Chapter 35
Brody
I close the door to the hotel suite while licking powdered sugar off my mouth. “The lady wants beignets, so that’s what she gets.”
In the bathroom, the faucet switches off.
“Sorry, I may or may not have sampled one in the elevator.” A foreign sensation fills me as I set the bag on the marble table. Happiness. “The warm beignets smelled too damn amazing to resist. Forgive me?”
Somehow, I don’t even hate the fact that I’m acting like a lovesick groom on his honeymoon. Probably because I’m having the time of my life showing Trinity the city, the sights, and the food.
I’m in a great location with a perfect woman, and I plan to savor and enjoy the novel experience.
The bathroom door clicks open, and Trinity walks toward me with red eyes. Evidence of her crying.
Alarm consumes me as I swipe the rest of the powdered sugar from my face. “What happened? What’s wrong?” I scan her over quickly, then glance around the room. No visible injuries. No threats in the suite—
“Declan texted you.”
A heavy iron ball forms in my gut as the real world crashes back into our lives uninvited. “You were snooping through my phone?”
She just stands there, trembling. “I wasn’t spying. I was looking for a t-shirt in our bag. You left the phone on the bench at the foot of the bed and it buzzed.”
Just like that, she’s no longer the smiling Trinity I gazed at over the dinner table. Nor the Trinity who shared the last few days and nights with me.
She’s not even the Trinity I kidnapped.
This woman appears meek. Scared.
Devastated.
With growing trepidation, I gently pluck the phone from the bench and read the text.
We need to solidify the exchange. Trinity and the drive. I’ll take it from there. Your job is done.
My stomach coils around the iron ball. Why did I leave my burner in the room? I’m so damn stupid.
I inhale, attempting to reel in my anger over my own idiocy. “This was always the plan, Trinity. But when I see Declan, he’ll get the drive, and I’ll get you. It will all work out fine.”
She clenches her hands together. “That’s not what you implied earlier. Do you really believe Declan’s going to compromise?”
I rake my hands through my hair. “That’s why we’re going to use the hard drive as a bargaining chip!” Shit. Yelling at her won’t help. I exhale through my nose, forcing my muscles to relax. “To secure freedom for us both.”
“But will you still care about me once the hard drive is in Declan’s hands? And what about what happens after he gets it? He’ll try to destroy my family. Did you really think I’d be okay with that?”
A tear trails down her cheek.
To avoid reaching for her, I thrust my hands into my pockets. An ache blooms in my chest.
After everything we’ve been through, after I’ve risked my life to protect her, how can she ask me that? “This is our shot. For us both to escape our families and have each other.”
She glares at me through wet eyes. “I won’t betray my brother, Brody!”
“But you expect me to betray my family? Then again, I guess no one expects loyalty from a bastard son.” I snatch the bag of beignets and toss it at the wall. Powdered sugar explodes across the paint like falling snow, but the sight does nothing to quell my anger.
She flinches, and her voice hitches higher. “You’re the one who suggested running away together. Why would you ever even consider going back to your old life?”
Because he’s still my father, even if not by blood, and I can’t just walk away.
I rake my hands through my hair again in an effort to stop seeing red. “I’m trying to get us both out of this mess. But to do that, I need to handle Declan in a certain way.”
Despite the fury that burns through me, part of me wonders how long I can keep doing this. Carrying out my father’s every wish, no matter the personal cost.
“You have to handle Declan by lying to us both?” With fire in her eyes, she invades my space. “I don’t believe this is about our freedom. In fact, I don’t believe you at all!”
“Well, I can’t believe you. I go out to do something nice and come back to—”
“To what? A woman with a brain? Isn’t this what you want? Someone to push you around and tell you what’s what? Isn’t that what Declan does?”
Right now, I want to drive my fists through these damn walls. “Don’t talk about what I do like it’s anything but a job. You know the life!”
She shoves my chest with enough force that I stumble back. “What I know is you’re throwing my family to the wolves for a pat on the back from a man who doesn’t give a shit about you.”
