Anger boils within me, but the rage is too much, too overwhelming that my usual need to go and beat the living shit out of someone is long gone. I’m left with nothing but pure devastation, grief, and exhaustion.
How could they take her away from me like this? Who could be so cruel?
The boys walk deeper into my room, more than aware that they still haven’t cleared the room yet, but judging by the darkness of the blood seeping into my sheets, I’d say this happened yesterday or maybe even the day before, maybe right after I left her with nothing but a full bowl and a little scratch on her head.
She deserved so much better.
I cry in Cruz’s arms as he desperately tries to soothe me, needing to take away my pain, but it’s too much. It hurts too bad.
Big, painful sobs tear from my body as Cruz’s arms tighten around me, but they relax as the boys turn to look back at us and stare at the wall opposite my bed. Their jaws drop, horror filtering through their eyes, and as I turn around to look up at the wall, that same horror pulses through me.
Smeared across the wall in Lady Dante’s blood, making fear rattle my bones are the words ‘YOU’RE NEXT.’
My eyes widen, terror racing through me, but I don’t let it cripple me. Not anymore.
I got it before. It was about Dynasty. It was about keeping their bullshit corrupt world and refusing to let me rule over it. Attacks came at me, they hurt me, and they pushed me to my limits, but now it’s personal.
They killed my dog, my best friend, and for that, I am going to tear every last one of them to shreds.
CHAPTER 20
The vase shatters against the wall as I desperately try to release the anger that pulses through my veins. The boys sit around me, watching as I pace back and forth through Carver’s living room—one of the only rooms in the house that’s not completely destroyed.
I grab another vase—one of his mother’s favorites—and launch it across the room with a loud, roaring yell. It shatters against the fireplace, and for just a second, I feel a little bit better. But then I remember the innocent dog lying upstairs on my bed and the rage comes pulsing back.
I continue pacing, my hands balling in and out of fists as I struggle to wrap my head around the fact that she’s gone.
What kind of monster … FUCK. I can’t handle this.
I go to grab another when Carver reaches out and grips my wrist. He gives it a hard tug and I instantly fall into his arms. He adjusts me on his lap and wraps his arm around me, holding me tight to his chest as his hand slides up to the back of my head.
My face buries into the curve of his neck and he holds me there like a weighted blanket, swallowing all my pain. “Just close your eyes and breathe,” he murmurs. “In and out. You’ll get past this. We’re going to figure out who the fuck did this and then we’re going to put him down like the bastard that he is.”
I don’t respond, just close my eyes and focus on breathing, and as I do, all I can smell is Carver. He wraps around me, he consumes me, and after a minute of silence, I find my control and relax into his hold, feeling right at home.
“All I know,” King mutters, “is whoever did this knew we were going to be gone. They knew we were planning on leaving her unprotected.”
“It has to be London,” Cruz says. “She was gone from the mountain home. What are the chances of her being gone the same day we planned on going up there only to come back to find our place trashed? It has to be her.”
I nod against Carver’s neck, refusing to open my eyes and pull away from him just yet. Right now, he’s the only thing keeping me calm, and though he can’t stand his mother, I doubt he really wants me trashing all the remaining vases in his home.
“You have a point,” Grayson says. “But it’s too easy. Any of the fuckers who live on this street could have seen us driving away first thing in the morning. It could have been any of them. We can’t rule them out just because London seems like the most likely culprit. I’ll never forgive myself if we went after her and left the door wide open for someone else to swoop in and take Ellie away from us. I won’t do it.”
Cruz lets out a deep sigh. “You’re right. Either way, whoever the fuck did this is not getting away with it. They’ve gone too far.”
“So, what do we do?” I mutter against Carver’s neck, my lips moving against his soft skin like a caress, though for the first time, being close like this is the furthest thing from my mind.