Page 81 of The Price of Power

Not even when he surprised me by trying to push me away, saying, “Listen to him, Liv. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

But it was too late for that.

I was already hurt. I didn’t care about what anyone did to my body. My heart was already shattered in my chest.

So, I held on tight to my brother, latching my hands together around his waist so he couldn’t pry me off.

“I’m not letting go,” I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I won’t stand by while you do this. I refuse.”

Heavy steps came up behind me.

Was it strange that I could recognize Gabriel just by the rhythm of his stride? When had that happened? When had we become so close that I could practically feel his presence?

I tensed up, waiting for him to grab me, to forcefully yank me away from my brother.

He could do it. There wasn’t any doubt of that. He was much bigger than Theo. Much stronger, too. He wouldn’t even have to try to toss me clear across the pier if that’s what he wanted to do.

But apparently, it wasn’t.

Because instead of using brute force, he stopped a few feet away and said, “Liv, stop. It’s over. You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”

Harder for who? For him? For the car full of murderers he’d brought to toss my brother’s corpse into the river?

Well, boo-fucking-hoo.

This was already hard. For me, it was goddamn devastating, and nothing was going to make it easier.

Eyes clenched shut and arms gripped tight around Theo’s waist, I shook my head. “I won’t let you hurt my brother,” I said.

There was a pause. Then a sigh. For a moment, I dared to hope I’d gotten through to him.

But then I felt his hands, so big and so strong, grip me around the shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Liv,” he said before effortlessly peeling me away. “But you can’t stop me.”

I cried out as Gabriel wrapped his arms around me, crushing me against his body as he turned us around—away from the sight of my brother’s terrified face and toward the glistening lights of the city.

He was right, of course. I couldn’t do anything to stop him. No matter how desperately I clawed at his hands, I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t powerful.

But something else was.

As Gabriel carried me back the side of the car, another pair of headlights turned the corner and shone down the pier. A plain black sedan hit its brakes, coming to a stop just a few feet away.

Another sedan followed close behind. And another after that.

Three in all.

The D’Angelos put together what was happening a few seconds before I did. Gabriel’s hold relaxed enough for me to slip down his chest until my feet hit the pavement. Every man on the pier stopped in their tracks, turning around to watch as the doors of these new black cars opened and a swarm of men in equally nondescript black suits stepped out.

“Fuck,” Gabriel sighed next to my ear. “The feds.”

The FBI?

Behind me, Theo let out a massive breath along with a loud, “Thanks God. Liv, we’re saved.”

But I wasn’t so sure.

I understood my brother’s relief. I just wasn’t certain this was the salvation he was hoping for—more like a temporary reprieve.