Page 41 of Corrupt Desires

Still feeling the remnants of my nightmare clinging to my thoughts, I roll over slowly so as not to wake Emilia and get out of bed. I should probably get ready for the day, catch up on some work before Franklin and Kayden come over later, and try to figure out this mess the Romanis have us in.

As I make my way down the hall to my study, my heart rate increases as flashes of that night intrude on my senses. I reach a hand out and steady myself along the wall, rubbing my temple with my other hand. As I pull myself together, I curse at my weakness. I know I need therapy, but I haven’t taken the leap to do anything about it. Not yet. I keep telling myself that when this is all over, I can focus on it. It feels selfish right now to worry about myself and my demons. I just need to get through this last hurdle, deal with this last issue that is Anthony Romani, and we can finally be free.

Taking a seat at my desk, I look over all the notes that I have on Anthony Romani. I’ve scoured these notes a dozen times, and still nothing jumps out at me. No plan comes to me. It’s infuriating not to know what to do. I’m used to having a plan in the courtroom and executing it efficiently and ruthlessly. I slam a fist down on my desk, frustration pooling from my very being.

“What did that desk ever do to you, huh?” a voice asks from the doorway.

Startled, I quickly glance over to see Emilia leaning against the doorframe, an amused smirk gracing her features.

“Emilia. I thought you were sleeping,” I reply, pushing back from the desk and angling my chair toward her.

“I was, but the space next to me was surprisingly cold, and I couldn’t sleep. Thought I would try to figure out where you disappeared to.”

I reach a hand out, signaling for Emilia to come here. As she strolls up to me, I reach a hand out to her waist and pull her so she’s standing between my legs as I lean back in my chair.

“You are a welcome distraction, love.”

“Is that so?” she asks, taking her fingers and running them through my hair, her nails scraping my scalp deliciously.

“Mmm, I do believe I’m thoroughly distracted.”

“Well, we can’t have that, now can we,” she teases, moving to turn away from me.

Before she can move another inch, I pull her back to me, reaching one hand up to tangle in her hair and pull her down to my lips. “I don’t think so, Em,” I murmur against her before nipping her plump bottom lip, which causes her a sharp intake of breath. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“OK,cabrón. We have guests coming shortly, or did you forget?”

“How could I forget,” I ask her as I reach out to grab a handful of her ass, pulling her body into mine.

“James,” she all but moans, her breath coming in short gasps as I knead her flesh.

Just before I can claim her lips with my own, we are interrupted by the doorbell, its chime echoing throughout the house.

“Well, damn. As much as I would love to continue this, we have plans to make,” she states, pulling away from me and exiting my study with a sultry sashay of her hips.

Damn, that woman will be the death of me.

* * *

Strolling into the dining room,I see my table has been taken over with blueprints, papers, and numerous laptops. Franklin is stooped over one laptop, click-clacking away at his keyboard, and barely acknowledging my presence other than a quick glance up from the screen.

“Hey, Brother. You look like shit,” Kayden says bluntly from his spot down the table, never one to sugarcoat things.

I run a hand through my hair, frustrated that I’m so transparent. But then again, Kayden is trained for this sort of thing—to notice any signs of weakness. He just can’t seem to turn it off, always analyzing those around him.

“That’s putting it lightly,” I reply, taking a seat across the table from him. “What do we have so far? Where are Aleks and Donovan tonight?”

“Not much. And I gave them the night off, they deserved it.” Kayden runs a hand through his hair before continuing. “Franklin’s been listening through their cameras, hoping to learn anything we can use to our advantage. Anthony brought in a fresh batch of women yesterday, one in particular giving him and his men a hard time.” His jaw clenches as he says the last bit.

I wince, realizing the woman will likely be thoroughly punished for giving them difficulty. If there is one thing we have witnessed from our surveillance it’s that the men in Anthony’s crew have no qualms about laying hands on a woman. In fact, they revel in it. Most of the women are shared amongst the men, breaking the women slowly until there is little fight left in them at all. It takes everything in me not to become sick whenever we witness them being raped from the cameras. Kayden watches everything though, his eyes hardening with every rape and every bruise that blossoms on their skin. It’s as though he’s imagining all the ways he wants to seek retribution, filing every transgression into a folder to pull out when he finally has the opportunity to unleash his fury. I suppose he’s probably seen worse overseas, but I never ask him about it.

Emilia is seated next to Franklin, peering over him at his laptop, her eyes tracking his screen, darting left and right as she tries to keep up with whatever he’s doing.

“What’s that?” asks Emilia, pointing at something on the screen.

“That’s a locked room that only Anthony goes into and leads into a separate wing of the house. Kayden has the blueprints so we know the layout, however, there are no cameras in that section, so I haven’t been able to figure out what’s in there,” replies Franklin, glancing at Emilia from the corner of his eye.

There are too many unknowns right now for any of us to formulate a plan. It doesn’t help that there are innocent women in the middle of all this.

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