Third Debt (Indebted #4)(6)

Cut stood in the doorway, pointing the gun at my chest.

I sucked in a breath, fisting my hands. “Why bother bringing me here? No one would’ve heard the shot upstairs—not with so many rooms—and even if they did, no one would interfere.” We all knew our place—Hawks and servants included. “I would’ve appreciated my last view to be of something enjoyable rather than this godforsaken place.”

Cut narrowed his eyes. “What makes you think I want this over so quickly?”

I froze.

Footsteps echoed like doomsday percussion off the tunnel walls.

My heart beat faster. “Who else will witness this?” It wasn’t Jasmine, that I could be sure—unless someone carried her.

Fuck, would he be that cruel? To make her watch me die after everything we’d done to her?

My mind ran wild with questions and regrets. There was so much I never did, so much I wanted to do.

Now, it was all over.

“What makes you think they’re a witness?” Cut’s cold voice sent shackles of numbness around my limbs.

Staring into the shadows, out of range of the light, we both waited for the mystery guest to arrive.

The moment a figure materialized from the gloom and golden eyes met mine, I bared my teeth. “What the f*ck are you doing here?”

Daniel snickered, moving to take his place beside Cut. Equal breadth and height, they matched in their leather jackets and complementing smirks.

“I’m here to teach you a lesson, brother.”

Fuck. All the tormenting and lording my firstborn status came back to haunt me. This was my true punishment. Not being shot or maimed but being disciplined by my f*cking brother.

My gut churned. I had to will every cell to stay upright and stoic. In my mind, I conjured Nila. She possessed my thoughts—not in the everyday attire she’d worn around the Hall—but in the black feathered couture from Milan. Her skin was faultless. Her ebony eyes depthless. She’d been utterly perfect.

Then I’d stolen her. Degraded her. Fucked her. And ultimately loved her.

I pushed her image away as fast as I’d invoked it. It hurt too much.

“I don’t understand you, Jethro.” Cut entered the cell, his boot scuffing a pebble. “You were so f*cking close to throwing away, not just a fortune, but sentencing your sister to the grave as well as yourself.”

My blood turned from liquid to rock. “Leave her out of this.”

“You’re saying you believe Jasmine doesn’t deserve repentance? After all, it was she who convinced me you could be fixed. She’s the one who gave her livelihood for yours that day…or have you forgotten?”

I breathed shallowly. “I haven’t forgotten, and it’s not her fault. Don’t f*cking touch her.”

“Oh, we won’t touch her…if you do everything we say.” Daniel brushed past Cut, encroaching on my space. His aftershave of spice and musk overpowered me. My gullet fought to retch—to vomit right on his shiny black boots.

I glowered. Everything about this felt wrong. As if we were boys again playing games we didn’t understand. “What do you want?”

Cut chuckled. “Isn’t it obvious, Jet? I want a firstborn that I can trust. I want a man who will oversee my empire. I want a f*cking heir who isn’t some sort of f*cked-up delinquent.”

I straightened my spine. “Life is full of disappointment.”

“Yes, but at least I can get some enjoyment out of this.” Looking at Daniel, he nodded. “You’re up, Buzzard. Teach him a lesson.”

My eyes flashed to Daniel’s. I kept my expression blank. I refused to beg for mercy or let him see the fear percolating inside.

Daniel smiled, cracking his knuckles and slinking out of his jacket. “Hear that, Kite? Time for a little payback. And I have to say, it’s gonna taste f*cking sweet.”

Tossing his jacket into the corner of the cell, he clenched his fists and danced like a seasoned fighter. I instinctually raised my arms, preparing to spar. Daniel was third born—the mistake—he was also the smallest out of all of us, but he was still strong. Plus, he had something I was missing: savage with no mercy.

“Ah, ah, ah, Jethro.” Cut tapped the gun against the bars, sending a god-awful twang around the cell. “You aren’t to fight back.”

I snarled, “You expect me to let him pummel me and not defend myself?”

Daniel laughed, circling me like some rabid hyena.

“I have a deal to offer you, Jethro.” Cut’s words fell like stones. Everything had new meaning. That ridiculous hope swelled in my heart again.

“What deal?”

“Last chance,” Daniel sneered, never stopping his aggravating circles.

Cut ran a hand through his hair. “I was fully prepared to kill you, son. Ready to put you out of your misery because—let’s f*cking face it—you’re not happy.” Sympathy coated his features, confusing the shit out of me.

“You’re saying you were prepared to put me down like some rabies-infested dog? For my sake?”

Cut frowned. “After everything that’s happened between us, you still think I’m some kind of monster. I care for you. I care for all my children.”

Bullshit.

“It’s only natural that I want to help you.”