37. Chapter 37
Miles
I’m standing in the corner of Damon’s dungeon, as he likes to call it.
Sitting in a metal chair, tied up, is Angel.
The waitress who worked at Caleb’s club and was dealing.
She’s also the person who sold Veronica the pills last night.
I look at the hand I injured while I beat the shit out of the guy who was all over her.
I almost killed him; it was close. If she hadn’t stopped me, I wouldn’t have on my own.
Regardless, he’s dead anyway. Felix assisted with that; he needed to hunt, and I provided him with a target.
I remember her eyes. They weren’t clear blue; that’s when I realized she was high. I called Felix because he’s one of the people she trusts the most, and the person who would protect her secrets. Then I called Tomas.
Before Tomas left, he told me what to expect throughout the night, but that still didn’t prepare me.
Apparently, the pill she took is new. It just started hitting the streets.
I spent all night holding her hair while she threw up and making sure she didn’t overheat.
When I wasn’t doing that, I was going through recordings of her, trying to catch any moment she took something besides alcohol.
She’s been clever because I didn’t find any.
The question is, how long has she been doing this?
I look at Angel, who’s waking up from being sedated.
While going through the footage from last night at the bar, I saw it was she who walked away with Veronica.
Something told me to dig deeper, so I canvased every bar and club Veronica has been to.
I came up with the night she stabbed Eric Harrison.
Again, that night, she followed Angel into a hallway.
I called Damon and Caleb to tell them what I found. What I didn’t tell them is that it’s their cousin the pills were sold to. I tracked Angel to the location Veronica had been to; she was still dealing. Damon’s men brought her here after sedating her.
She looks around but only sees an empty room. She can’t see me. Caleb and Damon stepped out. I told them I’d watch her. They were confused as to why I’m here. I never attend these interrogations, but seeing as how they know Veronica and I are now close, they don’t ask questions.
My boots echo as I walk directly into the light.
I don’t bother hiding my face. I know she won’t have the opportunity to tell anyone what happens here.
Her eyes widen, and I see the fear in them.
Good. I lean down, resting my hands firmly on the cold metal arms of the chair.
The room is quiet, the air tense. I can smell her—it’s a sourness in the air; it’s her fear.
I see the tears running down her cheek, and small cries begin to fill the room. I put my lips next to her ear.
“Shhhhh. I need you to listen very carefully.” Her cries are getting louder.
“If you so much as mention the name Veronica Kayde, I will break every fucking bone in your body. Do you understand me?” She’s crying, but nods.
I pull away and see her bloodshot eyes. I hear the metal door open, and she turns to see who entered. Then she begins to sob uncontrollably.
I pull back and head to the corner and let the Korolov brothers take over.
These men don’t want to hurt Angel, but they won’t hesitate to eliminate whoever threatens their family and business.
If they knew Veronica was involved, they would slit her throat without a doubt, but there must be more to the story. I feel it in my bones.
Caleb approaches Angel. He grabs her by the throat and squeezes.
“You’re going to tell me everything I need to know, or I’ll start slicing you into pieces and feed you to my dog.”
He doesn’t have a dog.
Angel is crying, her words barely audible.
He isn’t even the most unpredictable brother; that devil is leaning against the wall, enjoying the spectacle.
He lives for this shit. I, on the other hand, prefer to be on the other side of the lens, but I can’t stop replaying the events of last night over and over again.
Damon whistles. “I’d tell him everything you know, Angel.”
We don’t have time for this. I walk behind the chair and pull Angel’s hair so hard that Caleb loses the grip he has on her. I hate hurting women, but how many people has she hurt by dealing?
“Who’s your supplier?” I yell.
Her eyes widen. She must see that I’m close to losing it. “Please. If I tell you he’ll kill me,” she sobs.
I look at both brothers and return to my questions.
“If you don’t tell us, we’ll kill you,” I say. “So again, who’s HE?”
“Please. I-I can’t tell you.”
“Fuck this,” Damon says as he rolls a table of surgical instruments and places it next to the metal chair.
