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“It’s us or them.”
“You were the one who ruined everything,” Daire said. “You destroyed this.”
“For Olympus.”
“No, not for Olympus. For your pride,” Daire said, starch in his spine. “Admit it. You did what you did because you wanted to win. You wanted to take him down.”
“We can argue this from now ‘til forever, but we can’t do it here. We’ve waited too long. If anyone else got your marker…”
“Z won’t come back unless he’s desperate. If he’s desperate, he’s ripe to take down.”
“So you wanna wait? See if you’re right?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, because you could never resist a mission,” H said, grabbing his gun and striding on past Daire.
Tess scrambled out of the way so H could open the door. He checked up and down the corridor before exiting. Daire wasn’t slow to follow. She couldn’t think, couldn’t focus, couldn’t figure out what to do. Neither of the men could be trusted. The danger could be closer than ever.
Daire paused by the door. They stood there next to each other, facing opposite ways. “Where would you go?” he asked like he could read her mind. “You can hate me and resent your father, but, truth is, we’re the only option you’ve got.”
H stuck his head back in. “What’s the fucking hold up?”
“Nothing,” Daire said. “She’s coming.” He looked at her. “Right?”
Tess wasn’t sure who she hated or resented. Getting away from that place seemed like a damn good idea. Given both men had guns, they could’ve killed her already if that was their aim.
Her head was full of questions, but she wasn’t ready to let them loose.
Nodding once, she exited to follow H on the route Daire had brought her. Daire. He wasn’t the man who’d accompanied her into the building. Her Danny, the man she’d been infatuated with, was gone. She’d lost her mother. To lose someone else so soon was painful; too much for her heavy heart.
Still, what was she going to do? Lay down and die? No. Carrying on was the only option. Alone would mean drawing a line under the Danny chapter and never thinking about it again. Except he was right. She had nowhere else to go.
These two men, whoever they truly were, had answers. Answers that she needed. Her mom hadn’t told her the whole truth, and this was her chance to find out. Her only chance. She’d vowed that she would tackle the danger head on, to rid herself of its specter. Before Tess could do that, she needed to learn absolutely everything about it.
TWENTY-THREE
WHEN THE TRUCK STOPPED, getting out was automatic. Anything was preferable to the oppressive atmosphere in the vehicle. No music. No conversation. Daire was nothing like Danny. That much was becoming painfully obvious. Even his posture in the driving seat was different. Rigid, both hands tight around the wheel, it was… professional.
Being in the backseat was new too. H, Hades, Harry, whoever he was, sat in her place in the front, as starched as the man in the seat next to him.
The other two truck doors closed around the same time as hers. In her haste to get away from the vehicle, she didn’t think about what lay ahead. The trailer. She stopped. H and Daire continued past her, striding on with purpose and determination.
The Beast had been her home for a month. Except everything was a lie. Damn, she was an idiot. Hoodwinking her had been so easy that she deserved to be duped. He’d convinced her he was safe without her ever once questioning his nature. Why would she? Maybe ‘cause her mother taught her better than that? Goddamnit.
Recalling the things she’d said, the things they’d done… Internalizing her embarrassment didn’t contain her cringe. Her seduction. She’d knocked on his door and showed him a condom. Really? Had she done that? She went to him. He didn’t pursue her. That was how he’d got in under the radar.
People insinuating themselves into her life, her mother told her to be wary of that. But Tess put herself in Danny’s life, assuming he was benign. She’d suspected Patrick and gone home to Danny! Though anything was possible. The two of them may have been working together. Maybe her whole life had been a con.
“Problem?”
The two men were standing at the front of the trailer, waiting for her. Waiting. She didn’t want to go with them into her and Danny’s claustrophobic space. They’d shared everything in there… including their naked bodies. She’d called out for him, praised him, climaxed under him over and over. All the time, he’d never existed.
Giving her humiliation voice would intensify the mortification. What was her alternative to following them? Running into the woods at sunset? It would be dark soon. They’d left later than she’d hoped. They’d delayed to have dinner… to have sex… Her eyes closed. He’d known what they’d find in that building, who they’d find, that his betrayal would be revealed. No wonder he’d postponed their departure to have sex with her. One last hurrah…
The man with the gun. The one who’d set her up as a human shield… she’d had sex with him. That same guy wasn’t giving her the time of day anymore. Just a couple of hours ago, he’d been inside her. Now he was a stranger.
Had she been so desperate not to be alone? So desperate that she’d clung to the first sign of affection? It was maybe only the physical kind, but something was better than nothing. Apparently. Danny was everything she’d needed. Somehow, he’d known exactly how to play her. She couldn’t deny falling for the ploy, hook, line, and sinker.
