Caspian wasn’t stopping.
Maverick had given up.
But I couldn’t let him throw in the towel. “It wasn’t him. I was the one who let them go.” I moved to the bottom of the stairs, gripping the handrail for balance because I knew something terrible was about to happen. I didn’t have a gun or a knife, and the dining table was too far away.
Caspian’s head popped up, and he looked at me as he kept choking his son.
Life came back into Maverick’s eyes when he heard the words fly out of my mouth. He’d been still just a moment ago, but now his hands reached up to grab his father’s wrists.
“Maverick had nothing to do with it.” My fingers tightened on the wood. “I told Maverick to let them go, but he refused. So I snuck out in the middle of the night, released them, and hid them in the trunk of my car as I snuck them outside the gate.” I wouldn’t stand by and let Maverick be punished for my betrayal. Even if I didn’t survive what was to come next, I didn’t care.
He released Maverick’s throat then rose to his feet, those brown eyes focused on me like I was prey.
Maverick heaved on the ground, gasping for air because he’d been without it for over a minute. He grabbed his throat and sucked the air into his lungs, clearly on the verge of passing out.
Caspian took a step toward me, his gaze darkening like a billowing cloud in the distance. Heavy with rain, it was about to drop on both of us, a storm unlike any other. His eyes narrowed as the blood lust filled his gaze.
I knew I was going to die.
He took another step toward me then pulled a knife out of his pocket.
Shit.
Maverick continued to heave on the floor, his body and mind disabled.
I took a step back, moving up the stairs.
Caspian gripped the knife and watched me with the same stare his son possessed. Eyes color of coffee and filled with the same rage, he looked like a butcher about to slice me into pieces. He didn’t blink, not once since his attention had been directed on me.
I was in a bad spot, backed up onto a staircase. There was nowhere for me to run, and this man was probably much faster. If he couldn’t reach me, he could just throw the knife at me and kill me instantly.
“If you think you’re safe because of the deal your father made with me, you’re wrong. The contract became null the second you betrayed my son, betrayed me. I will gut you like a fish and leave your body on your father’s grave.”
I could have kept my mouth shut and let Maverick suffer the consequences, but I couldn’t live with that guilt. Maverick was a man I respected, even if he pissed me off sometimes, and I didn’t want him to suffer at the hands of his father for another second. The thought made me oddly calm, chased away the fear that caused my anxiety. I could try to run, but I wouldn’t get far. I’d rather die with a knife in my front from fighting than one in my back from running. “Instead of focusing on what you’ve lost—”
He didn’t listen to a word I said and used my speech as a distraction. He sprinted at me, about to reach the first step and lodge that knife into my belly. He moved at an incredible speed, like he was a man still vibrant in his youth.
My instincts kicked in, and I screamed.
Caspian fell to the ground and dropped the knife, stopping just inches from me.
I fell back, unable to keep my balance with all the mayhem.
Maverick had managed to lunge forward and grab him by the ankle. He yanked on his body and dragged him away from the knife.
Caspian kicked him away then crawled toward the knife again.
Maverick was no longer submissive. He jumped to his feet and yanked his father back, dragging him across the floor so the knife was out of reach. “Stop it.”
“You little…” Caspian rolled onto his back and then climbed to his feet, slamming his fist into Maverick’s face. “How dare you defend that whore?”
Maverick blocked the hit then punched his father in the face.
Caspian fell back, clearly shocked that his own son had hit him. He wiped away the blood dripping from his nose onto his fingertips then looked back at him, appalled. “You choose her over me?”
Maverick maneuvered to the stairs, his hands up and ready for a fight. Now his body stood in the way, protecting me so Caspian couldn’t get to me. “You need to calm down.”
“Calm down?” He dropped his bloody hand, his voice rising in offense. “She took away the one thing that mattered to me.” He inched closer. “I worked my ass off for that. Your mother deserves justice—”