My heart rate jumped further, and not because I was excited for the letter. Memories of my time at his house flooded me. All those hidden moments. The basement. It was soundproofed. His hands. Jesus, how I hated his hands. I still couldn’t look directly at them.
The sound of Ezra’s Vampire growling snapped me from the downward spiral of my past’s haunting terrors. I had never heard this particular Vampire growl from him before. It was different, low and deep and slow — menacing enough a shiver flittered down my spine.
Ezra pressed against me from behind, his palms landing on my hips, and he, literally, lifted me off the ground, making my uncle jerk backward. My uncle had spoken softly enough for his comments not to have been picked up by anyone’s ears but the Vampires’ nearby. Ezra set me gently on my feet beside him, stepping forward, fangs fully extended.
I slammed a hand against his chest, and whispered gently, “Ezra, stop.” I thought he was seriously going to kill him. This wasn’t his fight. I wanted it. “He’s mine to handle.”
He tilted his head, his fierce, glaring eyes piercing mine. “Then f**king handle him.”
Gazing back toward my uncle, who stared at Ezra with startled, wide eyes, I questioned, “King Kincaid, now that the letter is in my hand, are there any provisions on that sheet of paper for my uncle’s safety?”
Instant. “No.”
“May I?”
“You may.”
“I need three witnesses who can verify he just threatened me.”
“Witnessed,” Vivian said, her tone coarse.
“Witnessed,” Cahal stated, sounding distracted.
Ezra waved sharply for me to hurry up. “Witnessed. Fucking kill him already.”
“Uncle, under Law 671 you’ve just been judged and found guilty.” I cocked my head as Antonio stepped out from behind him. “I think we’d better go outside, so we don’t get blood everywhere.” Rucking up my robe, I kicked my uncle as hard as I could straight against his chest.
I felt, and heard, his ribs break. I knew that sound intimately since he had done it to me so many times. The force of my blow had his body flying backward, right at the window. He hit it hard, and the shattering of glass was loud as he flew through it. I accepted the offered gun Antonio held out, and sniffed it. Silver. Shoving off the ground, I jumped through the broken first-storey window. Glass crunched under my shoes as I landed.
My uncle was trying to crawl away — pathetic.
Easily kicking him onto his back, before I shot him I had to ask, “Why the hell did my mother name you as my guardian?” It was a burning question inside of me.
He coughed, and a bone must have nicked his lung because he spat up blood. Grinned with it all over his face, his voice breathless. “She knew you’d like it.” He laughed softly, more blood spilling from his mouth.
No hesitation, only relief, as I lifted the gun.
Pulled the trigger, my ears ringing from the discharge.
Head shot.
Over too quickly, but so be it.
Guards in black fatigues had already surrounded us. Luckily, cutting off any view the people down the hill might have had where they waited for graduation to begin. Speaking to the guard on my right, I ordered quietly, “Get rid of him.” She nodded, instantly moving to do as ordered, so I turned and walked back to the window.
Ezra was there with Pearl and Jack on either side of him, filling the space. They must have been swiftly informed, because they looked as furious as he did right then. Ezra knocked the rest of the glass away from the window, and then leaned outside, picking me up and pulling me back through to set me down inside the office.
He glowered, his body actually trembling.
Pearl and Jack didn’t offer any support, either.
I pointed the gun out the window. “I killed him. As you can see, he has a hole in the middle of his forehead. The situation has been taken care of.”
“You should have f**king told us about him,” Jack hissed, so furious he threw his hands out and stalked away, spewing curses the whole while. I felt bad for Nikki.
“I’m so bloody upset with you right now,” Pearl said through clenched teeth. “I…I need to walk away before I say something I’ll regret.” She pivoted, and started marching, taking three steps. Stopped. Clenched her hands, and put her feet into motion again, going clear across the room from me. I felt for Gideon.
Gazing after her, I really didn’t want to look at Ezra with that soft Vampire’s growl emanating from his chest. This one wasn’t as chilling as the one before, but he was ticked. If any of my besties had hidden an abusive, adoptive relative like I had…well, I wouldn’t be pleased with them, either. I would have wanted blood for them. Lots of it.
I peeked up. Quickly glanced away. Christ, he was upset.
“Sweetheart,” he snarled on a mere breath, which sounded more Vampire than not and almost hypnotic in tone, but not quite there, his predator only peeking, “you keep something like that from us again, and I will—”
“Goddamn it! I f**king killed him! Alright?” I shouted, interjecting, done with the verbal attack from my friends after shooting my bastard uncle dead.
Unbelievably, his expression actually turned even more furious as he shouted, “No, it’s not alright! That f**ker lived how long past his expiration date? And never once did you tell—”
King Venclaire, abruptly next to us with glowing eyes, jammed his hand on Ezra’s shoulder, stopping him. No words emitted from his pinched lips — the room had gone silent — but the warning stare he gave us was enough.
Ezra and I glared at one another for a moment longer before we jerked on our heels, turning from one another and stalking away.
Bumping against someone in my haste, I muttered a half-hearted apology, but the person placed a huge hand on my bicep, stopping me from moving along. Instantly, I stepped back from the hold, and had to blink a few times until the red haze disappeared.
Ah, perfect.
Cahal Zeller, himself. Daddio. I wasn’t in the mood. “You know, don’t feel bad you didn’t know who I was before, because I didn’t realize who you were, either.” My wolf growled a bit. “Your son never mentioned that one, and yet, he gets all pissed when I keep a secret?” Belatedly, I realized I was wildly swinging a loaded gun with silver bullets in a room full of Mysticals. Staring at it a second, I quickly lowered it. “Anyway, sorry we had to meet with me offing someone not ten minutes after I shook your hand.” I shrugged. Nothing I could do about that.