Chapter 1 'I suppose I should congratulate you,' he jeers. 'Welcome to the family, daughter-in-law.' Avery breathes in sharply. 'What?' Grey looks at me, a flash of panic in his eyes. A guard has him in a headlock, crushing his throat, but that's not what he's afraid of. 'You're married now,' my father says sternly. 'And apparently, a shareholder in Lilydale. You'll have to excuse me for not being more delighted.' She squeezes my arm, falling quiet. I can sense the dots connecting, her eyes darting over to Christopher-probably realizing that the piece of paper he had her sign this morning was a marriage license. I should have told her, but I didn't want to ruin our little bubble of happiness. I didn't want to put that weight on her shoulders just yet. My mother really thought of everything-including a clause in the trust that stipulated any shares in a company or organization tied to her inheritance must be partially distributed to my spouse... from the majority shareholder. It was a safeguarding measure. If I was still the majority holder, a small percentage would go to my wife as marital compensation. But in our case, where I no longer held the majority, the clause was designed to protect my interests in the inheritance-meaning my father lost a fraction to ensure an equitable split since I'm the sole beneficiary. It's like my mother knew this was a possibility. If he hadn't forced my hand by making me sign over two percent, Avery's small marital percentage would have come from me, making him the majority shareholder even if our combined shares equaled more. But now, our marriage has tipped the scales-all because of his greedy actions. Her five percent share has reduced his to forty-six... allowing me to take back the power with my forty-nine. Sure, he can have Elsher try to sign off to say I'm not mentally capable, but thanks to Christopher's psychiatric assessment, I've been deemed mentally sound to enter into marriage-at least for today. Plus, he officiated our license, with his freshly ordained credentials off the internet-meaning my father can't strong-arm or bribe an outsider official to say it wasn't legal. We might end up in a stalemate, but we'll be able to stop them dipping their greedy fingers into the fund. The injunction request has already been filed with the marriage license, so for now, we've managed to stop them. It also means that if he kills me, Avery gets everything. And he is fucking livid. 'Put the gun down,' I say, my voice low. I never should have let Avery come with me. Grey and Theo struggle against the guards, eyes dark with anger as they fight to get to her, sensing the rising danger. We have to play it sensibly here-one wrong move... 'Arthur,' he turns, looking at the other man. 'What would you like to do here?' I'm horribly aware that we are outnumbered. None of the guards seem confident enough to side with me, not while my father and Arthur have the upper hand-and certainly not while he's pointing a gun in our direction. 'Send the birthday boy down to solitary confinement,' Arthur replies. 'And the other two as well. They can go in together-we'll bend the rules just this once since it's a special occasion.' He motions for the guards to step forward, and as soon as one of them lays a hand on me, I snap. There's no way I'm leaving Avery alone with these assholes. I turn around and swing at the guard, punching him square in the face. Another makes a grab for Avery, pulling her away from me and I see fucking red. They aren't taking her away from me-away from us. I lunge forward, breaking his wrist with a loud snap, forcing him to let go of her. More swarm toward me, trying to take me down in pairs, and I slam my body into them, sending them backwards onto the ground. Behind me, I hear the commotion as Grey and Theo lash out at the guards again, trying to break free from their holds. Someone manages to get my arm behind my back, but Avery throws her bodyweight into him, tipping him off balance. In my peripheral vision, I see her throw a punch, managing to get a guard in the nose. That's my fucking wife. Smiling, I move onto the next guard closest to me, splattering him against the wall with a loud sickening crack before he drops, motionless. A roar of voices startles everyone, our heads whipping in unison to the end of the corridor to find the members of Cirque des Morts charging down, led by Byrone at the front of the pack. The distraction gives Christopher a moment of leverage, throwing his guard across the hallway. He falls into Arthur, the older man losing his footing as he lands heavily on the ground. 'Get up!' I hear my father yell, urgently. Immediately, I look for Avery, reaching under a guard's arm to grab her wrist. I kick the guard hard in the kneecap, feeling it break under my foot. When he goes down, I yank her to me, Avery smashing into my chest. Her gray eyes peer up at me in panic, and I'd give anything to take that fear away-to get her out of here safely. A few guards stumble backwards, trying to move out of the way as my people slam into them. They go flying past me, falling like dominos. I grip Avery in my tight hold, spinning her around just as the sound of a gunshot rings out. Someone yells, followed by eerie silence as I twist my head to find my father on the ground, knocked over by a guard. The gun is still in his hand, and I quickly scan my eyes over everyone-Avery, Grey, Theo, Christopher, Byrone... trying to figure out where the shot landed. I breathe a sigh of relief when they all look fine, surveying the carcasses on the ground. 'Damon...' Avery whispers, and I turn quickly to look at her. Her hands are outstretched, palms up, and my heart stops at the sight of them covered in blood. My gaze darts to her face, finding tears in her eyes as she stares at me wide-eyed and panicked. 'Fuck!' I hear Grey yell, but it's muffled by a ringing in my ears. A chill runs through me and I glance down, spotting droplets of blood dripping around me onto the floor. That's when it hits me... I'm the one that's been shot. 'Damon!' Avery screams, pain shooting through me as my legs give out and I hit the ground. My vision starts to go hazy, darkness creeping around the edges. The last thing I see before it all goes black is Avery and Grey leaning over me, frantically mouthing my name.