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“I am so sorry,” Mick said. “I love her. Holly is like my own—”
His voice choked off as I seized his throat and slammed him against the wall.
“You put our little girl on the block,” I said. “I don’t care what reason you had. You hurt my baby girl, and I will kill you for it.”
From far away, I was vaguely conscious of Mick clawing at my hands, mouth open, eyes bulging. Through the roaring in my ears, I heard Freya and Jed, on either side of me, yelling in my ear.
Amos and Darius and Remy pried my hands loose from his throat and dragged me back, as Mick slid heavily to the ground. “You fucking traitor!”
Mick clutched his throat, gasping for breath, his eyes wet. “I know,” he ground out, wheezing desperately. “It’s true. I’m sorry. But I had to. They were hurting my—”
“She’s nine years old!” I yelled, lunging against the Drake brothers’ iron grip. “She trusted you! And Kat? You despicable, lying asshole, pinning your shit on her!”
“Yes, he’s a spy,” Freya blocked me, her hands flat against my chest. “Yes, he was their mole, and yes, he’s an asshole who deserves everything coming to him, but right now, he’s our only hope, Ethan! So don’t you dare kill him! Weneedhim!”
I struggled to pull it back, to breathe. My whole body shook with rage.
Freya stepped back, and looked down at Mick. “Get up, Mick,” she said crisply. “You’re no use to us cowering on the floor. It bugs me.”
Mick did as she directed, stumbling to his feet. He couldn’t look us in the eyes.
“You are a traitor and a shithead, but I’m sorry for your loss,” she said, her voice oddly formal. “Holly set you free, at great cost to herself. I hope you’re grateful.”
Mick nodded, his eyes downcast. “I am,” he muttered. “I wish I could make you understand how sorry I am.”
“We really don’t care, Mick,” Freya said. “We have more important things to think about than your feelings. And so far, you’ve definitely put yourself first.”
His face contracted. “I know. And I’m so fucking sorry. It’s been torture.”
“Hmm. Really.” Freya put her hands on her hips, and swept her gaze over all of us, like the teacher about to give a tough assignment. His sister, taking charge, as she was born to do. “Thanks to Holly, we know they have lost their leverage over Mick. But they do not know that he knows. That’s the only small advantage we have. Our job now is to exploit it. So, everybody? You all need to get really fucking smart, right now.” She glanced at Mick. “If you’re still with us, of course.”
“Fuck, yes,” Mick said fervently. “Please, let me help make this right. If I can help save Holly—mmmfff!”
I slammed him against the wall by the throat again. “Get her name out of your lying traitor’s mouth,” I hissed.
Mick grunted and mewled, mouthing the wordplease.
“If at any time you need to refer to her, you can call her ‘Miss Masters,’ or ‘your niece.’” I growled. “Is that perfectly clear?”
Yes, Mick mouthed.
“Let go, Ethan,” Freya said sternly. “We don’t have time to emote. Let’s work.”
I let go and stepped back, convulsively flexing and fisting my hands. I was going to have to try not to look at him, or I would lose my shit, and tear him to shreds.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us?” Jed asked him. “We would have done anything to help you.”
Mick rubbed his reddened eyes. “I almost did,” he said hoarsely. “More times than I could count. But it was almost like Nicole could smell it on me, in the air. Just as I was working up my nerve, another video-call would come in. Jay, screaming. Every new one worse than the last. Every time, I kept thinking, I’ll just keep pretending to be compliant, keep gathering more intel until I can save Jay, and that just stretched on and on. I swear, I’m not trying to excuse myself.”
I just stared at him. “You’re not holding anything back now, right?”
“No reason to,” he said dully. “I’m all yours.”
That made me flinch. “Don’t say that, because I don’t want you, asshole. Hey. Are you wearing a listening device? Did they put anything on you? Inside your body?”
“No,” Mick said. “So far, all contact has been on the phone.”
“And how about that phone? Have they put anything in it? Do they listen to us? Have you planted anything here?”
