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But not so cruel that he’d always tell when I stepped out of line. Only often enough to gain Marcus Holden’s trust — when he knew it would only hurt me a little. I’d understood then why he did it, and I understood now why he was making the decision he did. He knew that there wasn’t a damn thing I could do that would make it okay for these men to hurt me.
He knew, even though I’d betrayed the Holden name coming here, if anyone tried to deal with me but Marcus himself, it was suicide. His eyes lit on my cheek, and he winced.
“Okay.” I flicked my gaze back to my car — sure enough, the tires were slashed. Fucking Nick. “Let’s go.” I stepped around the man on the ground, still writhing from being shot, and tilted my head to the two new faces. “You might want to clean that up before you follow us back.”
It probably wasn’t safe for them to follow us, either. After all, even though it was suicide to listen to their mission, they were still failing it. It was always a catch-22 with Marcus. There was never a way to win.
The only way you could ever try was to have his attention, to prove that you were a better asset alive than dead.
To prove you were worthy.
I could show him I was worthy. I’d been avoiding it, avoiding him, but this situation brought it to clarity.
I had to do this.
When the car door closed behind me and Rhys crawled in, he flicked a quick glance my way. “You know, when Nick told us we were coming to get a runaway rat, he didn’t mention that rat was with you.”
Rat. The word still stung in my chest. The whole situation made something inside me feel like it was on fire, but I wasn’t going to think too hard about it. Even though I liked Rhys, I wasn’t sure I trusted him.
I wasn’t sure if I trusted anyone.
“I didn’t either.” I finally answered, which was truth enough. I knew Clay was keeping something from me, but I’d never imagined it was something like this.
“Well, you know the best thing you could do is walk into that room and put a bullet through the man’s head to show Marcus you didn’t realize. He won’t be happy about it, but…” Rhys trailed off, and I felt the muscles in my jaw twitch. Yeah, that would be the best thing I could do — it would show I was loyal, show I’d never meant to betray the family. It would show that I really had just been thinking with my dick and not with some malicious intent to bring down the entire Holden name.
“You’re right.” I could give that answer, too. Rhys flicked his gaze to me again for just a second before he pulled the car out of the parking lot.
“I’m sorry it has to be this way. I know you wouldn’t have brought him here if —”
“It’s fine. I just wasn’t thinking clearly.” I took a shaking breath and let my thumb brush across the barrel of the gun I held. “I am now.”
Rhys’ eyes were still full of pity when he turned them back to the road.
Chapter 17
Clay
Iwas suddenly back where I’d started — in an enclosed space with Nick, who was looking at me like I was something to eat. This time, though, there was real danger in his eyes. I didn’t think it was from him — he probably just knew what Marcus Holden had planned.
I’d heard stories about what the man did to people who crossed him — I’d seen what he’d done to the man he called his son. I was under no illusion that I could easily talk my way out of the situation. Instead, I needed to figure out as much information as I could, as quickly as I could. I wanted to know how they knew about me. I was confident I hadn’t blown my cover, so…
“I don’t suppose you’d let me make a phone call?” I tried to keep my voice charming and was rewarded with the sensation of a gun pressing beneath my chin. The feel of the metal made my entire body clench, muscles seizing, and my heart suddenly accelerated to the point that I felt faint.
There was no reason for it — it was just an idle threat, I knew that. Nick wasn’t going to do anything to me while he was on a fetch-and-retrieve mission. He wouldn’t risk making his boss angry.
So why did the gun digging into my skin make me want to vomit? To pull away? To risk setting him off just to make him move it?
“I don’t think so, pretty boy. You’ve been able to talk your way out of a lot of shit, Clay, but you aren’t getting out of this.”
Okay, so I probably wouldn’t be able to call in backup. I’d broken my phone, so they wouldn’t be able to track me. I was pretty sure my chip was set to unscramble any time now, so if I could keep myself alive long enough for that, maybe they’d realize I was in danger.
Maybe they’d think I was running off somewhere new with Jayce. Either way, they’d come after me.
I just had to do what I did best and smile in the face of death.
“I mean, I’m very good at talking. You aren’t wrong — but I’m usually pretty careful with my words. So,” I tried to tilt my head, and felt some of the pressure lift from my chest when it moved the gun from my skin. “Do you want to tell me how you figured out who I was?” I put the emphasis on giving him credit. Nick struck me as the kind of guy who’d take it if he could, wherever he could. “How were you so clever?”
And I could see it, the way he teetered back and forth in his seat like he wanted to brag — I could see the flash of a lie in his eyes, and I wanted to smack him across the face. Lying wouldn’t get me the information I needed, at least not an outright one.
