3 months later…
I can smell the fire even before I can feel it.
The smoky scent swirls through the air like a dream; it’s heat washing over me in building waves.
A lustful sigh flutters from my lips.
The powerful fragrance brings back such smoldering memories.
Even from behind my blindfold, I can see the flames Gabriel and I once lit in the desert. I can feel his cock deep inside of me. I can taste his lips and feel his passion, as well as his brutality.
We burned those bikers alive. Every last one of them. Then we made love beneath the smoky blanket of their screams.
My fingers tighten around Gabriel’s big hand as he leads me forward.
I love this man so much.
“How are you feeling, myszko?”
Even after all of this time, Gabriel’s deep voice still makes me shiver.
“I’m excited,” I admit, my free hand falling onto my swollen belly.
Ahead, I can hear the crackling of a massive inferno.
I’ll be giving birth in only a couple of months. And as happy as I am to meet our baby boy, there is one thing I’ll sorely miss about being pregnant.
The sex.
Is that what we’re here for?
Hell, I wouldn’t complain.
A familiar pressure appears in my core as we come to a stop.
Gabriel drops my hand.
“Are you ready?”
We’ve gotten so close to the bonfire that the blackness behind my blindfold has turned red. I’m sweating. But the warmth of his body somehow manages to keep me cool.
“For anything,” I nod. “As long as it’s with you.”
Gabriel’s fingers wrap around the knot of my blindfold and he plants a soft kiss against the back of my neck.
“That’s my girl.”
With one swift tug, my blindfold comes untied.
At first, the orange light flickering before us is so strong that I have to cover my eyes.
But when Gabriel wraps his hands around my swollen belly, and pushes his growing bulge into the small of my back, I drop my forearm and force myself to look straight ahead.
“What do you think?” he asks.
What I see makes my throat go dry.
This isn’t what I was expecting.
Westwood High, our old school, sits below.
It’s completely engulfed by a raging inferno.
The angry flames thrash out into the starry night sky above. The heat is nearly overwhelming.
But the sight—well, the sight is absolutely fucking mesmerizing.
“That… That’s amazing,” I mutter, taking a step towards the flames.
Gabriel has brought me to the top of Overwatch Point. The rolling hill that overlooks the once great building.
“I thought you might like it,” Gabriel says.
My dry throat begins to dampen again… right along with my pussy.
I can feel my toes clench. That familiar pressure in my core starts to swirl.
But that’s not all that’s swirling.
I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around what this means.
“Why?” I ask, hypnotized by the blaze.
“It’s a symbol,” Gabriel slowly replies. Suddenly, he’s at my side, holding my hand again. “Our past ends tonight, Bianca. Soon, all that will matter is our future.”
“Tomorrow is a big day,” I accept. “But I don’t want to forget all about our past. It’s what made me into the woman I am today. It’s what made me strong. It’s what made me yours.”
“And it’s what’s made me yours,” Gabriel nods. “But some things need to be forgotten. Some memories will have to burn.”
His grip tightens around my fingers.
Something feels off.
All night, I’ve had the strangest little pit in my stomach. But I thought it was just nerves. Tomorrow is a big day, after all.
It’s the day Dad officially steps down.
In less than twenty-four hours, Gabriel and I will inherit our empire. We will have everything we’ve ever wanted. And we will have it together.
It doesn’t matter if my family doesn’t completely trust him quite yet. I do. And that’s what counts.
But that’s not what’s concerning. There’s something else. And I can feel the tension in Gabriel’s pulsing palm as he holds me tight.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Hopefully nothing,” he grumbles. “Just know this, myszko. No matter what happens, I’m committed to our future. To you and our child. To the empire we’re building together. No one will get in our way, not even…”
Before Gabriel can finish, we both sense the appearance of a new presence.
My gun is out even before I whip around.
But Gabriel doesn’t draw his weapon. And when I spot who’s waiting for us, I immediately understand why.
“I’ve heard you’ve gotten pretty good at using that thing,” Rozalia smirks at me. “But don’t think I couldn’t beat you on the draw.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure anymore,” Gabriel mutters from beside me.
But I’m too stunned to join in on the banter.
How long has it been since I’ve seen Rozalia?
Fuck. I can hardly believe my eyes.
But she’s just the beginning.
I’ve hardly managed to process her appearance before I spot another figure step up the hill behind her.
“Tytus,” I gasp.
