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Gianni stole my phone and began panic-scrolling before hopping off the couch and running to the kitchen. “Yo, Owen at 7 and the company at 8. Something’s wrong. I think we need to prepare for the worst.” My mind shot into overdrive as I reached for my laptop and began typing away to finish the second program. We were definitely going to need it. It was also one of the easiest ways for me not to panic. Numbers made sense to me. The world didn’t. “Hey, Rhys, what-”
“I don’t understand all the super secret stuff you guys do but I can do this. I can have them prepared and then whatever else happens-” I took a deep breath, trying not to think about what could happen if things went south.
Gianni leaned over the couch and dragged me close for a kiss. “Whatever else happens, we got you.”
Chapter forty-five
RHYS
We had to play this absolutely right, like perfectly, like more perfect than justperfect.Owen was due any moment, Paval locked up in his room—a room that Dmitri assured me was triple locked and barricaded with extra security that would make the government drool over. Even with that information and Dmitri wrapped around me, trying to soothe the panic in my chest, I couldn’t help but think we were walking into some kind of trap.
Wehadto be.
It couldn’t be this easy.
The door swung open, Owen strolling in, his lips curved up in an amused smile, eyes falling immediately on my trembling form. “I guess you really weren’t joking about shacking up with the handymen, eh? And in the end, it didn’t help you, did it?” I refrained from saying that I had kept them around to protect me fromhimbecause I knew that that would start a fight I didn’t want to have. “Now, give it up. I don’t have all day.”
He sounded as desperate as he had on the phone, looking even worse than when we had left last night. His face was heavily bruised, as were his wrists and he seemed to be walking with a limp—something I knew Gianni hadn’t done.
“Rhys,the formula.” His eyes darted backward as Valentyn shut the door behind him. He approached me and I visibly flinched but didn’t move from my spot. I was going to stay right here and stand my ground for once. Being held by Dmitri was definitely helping but I was kind of done hiding from my problems and as terrified of Owen as I was, I could do this.
Probably.
Hopefully.
He wiggled his fingers in front of me as I dropped the USB disk in his hand. He grinned and immediately shoved it in his pocket. “What about one last kiss for good luck? I’ll make it good, maybe even remind you that you were also better off with me.”
I had no idea how he could be so fucking delusional. Anger welled up inside of me as my fists curled at my side, the desire to make Owen choke on those words growing. He had caused me so much pain and fear over the past year that I wanted to make him feel every shred of emotion that I had experienced. “If you think for even a fucking second that I would entertain touching you again, you’re wrong. Besides, you’re fucking my sister.” I still couldn’t understand how she had married Ernest, butOwen? I wondered who had been brainwashed—Ada or Owen—to let that relationship happen.
He cackled and then winced, rubbing a bruise on his cheek. “I don’t understand why I get all the hate when you fucking love Tia.”
Dread flooded my features as I realized that Owen and Ada’s ‘tryst’ went way farther back than the first night I introduced him to the family. Which meant that Ada had known himwaylonger than I had. I hated it. I hated how he had weaseled his slimy ass into my family but I hated it more that Ada hadn’t said anything when I brought him home.
I could have avoided so much heartache.
Owen leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. “She’s a lovely gal. Knew her all through college although she can be a royal pain in the ass and super strict.” I still didn’t understand how everything was connected. I could have done without this tidbit of information. So deep into my head, I only saw Owen reaching for me out of the corner of my eye and instead of dealing with it like a man, I screamed.
Full on, bitch ass screamed.
Valentyn cut off the connection before it ever transpired, catching him in a headlock. Gianni was at my side and Dmitri had dragged me behind him as if Owen was actually a threat to their triple god formation. Valentyn’s grin was a twisted bit of darkness that made me uneasy but also fucking ecstatic that that man was mine. “I told you to try one more time, Owen.” His voice sent shivers down my spine, the threat making me glad that it wasn’t aimed at me.
Owen let out a nervous laugh as he unsuccessfully tried to pry himself out of Valentyn’s grip. “Hawk International is going to come after you if you kill me!”
Valentyn growled at him and I took a step back, eyes wide. “You shouldn’t have touched what was mine.” He turned to me next, squeezing Owen’s windpipe just a little tighter until the man was choking for air. “Sweetheart, I’m not going to apologize for what’s about to happen. We are not saints. We’re not even your guardian angels. We’ll be your demons if you let us but Owen will suffer tonight, mark my words.”
The promise in his words warmed my soul in a way that definitely made me every bit as sick and twisted as my men. My gaze dropped to my ex-boyfriend pleading to be let go, tears streaming down his bruised cheeks as he squirmed and fought for air. I didn’t even understand what was going through my head as I uttered the next words and if Owen hadn’t been here, I was pretty sure Valentyn would’ve bent me over and fucked me right there. “Can I watch?”
The collective groan between my men was full of way more heat than should have been okay for what was about to happen.
Chapter forty-six
GIANNI
I was waiting for Rhys to fall apart as he pressed himself against the basement wall, his eyes glued to the morbid scene in front of him. He knew that our work was on the less-than-legal side of the law but we hadn’t really told him about the darker parts, the ways we used to extract information out of people. Most didn’t walk out of our basement. We had proper disposal procedures but never once did I think we were going to reveal this part of our life to Rhys.
Things were tangling much faster than I was comfortable with.
It didn’t help that I was supposed to be the playful one, not the one who enjoyed the toys and agonized screams of those we had to drag information out of. I had been chomping at the bit to inflict pain on Owen but I was pretty sure this would break us.
