3. Chapter 3 #3
“I said no.” Her eyes flash with a mixture of anger and fear, then her nostrils flare. “You don’t get to swoop in and demand answers about my life just because you made me eggs. You aren’t my fucking husband or boyfriend. That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.”
“Then tell me how it works.”
I do my best to draw a breath. I don’t want to scare or intimidate her. But fuck, this is going to end right now.
“It works like this: I survive. That’s what I do. That’s all I’ve ever done.” Her voice is shaking now. “I keep my head down, I follow the rules, I do what I’m told, and I survive. And some bruises along the way are just the cost of staying alive.”
The words land hard enough to wind me.
Some bruises are just the cost of staying alive.
“Who.” My voice doesn’t sound human anymore. “Give me a fucking name.”
“So you can do what? Kill him?” She laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “You’d be doing me a favor, but it wouldn’t change anything. There’s always another one. There’s always someone else waiting to—” She stops herself, pressing her hand to her mouth like she’s physically holding the words in.
“Someone else waiting to what?”
She shakes her head.
“Reese.”
“I need to take a shower.” She’s already backing toward the hallway. “Please. I just need—I can’t do this right now. I can’t.”
Every instinct I have is screaming at me to push. To corner her, break her down, get the answers I need. That’s what I was trained to do. That’s what I’m good at.
But she’s looking at me with those gray eyes, and I can see how close she is to shattering. If I push now, she’ll break. And the last thing she needs is for me to become another one of her monsters.
“Okay,” I say, swallowing hard to force down all the rage at whatever faceless fucker hurt her.
She blinks. “What?”
“Okay.” I step aside, clearing her path to the hallway. It’s taking everything in me to do the opposite of what I really want to do. “Go take your shower. We’ll talk later.”
She doesn’t move. She’s staring at me like she’s waiting for the trick.
“There should be more towels in the cabinet.”
Still nothing. She just watches me in disbelief, like she can’t decide if she wants to run or wrap her arms around my neck.
“Reese. Go.”
She moves past me slowly, like she expects me to grab her at the last second. I keep my hands at my sides and let her go, even though every cell in my body is demanding that I stop her, hold her, make her tell me everything so I can make it right.
She pauses at the edge of the hallway. Then she turns back.
“Why are you doing this?” Her voice is barely audible.
“Doing what?”
“Letting me walk away. Not pushing me to give you what you want.” She searches my face. “Any other man would have—”
“I’m not any other man.”
She stares at me for a long moment. And then her face changes. Something I can’t read.
“No,” she says softly, tears now on her cheeks. “I’m starting to think you’re not.”
She disappears down the hallway. A moment later, I hear the bathroom door close and the water turn on.
I stand in my kitchen, hands shaking with the effort of not punching through a wall, and I think about that bruise.
There’s always another one, she said. There’s always someone else waiting.
Waiting for what? To hit her? Use her? Pass her around?
My stomach turns.
I pour myself a whiskey even though it’s not even nine in the morning, and I let the pieces click into place.
I don’t have proof yet. I don’t have confirmation. But I know in my bones that someone has been hurting her for a very long time. And her father has to know, or is involved somehow.
I’m going to find out what happened to her. I’ll wait as long as it takes. And then I’m going to kill every single person involved.
My phone starts buzzing.
I pull it from my pocket to find a full assault of notifications, one after another, the satellite connection in the cabin must have been spotty.
There are so many messages from Fox, Thorne, my father, and a few Raven group threads.
I pull up Fox’s messages first.
Fox: What the fuck did you do?
Fox: Donaldson just called a meeting with the Council. Says his daughter was kidnapped last night.
Fox: Dad’s supposed to send Talons to find her. Tell me you’re not involved in this.
Fox: Fuck, Tate. CALL ME. Right fucking now.
The Council messages are formal and as expected.
ALERT: Reese Donaldson, daughter of Council Member Jenson Donaldson, reported missing as of last night. Suspected kidnapping. All Ravens are instructed to report any information regarding her whereabouts. Talon investigation authorized. Full cooperation expected.
My father’s messages are more pointed.
Dane: I need to know where you are. Now.
Thankfully, I also knew to turn off the tracking on my phone so my dad and brothers won’t know precisely where I am. Although they will probably show up here at some point.
Dane: Fox says you were tracking a lead. Do you have the girl? What do you know?
Dane: Don’t make me ask twice.
Dane: Goddamnit, son. Tell me what is going on. I am sending Talons in the opposite direction of the places I think you might be, but you have to tell me what is going on. I am trying to manage the Council.
The water is still running in the bathroom. Reese has no idea that her father just mobilized the entire Raven network to drag her back.
He’s playing the part of a concerned father, looking for his kidnapped daughter.
The bruises on her ribs keep staring back at me.
Jenson Donaldson is a sick fuck and all he wants is his property back.
Over my dead fucking body.
I type a response to Fox.
Me: I’m handling something. Don’t have anything concrete yet.
Fox: That’s not an answer. Do you have her?
Me: I’ll update you when I can.
Fox: Tate. Do you know what you're doing? You don’t have to handle whatever is going on alone.
Me: I know exactly what the fuck I'm doing. I know how to do my goddamn job.
Next I send a message to my father.
Me: I promise I’ll check in when I have more.
Dane: Where the fuck are you? You turned off your tracking and I want to know where you are. This isn’t a request.
Me: Dad, I need you to trust me.
I pocket my phone.
Reese has no idea that everything I had planned just changed.
I thought I could use her as bait to get Jenson to come to me when I was ready, and then I would end him.
I knew he would involve the Ravens. I had planned to call my father and brothers last night to get them ready to make our move on Jenson, but I didn’t.
I knew something wasn’t right with Reese.
I felt it, and I knew I needed more time to be sure.
But now there’s no way I’m letting them find her and take her back to that bastard.
I don’t fully understand what’s happening to me. I’ve known this woman for less than a day. She’s a job, a lead, a means to an end. I shouldn’t care about any of this as long as we can put an end to Jenson Donaldson.
But I do care. I care so fucking much it’s rearranging something fundamental inside me. I can’t think about that right now.
All I know is she’s not going back.
Not to her father. Not to whoever hurt her. Not to the life that taught her to suck her own fingers in the dark just to feel safe.
The Ravens can send every Talon they have, but I helped my father train them all. They’ll never fucking take her.
Reese Donaldson is mine to protect now. She doesn’t know it yet. Hell, I barely understand it myself.
And if I need to burn the fucking world down for her, then everyone had better get out of my goddamn way.