Chapter 9 - THE CROWN FALLS
“Drop the empty gun, sweetheart,” Declan said, his voice dripping with venom. “Or I paint the walls with you before I finish off my brother.”
I let the submachine gun clatter to the floor. Kaelen stepped out from behind the pillar, his face an emotionless mask, though I could see the blood pouring down his arm. He stepped in front of me, shielding my body with his own.
“This is between us, Declan,” Kaelen said, his voice dangerously low. “Let her go.”
“Nothing is between just us anymore, Kaelen,” Declan sneered, taking a step closer. “You got soft. You married Sarah, you had kids, you wanted to turn the family legitimate. You forgot what we are. We are wolves. And wolves don't eat vegetables.”
“You murdered my wife,” Kaelen snarled, the composure finally cracking, revealing the absolute monster beneath.
“And now I’m going to murder your new whore, and then I’m going to find those brats of yours and drown them in the ocean,” Declan laughed.
He cocked the hammer of his revolver.
Everything happened in a fraction of a second.
Kaelen didn't reach for a gun. He lunged forward with terrifying, explosive speed, ignoring the bullet that tore through his thigh as he closed the distance. He tackled Declan to the blood-slicked floor.
It was a brutal, primal fight. Two brothers tearing each other apart amidst the ruins of a billionaire’s fortress. Declan was uninjured and ruthless, but Kaelen was fighting for his children. He was fighting for me.
Declan managed to get his hands around Kaelen’s throat, pressing his thumbs into his windpipe, his face twisted in a sadistic grin. Kaelen choked, his face turning purple, his one good arm struggling to pry Declan off.
I looked around frantically. My eyes landed on the hunting knife Kaelen had dropped earlier. I dove across the floor, my hands slipping in the blood of the fallen mercenaries, and grabbed the hilt.
I scrambled to my feet and ran toward them.
“Hey!” I screamed.
Declan looked up.
I didn't hesitate. I drove the knife with all my strength into Declan’s shoulder.
He howled in agony, his grip on Kaelen breaking. That was all the opening Kaelen needed. He surged upward, grabbed the heavy revolver Declan had dropped, and pressed the barrel directly under his brother’s chin.
“Goodbye, Declan,” Kaelen whispered.
He pulled the trigger.
The echo of the gunshot seemed to ring in the air forever. Declan’s body went completely limp, collapsing onto the marble floor.
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Kaelen sat there, chest heaving, covered in his own blood and his brother's. He looked up at me, dropping the gun. I fell to my knees beside him, wrapping my arms around his neck, burying my face in his chest as I finally started to sob. He wrapped his massive, bloodied arms around me, burying his face in my hair, holding me tighter than I had ever been held.
“It’s over,” he breathed against my neck. “It’s over, Ella. You’re safe.”
