Page 15 of Venomous King
We start strolling down the aisle, and I meet our friends and family’s smiling faces as we move past them. I’m so happy I decided to have them walk me down together. They’re both so important to me, and I’m delighted to have them back in my life. I was missing pieces of my heart without them. My eyes meet the smiling faces of my four future brothers-in-law. Well, Theo is more smirking than smiling, and Carter is definitely underdressing my sister in his mind right now.Fucking lascivious leech.
My nephews wave at me from their fathers’ side. Their adorable little green bow ties and disheveled hair cause my smile to grow. Then my eyes meet my beautiful little girl in her matching white dress, with green ribbons in her hair, that make the color of her eyes pop even more. She jumps up and down with giddiness, while Rachel tries to keep her in place at the altar. Finally, my gaze encounters stunning blue eyes, and one of the most handsome faces I have ever seen.
Mine, my mind demands with satisfaction, as I take in how handsome Kai looks in his navy blue suit with a dark green silk tie. His light blond hair glows from the sunlight streaming through the church’s high, stained-glass windows.Beautiful. He looks like a fallen angel who came to earth to steal my heart. He mouths the word‘stunning’at me, and pleasure soars through me.
Finally, I meet him at the altar. My sister kisses my cheek, and Stella turns me towards her. Her arctic midnight eyes stare into mine, and I witness them softening. A tear slides down herstern face. “Be happy, my beloved granddaughter.” She kisses my cheek before taking Finn’s arm, who escorts her to her seat.
“Finally, I was worried she might try to convince you to run away,” Kai smirks and whispers to me, as he takes my hand firmly in his like a lifeline. We turn towards the pastor, waiting to perform our ceremony.
“I wouldn’t let her. You’re mine, Kai,” I whisper back, much to the amusement of Pastor John.
“Loving people of God, I cannot tell you how much it gladdens my heart, and pleases the Lord, to have these two before me, ready to take their marriage vows before God and his children. As Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 reminds us;Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
My intertwined fingers tighten on Kai’s, and he squeezes back. This right here is my peace. He is the balm to my tortured soul, and at his side is where I will always belong. With him, I have slowly grown into the woman I was always meant to be. I was always meant to be his.
“Welcome friends and family of Kai and Annabell. We are thrilled to have you with us today, to celebrate the joining of these two souls in holy matrimony. If there is any among you who objects to this joining of these two souls, please speak now or forever hold your peace.”
I hold my breath, fearing that someone will object, that someone in here might know the deep doubts in my heart, and speak them out loud. A moment of silence trickles on, and I can feel Kai’s gaze on my face, but I refuse to turn to look at him, worrying that he will be able to read my doubts like an open book.
Just as the pastor opens his mouth to speak, a massive explosion rocks the back of the church, and the doors fly open,followed by the glass windows shattering, and raining down shards of glass on the sides of the pews. Screams and shouts are heard as panic ensues, and our guests dart out of the way. I turn in a blind panic, looking for Julia, as Kai wraps his arms around me, and drops us to the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rachel cradling Julia against her body, and using it to shield her, while my frightened daughter screams and fights her embrace.
Heavy booted feet sound against the stone floors, as men dressed in black tactical gear rush in, pointing guns at all the guests. I try to pull my body from underneath Kai’s, but he refuses to budge, his heavy weight keeping me trapped. It sounds like complete chaos. I can hear my grandmother screaming orders at her men, and my sister’s men shouting at her, and their sons. Julia’s sharp cries reach my ears, and the need to get to my daughter overtakes my good sense that she’s safe with Rachel.
“Kai, we have to get to Julia!” I try to scream above the loud sounds of gunshots, and our frightened family and friends fleeing for their lives.
Large booted feet stop before my sightline, and I drag my vision up the long, muscled length of black cargo pants to a trim waist, with guns strapped to each thigh, and higher to the bulletproof vest strapped to a wide chest. Then, all the breath leaves me in a whoosh, as my eyes meet a pair of furious green eyes glaring dangerously down at me.
“Hello,Princesa, or should I call you Annabell now?”
Jesus fuck, Diego Cabano has found me.