“Eric Harrison!” Angel screams. “He hired a bunch of us around town.”
I look at the brothers. I ran backgrounds, and I made sure they were clean when they were hired.
“When did you start dealing at the club?” I ask, pissed at having failed at my job.
She looks at all of us and answers my question. “He hired me when I was already working at the club. It was during one of his trips to Veridian Bay. His men must have followed me after my shift. One day, I’m home, and there’s a knock on my door. He offered a lot of money, and I took it.”
“What does he want?” Caleb asks.
“He wants to take over the Korolovs’ business. I heard him talk to his men about it.”
“Well, Angel,” Damon taunts, “seems like it’s your lucky day. We may have some use for you after all.” Damon turns to his older brother. “Dad needs to know.”
The brothers exit the room again, and I’m about to head out when Angel speaks. “I told him I sold to Veronica. He seems to have taken an interest in her.” She begins to cry. “I’ve seen him hurt women. I’ve seen what he does. We’re all too scared to leave.”
I look at Angel. Fear is radiating off her. “The brothers will make sure you’re safe. Just tell them everything they need to know.”
“O-okay.”
I walk out and bump into the brothers. They never left. Damn.
“When were you going to tell us?” Caleb asks.
“Never. I need to protect her.”
“Then take her away from here.” Damon speaks with a softness only Veronica can pull out from this killer. “This is escalating. Take her to Colombia. Force her if you need to. We’ll tell the cousins.”
“You know she won’t make it easy on me,” I tell them.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from her,” Caleb says. “How did Tabitha know where Vee lives?”
Fuck, there are so many unanswered questions. But I don’t have time to focus on them right now. I have to get Veronica out of the city. Fuck, out of the continent. “I’ll tell, Gabe,” I shout as I leave the hidden torture chamber.
I arrive at Veronica’s apartment. I look at the fixed door—a reminder that another man was in this space makes me want to burn it all down.
I walk into her bedroom and find Felix lying next to her.
Jealousy rears its ugly head. It’s illogical to feel this way toward him, but I do.
With anyone who has her affection. If her hatred for me had cooled off before, I know that after this, it will burn with a final, unforgiving intensity.
“How is she?” I whisper, careful not to wake her up.
"She’s been resting," he says, his gaze lingering on the woman who reminds him so much of someone he lost long ago. Sometimes people are tied together by grief. “The IV helped; now she’s just resting.”
I don’t look at him. My gaze is locked on her; she looks so peaceful, and the sight of it twists something sharp in my chest. "I’m taking her away," I state.
"For how long?"
I don’t lie to him. "For as long as it takes. Gabe is talking to Miguel now. It’s time he knew. He needs to decide how to tell Abigail."
"Understood." He moves toward the door but stops at the threshold, looking back at me. "Tell her…it may help her understand why you are the way you are. It might be the only way she ever finds the grace to forgive you."
I wait for the heavy thud of the front door to signal that I’m finally alone with her.
Moving toward the bed, I sink onto the edge, my weight shifting the mattress just enough to stir her.
I watch the steady, fragile rise and fall of her chest. Fury burns in the back of my throat, white-hot and directed at her, but the guilt surpasses those feelings.
I can’t deny my part in this. I need her to survive this.
I need her to get through to the other side.
There is no letting her go. I’ll be damned.
I’ve been her protector, now I’ll be her captor.
I stand, my shadow stretching across her as I pull the small vial from my pocket.
I know she won’t come willingly; she would fight me with every breath she has left, and I can't risk losing her. So I asked Damon for help. I move closer. Leaning down, I press a lingering kiss to her forehead. “I’m sorry for everything,” I whisper.
I reach out, my injured hand trembling slightly as the back of my knuckles brushes her cheek—a caress.
In one swift motion, I commit. The moment the needle pierces her skin, her eyes snap open.
For a heartbeat, she looks at me, really looks at me, and I see the realization dawning in those dark depths.
Then, as quickly as the light appeared, it fades.
Her lashes flutter and close, and the silence returns, heavier than before.