That’s the text message I received from Langston.
Zeke is alive.
I don’t know for how long. I don’t know if he will survive for another hour, another day, another week. Or if he’s out of the worst of it.
But he’s alive.
I grin, which means I can bring Zeke vengeance while he is still breathing. He will know I killed the man who did this to him before he breathes his last breath. Or he’ll know when he finally opens his eyes and decides to rejoin the living.
Either way, it’s what I’ve been needing to hear.
My heart aches a little less knowing Zeke is still alive. The tightness in my chest has loosened, which will make it easier to do the job I’m about to do. But my anger hasn’t, which won’t bode well for Billy, Alastar’s right-hand man and the man who tried to maim Zeke. After doing some digging into Alastar’s crew, I learned Billy was the most likely culprit of Zeke’s wounds. They use our security equipment, so I was able to hack the system and get security footage. Billy was the fucker who hurt Zeke.
I climb up the ladder of the yacht Billy calls his home. My veins pumped with excitement when I realized he’s at sea. I prefer to do my work here on the sea rather than back on land. I feel more alive on the water.
I didn’t bring any of my men with me. I would never ask them to seek my revenge. Never put them in danger when I can handle the threat myself.
That’s one of the reasons the name Black has become even more of a legend since I took over. My father was evil, killing men who didn’t deserve to die. I, on the other hand, am fair, but when someone crosses one of my men, clients, or me, they pay with their life.
Killing Billy won’t be enough. I need to make an example of him so no other man will ever cross me. And the world will know Black is still alive and well. That marrying Kai didn’t make me weak, if anything, it made me stronger.
I thought pretending Kai was my wife would make me appear stronger, but it hasn’t. I’m about to remedy the situation—by telling the world the truth. She’s mine by force, not willingly. The only person to ever be told differently was Dallas, and he’s dead now. The rest of the world has heard rumors I’ve married, which is why I was attacked. They will know the truth. She’s my slave, nothing more.
Kai thinks I’ve mistreated her in the past. She has no idea what I’m truly capable of. She will be my slave in every sense. She deserves to feel the pain of hurting someone I love.
But for now, I need to focus on my current task.
My feet hit the top deck silently. The security on the ship is of the highest caliber. Alastar is wealthy and will ensure his men take no precautions. They have too many enemies to not be secure at all times.
But he forgets I invented most of the security he uses. The cameras are mine. The alarms are mine. Even the men who work for him were trained in my ways, the ma
n I’m hunting included.
So getting around the security team is easy enough.
But I don’t want to get around the security system. I don’t want to go unhidden. I want to slaughter any man who dared to cross me.
So instead of sneaking through the ship to the main panel to shut off the cameras, I make my presence known immediately.
I remove my dark jacket, letting the white of my shirt underneath light up on the cameras.
“You want me! I’m here!” I say into the night, knowing every man on this yacht has been notified of my existence and is making plans to take me out.
They should. They should shoot me in the head on the spot instead of trying to torture me into telling them what they want to know.
But they are too stupid and cocky. They think a dozen men can easily hold me back while they torture me.
I silently laugh. They have no idea. No idea the training my father put me through. No idea what I’m capable of given the right motivation.
The men descend as I expect them to, with weapons drawn all aimed at me.
“Drop your weapons!” one man yells in my direction.
I don’t even have a weapon out, but they already see me as a threat.
I slowly reach into my pants and produce my gun. I hold it up to them, then drop it on the floor, my heart racing fast not from the fear but in anticipation of what I know is coming.
“Put your hands up.”