The Sacrifice: Chapter 58

She cried herself back to sleep, or it could have been the drugs still in her system. Either way, I was thankful for it. Lake needs as much rest as she can get for her and the baby.

Baby.

She’s pregnant. I can’t even tell her I’m happy about it. Not yet. We have no clue if the baby is alive, and I don’t want to tell her anything until we know. And I won’t know much until I’ve got Jackson in my hands, telling me what the fuck he did and why he did it.

Why would someone want my wife pregnant? It can’t be the Lords doing. I gave up my ranking, but if I had a son, he would still have a high ranking. He would fall back in line with my bloodline, and then add the Minson blood, and he’d be powerful. Hell, even if we had a daughter, she’d be placed with the highest-ranking Lord there is when she’s of age. That’s the exact reason why Lake didn’t want kids. She doesn’t want to bring a child into a world where their life will be dictated by the Lords.

But I don’t see the Lords setting that up. It would benefit them, of course, but they didn’t know who I was going to marry. So why would they force a child? It doesn’t make any sense.

A soft knock sounds on the door before it opens, and Ryat enters. He looks at my sleeping wife in my arms and then at me. “Kash is back.”

I go to get up but pause, not wanting to leave her.

“Go.” Bramsen enters. “I’ll stay with her.”

He’s proven himself to be helpful, and I need answers. So I unwrap myself from her arms and stand up off the bed, covering her up with a blanket. Walking over to him, I get in his face. “If anything happens to her, I’ll carve your eyes out with a spoon and then force them down your throat. Do you understand?”

Honestly, there’s no safer place for her to be right now. No one fucks with Carnage. Saint, Kashton, and Haidyn keep this place in line.

He nods quickly, giving me his word. “I promise, I’ll protect her, sir.”

Exiting the room, I follow Ryat down the hallway to an elevator. We take it down to the basement. I was just here recently, dragging Sin’s dumb ass out of it. But I get it. Why he’d sacrifice himself for his wife. I’d do it too without thought.

Ryat pushes a door open, and I find the guy standing in the middle of the room with his back to me. “Why the fuck are we at Carnage?” he demands, looking at Gavin.

“They needed our help,” Gavin lies to him.

“He fucking punched me.” Jackson points over at Kashton, who leans against the concrete wall, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking.

The Spade brothers live to fuck people up. It’s what they do best.

“That’s the least of your worries,” I say, and he spins around.

His face instantly falls. “Fu—”

I punch him in the face before he can even finish the word, knocking him back a few steps.

“Just wait…” He places his hands out in surrender, and I punch him again. This time, he falls to his knees. “I can explain,” he rushes out before gasping.

Picking him up by the back of his shirt, I slam his face into the concrete wall and hold out my hand to Ryat. He places a pair of handcuffs in it, and I place them on Jackson. Yanking him from the wall, I spin him around. “What the fuck did you give my wife?” I yell in his face.

“Noth—”

I punch him again, and his head snaps back. He falls to the floor, blood pouring from his busted face. I press my boot into his neck and lean on it, applying weight. “What did you give my wife?”

“Gon-adotropin,” he spits out.

Removing my boot from his neck, I kneel next to him. “What the fuck is that?”

“It’s…” Cough. “A hormone to help you ovulate.”

I stand, and he rolls over onto his side to alleviate the pressure on his arms cuffed behind his back. “What about the morning after pills you gave her?”

He shakes his head and I fist my hands. “Why and who wants my wife pregnant?” I demand.

“I got a call.” He coughs as blood flies from his busted lips. “To go to the Minson Hotel.”

“From who?”

“Frank Minson.” He coughs some more and my body tenses. “He was in a panic. Said that Luke was missing and that he had been informed you were to wed Laikyn.”

Ryat’s eyes are on me, but I keep mine on Jackson. “Go on.”

Sucking in a deep breath, he adds, “He told me to make sure you knocked her up.”

“He hates you,” Kashton speaks. “Why would he want you to get her pregnant?”

History repeats itself. She will die in your arms just like her sister did is what the fucking bastard said in my basement after Lake was stabbed. I wasn’t sure what he meant until now.

Senior year at Barrington University

I sit at the metal table inside the interrogation room at the police station. They brought me in and left me here for three hours now. My hands are cuffed to the table, and I’m still covered in Whitney’s blood. My T-shirt now dry and stuck to my skin.

Big watery blue eyes keep flashing in my mind. The look on Lake’s pale face as she stared at me with horror that I killed her sister. As if I was too good of a person to do that. I mean, I’ve done it before, so why not now? What makes her sister so special? I didn’t love her. I was told to make it look like I loved her. It had to be public and over the top. Borderline obsessive.

The door bursts open, and my father enters followed by our family attorney.

“Murder?” he demands. “Jesus Christ, Tyson. It’s all over the news. Do you have any idea what the fuck you’ve done to our family name? To my reputation?”

I remain silent.

“Call them?” he commands to our attorney. “Call the fucking Lords and get him out of this mess.”

Hansen removes his cell from his pocket, dials up a number and then places it on speakerphone. He lays the phone between my cuffed wrists as the ringing on the other end fills the small room. “Hello?”

“Get my son out of here,” my father snaps.

The Lord clears his throat. “It would be wise for you to leave the room, Senator.”

“I’m not going—”

“Get out.” I interrupt my father.

His eyes narrow on mine. “Ty—”

“Get the fuck out!” I shout, not in the mood for his shit. I don’t need him here. I was eventually going to get one phone call, and it sure as fuck wasn’t going to be to him.

He turns and exits, slamming the door. “What do you want?” I ask, getting to the point.

“Son, you’ve put yourself in a tight situation.” He doesn’t ask me if I killed her, and I don’t waste my breath telling him I didn’t.

“That’s rich, considering you’re the ones who put me here,” I grind out.

Silence follows before he speaks. “I’m not sure what you mean…”

“You promised us protection. And you failed. Both of us.” The Lords are supposed to protect their own. As long as we do as we’re told, we’re rewarded. That’s why we take our oath. If they were to turn their backs on us, there would be no society. We would outnumber the founders and burn the whole thing down. We’d destroy them.

“I don’t know—”

“Quit fucking lying!” I shout, yanking on the cuffs. “Either get me out or let them book me.”

“I don’t believe you,” I decide to say to Jackson, not wanting him to know how close to the truth he is. I go to kick him.

He rushes out, making me pause, “Mr. Minson threatened Luke with his life. He was not allowed to fuck her after the wedding.”

I frown. “That doesn’t make any sense. That’s why he gave Luke the room.” It was to prove she had remained a virgin. She needed to bleed for him.

He shakes his head. “No. He gave Luke the room to make sure she stayed a virgin.”

“How would he have known?” Ryat wonders.

“Cameras,” I answer. Lake told me that Miller had mentioned her getting off on my cock. “He had cameras in there.”

“So her father watched you fuck his daughter? That’s pretty fucked up.” Kashton shakes his head in disgust.

“Why was her virginity so important?” Ryat asks.

“I … don’t know.” He begins to cry, knowing he’s not giving me enough information.