Emperor of Rage: A Dark Mafia Enemies To Lovers Romance by Jagger Cole

Author:Jagger Cole [Cole, Jagger]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-10-17T00:00:00+00:00

26

MAL

The dream always starts the same.

I’m small again—just a boy—standing at the edge of the pool at my family’s estate. The night air is thick and suffocating, the smell of blood and smoke mingling into a bitter haze that clogs my lungs.

My hands shake as Uncle Lars shoves the garden hose into my hands.

“We’ve practiced this, Maleqqi,” he growls, his voice tight. He glances behind him, and I watch the glow of fire shade the tense lines of his jaw before he turns back to me.

“Hold onto the drain at the bottom, just like I showed you, so you don’t float back up. Keep the hose to your mouth. Breathe in, cover the end, exhale slowly, so there aren’t any bubbles. Mal…”

I’m staring past him, my face ashen and my heart racing in my little veins as I watch the roof of our house erupt in an explosion of sparks and flame.

“MAL!”

My attention snaps back to Uncle Lars.

“Repeat what I just told you!”

I swallow, my pulse racing.

“Jump in the pool, hold the drain at the bottom, breathe through the hose, exhale slowly. No bubbles.”

Lars’ lips curl into a dark, proud smile as he ruffles my hair. “Good boy,” he rumbles quietly. An explosion and more gunfire erupt from behind him, up the garden path near the house.

“I have to go now, Maleqqi.”

My eyes snap to his, going wide as the fear claws at me. I reach for him, trying to stop him. But my mother’s brother, who’s acted like a father to me for years, is so much bigger and stronger.

He stops me with a firm shake of his head.

“I need you to get in the pool⁠—”

“No!!”

“YES!” he roars at me, shaking me to my core. He never yells at me. He’s stern, and he can raise his voice at times. I’ve seen him yell at other people plenty of times. But never at me.

It makes me realize how serious this is.

“Please, Mal,” he hisses. “Do as I say, okay? I have to go, but I will be back. I promise.”

I nod, swallowing thickly as smoke and ash drift down onto the surface of the pool behind me. More gunfire erupts back toward the house, followed by the sound of men screaming.

“Now, Maleqqi!!”

Uncle Lars hugs me tightly. Then, without any preamble, he lifts me up and shoves me backward.

I hit the water with a splash, the coldness of it making my lungs seize up for a moment. But then I remember what he taught me to do in the event of something just like this. I grab the hose, and my eyes lift to my uncle’s.

“Down!” he hisses. I nod, slipping under the surface as he turns, pulls out a gun from his jacket, and bolts back toward the house.

At the bottom of the pool, I do as I was told. I slip my small fingers into the drain grate at the bottom, holding myself down. I bring the hose to my mouth, sucking the first few inches of water

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