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“I can’t go with him,” Lucille tells Aldrick as if he has the power to stop this. Not even I have so much power because if I did, I would. There is no longer any doubt in my mind I would stop her being taken. Falcon was right, I’m fucked.
“We will fix this,” I tell her before looking at Aldrick who only smiles. “Can you send us all the information you have on Volkov?”
“I can. I’ll get it done before the night is over. The only thing I want to say is to be careful because these men are no longer playing around. When Mahoney got taken in, they lost their influx of stock,” he tells me, using the word stock as if he were talking about shares or possessions. He’s talking about the children Lucille’s father was stealing.
‘Don’t worry,” I tell him. “This bastard will never see the light of day again. When we find him, he will beg for mercy.”
“You don’t know what the word means. Do you, Crow?” Aldrick smirks as he regards me. He’s known me far too long for me to even try to deny it.
I shake my head slowly, glancing between both Lucille and Aldrick. “No, there will never be mercy for the men who have spent their lives thinking they can hurt without consequence.”
There’s a small smile on Lucille’s face which makes me want to hold her. She grew up with a monster. I blamed her, as well as her father for the pain we’d been through, but she was a victim as much as we were. As much as my parents, my brothers were.
“Be careful,” Aldrick tells me before he shakes my hand and leaves both me and Lucille behind. The chill in the air causes her to shiver, and as much as I want to, I can’t even offer her my coat because it will be seen as a sign of weakness.
These men will do anything to break a woman. They will bask in the glory of watching blood and tears drip from her body. I may enjoy the control, I may be slightly demented in my needs, but there are limits. I will never admit to them publicly.
“Thank you,” Lucille says suddenly, capturing my attention. “For everything.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I tell her, shrugging off the way she looks at me. “I don’t deserve thanks for anything.” There is no doubt in my mind she cares for me, Falcon, and Hawk. We’ve not entirely been loving and affectionate toward her.
“You’ve given me a life to be unashamed about,” she tells me as those golden eyes lock on mine. I never expected a woman to ever look at me the way she is right now. But more so, I never wanted it before. Never craved the attention of someone like her. She’s light. She seems to illuminate the darkest fucking night.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I tell her adamantly. I keep my tone schooled, icy, like she’s used to, but I have a feeling this woman has already seen through it all. I didn’t want anyone to know I felt something for her.
But Falcon knew.
Hawk saw it coming a mile away.
Yet, I still fight it, even in this moment.
“Why do you do that?” Lucille questions, her voice soft and gentle as it washes over me as if offering me salvation.
“What?”
“You hide behind a mask,” she tells me as if she’s reading my fucking mind. “Even though you want me, you push it to the side and act as if I’m nothing more than a distraction to you.”
“You are,” I tell her earnestly. Even if I did feel anything for her, she’s distracting me from work. If I were here with a paid whore, I would have left her to get ravaged by violent men while I did what I needed to—work. Instead, I’m here with Lucille making sure nobody touches her.
“But you still hate me?” The question she throws at me is so innocent, so fucking sweet, I want to choke it out of her. I want to snuff the light from those golden eyes and turn them black as night. I’ve never wanted to destroy and protect anyone as much as I do her.
“Don’t confuse my need for answers, my need to kill your father for my lust for you.” I turn to her, hoping she’ll listen because I will not say this again.
I’m about to voice my feelings when a hand slaps my shoulder so hard, I almost shift. The heavy touch sets me on edge I don’t like people—other than my brothers or Lucille—touching me.
I spin on my heel and find a man I’ve never seen. He’s watching Lucille with more intent than I care to enjoy. He should walk away, but I have a feeling he’s not going to. He stops in front of us, his cigarette hanging from his lips as his gaze tracks her from head to toe.
