With a ruthless smile on my face, I set my hands on either side of her and lean closer. Too close for her comfort, but close enough to scare her even more. A shudder runs through her, and when I press my finger to the edge of her neck, her pulse gallops. I can almost see the blood racing through her veins, fueled by fright.
Her creamy, porcelain skin hides nothing, not what she wants to hide anyway. It can’t hide that she’s scared and—aroused.
The possibility widens my smile, and I have to remind myself of what she is.
“So pretty. I’d hate to have to hurt you, Babydoll.”
“Men like you always hurt. You’re heartless and cold.”
She’s not wrong, but it’s the way she looks as she speaks that gets me. It’s clear she’s speaking from experience and there’s a lost look in her eyes that tells so much more.
I move even closer, so close my nose brushes against hers.
“You will stay here, Babydoll, and shut the fuck up until I get back. Then we’ll talk.”
The fire and will to fight inside her waivers.
I back away and walk out, locking the door behind me.
Eagerly, I pull out my phone and see the message from Aiden.
It says:
Dominic got footage of Robert. Meet us at D’Agostinos Inc.
My God.
Dominic actually found the footage.
Dominic is like me. We both went to M.I.T. and have off-the-charts intelligence.
He’s been in Brazil for the last few days helping Alejandro track someone.
And he found footage of Robert?
I knew my membership in the Syndicate, and asking for Aiden’s help, meant getting assistance from the members and their allies. I just never expected my quest to become Syndicate business. But it looks like it has.
That means I was right; Robert is involved in something big.
Rage pulses through me, and I leave, giving my men the order to watch Summer.
I jump on my motorcycle and ride hard like the mad man I am.
There’s a fine line between sanity and madness.
I crossed that line so long ago I can’t remember when it happened.
I’ve heard it said before that damaged people are the strongest because they know how to survive. However, no one ever truly thinks about what a person went through as they broke.
Everyone breaks differently, and not everyone can be fixed.
I can’t.
I know I can’t. I knew it as the fibers of humanity unraveled from my being, and I became the heartless monster I am today.