Chapter Thirty-nine
I watch Sloane dance and laugh and drink.
She frees herself from her shackles, lets herself live, lets herself be in the moment, and even though her eyes cut back to me every few minutes as if to check I am still here, I know she’s having fun.
She moves to the music with grace, that tight pink dress keeping my cock in the semi-hard state it put me in when I first saw her.
It was only because we had company that I didn’t fuck her on the stairs right there and then.
The neckline sits low, a V between her breasts, and with the material, I can make out the outline of her nipples and the lack of a bra.
It clings to her shape, tucking in at her waist, molding to the curve of her stomach before it loosens around her legs, the split teasing the creamy skin at her thigh.
My mouth practically waters when I watch her dip low on the dance floor, a smile pulling up her plump lips, the lights giving her an ethereal glow as they pulse in time with the music.
Savannah leans in and says something in her ear, and she throws her head back as she laughs with her friend.
There’s something so incredibly sexy about watching her be free. It hints at what she was like before, prior to the violence and the pain.
I want to give it to her, the safety, the bubble in which she can truly be herself. If I have to prove that the monsters that chase her will never catch her, then I will. I’ll fight her past, however way I need to make it happen.
When the song fades into a new one, the girls link arms and stumble back to the table, a fine sheen of sweat along their brows and dampening the fine hair at their temples.
Savannah immediately tucks into Killian, and my brother, always the stoic, grumpy one, pulls her in, his whole body softening toward her.
He deserves the happiness he has found with her, even if it was a painful path for him to walk.
I envy the easy way they are, but with time, I’ll have that too.
“I want you to take me home,” Sloane whispers as she leans in.
“Right now?”
“Mm,” She nods.
“What about–”
“Dean, take me home.” She interrupts me, and I completely forget whatever it was I was going to argue.
“We’re out,” I call to the other two, but I think they stopped listening about two minutes ago when Savannah shoved her tongue down his throat.
There are no goodbyes, just a rushed exit, my hand grasping hers as I push the crowd out of the way, clearing a path for her to follow.
On the street, I flag down a cab, pulling her to my side to shield her from the chill that’s leaving ice in its wake, and when it pulls up, I bundle her inside, following behind.
And I take her home, where it’s just her and me, and for just a few hours, nothing else matters.
There are no threats, no violent pasts. There’s nothing waiting for us beyond the doors, no monsters lurking in the dark.
I love her the way she’s always meant to be loved.
And I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep it. She falls asleep tucked against me, her hair tickling my skin and her breath whispering against my throat, hand resting directly above my heart.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong in the next few days, so I take what I can now.
My shoes clip against the marble flooring of a hotel in the downtown area of the city. Crystal chandeliers hang from vaulted ceilings, and paneled walls with warm light in iron sconces give it that vintage feel that only money can buy.
Frankly, I find it gaudy and out of date.
Nothing like Olivia’s hotel, with its open spaces and modern features, something she has worked tirelessly on with her team to create. It used to be like this, ancient and stuffy. But this is where Richard picked for the meeting.
My briefcase swings in my hand as I stop at a set of large double doors, the small windows allowing only a small glimpse beyond to the dining area that appears to be deserted, though I know it’s not. In fact, the entire hotel is empty, not even a single staff member to be seen.
Malakai did exactly as planned.
Pushing open the door, I step into the dining room, every table set empty, save for the one at the back. Richard sits at the head of the table, with two of his men on the right and another three on the left.
“Mr. Archer,” He picks up his glass but doesn’t stand, “You’re late.”
“Am I?” I lazily stroll toward them. “My apologies, heavy traffic.”
Richard’s eyes cut to the case in my hand. “I’m surprised you did what I asked.”
“Did you give me much choice?”
He chuckles, “I suppose not.”
Placing the case down, I open it and pull out the USB drive, laying it on the table.
One of his guys reaches for it, but before he can take it, my hand slams down on his. “I trust the target on Sloane and my daughter has been removed.”
Richard gestures to one of the guys, and he pulls out a cell before he presses it to his ear.
The way the silence falls as we wait means I can hear the cell ringing right before the phone in my pocket starts to buzz as it connects.
Richard’s brow pulls low, watching as I pull it out, hitting the answer button.
The call connects to the guy right in front of me.
“Oh, that’s right,” My mouth pulls into a smile, “I already dealt with the threat.”
Everyone moves, reaching for the weapons, but then, pop… pop, pop, pop, pop, all five guys go down, blood splattering across the table as each bullet lands its mark.
Me and the guys spent a day scoping this place out, figuring out the best spots for the attack. We worked the plan based on numbers we didn’t have so planned for the worst. Five guys though is child’s play for us.
Richard pales at the end of the table.
“Truthfully, did you honestly believe you could blackmail me?” I laugh, “You’re more stupid than I thought you were.”
Behind me, the door opens and my brother steps in, his switchblade flicking in and out as he strolls toward me, the gloves on his hands speckled with blood.
“Had some cleaning up to do,” He says nonchalantly. From the left, where the kitchen is, Malakai and Sebastian head through, gaits easy, faces void of emotion.
“Now just wait a minute,” Richard panics, “All it will take is one call! I can have everyone you love killed, you hear me?”
Sebastian laughs, “No, you can’t.”
Richard grabs his cell from the table, but another pop sounds in the room, the bullet slicing through his hand. A scream rends the air as more blood stains the white tablecloth, and Malakai slides his gun back into the holder.
“Look at the mess you’ve made, Richard.” I sigh dramatically, “Girls going missing, blackmail, extortion, what else have you got hiding in your closet?”
“You can’t prove anything!” He spits, “You’re all going to regret this. Every single one of you.”
“Now you’re really sounding like the villain,” Sebastian mocks. “Keep going, maybe you can mean something before it all ends.”
“To regret this, Richard, would require you being around long enough to see it through,” Malakai casually leans a hip against one of the empty tables, “I made a mistake all those years ago letting you live, and here I am, fixing it.”
“I still have it,” He rushes out, “If you kill me, Sebastian goes down. I’ll show the whole world the video of him killing that senator. I have other things too; I can take you all down with me!”
But all I do is chuckle. Because he has nothing, not anymore.
As we speak, his house is being raided, and his employee files taken.
Anyone who swore loyalty to him is being rounded up, and they will be killed.
As for his computer and those thousands of files proving his crimes, well, I have them now.
“In my haste to keep you out of my database,” I tell him, “I forgot one thing.”
“What is it?” He spits, his whole world crumbling.
“There’s a backdoor to all viruses, a key, if you will, that’ll lead you back to the originator. You just have to find it, and as it turns out, that’s one of my specialties.”
“What are you talking about?” He demands.
“If you’re going to play the game, Richard, you really ought to learn the rules. I have everything. The files you have on us? Gone. Your whole database? Now mine. Every single one of your employees is now mine, and the men who swore loyalty? Dead.”
If he can pale any further than his already translucent shade, he does.
“Oh, and all those girls? The ones you stole from their loved ones, we have them too. You can’t hide from me, Richard.”
“I’ll leave!” He changes tactics, “You’ll never see or hear from me again!”
“We made that mistake once,” Malakai says, seemingly bored with the conversation now, “We won’t make it twice. Bast, he’s all yours.”
“Wonderful,” Sebastian grins before he closes the short gap and slams his gun against his temple, knocking him out. Of course, it won’t be a quick death with Bast, he has a score to settle, and he’s never been known to be merciful.