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Torian
She lets me guide her from the car and onto the jetty, the jacket huddled close around her chest.
I keep a hand on the low of her back, the touch soft but just as easily construed as threatening if any of my father’s vultures are watching. We need to maintain the pretense of her being my captive, which shouldn’t be hard when she’s as edgy as a beaten snake.
“Are we riding with Amar?” Luca shadows Anissa from the other side. “His boat is still docked.”
I nod. “I want the quickest option.”
If he didn’t have a duffel full of suspect items like bleach, explosives, and wireless detonators back at the house, maybe we could cut and run without this additional trip. Unfortunately, I know how thorough my father will be once I’m gone.
His men will snoop and I don’t want to give them more ammo to build their suspicions. Returning to finish this will be hard enough already.
“Shit.” Nissa stubs her toe on an unlevelled board and stumbles forward, her jacket billowing open.
“I’ve got you.” I grab her with both arms and haul her upright, positioning myself in front of her to cover her exposed body. “We’re almost there.” I hike a thumb over my shoulder toward the boat a few yards ahead. “It won’t be long, and we’ll be out of here.”
She cinches the clothing back around her waist and glances in the direction I pointed, her eyes widening.
“That’s the boat?” Her gaze cuts to mine, her pupils dilated.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t go on that thing.” She jostles her arms from my grip and steps back. “Not again.”
Again?
A rumble of a storm builds inside me, dark and thunderous.
“That’s how you got here?” I keep my voice low. “You came on Amar’s boat?”
She returns her focus over my shoulder, her skin losing the slight tinge of color she only just started to regain as she stares for long moments.
“Anissa?” Luca steps in beside me, facing her head on. “You need to tell us if it was him.”
“I don’t know who Amar is. But if he’s an old Greek piece of shit who delights in the suffering of women, then yes, that’s him.” She sucks in a deep shuddering breath. “He drove Robert out to get me.”
I’ll slaughter him.
I’ll slit the motherfucker’s throat and watch the shark frenzy when I throw him overboard.
“I’ll find us another boat.” Luca turns in a slow circle, searching our surroundings. “We can—”
“No.” I lean toward her until her gaze meets mine. “We’re taking Amar’s boat.”
She blinks at me, confusion and fear accompanying every bat of her lashes.
“It’s okay.” I return my hand to her back, gently coaxing her forward. “We’re going to use this as an opportunity.”
“For what?” She frowns. “I don’t want to go anywhere near him.”
“We’re going to get you some closure.”
“Let’s be honest,” Luca drawls. “Revenge is a more accurate description.”
Her eyes flare. Her lips part. She stands there for long moments, seeming lost in an internal struggle that keeps the blood drained from her face. All her features become brighter against her ivory skin. Those green irises are more luminous. Her lips are deep red and fucking inviting.
“No.” She hugs her arms around her waist. “I can’t.”
“Can’t?” A vicious bite laces my words. That asshole is just as responsible for her injuries as Robert. They both deserve death. “Why not?”
“We need to leave it to the authorities.” She raises her chin, her determination returning. “I won’t be a part of this.”
I itch to shake some sense into her. To grasp her shoulders and rattle that deluded brain of hers.
But she’s so fucking fragile.
The woman is glass. One sudden move and she’ll shatter.
“What are the local cops going to do?” Luca grates. “And how the fuck do you think you’re going to get anywhere near a station to make a statement? If Luther sees you—”
“This is the way we do things.” I cut him off, not wanting her spooked by any more threats about my father. “This is our justice system.”
She stares back at me with pleading eyes, her internal struggle loud and clear.
Our lack of similarities has never been more apparent. We’re worlds apart. Polar opposites.
I’ve always refused to be shoved into one of her perfectly judged boxes, but when it comes down to it, she’s the good and I’m the bad.
She’s the light to my dark.
And no matter how much I wish I could give her common ground to cling to, I can’t turn my back on giving Amar at least a taste of what he deserves.
She shakes her head. “This isn’t me. I won’t be responsible. I can’t.”
“You don’t need to do anything.” I lean closer so it’s just the two of us. “This is my score to settle.”
I know she’s battling demons. Fighting her nightmares. All while she stands there blinking back at me.
“He’s going to be punished regardless,” Luca murmurs. “At least if you’re here the retaliation will be restrained.”
That’s true.
If she wasn’t with me I’d take my time torturing him. He’d lose fingers and toes. Maybe even his tongue. And he’d deserve it. But I can’t do that now. Not with her judgment and disapproval smothering me.
I won’t add to her torment.
“What will you do?” Her question is an accusation. “How far will you take this?”
After everything she’s been through, she still sees me as the bad guy. It’s who I am to her. It’s who I’ll always be.
A fucking villain.
“How ’bout I go easy on him? Just for you.” I don’t wait for an answer. My admission of leniency is bad enough without coddling her any more. I grab the crook of her arm and lead her forward, my gaze turning to Luca. “Go ahead and tell him we want to leave. Make sure he knows we’re in a hurry.”
“I’m on it.” He jogs ahead.
“Cole…” Anissa grows taut beneath my touch, the tension growing tighter the closer we get. “I can’t do this. I feel…” She splays a hand over her jacket-covered stomach. “It’s wrong… I shouldn’t… My job…”
“Sorry, little fox. I’m not giving you a choice. He needs to pay.”
She stares at me. Stares and stares and fucking stares as she drags her feet as slowly as possible. “I…”
“What? Get it out of your system.”
She sighs. “Do you enjoy it? Are you hungry for it?”
Again, she’s making me into a monster when all I want to be is her savior. She refuses to understand how the justice system needs to be different in the underworld. We dance to a different rhythm. Sing to our own fucking tune.
“I know you like to believe I’m the devil, Niss, but taking action is a fucking necessity, not the highlight of my day.” It’s a lie. One I hope she doesn’t see for the blatant mistruth it is.
Hurting Amar will be the pi
“That’s not what I was implying.” She winces. “Revenge can cloud your judgment and—”
“I’m not clouded. Not in the slightest. Nobody steals from me, Nissa. Not if they want to live to tell the tale.”
We approach the boat where Amar stands behind the wheel, revving the engine to life.
I feel the moment she sights him. Her body revolts. Her breathing quickens.
“You’re safe.” I glide my hand to her wrist. “He’s not going to do anything to you.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about. I’m just…” She sighs. “I’m strung out on adrenaline and can’t think straight.”
“Keep quiet, and you’ll be fine.”
“I know. I won’t say another word.” She lowers her gaze as I drag her onto the boat. The closer we get to her tormentor, the more she huddles into herself, bowing her head. It’s fucking torture to watch her suffer from his toxic presence.