“Hello there,” the tattooed giant nods. His ruggedly handsome face flickers in the fire light. Beads of sweat drip down his sharp cheekbones. “You couldn’t have picked somewhere cooler to meet?”
“I wanted to send a message,” Gabriel growls. The harshness in his tone surprises me, until the shock wears off, and reality comes crashing back down on all of us.
The bloody silver piece.
“The same kind of message you sent to those bikers?” Rozalia asks, crossing her arms.
“No,” Gabriel grunts, shaking his head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
My stomach drops as I realize what’s happening.
This isn’t a reunion.
It’s a showdown.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, unsure of how to feel yet.
Gabriel has been looking for these two ever since he rescued me from Drago’s underground lair. But they’ve been impossible to find.
Now, all of a sudden, they’re standing right in front of us.
“Uh oh, is there trouble in paradise?” Rozalia teases. “I thought for sure Gabriel would have told you everything by now.”
“Told me what?”
“That Rozalia and Tytus haven’t been missing,” Gabriel sneers. “They’ve been hiding.”
“… From us?” I gulp.
“It was the only way to keep our inheritance safe,” Tytus says.
It’s like an anvil has been dropped over my head.
“Gabriel… What the hell is going on?”
“Yeah, tell her, Gabe,” Rozalia urges.
My dark king keeps his strong fingers wound tightly around my hand.
“Rozalia sent me a message this morning,” Gabriel says, keeping one eye on his old friends as he looks down at me. “She wanted to meet with us one last time…”
“One last time??”
Despite the evidence we found that pointed towards their betrayal, I never wanted to believe that Gabriel’s only two friends could do such a thing to him.
I held out hope.
But here we are.
“We have our own fortune now,” Tytus says. “And our own army.”
“We don’t need your precious husband anymore,” Rozalia adds.
“How could you say that?” I croak, emotion clogging my throat. “You three are supposed to be family!”
Behind us, a section of Westwood High collapses under the heat of the bonfire.
Not a single one of us even flinches.
“It wasn’t our choice,” Tytus shouts back, stepping forward. “You made your own choices, Gabe. We just forged our own path around the trail you blazed.”
“You always had a choice,” Gabriel says, his voice low and rumbling. “I offered you a spot by my side countless times.”
“And we took that spot, until you changed the path,” Rozalia counters. “Look, we have no problem with Bianca. But we will not submit to her family.”
“I never asked you to submit,” Gabriel roars. “I asked you to work with me. With us.”
“No. You didn’t ask,” Tytus responds, shaking his head. “You told. It all became clear at the cabin. Bianca shot me, and you were more worried about her than you were about me. Hey, I get it. No hard feelings there. Love is love. But your love for her is far more rigid than either of us are comfortable with. We both know that if push comes to shove, you would always choose her over us.”
“I don’t have to choose.”
“Yes. You do,” Rozalia states. “We know you’ll be anointed tomorrow. We wanted to give you one last chance to join us before we’re severed forever”
My mind is a whirling mess, but still I manage to latch onto Rozalia’s final sentence.
“One last chance?” I rasp, looking up at my dark king. “Gabriel, how long have you been keeping this from me? Have you been negotiating with these two behind my back?”
But even as the words leave my mouth, I don’t believe them.
Gabriel wouldn’t do that.
“Don’t worry, darling,” Rozalia quickly steps in. “Gabriel hadn’t heard from us for months before I sent him that message this morning. But still, that is a good question. Why is Bianca surprised to see us, Gabe? Or are you holding out on her like you held out on us?”
“I’ve never held out on anyone I love!” Gabriel roars. The heat at our backs is becoming overwhelming. But we don’t move. Gabriel’s grip around my hand only tightens. “I’ve only ever asked that you trust me.”
“Why should we trust you anymore?” Tytus asks.
“So that I can protect you. All I’ve ever cared about is protecting my family.”
Gabriel pulls me closer to his side, and I can feel his heart pounding behind his powerful chest.
“And what are you trying to protect us from?” Rozalia asks stubbornly.
“Me.”
Gabriel’s long shadow flickers at the feet of his former friends as the flames continue to grow behind us.
“Is that so?” Rozalia whispers.
“Yes,” Gabriel asserts. “I’m trying to protect you from what I’ll do to protect my family. Tomorrow, I will become king of the west coast. But that doesn’t mean my new power will go unchecked. There are still the Kilpatricks on the east coast, as well as the Barinovs. I’m going to work with them. I need to. But all I’ve ever wanted is to work with you. If you don’t want to do that anymore—if you continue to cause trouble from the shadows—there may be nothing I can do to stop my new allies from hunting you down. Hell, I might even help them.”
