The Palace (Chateau Book 4) Page 23

  Magnus inhaled a slow breath.

  “Take the girl, and go live your life. Don’t interfere with mine.”

  His eyes narrowed in anger. “Fender, why won’t you even try?”

  I grabbed my glass again and drank every single drop left. “Because I don’t want to take the risk. I’ll never forget how it feels to be powerless, to dig in a garbage can for food, to be at the mercy of someone bigger and stronger than you. I hate what we do to those girls as much as you do. But there is no other way. I care a lot more about my power than their lives. Yes, that means I’ll be damned, but we both know I was damned a long time ago.” I rose to my feet and left the sitting area. “I’m not having this conversation anymore. I made my choice, and you’ve clearly made yours. Come back to the camp, and I’ll do what I have to…and I guess you’ll do what you have to.”

  Twenty-Five

  Exile

  Melanie

  I watched his car pull around.

  It was a warm summer evening. The sun had just dipped behind the horizon, casting the sky in a beautiful array of colors. Butterflies were visible above the garden. The smooth sounds of the fountain were the background, gentle music to this beautiful and historic place.

  But my heart hadn’t felt peace since he’d left.

  He’d threatened to kill Magnus, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I couldn’t warn Raven. I just had to have faith that his love was stronger than his fury.

  He left the car behind and marched to me.

  Livid.

  His eyes were dark. His arms swung by his sides. His jaw was tight.

  My heart started to race in fear.

  Instead of walking up to me, he maneuvered around me, ignoring me just the way he had before he left.

  I went after him. “What happened?”

  He continued to ignore me.

  “Fender.” I grabbed his wrist and stopped him before he moved to the steps. “Don’t ignore me.”

  He released a loud sigh before he turned back to me, not a drop of love in his eyes.

  “It’s me.” I gently pulled him closer, wanting an embrace after his long absence. I rose on my tiptoes and cupped his face, pressing a kiss to his tight lips.

  He was unresponsive.

  I kissed the corner of his mouth several times, bringing us close together, enveloping him as an antidote to his rage.

  His hands moved to my waist.

  His lips moved to mine.

  Slowly, he came back to me, surrounding me in his strong embrace, smothering me with the love that I’d missed. His chin rested on my head as he held me in the foyer, his fingers lightly playing with my hair at my spine.

  Once the man I loved was back, I pulled away and looked into his face, desperate for the answer I’d asked for.

  His eyes were locked on to mine. “I didn’t kill him.”

  I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until it slowly left my lungs.

  “But we aren’t brothers anymore. He’s exiled from the camp—as well as my life.”

  He was quiet for the rest of the night.

  Our lovemaking wasn’t the same.

  He wasn’t present.

  It was quick and to the point, getting us both off so he could move on, just like in the mornings.

  He lay on his side of the bed, his eyes on the open window, his arm underneath his head.

  “You want to talk about it?”

  He was still as stone, like he didn’t hear the question. “No.”

  I propped myself up on my elbow beside him, my fingers gliding over his chest. I hoped this was the precursor to change, that his brother’s bold move would force him to alter his business practices. There would be resistance, but it would fade.

  “Magnus humiliated me in front of my men.” He said he didn’t want to talk, but yet, he spoke.

  I was silent, not wanting to impede his momentum.

  “He called my bluff. Exiling him was the only option I had to spare my dignity and spare his life.”

  My fingers traced his muscles, hoping for more.

  Nothing came.

  “He’s just trying to do the right thing, Fender. You know that.” It was a stupid thing to say, a perfect way to provoke his rage.

  But he remained subdued. As if he knew. He’d always known. “Our bond is more important than the blood of innocent people. I’d assumed he felt the same way. Guess not.”

  “No reason you can’t have both.”

  His empty eyes remained on the window, looking into the darkness. “He betrayed me. I forgave him. Then he does this…”

  “He chose to do the right thing over you. But if you want to preserve your relationship, you need to choose the right thing, too. Then there is no betrayal. There’s nothing more important than family. I know how much you love your brother.”

  He remained lifeless.

  “You can’t be angry with him for doing what should have been done a long time ago.” It didn’t make sense, and Fender was too intelligent not to understand that. “So, what is the real reason you would cut him out of your life?”

  He remained quiet.

  I kept my silence, hoping he just needed more time to form his thoughts.

  “The last time I dropped my guard, my father butchered my family. If my brother is standing behind me, I never look because I don’t need to. He has my back—through and through. With my brother, I’m never anything short of honest, sharing every thought that comes into my mind. My guard has never been raised. And then he does all these things…and now my guard is up. It’s a shitty feeling.”

  “Magnus would never hurt you. He would have resorted to that already if that were his intention. It’s not. He’s always had your back—even now. He’s just ready to move on from your past quicker than you are. It’s not personal.”

  Fender didn’t look at me. His eyes remained focused, replaying conversations that I never witnessed. “Did you get your dress?”

  The change in subject threw me off for a moment. “My wedding dress?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yeah…it was dropped off yesterday.” It had been custom made by Valentino, and the designer had come to take my measurements and create the dress for me. When it was delivered, I’d nearly cried. Never in my life had I thought I’d wear a dress like that.