I grab her by the shoulders. “Where is this coming from? Two hours ago, you wanted out. You wanted to live a normal life with me, away from all this organized crime bullshit. Where did that woman go? She’s the one I thought I was fucking. The one I thought I was making plans with.”
I search her face for even a hint that she still believes I hung the moon. Instead, I find anger rolling off her in waves.
No, not anger.
Disappointment.
I immediately bristle. I won’t stand for two people looking at me that way. I can’t.
She reaches for my pocket. “Give me my hard drive.”
I step back, my heart hammering in my chest. “No.”
The drive is my only leverage, with her and with Declan. If I lose that, I lose everything.
“It’s mine, and I’m not staying here with you.” She lunges at me, her arms wild as she dives for my pocket a second time.
I don’t understand what the hell’s going through her head. She’s watched me take down several guys at once, and that was just the opening act.
I ensnare both her wrists. “What the fuck, Trinity?”
She tries to wiggle free. When she can’t, she kicks at me. “Give me the hard drive so that I can get the hell away from you!”
Her foot connects with my shin. Grunting, I push her against the wall. “That hurt.”
She squirms in my hold. “Let go of me or I’ll scream!”
“You’re already screaming.” But I release her anyway and back away, breathing heavily.
I don’t understand why this happened. Things were so perfect.
Then I had to leave my damn phone behind.
The iron sphere in my stomach lurches into my chest, like a wrecking ball to my heart.
Trinity rubs her wrists while blinking back tears. “The drive.” She thrusts out her palm, calmer but still trembling. “It’s mine.”
I cross my arms over my chest, as if the action will keep the pieces of my life from cracking in two. “If you want to leave, be my guest. But the hard drive stays with me.”
Trinity’s chest heaves up and down. I can sense another panic attack in the works.
Rather than freak out, though, she sucks in air and spits out an insult. “You’re a bastard.”
I flinch. That was a low blow, and I’ve had just about enough of her shit.
A wave of fury overrides my pain. I lunge at her, crowding her against the wall.
“What did you think would happen here? This was always the job. You’re an enemy, Trinity.
My mission. And he’s my father. Whatever you think this is,” I gesture between us, “it was never going to bend your way. You’re not as clever as you believe you are.
” In my need to hurt her the way she hurt me, I barely register the lies I’m spewing.
If I were a better man, I’d give her the hard drive and beg her forgiveness. I’d pour my heart out and tell her I don’t want to live without her.
But I’m not a better man. I’m exactly what she called me…a bastard.
Trinity chokes out a cry and squeezes her eyes shut.
“Oh, so now you’ve got nothing to say?” Red blurs the edges of my vision.
This woman has pushed me past my limits and twisted my insides around to the point where I no longer know which way is up.
And now she’s got the nerve to be mad at me when she’s just as guilty.
“You know as well as I do that this was all a game.” I lean in so she can hear me loud and clear.
“And you were playing me, too, so don’t you dare deny it. ”
She slaps me hard across the face, her breath a gasp on her lips.
That’s it.
I pin her to the wall, trapping her wrists against the blue paint and grinding my hips into hers to prevent her from kicking me again.
“I don’t know who you think you are.” Even to my own ears, I sound animalistic, unhinged and wild, but it’s time to remind her who’s in charge.
Who’s always been in charge. “But you’re not going to treat me that way, Trinity Gallagher. ”
She writhes underneath my body. “Let go of me!” She rears her head back, but I’m quicker.
I crash my mouth over hers and taste blood. Hers. Mine. Maybe both. Our lips cut on teeth and vitriol.
It’s not the sort of kiss I ever wanted to share with her again.
But life’s not fair.
She’s cornered, trying to squirm free to no avail. I secure her between my chest and the wall as I slip my hand inside her sweats.
I know how to drive her crazy.
I slide two fingers inside her, stroking just the way she likes. Within seconds, she’s soaking me with her juices. She tightens around the intrusion, her body begging for more.
I plunge in deeper, curling my fingers just enough to hit that magical spot where she’ll surrender despite what her big-ass brain tells her to do.
Her tits rise and lower as she pants against my chest. “I hate you,” she hisses.
Feeling’s mutual, princess. I bite down on a pale ear. “I don’t care.”
