Nick
She wasn’t sleek, polished, or generic. Her thick locks of hair rested like a crown on her head, making her appear taller. When she looked me in the eye, fear and panic bloomed in hers.
Malleable.
Rowan’s word echoed in my mind.
She practically sprinted away from me, and my gaze never left her arse until it disappeared around the corner of the building. Her uniform was frumpy, but it couldn’t hide that bubble butt.
I pulled my lighter from my pocket and lit my cigarette.
She’d be a tasty piece as a trial run. Those wide, almond-shaped eyes. The sheen of tears. The way she’d beg for mercy.
My phone rang.
“Get to Dominion now. We found the snitch,” Rowan said, barely containing his fury.
“On my way,” I replied, flicking the cigarette into the flowerbeds before rushing for my bike.
?
?
?
Alec was already in the office. Rowan sat stone-faced behind his desk.
“Watch,” he said, tapping his laptop.
The footage filled the large screen behind him.
Sophie lying on the couch was nothing new. Then I came into frame as my phone rang. My gut sank—I knew immediately what I was about to see.
The footage showed me glancing at Sophie before leaving the office to take the call. Her head snapped up. She scanned the room, then leapt from the couch, naked, racing for Rowan’s drawer.
She rifled through it until she found a single sheet of paper, folded it quickly, and stuffed it into her handbag before darting back to the couch.
No one knew about the cameras in the office.
No one but us.
It felt like an eternity before I returned, though the call couldn’t have lasted more than three minutes.
Three minutes was all it took.
“Fuck,” I muttered, turning to face them.
My brothers.
“I’m sorry.”
“Never mind that,” Rowan roared. “That fucking two-faced whore.” He slammed his fist into the desk, rattling everything on top of it.
“My contact came back with a name,” Alec said, his voice flat and cold. “They described the document she sent.”
Anyone else might’ve missed the anger. I didn’t. The muscle in his jaw twitched as his teeth ground together.
Sophie had just signed her death warrant.
“I’ll get the room ready,” Alec said, rising to his feet.
“The plastic sheets are in the cleaning supply room,” Rowan added. “Top shelf.”
Alec nodded and left to prepare the kill room.
The door clicked shut behind him.
“Rowan,” I started, but he lifted a hand.
“It could’ve been any one of us,” he said with a nod. “Give me a cigarette.”
I dug the pack from my pocket and handed him one, then flicked my lighter as he took a drag.
“I don’t think we should go ahead with Ella,” I said quietly.
“Why the bloody hell not?” He exhaled smoke with a ferocious scowl.
“You want another bitch in our home after this?” I asked, jerking my chin toward his laptop.
He leaned back in his chair, studying me as he took another drag. He rarely smoked, but today warranted it.
Sophie had worked her way up to hostess over the last three years.
“Ella Constantine will never betray us,” Rowan said calmly. “I can guarantee it. Pick her father up tonight once we’re done with Sophie. Alec will collect Ella.” A grim smile tugged at his mouth. “You know what to do. Give her a good show.”
I thought of how fast she’d run from me. He might have a point, but it didn’t change the bitter taste Sophie had left behind.
It didn’t matter whether Ella was caged or not.
I wouldn’t trust another woman again.
?
?
?
The stage was set—two bodies on two tables. Plastic sheeting covered everything, making it easy to clean up and burn without contamination.
I tapped the syringe before driving the needle into James’s neck. His mouth went slack around the gag. I pulled it free and tossed it to the floor.
The medical beds and the floor were layered in plastic.
Sophie’s muffled sounds beneath her gag felt fitting.
“This is rather fortuitous,” Rowan said, handing me his half-smoked cigarette.
I took a few drags until it glowed, then stubbed it out on Sophie’s cheek, ignoring her muffled screams.
“What is?”
“On one table, we have her father. On the other, Sophie—someone we can use to show her what happens when someone betrays me.”
“So you’re not going to tell her about me and Alec?”
“Call it entertainment,” he said with a shrug. “Or an experiment.”
“I was at the hospital when you called.”
His brows lifted. “And?”
“She’s even better in person. Hopped away like a scared rabbit.”
A slow smile spread across his face.
“The only good news I’ve had all day,” he murmured.
“Why do you want to change things?”
“What makes you think anything will change between us?”
“It’s bound to.”
“I highly doubt it. We won’t change, but she sure as fuck will.”
I suppose time would tell.