I rose from the chair, taking a few steps forward. I knew who the first one was straight away. Jack. My jaw clenched, and I cracked my knuckles. He was Jason’s right-hand man. He wasn’t in London with him, so I never got the chance to make him suffer. I felt a tightness in my chest as my heart ached, thinking about Aria and everything she had gone through.
My eyes darted to the next man. Daniel. He was one of Jason’s as well. They’d worked closely together. The other two I hadn’t met before, but if I were to take a wild guess, they were probably Jason’s as well.
I looked back towards Callum, my eyes burning into him. Why did he bring these men here?
He rose and stood next to me. “My gift to you. I’ve spent the last four months clearing out Jason’s men for what he did to Aria. I wasn’t going to allow any of them to get away with it. These four, well, they were the worst ones.” He paused for a moment. “Do you know what they did to her?”
Aria had told me a lot about what had happened to her in Leeds, but I knew she’d never told me everything. I think she felt ashamed that she’d allowed it to happen. She didn’t need to feel that way at all. None of it was her fault.
He strolled over to one of the men I didn’t know. “This is Dane.” Callum kicked him in the stomach, causing him to hunch over as a muffled grunt came from his taped mouth. “This fucker turned a blind eye when Jason laid his hands on her.”
My jaw tightened. Callum walked over to the next man and grabbed him by his hair, pulling his face up.
“This is Jacob.” Sweat dripped down his forehead as fear ran through his eyes. “Aria ran away once. Did you know that?” Callum looked over at me. “It was at the beginning of her time in Leeds. She didn’t get far, because this piece of shit made out that he was going to keep her safe.” Callum punched him straight in the nose, and blood started to pour out. “He didn’t. He’d set her up to toy with her, knowing full well what Jason would do to her.”
I swallowed hard, trying to push down that rage that was festering in my stomach.
“You know Daniel,” Callum said as he reached him. “He used to make things up about Aria and tell Jason she’d done things she hadn’t to get him angry with her.” Callum kicked his face, and he let out a muffled cry.
Acid swirled in my stomach as that rage of fog started to roll through my body.
She’d never told me any of this. I didn’t expect her to tell me every single detail, but I wish I’d known.
“And then there’s Jack. The worst of the four. Jack was Jason’s right-hand man. He administered beatings when Jason told him to.”
Callum took a step back, glancing back at me. “And all four of them.” He paused for a beat. “They all stayed there and watched as Jason forced himself on her.”
My breathing started to quicken as that fog fully took over my mind. I was going to kill him. All of them. My sweet Nyx had endured all of that for over four years. A tightness filled my chest. It felt like my heart was suffocating.
“Do it,” Callum said.
His men pulled knives and slit their throats. They tried to gasp for air, the sound of wet gargling filling the room. Blood pooled around them as one by one, their bodies slumped to the floor, lifeless.
“Now.” Callum walked back over, but my eyes were burning into those four bodies on the floor. “That was my gift to you. The worst of Jason’s men, those who hurt Aria, are now dead.” He then sat back down. “Take a seat. We’ve got business to discuss.”
Cautiously, I lowered my body back into the chair as I caught a glimpse of Logan’s face, and I knew he was feeling the same as I was about Aria.
I sat there for a moment, gathering my thoughts, then turned to face Callum. “What do you have in mind?”
“I can show you what I have to offer. Bring your arms guy. He can look everything over and see what he thinks.”
I pressed my lips together, contemplating whether this was the right thing to do. Working with him meant less conflict, and right now, I was trying to keep that side of me locked away.
“I’ll set it up for tomorrow night.”
21
Sebastian
Ipulled up outside the warehouse in Putney. It was one of Matt’s, where he kept his firearms. Callum was meant to meet us here with some of his products. He’d better make good on that, or I’d put a bullet in him straight away.
I stepped out of the car, and my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, seeing Aria’s name flash up. I stared at the screen for what felt like a lifetime before it stopped, and a text came through straight away.
Aria:
What time should I have dinner ready for?
I swiped the notification on my screen to dismiss it and placed the phone back in my pocket. I needed a clear head for this.
