My Cruel Salvation (Fallen Saint # 3) - J. Kenner Page 0,4

they called him. But he was more than that, and so was his son, my father.”

Alex swallowed and nodded.

“Now I have surpassed them both. I’ve grown those tiny seeds of a business into an empire.”

“Yes, Father.”

“You must do even better, Alejandro. You must make me proud. Until you do that—until you make your own way—you are nothing. Un-molded clay. And in case you didn’t know, wet clay looks a whole hell of a lot like shit.”

Chapter Three

The present…

“I’ve never seen you nervous before,” Ellie said, stepping up beside Devlin as he straightened his bowtie for the fourth time that night. She met his eyes in the freestanding mirror that took up one corner of the penthouse suite’s bedroom, her smile laced with a hint of a tease. “The great Devlin Saint with tummy butterflies. It’s kind of adorable.”

“It’s not nerves,” he said. “It’s—”

“What?”

He exhaled. “Okay. Maybe it’s nerves.” They shared a smile. Him and his El, the woman he loved. The only person he could truly be himself with. The only person to whom he was willing to admit how much tonight meant to him.

Beautiful inside and out, she’d enchanted him the first time he’d first seen her on her sixteenth birthday. She’d smiled shyly at him—just one glance before her eyes had darted away from his—but he’d felt that glance ricochet all through him. He’d been eighteen, and he’d known in that moment that she was his. Even if nothing ever happened between them—and how the hell could it?—he had claimed her completely.

Then, by some miracle, what he knew in his heart came true. It had been a long and harrowing road, but despite everything, they were finally, truly together. She was a treasure. His miracle. And now here she was standing in front of him, her eyes shining with love despite who he was and everything he’d done.

“You deserve this,” she said, clearly reading his mind. She put her hands on his shoulders to smooth the line of his tuxedo jacket, her head tilted up so that she could look into his eyes. “You’re an incredible man. You’ve come a long way from being Alejandro Lopez, the Wolf’s son. Or even from being Alex Leto, my first boyfriend. You’re Devlin Saint now. Influential. Powerful. Incredibly sexy,” she added with enough of a leer to make him smile. “You’re the man I love. The most incredible man I’ve ever known. And you’ve built something amazing.”

She stepped back, looking him up and down. Then her eyes met his again, and the pride he saw reflected back at him nearly made his heart stop. “The World Council Award for Humanitarian Services. It’s amazing. An acknowledgement of everything you’ve worked for. Recognition of everything the Devlin Saint Foundation has accomplished. Aren’t you proud?”

He drew in a breath. “I am,” he admitted. “This was the one thing my father got right.”

Confusion flickered in her eyes, and he smiled. “He used to tell me that I was nothing unless I built something of my own. Made something of myself. Well, I did. And what I built is a hell of a lot more valuable than anything that sonofabitch ever accomplished.”

“Yes,” she said simply, the word filled with so much love and pride he thought his heart might burst. At the same time, though, he knew that this conversation was only about the Devlin Saint Foundation, the philanthropic entity he’d established about five years ago. An organization involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of human trafficking victims, education, and so much more.

But how would she answer if he asked her about the other organization that he’d founded? One that he held just as dear. Saint’s Angels did incredible work, but it operated below the radar. It had organized the rescue of hostages and kidnapping victims, true, but no humanitarian organization would hand over a plaque. In part because no one knew Saint’s Angels existed. More importantly because no one gave awards to vigilante groups who fired bullets through the heads of the kidnappers, ensuring they never tortured children again. Least of all Ellie, with her cop heritage and strong moral code.

Still, she knew the truth now, and she was standing at his side. He wanted her full blessing, but for now at least, he was going to have to be satisfied with the absence of condemnation.

“Devlin?” She was looking at him, her brow furrowing as her mouth turned down into a frown. “Did I lose you?”

“Sorry. My mind was wandering.” He forced the thought of