Chapter ten #2
“Let’s try that again, shall we?” Hunter says. “If you don’t agree to answer our questions, your man here will lose his head. Not long after, you’ll lose yours too. Trust me when I say I’m good with a knife. The best.”
“He is,” I agree. “Terrifyingly fast, but what I always find most impressive is his accuracy. His ability to remove the smallest portion of skin to create the greatest torture. We made a sensible decision in soundproofing these walls.”
“There’s one of you and three of us,” Marley argues, feigning confidence, but the sweat on his brow says otherwise. Hunter has him rattled.
Damon appears at his elbow and places a loaded gun to the other security guard’s head. He clicks the safety off.
“I think we have the advantage,” Damon advises. “Now, start fucking talking.”
“Violet,” I say, and Marley’s eyebrows shoot up.
He wasn’t expecting her to be part of this conversation.
She is the sole reason for this meeting as far as I’m concerned.
If we gain unexpected information on the drug ring that would be a bonus but finding her is the only thing that matters.
Since her disappearance, she has become the most important factor in my world.
After years of denying how I feel, I’ve accepted what I knew all along.
She’s the woman I’m meant to be with. She’s my responsibility to keep safe. “Where is she?”
He screws up his nose, confusion flitting across his face. “I don’t know. You should have a better idea of that than me. Being the father of her child, after all.” He smiles darkly. “Or are you?”
Russell tenses on my other side. I told him about the altercation at my apartment in full last night. He dealt me a blow to the stomach in reward for finding out his sister was pregnant with this maniac’s baby.
“Let’s face it, the little bastard could be anyone’s. From my experience, she was always open for business. She is a good fuck. I kept her around long enough to ride plenty of times. I’ve had her in every position you can imagine.”
He grins at me. “I especially liked when she was gagged, then I didn’t need to listen to her. Or when I was deep down in her throat. She can take it. Bear that in mind the next time she’s servicing you. I would give her five stars in that department. That mouth of hers is something else.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Marley. Tell us where Violet is,” I growl.
“I wouldn’t tell you where the little bitch was even if I knew. I’ve not seen her since you threw me out of your apartment.”
He stands then wipes his hands on his pants.
“If you brought me here to talk about that little whore, I’ll be going. You’re welcome to her and my bastard offspring. She’s not as appealing as she once was. Tainted goods.”
Russell shoots out of his seat. Connor stands behind him and places his hands on his shoulders. “Relax, bro,” he cajoles. “Don’t rise to the bait.”
“Now, if that’s everything, my men and I will be leaving. Please remove your weapons.”
He glances at each of them. “Or don’t. They’re easily replaced. I have plenty of possessions at my disposal.”
He looks at the man he owes money to and smirks.
Damon and Hunter lower the weapons to their waists, and we watch as our only link to Violet disappears into the elevator and out into the night.
“Trust that bastard to be involved with the heroin too,” I mutter. “Everywhere we turn, he’s there sticking his fingers in the pie. I’m beginning to think everything is interconnected. The drugs, Violet, and your missing money,” I say, turning to Roydon.
“Possibly,” he replies. “The drugs and the money make sense. Your missing girlfriend doesn’t though.”
“She’s not his fucking girlfriend,” Russell growls. “Waite is only still walking because he’s needed at the firm. If he wasn’t so good at his job, he’d be buried under someone’s patio. I’d personally make sure of it. When we find my sister, he’ll be nowhere near her.”
“Shut the fuck up, Russ,” Connor interjects. “You need to stop all this big brother bullshit. Violet is a grown woman who we haven’t seen in over a decade. Whether she’s with Harry or not, it doesn’t matter. We need to get her back in one piece.”
“You’d be happy for her to be with him?” he snarls, and they glare at each other.
“Why not? He’s like a brother to us.”
“He’s no brother of mine,” Russell hisses.
“He’s only here because of the charity of our family. Because I dragged his sorry ass out of a ditch as a kid when his Mum finally cracked with the drugs. When she was too bloody high to care where her precious little boy was and crocked it.”
He turns to me and prods at my chest with his finger.
“You would be nothing more than a whore’s son without us, Waite. Probably living in some shitty house, shooting up coke, and adding to the death statistics.”
His gaze roams over my face, then he narrows his eyes.
I stare at him, unblinking. Russell is a bully; he always has been.
Backing down now would be giving in. I never relent control to anyone.
Not even the man who saved me. “It doesn’t matter how good a lawyer you are, how expensive your suits are, or what car you drive. You’ll always be the boy from the ditch. Remember that.”