Page 23 of Sins that Find Us


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I turn to face her, letting a small sigh escape because there’s nothing I really can do to help her. “Trust me when I say it’s better without the lights on.”

Boldy—surprising me completely—she stands up. “Why do you sound like you know?”

“Because I do. This room and I were good friends once, so I know better than anyone how to survive it.”

“Does that mean there’s a chance I might live?”

I hold her gaze for a long moment, letting her read whatever she can from my eyes, and then I flick the switch and step out of the dark and into the dim light of the corridor. “That’s not up to me, darling.”

“Then who?” she calls as I start to close the door.

“God,” I tell her. “He’s just gotten home and heading for his throne room, but I’m sure he’ll be by to pay you a visit soon.” Then I shut the door and leave her to the mental torture of knowing that these are probably her last hours.

And by the end, she’ll probably be begging for death.

Chapter8

KANE

I’ve longsince stopped trying to make sense of the current situation I’m in. I barely had a plan before, but now that shit hit the fan and the Romano daughter is sitting in my basement, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Of course, I don’t let on that’s the case. It’s possible the boys can read it off me—especially Phoenix, who has always been good at knowing what’s on my mind without having to say a word. But they let me sit with it in silence.

Or, they mostly let me sit with it.

Ari’s pissed, and he’s been sending me passive-aggressive texts all afternoon because I refused to take him with me to follow up on our little informant. I worked him over and had him talking, and then Ariel had him singing before his heart stopped, and it wasn’t much to go on, but it’s something. I had a trail, anyway, and a few contacts that are willing to follow it until they can find another informant or a source.

It looks like someone inside Romano’s circle was making a grab for her—and none of that is new or a surprise.

What I really want to know is who managed to best Phoenix’s tech because up to this moment, I didn’t think it was possible. He was a genius before he lost his sight, and after realizing that there wasn’t a chance in hell I was letting him take his own life, he threw himself into his work like it was his only reason to live.

And maybe it was.

I like to think eventually he’ll live for me—for us—but I don’t really have that kind of faith. It was cooked out of me years ago, and now all I have is power over those I want to keep close. They’re all indebted to me in some way or another. Phoenix is the only one I’ve had to hold by the metaphorical—and sometimes literal—throat. But they’re not with me because they want to be.

They’re with me because they need me as much as I need them.

In this current situation, I want to believe that James is my only weak link. He’s the only one who still gets lost in his own emotions from time to time, letting his heart dictate instead of his logic. It’s one of the most endearing things about him, and it’s great when I can get him in the sack.

But when it comes to my plans? If anyone’s going to fuck it all up, it’ll be him.

Of course, I can’t deny the temptation he’s feeling. We’ve all been watching Alice for a little too long to say that we’re not attached in some way. Phoenix knows her routine in and out, listening for hours on end as his AI drones on in his ear. Ari watches when he wants to study her, and James watches because he’s captivated.

I had reservations about letting James be in the position to make first contact with her, and it wasn’t supposed to happen so soon, but he followed protocol. They were only allowed to interfere if she was in real danger, and she was.

When I let myself think about what would have happened to her if the boys hadn’t intervened, I feel my rage climbing up my throat again, and I’m not quite sure what to do with it. This isn’t the position I’m usually in, controlling the vast empire my father left behind, and I’m lucky because no one knows we have her. Not yet, anyway. I think Aldis and Rhys are starting to suspect something’s up, but so far, they haven’t questioned me.

Pulling into the garage, I fire up the feed and first check in with Phoenix, who is unconscious from his pills that help keep his headaches at bay. Ari’s in the gym working out his frustration. He realizes I’m watching when the light on the camera goes red, so he smiles up at it and flips me off.

I laugh, wishing I was there to make him pay for his moment of insolence, but I also wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ll never be able to look at him and not see the broken boy in the bed realizing what Guido’s mistress had done was permanent, but I’ll never be able to look at him and not see the man hell-bent on revenge.

It’s probably why he’s keeping away from Alice. He doesn’t want to risk a moment of weakness when he’s finally allowed to get his retribution owed to him a thousand times over.

But James—my sweet James—he’s the first one to crack, and I’m not surprised. I watch him as he moves into the kitchen, working expertly with his single hand as he puts together food for Alice and then takes it to her.

I watch him sit and stare at her. I listen to him speak—the soft lilt of his English accent that has never gone away. I watch her watch him, assessing the level of danger she’s in and the trust starting to form because he’s kind.

I watch as he leaves her in the dark, but instead of following his path through the house, I listen to Alice cry instead.

She doesn’t wail, like most would in her situation—like grown men have done when they find themselves in my basement. She doesn’t scream or beg or try to bargain. She just lies there and quietly moves through hiccupping sobs until she exhausts herself and falls asleep.

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