Page 104 of Passion and Payback

“I prefer talking about serious things when I can see people’s faces,” Callum said in that same buttery voice that, even now, I had to admit was a good voice. It did all the heavy lifting of concealing the vile, slimy, foul person he was underneath. “So, step around. I won’t ask again. I’ll just have someone come get you.”

I grit my teeth, knowing he had me cornered and helpless...exactly how he preferred. The thought of the knife at my back flashed through my head, but I knew there was nopoint. It was obvious he had someone to help him in this little breaking-and-entering ambush, and I’d bet they were more than capable of overpowering me or killing me before I got to him.

There was no other choice, and trying to school my face, I stepped around the corner and was met with a sight that was a mix of the familiar and the horrifying. Callum had taken one of the chairs and turned it so its back was to the window, with the asshole lounging inmychair with one ofmyglasses of liquor. I thought the worst horror was the sight of the bloodied, beaten man thrown on the floor, his hands behind his back and legs tied tightly. His eyes were open, his gaze sharp and full of anger, which probably meant he wasn’t feelingtoobad, but it still hurt to see him.

Nothing could compare to the agony that ripped through me as I finally saw the source of the smell of blood that had filled my nose in the hallway. Either tossed or left dismissively to soak in the puddle of blood too big for someone to survive was Brooke’s lifeless body. Her eyes were half-lidded, but they seemed to bore into my skull with the intensity of the living, accusing me or perhaps asking me how I could have let this happen, how I could have brought this into her life.

I knew my soft moan of pain was what Callum had been looking for when he’d brought me in to see everything without warning, but I didn’t care. She had been as good a friend to me as Kai and had always stuck by my side. She had probably come into the café early to set things up for the day before I woke up, something she did on occasion when she thought I needed a break.

“You monster,” I said in a weak voice as I stared into her dull eyes. “She has kids.”

“And I had friends,” Callum said smoothly, sipping his drink. “And then you decided to go on this little crusade of yours, and suddenly, I no longer have those friends.”

The horror was ripped out of me for a moment. The grief would come later as I turned to stare at him, only then realizing he was flanked by two men in masks and some very impressive and scary-looking guns. “If it weren’t for you and yourfriends, then we wouldn’t be here at all!”

“You know, you struck me as someone with a decent amount of brains,” he said, watching me as he slowly tilted his head, making a strand of his blond hair fall over his forehead. “Then again, as you proved that night and in the past month, you do not possess much sense. Did you honestly expect to get through this without someone figuring out it was you and what you were doing?”

“It’s been a couple of years,” I said, glancing down at Kai and realizing his silence came from a gag shoved in his mouth. I had no idea how they’d managed to get in here and get the jump on Kai or how I hadn’t heard a thing but the idea was terrifying. “I figured Lucas and I wouldn’t be your last targets. Twisted fuckers like you and the dead trio never stop when they should.”

His eyes flashed at the dismissive mention of his friends, but the smile never left his face. “As I said, lacking in sense, but not in brains, which is rather a shame. I thought we’d managed to teach you a lesson.”

“You need only go to your friend’s graves to see what lesson I learned,” I told him, not caring I was goading the man in charge of two armed men capable of taking Kai down without so much as a peep to wake me up. What mattered was the evil bastard with the handsome face of the boy next door sitting in front of me and what he’d done. “And the four of you taught me just a little too well, I guess.”

“The wrong lesson,” he said after a moment, and I could see the muscle in his jaw twitch before it stilled after he took another drink.

“And which lesson should I have learned?” I asked scathingly.

“Perhaps a little caution would have been smarter than trying to get your hands on people you had no business touching.”

“I didn’ttry,” I shot back at him with an ugly smile that probably looked more like a snarl. “In case it slipped your notice, I did get my hands on them. Though I doubt you’re worried too much about the dealer.”

The hand not holding the glass gave a little wave of its fingers as if he was gently waving off the mention. “He was a reliable supplier of anything we wanted, ensuring we got the best products at reasonable prices, including some we never had before.”

“Never had be…” I stopped, the twisting in my gut becoming a sudden wave of nausea as I remembered Damon’s tastes and the fact that it had been the dealer who had ultimately lured me in with a taste of his product. “Jesus, you don’t just mean drugs, do you? He was bringing in other guys.”

“And girls,” Callum said casually as if he wasn’t talking about raping people. “Honestly, it was a solid business venture for all parties involved. We had a guaranteed source of good product without any other connection to him, and the business he attained...along with some help on our end, meant he gained a great deal of notoriety and better deals with others.”

“You’re talking about...” I began and then stopped, shaking my head. “God, you just don’t hear yourself, do you? Or you do, and you have no concept of how absolutely and utterly fucked in the head you really are.”

He rolled his eyes, setting the glass on the table and steepling his fingers. “You really should learn to pay attention. I told you before we are men of great hunger, and I’ve never seen any reason to deny myself my dues.”

“Yourdues?” I asked in disgust. “What the fuck makes you due the ability to drug, rape, and murder people?”

He shrugged gently. “I possess the money, influence, and desire. What else is there to worry about? Anyone who doesn’t use their power to get what they want is wasting their time and doing themselves a disservice.”

“Those are people you’re talking about,” I snapped at him. “Not dolls for you to pick up and play with, throwing them away when you’re done with them.”

“They are when you’re like me,” he said with that same icy grin. “And so long as I cover my tracks appropriately, no one else needs to worry about it.”

“Except someone did worry about it,” I said, raising a brow. My heart was thundering furiously in my chest as I desperately tried to figure out a way to get out of this mess without Kai and I ending up dead. The problem was my greatest and most capable asset was currently bound on the floor and unable to help me, and Callum had two men who so far hadn’t moved or spoken which was unnerving. I didn’t know if Callum had hired from the same company Damon had, but they certainly gave me the impression that they were professionals and so far out of my league.

“Yes, it seems you did,” he said, a shadow finally forming on his brow.

I quickly regretted not taking my phone. I could have called the cops while making up my mind about coming around the corner, put my phone on speaker so they could hear everything, and mute it. Then again, I had the nagging feeling the missing clothes might have been them, and I hadn’t even thought to look at my phone on the bedside table. “You were in my room.”

At that, the warmth in his smile drained away, leaving only the chilly grin that would have looked right at home on an alligator. “I was. After we dealt with your latest beau, I decidedI wanted to see you at your most comfortable. To look at the man who decided to step out of line and forget all reason and common sense.”

“Jesus, you really do think your money and family power gives you the right to do as you please with other people,” I said, figuring I was probably making the entire situation worse by continuing to goad and sneer at him. Still, the disgust I felt couldn’t be contained. “You and your buddies really thought that, didn’t you?”

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