Page 33 of Bought By Santa

When my gaze lands on Ruby, she begrudgingly nods. “I’ll take good care of your sister. At least for as long as you take care of my brother.” The warning in her tone is so badly masked I wonder how Will isn’t hearing it.

Her brother? Ah, shit… now that she’s said that, I can see the familial resemblance in the eyes, chin, and… aura.

“Wait what?” Will asks. “Caro, do you know Ruby’s brother?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I do,” I admit. “Look, I’ll tell you about it another day. But for now, the two of you should hit the ice.”

We say our goodbyes, and as soon as I’ve ended the call, I fly up from the couch. “Nicklas!” I shout, not giving two shits who might hear me as I stomp toward the door he disappeared out of.

Gah, this place is so big I’ll need a freaking map to navigate it. After opening the third door without finding him, I hear a pained scream. My blood runs cold and I consider turning back, but since I’ve clearly not learned my damn lesson about curiosity even after being in the alley that led me to Nicklas, I go to push open the next door, but before I can even touch the handle, someone grabs my shoulder and spins me around.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Chapter 13

The Santa

The screams echo through my torture room, a cacophony that usually blends into the background of my world. But not today. Today, each cry stokes the fire in my gut, a fury ignited by the thought of someone else’s eyes on Carolina.

“Please, Mr. Knight, I didn’t mean to—I swear!” The man strapped to the chair is barely recognizable now, his face swollen and streaked with blood. I lean in close, my breath steady against his battered ear.

“You saw something you shouldn’t have,” I growl, my fingers tightening around the pliers.

“But you… you told me to watch her!”

I give him a sharp nod. “I did, and that’s the sole reason you woke up this morning.” My breathing is deep, ragged both from excitement and from wrestling him into the chair. I cup my jaw; the spot, where he got a lucky punch in, throbs. “And you repaid me by telling others what you saw.”

Rumors and hushed whispers don’t remain hushed for long in a place like this. If the damn kid had just kept his mouth shut about what he saw, I wouldn’t have to kill him. Send him away, probably. But I’d let him live as a favor to Marco.

“P-please,” he cries, squeezing his eyes shut. “I don’t want to die.”

He shudders, and when I look down, there’s a wet patch at the front of his pants that wasn’t there a minute ago. Fucker pissed himself.

“Then you should have kept your mouth shut,” I say, my tone completely devoid of sympathy. “You knew she wasn’t there for your pleasure, yet you looked at hers. You looked at the mother of my heir.Myhellcat. Mine.Not yours.M.I.N.E!” I roar out the last part, losing myself in the maddening anger.

He whimpers, a sound that grates against my nerves. My grip doesn’t falter as I yank another nail free, his howl filling the space between us. It’s a warning to others, a testament to my wrath.

Suddenly, the door bursts open, and Marco joins us. He doesn’t even glance at the mess I’ve made of his nephew. What can I say; he’s loyal, and he knows the kid fucked up yesterday.

“What is it?” I snap, locking eyes with Marco.

“Found Carolina snooping around,” he drawls. “She was trying to find you.”

I let out an audible sigh. “Damn her curiosity,” I curse. “Did she hear or see anything?”

Marco inclines his head slightly. “Heard a scream. But other than that, nothing. I took her back to the kitchen where the staff is keeping an eye on her.”

Despite wanting to take my time with this guy, I pick up my knife and, in a quick, fluent motion, I slice his neck open. His scream immediately turns garbled. Panic’s written all over his face as he claws at his neck, uselessly trying to stifle the blood flowing from the cut.

“I’ll get someone to clean this up,” I say. I might be a bastard, but I’m not so cold as to expect Marco to do it.

Ever loyal, he says, “I’ll take care of it. I brought him in and vouched for him. With all due respect, this is my mess.” His tone is grave, and I know it’s because he feels like he’s failed me rather than the loss he should feel.

I clasp his arm. “This isn’t your fault, Marco. And I don’t blame you in the slightest. You’re a good man, and I don’t want you to think otherwise. Your position here is safe.”

He visibly relaxes at my words. “I’ll still take care of it since I need to come up with something to tell my sister, anyway.”

I leave Marco with a promise of paying for any expenses his family needs. Normally, I only offer this to my most loyal men when they die or get seriously injured in my service. But special circumstances call for special solutions. Marco’s worth it.

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