Page 68 of London Has Fallen
“You little shit?—”
Artemis cuts in before Dad can finish. “Costa will be with the other leaders in Mykonos at the cove of the founding fathers.” Dad and I remain in a glare off, ignoring what Artemis said. Even though I can see my dad wants to jump into action, he refuses to bow out and let me win.
“I won’t let you hurt him,” I say.
“My rules apply, touch him he dies, he touches you I torture him,” he fires back.
“Oh, he has already touched me.” Anger like I have never seen before roars to life in his eyes.
“Chaos, Kacey, take that motherfucker to the basement!” I turn to the side, keeping my uncles and my dad in my view.
“Any of you touches him and I promise you I will burn this fucking house down and make all the shit you did to Grandpa look like child’s play.” I see both my uncles hesitate but not my dad.
“He just gave up his only form of leverage, he is worth nothing to me now!” Dad yells. We have had spats in the past but not like this. We’ve never gone this far to the point where our anger has taken control and we hurt each other.
“But he’s worth everything to me!” I yell back. We’re both breathing hard and fast, ready to fight at a second's notice if that is what it comes down to. I don’t relish the idea of fighting my family but I will if it means protecting Artemis.
“London, stop. I’ll go with them.”
“Shut up, pretty boy,” I snap.
Artemis
The tension between Royal and London is so thick you can taste it on the tip of your tongue, her body is coiled tight and ready to strike at any second. The fact she is standing here ready to face off against her family means more than she will ever know. She’s shown me twice now that she chooses me. Not wanting to cause anymore problems between her and her father, I make a decision to end this shit between them. I grip the back of her neck and haul her back to me, she doesn’t fight me as I tighten my hold and force her gaze to mine.
“Get your fucking hands off her,” Royal roars.
“Royal!” Chanel warns.
“Listen to me, little demon, I knew the second I touched you that if I lost against our father that this is where I would end up for daring to taint the Murdoch’s prized heir.”
“You didn’t taint me,” she protests.
Smirking down at her I nod. “I did a little but let’s be real, you were already tainted by the devil before I touched you.” She chuckles. “Point is, I was in a position of power and to everyone else it would appear as if I used that power to seduce you.” She opens her mouth to argue but I push on. “I don’t regret it for a single second but you need to come to terms with this, he has every right to do what he wants because I fucked up. I don’t have the army of the Greeks behind me or their protection. I’m just a man who fell in love with the girl who turned his whole fucking world upside down.” Fuck it, I smash my lips against hers, needing to taste her one last time. If she is the last thing I taste in this world aside from my own blood then I will die happily. Before she can deepen the kiss, I pull back and step away from her turning to face a pissed off looking Royal. “Do your worst.”
He takes a single step forward only to be halted when his father comes to stand in front of me, flanked by Amelia and Chanel.
“We have a war to plan, Son.”
“Dad, you need to get the fuck out of my way right now. If I have to shoot you to get to that motherfucker who thought he could touch my daughter, then I will.” The pure hatred in Royal’s tone is palpable.
“You are not going to touch the boy,” Chanel says in a deathly calm voice.
“Sin, stay the fuck out of this,” he snarls.
“You want to hurt her and make her hate you? Then go right ahead and kill him, we won’t stop you, but if you want to have a relationship like the one I share with my dad because of what he did to the man I loved, then you just need to pull that trigger.” Amelia steps aside, Chanel follows her lead but Bishop doesn’t budge.
“Being a father is hard. You gave me so much shit for being hard on you and all we did was fight until I saw the errors of my ways. You hurt my granddaughter by hurting that prick, then I’m gonna have to hurt you as well, Son. Make no mistake though, the moment your mother and wife find out what you have done they will both raise hell.” If this wasn’t such a serious moment I would laugh at the way his face contorted in pain at the mention of his wife and Mom. I love how these men are all badass and ruthless but when it comes to facing the wrath of their women, they drop their nuts. It’s a sight I have never seen because women aren’t viewed the same way where I come from.
“I won’t touch him,” London says with the grace of an opera singer as she moves to stand by her grandfather. “I’ll stay away from him, you win.” The anguish in her tone spears me, she shoulders past her father as she dashes from the room.
“You’re a real dick,” Amelia bites out before following after her niece.
“You remind me so much of my dad right now. Learn from his mistakes, Royal, and don’t fucking hurt that girl because if you make her cry, I’ll mark your fucking ass so fast and put you out of your own misery.” Chanel shoulders past him, he grunts and stumbles but says nothing. A look of shock flashes through his eyes when Kacey follows after Chanel and Chaos steps up to him.
“Not you too,” he whines.
“Fraid so, brother. You know London doesn’t do feelings, she’s fucking allergic to them.” I snort and quickly clamp my mouth closed when the three Murdoch’s shoot me a scathing look. “She has been different since Havoc died, she barely smiled, never touched anyone freely and always hid away but now, since that dick came along, she actually seems… happy. She even laughs now. You didn’t see her that night when she thought he died, she was a wreck with Havoc but with him, she was destroyed. Don’t take away her chance of happiness, if that prick is what makes her happy, then let him live.”