Chapter 3Blood Vows and Broken Ribs

Damian's breathing became ragged. He stared at me intently.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing much."

I stepped back, savoring his mixture of shock and fury.

"Just had someone deliver a little gift. I wonder if she liked it."

He grabbed my wrist violently, his voice low and rough.

"Kira! I'm warning you-if you lay one finger on her, you'll regret it!"

"Oh? Regret it?"

I lifted my foot and kicked hard at his shin.

He winced but refused to let go.

"You know how important she is to me!"

Important?

I looked into his bloodshot eyes, my smile growing brighter.

"How important? More important than your life?"

Five years ago, in the border rainforest, three hundred men had surrounded us.

To protect me, he'd drawn the enemy away alone. He'd taken three bullets-one just a centimeter from his heart.

When I found him, he'd stopped breathing.

I'd knelt in the mud, crying as I performed CPR, begging him not to leave me.

When he woke, his first words were:

"Kira, don't be afraid. I won't die. My life is yours. Death can't take me without your permission."

Now he was looking at me this way for another woman.

My heart ached so badly I could barely breathe.

"Damian Blackwood, have you forgotten? Your life belongs to me."

His body shook. The madness in his eyes faded somewhat, replaced by endless pain.

"Kira, don't push me."

"Push you to what? To kill me and pay for your lover's life?"

I shook off his hand and pulled a steak knife from behind me, pressing it against his heart.

"Or should I kill you first?"

The blade pierced his shirt, drawing tiny beads of blood.

He looked down at the knife at his chest and suddenly laughed.

That laugh was desolate and desperate.

"Go ahead. Kill me."

He gripped my hand and pushed the blade deeper.

"If I die by your hand, I accept it."

Blood instantly stained his white shirt red.

I watched that glaring crimson, then twisted my wrist and drove the knife into the wall behind him, missing his ear by millimeters.

"Want to die?"

"Damian Blackwood, you haven't finished repaying what you owe me. How could I let you die so easily?"

"Watch carefully. Watch how your lover becomes even dirtier than me."

I pulled out the micro-remote I'd hidden in the cake and pressed the button.

The villa's massive screen flickered to life, showing Violet's face.

She was bound to a chair, gagged, her face wet with terrified tears.

Before her stood a man in a black suit, holding a scalpel.

The man grinned at the camera, showing teeth white as bone.

"Mr. Blackwood, let the game begin."