  He turned his head and looked at me. “Marry me tomorrow.” His dark eyes bored into mine, like my only answer could be yes. The conversation about his brother was already old news.

  “Yes—if Magnus and Raven are there.”

  Disappointment flashed in his gaze. “It’s about us. Not them—”

  “I’m not getting married without my sister there. And I’m not letting you get married without your brother.”

  He inhaled an agitated breath. “That’s not going to happen, chérie—”

  “Then you’re not going to marry me.”

  His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked into mine, hostile.

  “Marriage is about doing the right thing for the other person—always. You’d regret not having your brother there. So, we’ll wait until you’re ready.”

  It was tense between us.

  Fender was a man of few words, but those words were even rarer now.

  He was angry with me, but there was no amount of anger that would drive us apart. He remained by my side day and night. He made love to me like he meant it. But there was noticeable distance between us throughout the day.

  I stood by my decision—and I wouldn’t change it.

  We sat together at the dining table in our bedroom, eating in silence. He didn’t reach for the scotch, though he clearly wanted to, respecting my wishes even when our relationship was strained.

  There was nothing he wanted more than to me marry me.

  Denying him was the best way to infuriate him.

  A commotion sounded downstairs. Distant voices. Then Magnus’s loud voice reached us all the way upstairs because he screamed in duress. “Fender! Get your ass do
wn here now!”

  Fender moved so fast I barely processed what happened. He was out of his chair and at the door to the bedroom. He shouted back, just as heated, “Fuck off!” I’d never heard him yell with so much rage, project his voice so loudly.

  It made me realize that even when he was angry with me, he was gentle. That even at our worst, he still showed me respect. I got out of my chair and pulled on a dress as Fender headed down the hallway to the stairs. It was my opportunity to smooth this over. Even an opportunity to convince Fender to change his mind.

  Magnus screamed again. “Napoleon took the camp, and I’m the only survivor. So, get your motherfucking ass down here now.”

  My dress was on, but I stilled. I knew exactly who Napoleon was. Fender had mentioned him a few times. I’d met him at a couple events. He was a new partner in Fender’s distribution network.

  Magnus yelled again, lower this time because Fender must be at the top of the stairs. “He hit the camp with men and guns. Defeated us within an hour. He kept the prisoners and executed the guards. Raven and I escaped on horseback.”

  “Oh thank god…” My hand gripped my chest, and I left the bedroom.

  Fender’s footsteps sounded as he headed down the stairs. When he spoke, his tone was totally different. Calm. “This all just happened?”

  Magnus’s voice mirrored his. “About eight hours ago. We got to my motorcycle at the house and drove straight here.”

  I made it to the top of the stairs and looked at the three of them. Raven was in her work attire, standing slightly behind Magnus as she looked at Fender.

  Fender didn’t know how to contain his anger, so he turned away and ran his hands over the stubble of his jawline. One hand was on his hip, and he paced in the entryway, his bare feet striking the tile with his movements.

  I regarded my sister for a long time, feeling so much relief at the sight of her unharmed. It didn’t matter if every interaction we had resulted in fights and tears. Every time I saw her, it filled my heart with so much love. I moved down the stairs quickly and beelined straight for her. My arms encircled her, and I gripped her hard, felt her clutch me in return. “Are you okay?” I squeezed her, never wanting to let go.

  “I’m fine,” she answered. “Just a bit overwhelmed. But I’ll get over it.” When she pulled back and looked at me, there was nothing but pure love there too. She didn’t agree with my decisions or who I loved, but that would never change the way she felt for me. Ever.

  Fender continued to pace like he didn’t know what else to do. “How did he know where the camp was?” It was the first time he’d ever looked panicked. Calmly panicked. Moving and shifting as if staying still were impossible.

  Magnus’s eyes followed his movements. “I think he followed you.”

  He faced the opposite wall, his hands on his hips, his breathing increasing. The fury was starting to grow, beginning with a small fire and rising into an inferno. Invisible smoke left his nostrils. Rage exuded from his entire presence. So angry, he couldn’t even look at his brother.

  Magnus shook his head slightly as he stared at Fender’s back. “One by one, they executed each one of us. I was with Alix, Eric, and Nathan while they were shot in the skull. I don’t feel bad for what happened to them, but they didn’t deserve that either.” He turned angry himself, his voice full of furious accusation. “Your men died because you failed to listen to me.”

  Fender stilled.

  Magnus spoke with heated emotion, like he needed to get it out for his own sake. “And the only reason I’m alive now is because Raven saved me. I was on my knees in the dirt, the last one to get a bullet in my head, but she shot him first.”

  There was a long stretch of silence.

  I looked at Raven, surprised but also not.

  Fender remained still, his back no longer rising and falling with his deep breathing.

  Then he slowly turned around.

  He didn’t look at Magnus.

  He looked at Raven.

  For a very long time.

  He was still angry, still furious, but there was something else there now.