Then I pull back to get a better view of her.
She worries her bottom lip, the flesh white from the pressure. With a flushed face, she clutches my shoulder with one hand, the other held beneath my palm.
Her eyes are hot poison in a bubbling cauldron, daring me to do more.
I accept that challenge.
Because for these next few minutes, she’s still mine. This is the last time I’ll ever get to touch her this way.
After this, she’ll leave, and I’ll never see her again.
I don’t allow that sharp burst of pain to do anything but contribute to my anger.
I yank down her pants and unzip mine before freeing my rock-hard dick. After taking mere seconds to find a condom, I roll it on and plunge inside her.
Our eyes stay locked in heated rage while I take her against the wall, unleashing all my frustration through my cock.
She clutches my shirt but doesn’t fight me or push me off. She just glares, teeth clenched to suppress her moans as her hips rotate to meet mine.
I’m going to fuck her until she comes first. Because I’m in control here. Me.
She’s mine, and she better not forget that even once she’s gone.
She presses her lips together, struggling to stifle her little whimpers. She’s battling herself, trying to disengage even as she grabs my ass in both hands and yanks me closer.
I thrust deeper but maintain the steady pace I’m positive she wants.
I know this woman better than she knows herself. And part of me hates that.
Reaching between us, I circle her clit with my thumb, intent on getting her off soon because I can feel my own orgasm building at the base of my spine.
Seconds later, her body convulses around my dick. My eyes roll back in my head as she unleashes obscenities into my ear and digs her nails into my skin.
I pump once. Twice. Three more times. Then, I explode, grinding my pelvis against hers as I find my release.
As bliss seizes my body, one thought continues cycling through my mind.
You’re mine, Trinity Gallagher.
Brody
Afterward, she threw on her clothes and stormed from the room, slamming the door viciously enough to rattle the paintings on the walls.
I collapsed on the king bed and crashed, still exhausted and recovering from recent events.
Now, hours later, I’m awake and have no clue where Trinity is. An optimistic part of me really hoped she’d be back.
I pat my pocket, checking on the hard drive. That’s what really matters. Not whatever fantasy I crafted in my mind. Besides, we never would have worked.
She’s dust, a dream, and often a hot poker to my ass. A royal pain. She’s not mine and never was, and I was an idiot for allowing myself that fantasy.
I swing my legs off the bed and drag my hands through my hair, grimacing at the damp strands. I must’ve sweated out the rest of my anger, because now I’ve got nothing inside but a flat, buzzing numbness and the distinct sensation of a ragged-edged hole in my chest.
A hollow she used to fill.
“Fuck that.” I glance around as if these blue walls will reveal where she ran off to. They mock me with their silence, and I quell the renewed urge to punch a hole through them.
Breathe. Just breathe.
This is for the best.
Trinity was a complication. Running away together was make-believe. She temporarily brainwashed me with mind-blowing sex and a pretty face. That’s basic psychology, and I don’t need anything beyond my GED to comprehend how that bullshit goes.
I certainly don’t need a fancy college degree to understand that I was momentarily blindsided by my gorgeous little captive. Lost in the imagination of a Brody who doesn’t exist.
Now I’m back and focused on the mission. I belong at Declan’s side, and I’ll stay the course to achieve that goal. By handing the drive over, I will finally achieve the status I’ve worked my whole life to obtain inside this family.
That of a valued son.
I pick up my burner phone from the nightstand with steady fingers and call my boss.
Declan doesn’t waste time on a hello. “Update.”
“The girl’s gone, but I have the drive. I’ve finished the job.”
He hangs up without another word.
I stare blankly into the empty honeymoon suite, the skin between my shoulders itching.
I can’t believe I told Trinity we had to lie low in New Orleans until we got word that it was safe to leave. And that I lied to Declan about having the drive in my possession so I could spend time with her.
No more bullshit. I found what the Port Kings have wanted for decades.
I place my hand over my rib cage, where that carved-out hollow keeps growing regardless.
Trinity may have gotten under my skin, but I’m here, and she’s not.
“I won,” I whisper into the empty room.
So why do I feel like I’ve lost everything that matters?