Chapter eleven
Diego
Revenge... is like a rolling stone, which, when a man hath forced up a hill,will return upon him with a greater violence,and break those bones whose sinews gave it motion.
Jeremy Taylor
Iwipe my bloody hands on the sides of my pants, as I release my hold on one of the men who tried to impede my way, and his body crumples to the ground. His sightless eyes stare up at the cloudless sky, and I wonder if his last thoughts, before I slit his throat from ear to ear, were of mercy and a God that, even in this holy place, could not stop the devil from entering.
The sound of music playing is muffled behind the church’s dark walnut doors before me. I can hear the muted noises of the remainder of Stella’s men, who were stationed outside of the building, dying at the hands of my mine behind me, their blood coating the ground before this holy place and staining it red. Death and destruction follow me wherever I go; today will be no different. My body vibrates with lethal intent to murder everyone in my path. I might even skin them alive, and use them as fucking flags outside of my home, in warning to those who think it wise to cross me. Today, I will take as many lives as possible, to soothe the rage that lives within me. Rage for what was taken from me.My prize, myheart’s desire, my fucking destiny.
A malevolent smirk lifts at the corner of my mouth, pulling on my scar.Fucking Stella. Did she really think a few measly guards would stop me from reaching my greatest prize? The old bitch has grown lax in her vigilance. Not even a fucking army would be able to prevent what’s coming. I am death and destruction, I am the apocalypse coming to cleanse the earth for the sins she’s committed against me. No matter, I plan to take myPrincesaback to where she belongs, by my fucking side, and if I have to put a bullet between her grandmother’s eyes to do so, so fuckingbe it. No one will be stopping me from having Issy. I am all the family Issy will ever need.
I nod to Santiago, and he sets the charge for the explosives strapped to the door handles, as we take a few steps back. I plan to create chaos, and disorient everyone in this church, as I reclaim what is mine. They should all tremble in fear. I have no mercy for anyone who has hidden Issy from me all these years. I pull my Glock from its harness, tightening my grip until my knuckles are white; whoever this Kai fucker is, who thought that he could dare to marry my Issy, will be dead and residing in hell shortly. I’m going to make her watch as I blow his fucking brains out; that way, she has a reminder of what happens when she tries to evade her destiny.Me.The thought allows a calmness to wash over me, pushing out all the noises in my mind with my goal.
Mine. Issy Stratford belongs to me, and no one else will ever get to have her. She will pay me back in pain, blood, and her pretty screams, for ever daring to leave my side, and hide from me for four years.
The explosion rocks the small church, and delicious screams fill my ears. I don’t bother to wait for the smoke to dissipate, striding inside with determination. As the smoke begins to clear, frightened faces meet my gaze, but none of them are the ones I seek. I raise my hand and fire, ending the life of one of the security guards heading in my direction that I spot out of the corner of my eye. My eyes return to the center, searching for my goal; the church’s altar where she will be, like a sacrificial lamb waiting for the slaughter. The need to run, snatch her up, and flee from this space, mixes with the anticipation of witnessing her fear when she realizes she will not be able to escape me.
A swash of white silk barely visible on the ground, and hidden underneath a large body, is the prize I seek. The blond-haired giant is doing his best to protect her from all the shards ofglass that have shattered from the windows. Blood trickles from the various cuts along his exposed skin, and yet he makes no attempt to stop the flow. I can feel a muscle spasming in my jaw as my rage rises further with the scene before me.
Mine.He’s touching what belongs to me, protecting her from me. He will die a painful death at my hands. Every inch of him that has come in contact with her porcelain skin will be flayed off until there is nothing left. I’ll make her watch, until she finally understands that she will never be able to leave me again, until she comprehends that she is, and will always be mine, and unlike her sister’s men, I don’t fucking share.
I get within a few feet of them and point my gun at his head, never taking my eyes off of him. “Hello,Princesa, or should I call you Annabell now?”
The sound of her frightened gasp at the sound of my voice causes a shiver of pleasure to race down my spine. I’ve missed that fucking sound, and I want more of it. I want to see her tears cascading down her beautiful doll face, and those large blue eyes filled with fear and regret. Regret that she ever tried to leave me.