spit flew out of his mouth because he was shaking from head to toe. Hands balled into fists. Eyebrows furrowed. “Your mother would hate you as much as I hate you. I’ve never been more disgusted with my own bloodline. My wife gave me a son to carry on my name, but she gave me a coward I wish had never been born.”
Jesus Christ.
Maverick took the abuse without blinking, appearing oddly calm despite the insults thrown in his face.
Caspian launched his attack an instant later, slamming his fist into Maverick’s face. Despite his age, he packed so much force into the hit and forced Maverick back. The movement was so quick that I couldn’t see it coming.
Maverick fell back from the momentum of the blow and crashed into the hardwood floor.
Caspian stood over him and kicked him hard in the ribs. “I’m gonna drag you outside and hang you just way Ramon hung your mother. I’m gonna watch the life disappear from your eyes as you gasp for air like a drowning rat.” He kicked him again.
I covered my mouth, my eyes watering.
Caspian grabbed Maverick’s neck with both hands and started to squeeze, a maniacal gleam in his eyes. He pressed his fingers into his skin and cut off his air supply. “You would die for those whores? You would rather let them go and betray your family than honor your mother’s memory? Where did I go wrong with you?”
Maverick didn’t seem to be fighting back, like he’d lost the will to live. Listening to his father threaten to kill him probably sucked the life out of him, probably disturbed him so much that he didn’t have any drive to win the battle. It was easier just to give up than to live with a father that hated him.