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“You saw what Simon did to him.” Zoe touched Ian’s throat, though he gripped her hand and pulled it away. As if he didn’t want her comfort.
But he didn’t let her go.
No, of course not. He wasn’t alone right now, but Simon was.
“What he did to him wasn’t nearly enough.” Nicky stalked closer to Simon, saying nothing but standing at his side.
Not alone. Just not with Margo, and anything else felt like being surrounded by dirt falling into a gaping hole.
Before anyone could explain how the fuck Nicky and Zoe knew what had happened in this room before they’d even arrived, Lila stepped inside and shut the door.
Normally, Donovan’s right-hand woman was unflappable. Her face was most often an emotionless mask.
Now? She appeared pale. Stricken.
Just as he was.
When her eyes met Simon’s, hers overflowed. He didn’t push her away when she hurried forward to wrap her arms around him, even if he wasn’t capable of hugging her back.
Lila loved Margo too.
“We’ll get her back. I promise you that.” Lila reached for his hand with one hand and Nick’s with the other. “We’re family. Family doesn’t let each other down.”
Simon said nothing. He didn’t have words left. It was as if he’d closed off his own windpipe when he’d nearly strangled the life out of his brother.
Lila turned to look at Zoe and Ian. Ian was staring down at the floor, his hand still wrapped around Zoe’s. She had her eyes closed.
“Family, Zoe,” Lila said. “Pick wisely.”
Zoe’s eyes flashed open. “How am I supposed to pick when I still don’t know what the fuck is going on?”
“Why don’t you ask your man that? Oh, that’s right. He can’t talk right now.” Lila crossed her arms. “Maybe he could write us a note.”
Ian’s pose never changed. Eyes cast down at the floor, hand wrapped securely around Zoe’s.
“You clearly know. So why don’t you explain why I woke up to my place surrounded by big dudes with guns? I figured some bad shit had gone down, but no, they were there for me. Me.” Zoe let out an unsteady laugh. “Next thing I know, I was being ushered into an armored truck. I was brought here and locked in a room here like a prisoner. Then you and Nick came, and I finally got to see Ian—on a screen in this goddamn room. No explanations. Nothing to even tell me if he was still alive until that point. And then he nearly kills him.” She pointed at Simon.
“Nearly was the mistake,” Nicky muttered.
“I wish we could’ve finished getting what he knows out of him before you rendered him mute, but I think Donovan did well in that regard. He sung like a canary when it came to Zoe being in danger.” Lila released Simon and walked over to Ian, poking a finger in his chest. “Wrong woman though, hmm? Too little, too fucking late.”
“Tell me what happened. Please.” Zoe finally stepped away from Ian to stare at Lila. “Don’t make me guess. Not now.”
“Tell all of us,” Nicky said quietly, sliding a glance at Simon.
He felt the weight of his best friend’s stare, but he couldn’t return the look. He didn’t have the energy left.
It was as if everything inside him was going numb. Shutting down like circuits on a board. This sector closed down. That sector offline. One by one turning off until he was just a shell.
“I’ll tell it.” Ian’s voice was low and gravelly, and he immediately started to cough. No one moved to help, so he went to the drink cart in the corner and splashed something from a decanter into a glass and knocked it back.
“Let’s sit.” Lila nodded at Nick and Zoe, who both glanced at Simon.
Simon shook his head, and for once in her life, Lila didn’t push.
“I got in some trouble a few years ago.” Ian gazed down into his empty glass. “I robbed a bank with some other men. We were caught. Jailed. I was looking at a certain term behind bars.”
Nicky’s sound of disgust echoed like a gunshot. “Why I am not surprised? Fucking punk.”