  Raven held his gaze and didn’t blink.

  Neither did he.

  He stared at her the way he stared at me, like a few seconds weren’t enough to absorb what he wanted to see.

  Magnus spoke again, pride in his voice. “I am the sole survivor because of her.”

  Fender didn’t say a word as he stared, but he didn’t need to.

  The look said it all.

  Twenty-Six

  Napoleon

  Fender

  I sat across from my brother in the parlor. Minutes passed even though we didn’t have them to waste. The door was closed, so we were alone, but I felt Raven’s presence outside, registered her in a different way from before.

  As an ally.

  It was hard to look at my brother. Not because of anger, resentment, or anything that I’d felt for the last few days.

  But because I was ashamed. “You were right, and I didn’t listen.”

  Magnus stared at me stoically, without a hint of gloating. There was actually pity there—even though he was the one who’d almost died.

  Because of my stupidity. “Now the camp is lost.”

  He still said nothing. Didn’t say I told you so. Didn’t even seem angry with me.

  I rubbed my palms together as I considered our next move. “We have to take it back.”

  Now he had a reaction. “Why?”

  “Because we can’t let him get away with that, Magnus. We don’t let someone make a fool out of us.”

  Now his fury emerged. “You mean, make a fool out of you.”

  I swallowed the insult like a man. A big pill without water. “We still have to do something. We have to take that camp back. We can’t just let them overrun our business like this.”

  Magnus cocked his eyebrow and released words dripping in sarcasm. “So, after all this…you still care about money?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Fender, you need to let it go.”

  Unable to remain subdued, I lashed out like a knife at his throat. “This man killed all my men and almost killed my brother. Do you think I’m gonna let that go?” We were the same man, but we rarely agreed on anything anymore. That man tried to execute someone I loved, so no, I was not letting that shit go.

  “Do you want to take the camp back for revenge? Or do you want to take it back so you can run business like usual?”

  I gave no answer—because I wasn’t sure of the answer anymore.

  The disappointment he gave me was brutal, like his opinion of me somehow sank even lower. “If your answer is the second one, or both, don’t expect me to help you.”

  I massaged my knuckles because they suddenly felt broken.

  “I will only help you if you run the camp differently. You set the girls free and hire people to do the labor. If we can’t come to an agreement on that, I’ll walk away.”

  I stared at him in silence, knowing it wasn’t a bluff. Everything had changed now, and for the first time, I was starting to truly understand the error of my ways. My arrogance had made me complacent. My insatiable revenge had made me stupid. My obsession with the past had compromised my future. I’d lost Gilbert. I could have lost the love of my life as well. And to top it off…I’d almost lost the man across from me—a man I would die for.

  “We do it my way. Or we don’t do it at all.”

  I chewed the inside of my cheek and gave a slight nod. “Well, my way obviously doesn’t work…” I admitted, defeated. I raised the white flag of surrender and let it blow in the breeze. My reign had come to a halt—and it had been a long time coming.

  Now, he looked at me the way he used to, showing the same pride he showed in Raven.

  That soothed the pain a bit. “And if we do nothing, those girls will never be free. They’ll continue to be prisoners, just changing owners.” I dropped my chin and stared at my hands for a while. “I’m not sure if I’m fit for the drug business an
ymore anyway. I let greed get the best of me. I almost lost the most important thing that matters to me—you.” I lifted my gaze and looked at my brother, feeling the emotion start to bubble in my chest but never make it up my throat. Those nights on the streets. Those dumpster dives. Those moments when we only had each other. Despite the pain and suffering we’d experienced, those memories meant the world to me. “I want revenge for what Napoleon has done. He humiliated me. He took what’s mine. He killed my men. And then he touched my brother. I want him dead.”

  With soft eyes, he nodded in agreement.

  “And if I rescue those women…maybe our mother won’t hate me so much, won’t be so disappointed in the monster I’ve become.” Ever since Melanie had come into my life, I’d tried not to think about our mother. Once my actions were accounted for, the guilt gnawed at me. She wouldn’t be proud of the wealth I’d reclaimed for our family—because of the way I’d done it. It felt like an insult to her memory. I’d cared so much about getting revenge against our father that I’d stopped caring about honoring our mother’s memory.

  His voice came out as a whisper. “She doesn’t hate you, Fender.”

  “She should. I became a worse version of our father. I became everything that I hate.”

  He was quiet for a while, regarding me with brotherly affection. “So, you’re with me?”

  I watched him, seeing a man I admired, seeing someone I should have aspired to. He’d always looked up to me because I was older, because I was the reason we’d survived on the streets. But he was the one I should have admired—because he’d always retained his humanity. “You know I’m always with you, brother.” I shared my thoughts in my silence, shared the way I felt about him without words, because we’d never exchanged words like that. It was better left unspoken—because love couldn’t really be described in words anyway. “I guess that means I’m about to retire.” I shrugged off the intense moment and changed the subject. “What do people do in retirement?”

  He gave a slight smile. “No idea. Have a couple kids? Go on trips? You’re asking the wrong person.”