“They won’t have to hunt,” Tytus growls, clenching his fists. “You won’t have to hunt us down. Not anymore. We’ll meet you head on. We have the resources now. We—”
Before Tytus can take another step forward, Rozalia cuts him off.
“We don’t want to work with anyone else,” she barks. “We just want to be free. And we want to conquer far more than just your measly west coast. We want everything. Isn’t that what you always wanted, Gabriel?”
My heart is in my throat as I feel Gabriel’s hand drop from around mine.
But then I feel his arm wrap around my waist, and his fingers fall onto my swollen belly.
“I have everything,” he says. There isn’t a single hint of doubt or hesitation in his deep voice.
Despite the suffocating intensity of the moment, I’ve never felt so loved, or so protected.
“Do we not count anymore?” Tytus asks. I can hear the conflict in his voice. The pain. But also the strength.
He’s made his choice.
My poor king.
“You count more than you could know,” Gabriel responds. “If you go through with this, you will break my heart. But I’m not just protecting my heart anymore. I’m protecting two hearts.”
“Three,” I quietly remind him.
“Yes. Three…” Gabriel agrees, his palm sinking into my swollen belly. “I’m still getting used to that. Roz. You could be an aunt. Ty. You could be an uncle…”
“Oh, we’ll still be that child’s aunt and uncle,” Rozalia assures him. “No matter what happens. The child will be safe. The child will be loved. But that doesn’t mean I’ll promise the child won’t grow up an orphan.”
The gun I had drawn earlier has been resting by my side this entire time, but it lifts at the vile comment coming from the black widow’s dark red lips.
She’s crossed a line.
My heart nearly erupts as I aim the muzzle at someone I once thought of as a potential friend.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Gabriel do the same thing.
But Rozalia was right. She’s just as quick as either of us, if not quicker. Tytus too.
Behind us, another section of the burning high school collapses, and an eruption of heat bursts up into the night sky.
“I won’t ever let you hurt my family,” Gabriel growls. He’s drawn two guns. Each one is pointed at a different friend.
No. They aren’t friends anymore.
They’re enemies.
My heart aches through the anger.
“We were supposed to be your family,” Tytus shouts.
“Family doesn’t betray family,” Gabriel barks back.
“They do if they can see the betrayal coming first…” Tytus starts, before trailing off.
The tension between us is as thick as the black smoke billowing up from the burning school. The suffocating vapors block out the stars, shrouding us in a flame-lit darkness.
“You don’t have to do this,” I plead.
My gun shakes in my trembling hands. Of all the horrifying shit I’ve been through in the past year, this might be the worst.
Gabriel could be losing his only friends, his only surviving family, all because of his love for me.
“You’re still so naïve, princess,” Rozalia says, shaking her head. “And it looks like it’s rubbing off on your man.”
“It’s time for you to go,” Gabriel suddenly demands.
Stepping forward, he shields me with his body. But I’m not backing away.
With one hand on my belly, I point my gun beneath his shoulder.
Sweat trickles down my face.
“You’re still just an heir,” I hear Tytus clamor. “Only now, you’re not even the heir of your own kingdom.”
“By this time tomorrow, we’ll be king and queen,” I call out to him.
“Of someone else’s empire,” Roz replies.
“No,” Gabriel growls. “It will be my empire. And I will rule it with my family.”
To my surprise, Rozalia drops her gun. “Well, then I guess this really is goodbye,” she sighs. “Maybe I was the naïve one for thinking I could sway you back to the dark side.”
“I’m still on the dark side,” Gabriel rumbles. “But there’s more than one way to rule hell.”
“To each their own,” Tytus agrees, also dropping his gun.
“You don’t have to go,” I whisper, contradicting my king.
My heart is ready to shatter. Gabriel doesn’t deserve this.
“That’s not true,” Rozalia says to me, before turning her attention back to Gabriel. “We’ve come to a crossroads. But this isn’t the end, darling. No. Not if we don’t think of it like that. How about we call it a new beginning? Maybe even a fresh start? Hell, I’ve always wondered if I could take you in a real fight. Now, I’ll get the chance to find out. Silver linings, right?”
“You won’t get far,” Gabriel promises. “I won’t let you.”
