Inevitable (King Crime Family #2) - J.L. Beck Page 0,2

understand.

“Since when do you give me orders?”

“Lorenzo, you listen to me. You have to stay alive. You have to kill Mack. You have to get revenge….” My eyes sting as I try to open them. My body feels hard and stiff—as if a load of bricks is piled on my chest. I know I need to keep my eyes open. I know I need to keep thinking and hold on to hope, but the darkness calls to me.

“Enzooooo…” That is the last word I hear.

The last image flashing behind my eyes is Amara and the look on her face when I let her down.

Three weeks later.

My body aches badly as I throw my legs over the side of the bed. The cotton sheets feel soft against my skin—soft just like Amara. I have to shake my head to get the memories to leave my mind.

“You’re too weak to be getting up and moving around,” Jared says, interrupting my thoughts. I look up from the hardwood floor to his face. He is unshaved, his eyes are dull, reflecting no light at all, and I’m sure I look the same… maybe even worse. It’s been three weeks since I last saw Amara, since I last touched her. Since I allowed Mack, the fucking snake, into my cabin. Just thinking about it causes my blood to boil and the sharp pain in my chest to flare up.

“Funny, last I checked, you didn’t have a medical degree,” I retort in a smart-ass tone while adjusting myself. My leg is still fucked up, and trying to move it hurts like hell, but nothing compared to the anguish I feel when thinking about Amara.

Leaning against the door, he smiles at me as if he finds what I’ve said funny, when really, I’m just trying to be an asshole.

“You don’t need a medical degree to know you should be lying in bed. Resting. Cooling off. Staying hidden.” In one whole sentence, he names four things I would rather not be doing.

“No,” I hiss out as a burning sensation flows through my leg. “I would rather not just lie here while Amara is out there and that fucking asshole has her. I would rather do anything but sit here and hope and pray for something good to come from all of this.”

“Hoping and praying won’t do shit in this situation, but going into something without a plan won’t help either. Do you want to put yourself in the line of fire again?”

“I don’t care what you say. I’m doing this my way.”

“Of course you are.” Jared shakes his head. “I’ve sent some men by John’s house again. Still nothing, no sign of him.”

Anger slithers through my body. That fucker is hiding while his daughter is missing, making him look even more guilty than before.

I keep my eyes trained on the floor as I attempt to stand for the first time in weeks. My body is worn and tired, but at the same time, it’s begging for a release of energy. Urging me to get up and move around. Nothing Jared says is going to stop me from doing what needs to be done.

I’m slightly hesitant to stand. It hurt like a bitch lying down, so I’m sure it won’t be better standing. But, I have to start somewhere. I push myself up slowly, attempting to put the majority of my weight onto my good side. Once I’m ready, I shift weight to the other side, ever so slowly.

“I swear to fucking god, you have a death wish, Enzo. A death fucking wish,” Jared mutters under his breath angrily.

“No death wish, Jared,” I hiss out between clenched teeth as a burning sensation radiates up my leg. It hurts, but not as bad as I thought it would. “I have a need for revenge. A burning, all-consuming rage to have revenge on Mack; to get Amara back. Sitting here in this fucking bed, not getting better, not moving, and allowing myself to think about it more just adds unneeded fuel to the fire.”

In my rant, I don’t even realize I’ve come to stand on both feet while holding the side of the bed. Releasing a deep breath, I let go of the sheets and stand by myself. Glancing up at Jared, I watch him walk over to me—waiting for me to fall to the ground.

I’m not used to feeling weak, to needing someone. If anything, the need for help just makes me angrier. I’m coping with the shit that went