The Tyrant (Banker #3)(27)

I’d seen everything that happened, but I couldn’t process the violence that had just occurred right in front of me. I’d executed hundreds of people in this very spot, and not once had I been so deeply disturbed. But now all the air left my lungs, and I couldn’t move a single inch.

Bates shot her.

So much rage. It was explosive, violent. I’d had my brother’s back until the end of time, but that loyalty had been severed in a single second. He tricked me into doing this, tricked me into this ruse so he could kill her himself.

My instinct was to draw my weapon and kill him right then and there.

But Siena was all that mattered.

I sprinted to her in front of the fountain. “Siena!” I cupped her face and checked her pulse.

She was still alive.

Blood matted her hair and hid the wound from view. I pulled it back and tried to examine the damage. “Baby, come on!” There was too much blood for me to see what happened, how deep the bullet went. “Get the car! Now! Someone tell Giovanni to watch the baby!”

My men worked to pull the car around so I could get to the hospital, and one ran inside to alert Giovanni.

“She’ll be fine,” Bates said. “I just grazed her scalp.”

I lifted Siena from the ground and carried her to the car. My arms were shaking from the fury deep inside my veins. It didn’t matter how mild the wound was. He’d fucking shot her. I slid her into the back seat then gave him a look full of threat. “When I get back, I will kill you. And I mean that literally.”

His face took on the color of fresh snow.

I didn’t have time to make good on my word, so I got into the back seat and told the driver to drive as fast as possible. “Siena, wake up.” I ripped a piece of my shirt and tied it around her head to stop the bleeding. The bullet injured her scalp just above her ear. Her blood dripped everywhere, getting on the leather and the carpeted floors.

She was losing a lot of blood for just a graze.

“Fuck.” I kept up the pressure and stared at her face, seeing her cheeks turn to milk. “Baby…stay with me.”





I got her to the hospital and into a room instantly. The doctor arrived just seconds after we did and examined the wound in her skull. The hair in the area had to be shaved so the doctor could figure out what to do.

I stood off to the side, never so scared in my entire life. I rubbed my hands together and rested them against my lips, hoping that she would pull through this, that the wound was as minor as my brother described.

The doctor finally provided information. “The bullet scraped against her scalp. It moved past the bone but didn’t pierce it. We’ll give her a blood transfusion because she’s lost so much, but she should be okay.”

Thank fucking god. “Why isn’t she awake?”

“Passing out is a natural defense to extreme trauma. It keeps the heart rate low and the blood pressure down. I’m sure she’ll come around in a few hours. I’m gonna patch her up and get that transfusion going. Just sit tight.”





I sat at her bedside and waited for her to wake up.

Gauze had been tied around her head, and an IV was placed in her hand. Her vitals were stable, so she would be okay.

But I wouldn’t be.

My phone rang, and Bates’s name appeared on the screen. My teeth clenched the second I looked at his name. My fingers ached to grasp a gun and pull the trigger. I wanted to execute him in front of my fountain like I did with all my other victims. I wanted to hang him from a noose and stab him in the gut.

I stepped outside and took it. “You have a lot of nerve.”

“I just wanted to see if she was okay.”

People passed me in the hallway but didn’t stop me from raising my voice. “Are you fucking kidding me? You shot her in the head, and you want to see if she’s okay? She’s been shot in the head, asshole. Of course she’s not okay.”

“What did the doctors say?”

“She’ll be fine. She’s asleep right now.”

“Good. I never meant to do any real damage—”

“Fuck. You.” My brother had pissed me off a lot over the years, but never like this. “You stabbed me in the fucking back. You betrayed me. You’re supposed to be the one person I trust most in this world, and now I can’t trust you at all.”

“We had to make it look real, Cato. We can’t let Micah and Damien know how much she means to you.”

I grabbed my hair and nearly yanked it out of my scalp. “Knock it off with that already!”

“And she needed to be punished for what she did. Let’s not forget how much of a betrayal it was.”

“We were supposed to scare her—not shoot her. You had no fucking right.”

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“Because I’m not a psychopath!”

“I never meant to seriously hurt her—”

“Fuck off, Bates. If I see you again, I will kill you.” I hung up and shoved my phone into my pocket.

When I returned to her bedside, she was awake. She stared at the monitor and examined her vitals as she tried to figure out where she was. When her eyes landed on me, they didn’t have that deep look of affection I was used to. She tensed noticeably, pulling her IV with her as she prepared to defend herself. Her lips were pressed tightly together like she was prepared to scream, and the terror in her eyes showed her complete disgust.