“Because you’ll miss us?” Rozalia teases, forcing a smirk.
But I swear I spot the faintest glimmer of a tear trickling down her beautiful cheek.
“I never said I wouldn’t miss you,” Gabriel admits.
“Well, then don’t wait too long before you come after us,” Tytus taunts, wiping away something from below his own eye.
“… And feel free to bring your new friends,” Rozalia adds. “Especially that little lion boy of yours. I can’t say I’m not impressed by his skills. One day, I’d really like to crack open his skull and study his pretty brains. What do you think? Would he object?”
“I think you should go,” Gabriel repeats, even though I can tell his heart isn’t in it.
I want to cry for him.
But that won’t do us any good. So, instead, I stay strong. Stepping up beside him, I nudge my ear against his hard shoulder.
“You heard him,” I say.
That makes Rozalia chuckle. But she doesn’t bite back. Instead, she just lifts her hand and points a finger beneath her eye. “Glad to see you decided to embrace at least one thing about your past,” she says to Gabriel.
I can’t help but look up at my dark king’s stony face. The initials I tattooed on his cheek almost seem to cast shadows.
GR.
Gabriel Reca.
“You knew about his last name?” I ask.
“Oh, I know so much, darling” Rozalia replies. “More than you could ever imagine. And it’s the only reason we have any chance against your nation-spanning empire—but some things are more obvious than others. Those initials could only mean one thing. Just like that big bonfire behind you could only mean one thing. The message is clear. The past is over. You’ve conquered it. All that matters is the future. It begins tonight. Do you think you can conquer that as well? Do you think you can conquer us?”
Rozalia doesn’t wait for a response. Instead, she takes one last long look at Gabriel. Then, she silently turns away.
“See you around,” Tytus says, dipping his head in a causal salute before following Rozalia down the hill.
We don’t follow them.
In fact, for what feels like an eternity, we don’t move at all.
Instead, we just stand here, side by side, my head nuzzled against Gabriel’s shoulder.
Westwood High burns to the ground behind us.
“Why didn’t you tell me they were going to be here?” I finally ask, when I’m sure we’re alone again.
“To protect you,” Gabriel sighs. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, he plants a soft kiss on my forehead.
“From what?”
“From everything. From the stress. From the heartbreak. I thought I could fix this before it ever got to you. I… I thought this might turn into more of a reunion than a goodbye.”
“But the silver coin we found in Poland…”
“I know, myszko. I know. It was them. Rozalia and Tytus. They killed the priests. They stole my army and my fortune. And they didn’t do it because Drago told them to. They did it because they wanted to. But that’s all over now. They can have what they took. I don’t need it. I already have what I want. I have you.”
The inferno continues to crackle behind us as I’m pulled into Gabriel’s massive embrace. His big heart pounds behind his solid chest, and I just want to reach inside and wrap myself around it. I want to protect him from this heartbreak. Smother him in love. Heal him.
“Let’s go home,” I whisper. “I’ve had enough of our past for tonight.”
“Our past is gone,” Gabriel murmurs. “It’s been burned to ashes, pushed away, conquered. I know it’s hard to let go. But if we’re going to survive, then we must do what’s hard. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” I respond. “I just wish it didn’t have to hurt so bad.”
“So do I, myszko. So do I. Just know that surviving the pain is the only way to get stronger. And we will need to be strong to face what comes next.”
He’s right.
“I love you,” I tell him. Digging my face deep into his chest, I try to reach his heart. But I know there’s no point. I already have it.
“I love you too, Bianca.”
The flames of hell thrash behind us as we embrace under a blackened sky. But the scorching heat isn’t painful.
No. It doesn’t hurt anymore. At least, not in a bad way.
Instead, it’s almost comforting.
This is where we belong. This is where we’ll thrive.
Because love doesn’t just mean living together in a perfect world. It can’t. There’s no such thing as a perfect world. But there is such a thing as perfect love.
And despite all that we’ve suffered together, despite all that is undoubtedly still to come, I know that Gabriel and I have the perfect love.
Sure, it might be messy, and complicated and dark, and even painful at times, but that’s exactly what we need. It’s what will allow us to face this imperfect world, head-on.
It’s what will help us conquer it.
Because if our love can survive the brutal hate we once held for each other, what hope does anyone else have?
The answer is so sharp and clear it almost hurts.
None.
No one has any fucking hope. Not against us.
It’s just a shame that Rozalia and Tytus will have to learn that the hard way.
