Chapter 218
Allen
Something snapped inside me. My carefully maintained composure
cracked. I straightened up with fluid grace, adjusting my grip on the
cane, my knuckles white. With precise calculation that belied my
rage, I swung it at a piece of broken brick lying nearby, sending it
flying directly into Samuel’s right knee with a sickening crack that
echoed through the alley.
The sound that tore from Samuel’s throat wasn’t quite human–a
high, keening wail of pain as he clutched at his shattered kneecap.
His body convulsed, back arching off the ground.
“Wrong answer,” I said softly, a cold smile playing at the corners of
my mouth as I watched him writhe. “Some people, Mr. Wright, you
simply cannot afford to provoke.”
Noah removed his foot from Samuel’s chest, allowing him to curl into
a fetal position. Samuel’s moans filled the alley as he clutched his
ruined knee, tears and snot streaming down his face.
“Remember this lesson,” I said, pulling on leather gloves as I prepared
to leave. The calm had returned to my voice, but my eyes remained
glacial. “Next time, the consequences will be far more severe.”
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We left him there, his pained whimpers echoing off the alley walls as
we walked calmly back to my SUV parked two blocks away.
Inside the vehicle, I removed my gloves methodically, placing them in
a plastic bag that Noah held open for me. My hands trembled slightly
-the only indication of the adrenaline coursing through me.
“Has Lucas reached Europe yet?” I asked, my voice returning to its
usual measured tone as I fought to regain my composure.
Noah nodded, starting the engine. “His flight landed in Geneva this
morning. He’ll be there for at least three months, just as planned.”
I gazed out at the city lights as we pulled away from the curb, my
reflection in the window revealing nothing of the turmoil within. The
Moonlight family had a long memory and little tolerance for those
who crossed us. Still, this matter with Elsa troubled me more than I
cared to admit.
“What do you think of this situation with Elsa and Drake?” I asked,
breaking the silence.
Noah glanced at me. “It’s not our fight, is it?
“Perhaps,” I conceded, watching the streets slide by. “But Drake’s
methods are… concerning. He treats her like property rather than a
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partner.”
“You’ve grown fond of her,” Noah observed, his tone carefully neutral.
I didn’t deny it. “She deserves better than being caught between
power–hungry men.”
As we drove toward the city center, I couldn’t help thinking about
Elsa’s determined eyes and the quiet dignity she maintained despite
everything. Drake Stone might believe he owned her, but he was
mistaken. No one truly owned Elsa–and that, I suspected, was exactly
what infuriated him.
Samuel
Pain. Fucking blinding, all–consuming pain radiating from my knee. I
don’t know how long I lay in that filthy alley, screaming until my
voice gave out, the taste of bile and blood filling my mouth. My hands
hovered uselessly over my shattered kneecap, afraid to touch it but
unable to leave it alone.
Eventually, some passerby found me and called for help. The hospital
staff asked questions I couldn’t answer–not if I wanted to stay alive.
“I fell,” I told them through gritted teeth, sweat pouring down my
face. “Just patch me up and let me go, goddammit.”
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