Page 63 of Depraved Royals

I want my father to tell us what happened, but I know the knowledge will destroy me. There’s not much to be said. Kal isn’t here. My father is badly hurt. And Vera told me a few things I can’t ignore.

I know what Kal did. I only need to find out whether the father of my child is alive.

“Kal’s dead, isn’t he?”

My father isn’t listening. He’s reaching for the vodka.

“I need a drink.”

“That’s not what it’s for,” Brutus says, peeling my father’s shirt off. “I need to clean the injury and patch it up.” He nods at my mother, and she pours the vodka over the open wound. Papa grits his teeth and grunts, turning to me.

“Kal used you to get to me, Dani,” he says. He’s struggling to focus. “It was all planned out. His mother and brother followed us and tried to kill me, but I got away.”

I thought I was prepared to hear it. But my heart wasn’t ready.

Could Kal have looked at me the way he did, said those things, and not meant one bit of it?

It seems impossible, yet my father is telling me that the man I love conspired to have him killed and almost succeeded.

It’s only now that I realize I was still holding onto hope. I wanted to believe that there was an explanation for all this, that Kal would return with my father and apologize for being controlling and evasive. That he’d take me in his arms and swear he’d never let the darkness consume him.

But he never even tried. It was all for fun, for show.

Even if Kal loved me, it wasn’t enough. He wanted to destroy, seize, steal and kill, and I was just one more thing for him to possess.

“Oh, there’s a fucking surprise!” Mel says from the hallway. She’s at the front door, keeping watch. “Did you kill him, Papa?”

“I tried. Kal’s brother shot me, and I ran him down with the car. He won’t be walking away from that. But then I had to get away.” He sighs and reaches for my hand. “If he comes back here, Iwillkill him.”

“Fyodor, you won’t be killing anybody,” Mama says. “You’re going to rest, and we’ll get you a doctor to fix your shoulder.”

Mel gives a yelp of shock. Brutus heads into the hallway, picking up his gun as he goes.

“What’s the matter, Mel?” Mama says.

“It’s Kal. He’s back to finish the job.”

I scramble to my feet and push past Brutus, running to the door. Mel grabs at me, but no force on Earth can stop me.

Kal is climbing over the wrecked car. He jumps over the wall just as I reach him.

“Dani,” he says, “Listen—”

I didn’t plan to do it. A white-hot searing rage powers through my muscles, and I pull my arm back, smashing my fist into Kal’s chin.

I’m not strong enough to hurt him, but he wasn’t expecting it. He stumbles backward, clutching his jaw.

“Stop,” he says, holding a hand to fend me off. “Let me explain. Things aren’t how they seem.”

“No, you listen!” I scream. “I’m sick of hearing your voice lying to me. Tell me the truth!”

Brutus is at my side, his gun raised. I put my hand on top of it, pressing it down.

“Let me talk to him. I need some closure.”

“I’m not making any promises,” Brutus says, narrowing his eyes at me. “If this prick steps out of line, I will fucking shoot him. Otherwise, I’ll leave him to your father.”

I look at Kal.