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I know the torment Vincent felt losing his family. I’ve experienced the same thing. I know what it’s like to lose everything. And yet, his experience is different. Because he didn’t lose everything—he still has his daughter. And he’ll do anything to protect her, even hold these games to determine the best man for the job.
But he gave Rialta more power this time. She gets the ultimate say. I suspect he thinks once only one of us remains, she’ll accept him as her husband. I understand Vincent’s need to protect her and her children as best as he can, but this plan is going to backfire on him.
I stare at Rialta, still handcuffed to the back of the desk, her head barely able to peek around it. My blood boils at the thought of her forced into that position.
“Who agrees to enter my game?” Vincent asks.
“I do,” Kit says without hesitation.
“I do,” Andrea says a second later.
Rialta’s eyes are wide with fear. She’s scared for someone’s life, but whose? Kit’s?
“I do,” I say.
“Very well. May the best man win,” Vincent says.
Kit jumps forward the second Vincent finishes his sentence. “I’d like to make a declaration of love. I love your daughter very much, Mr. Corsi. I’ve loved her since I was fifteen years old. You may call that puppy love—the kind you realize years later wasn’t real love. You may say she’s just the first person to ever show me attention, the first girl I kissed, but my love for her has only grown.
“I haven’t grown up in this dangerous world like the others. I’ve only recently learned how to use a gun. I don’t know a thing about running a criminal organization. It’s not my life calling—but I’d give up any dreams I have to marry Rialta. I’ll never stop loving her, and I know she still loves me. She’s been trying to protect me by pushing me away, but I’ll have no life if it’s not with her. I know you think I can’t protect her or keep her safe, but I’m a fast learner. And I’d risk my own life to keep her alive every time.”
“Are you finished?” Vincent asks, amusement in his voice.
Kit stutters, confused why his speech didn’t seem to sway Vincent.
“No, I declared my love, which checks one of the tasks off the list. I can check off the second as well,” Kit continues.
Both Andrea and my eyes snap to Kit. He couldn’t have killed The Abyss.
“Rialta’s pregnant with my baby,” Kit says.
My heart stops. I already knew it, but I’m not sure how he found out. He must have overheard us talking or guessed as much. A charge surges through the room as everyone takes that information in and processes it differently.
I should surrender now and keep my life. Maybe Rialta would let me play uncle to their child or help with her security team since I wouldn’t trust Kit to ever figure that out.
But there is a dark, twisted thought in the back of my mind that doesn’t care about the pregnancy. Ri was pregnant, too, and she lost the baby. The same thing could happen to Rialta. It’s not a finished task until the baby is born. And there’s always a chance that Rialta is wrong about the child’s father. There’s still a tiny chance that I could be the father.
“Kill The Abyss, and I’ll consider your words then,” Vincent says.
Suddenly, Andrea fires a shot at Kit.
My eyes stay on Vincent—seeing if he’s going to put a stop to it. But he seems to not care if we fight it out or not. In his mind, only the strongest survives if we fight.
Kit aims his gun back, and I head toward Rialta—now’s my chance to get her out of here. Once she’s safe, I can figure out what to do. My only thought is getting her out of those handcuffs. The only time I want to see her in handcuffs is in my bed.
I take a step toward her when I feel a bullet whiz past my head. But the look in Rialta’s eyes and her high-pitched scream keeps me locked on her.
I’m still moving to Rialta, but the change to kill Andrea is too tempting. Grinning like an idiot, I turn my own gun and shoot Andrea in the shoulder. But then I’m tackled, and my head hits the ground hard, the room going black.
When I come to, the room is empty.
Fuck.
I run out of the house in time to see Kit running through the fields behind the house and Andrea driving a car down the drive.
I have two choices, two men to follow—Kit or Andrea. I assume Rialta is with Andrea, so my instinct is to follow them. But he won’t hurt her. He needs her alive and to ultimately choose him if he succeeds in killing The Abyss.
Although my feet want to carry me toward her, I force my legs in the other direction—toward Kit.
