Page 58 of The Fate of Black Hearts

I can’t believe that whore fucked this devil.Willem yanked the knife out of his chest and rammed it into Evie’s abdomen.

Dom’s control fractured. With a cry, he released an energy surge to melt the insides of every being hostile to him in the area. Willem’s body convulsed as blood gushed out of his eyes and nose. Hostile humans likewise convulsed and collapsed.

Bystanders screamed and ran.

He caught Evie to him, removed the dagger, and rapid-healed her.

She took back her blade. “I’m okay. Jonas…”

Dom stared down at Willem’s dead body. Tomake sure there was no way Willem could reanimate, he removed his head and incinerated it with a bolt of lightning.

Gently, he gestured for her to follow him to the van. He lifted Jonas’s body and signaled for Efrem to come out. When Efrem froze several hundred yards away, Dom stalked to him and yanked him into the in-between realm along with Evie. From there, he transported them back to her home.

Back at the secure flat in Rome, Efrem finally found words. “What the hell happened to all of them? What did you…how did you…?”

“I eliminated the threats,” he said flatly.

“That was next-level horror-movie shit. I can’t unsee that. They literally melted. I didn’t know anything alive could do that. Demons maybe, but a mage?”

Evie took several steps toward them but collapsed to her knees. “Not Jonas.” Tears poured down her face. “My poor baby.”

Dom lay Jonas on the nearby sofa. “He was already gone long before they brought him to the meeting.”

Evie shuffled on her knees to be next to Jonas. “Can you revive him? Can you help him?”

“He’s too long gone.” There was no way to ease her pain. “There’s nothing anyone can do at this point. His soul has moved on.” He knelt next to her and ran his hands over her abdomen. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” The agonized sob from her flayed something deep inside him. She put a stabilizing hand on Dom’s shoulder. “I’d give him my lifeblood if it’d bring him back. My sweet baby.” She swept hair offJonas’s face, but didn’t let go of her hold on Dom. “Willem… Is he for sure…?” she managed to get out.

Dom nodded. “He’s?—”

“He incinerated his fucking head,” Efrem interrupted while he knelt next to Evie, tears leaking down his face. “He killed them all. Without even moving. They’re all dead.”

“Flynn?” she whispered. “Where is he, Dom?”

“Munich. I think he’s alive. I am not entirely sure where, but I’ll figure it out. I’ll go get him for you.” He stood to move away and go find Flynn.

“Wait.”

He paused. Was she going to cast him out of her life for not saving Jonas? Would she despise him for stripping her of the ultimate revenge to have killed Willem?

She wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you. I think I might’ve…I might not have made it out of there if you hadn’t been there. If you can get to Flynn and bring him back, I’d appreciate that. But, Dom?—”

She waited for him to acknowledge her. All he managed was a grunt.

“I need you back alive too.” She fisted her hands in his shirt. “Do you understand me?”

“Your son is my priority.”

“I appreciate that, but do you hear me?” She went on tiptoe to kiss him.“I need you. You must come back to me alive. Swear it to me.”

His chest hurt. She was the one his soul answered to and always would. He hadn’t admitted it to himself until he announced it in his head before he incinerated Willem. She was his, but not in an ownership way. She was his to treasure and shield. His to teach howto thrive with her powers and defend herself. His to show what pleasure should be.

He would willingly die for her; she wanted him to swear he wouldn’t greet Death willingly.

Little scared him, but this did.

The Source would detect this—not that he cared much. This would cause a pretty big ripple. He feared their future. This was the mother to the child that would end everything.