Page 79 of No Escape

“I’m not leaving the room, sweetheart. Give me two minutes to take a piss, and I swear I’ll be right back.” I kiss her cheek and make sure she’s snuggled back into the pillows before climbing out of the loft.

I nod at the bathroom, and Shaw follows without question. Once we’re inside the room, I gesture to the sink. “We need background noise.”

Shaw makes his way over, flipping on the faucet. “I couldn’t find McCabe, but I got the full rundown on those two.”

“Okay, so get on with it,” I growl, stepping to the toilet and preparing to use it.

Do I really need to piss?

No, but fuck if I’m not going to try.

I’m not starting out the next phase of our lives by lying about things. Not if I can help it.

“Valor and Omen work for someone named Amato. He runs a criminal operation out of London, and the guys I spoke to said he’s pretty well known.” Shaw sighs. “I’ve never heard the name, but it’s run-of-the-mill organized crime type shit. All was fine until Amato made a deal with the Armenians. Minasian? I don’t know, but the Armenian boss sent a squadron of his higher-ups to celebrate their newfound partnership.”

I shove my dick away, flush, and head for the sink.

Shaw switches places with me, moving toward the shower while I handle washing my hands. “Big party. The Armenians brought a gift—or multiple gifts—in the form of thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen-year-old girls…” He curses under his breath, and I spin to face him, drying my hands off on my pants.

“And?” I growl.

Saylor will be devastated if she learns those guys were involved with anything like that. They won’t be getting within ten feet of her ever again… I wonder how hard weapons are to come by in here?

Jesus Christ.

Am I on the verge of going rabid?

Does this place actually progress the decay at a more rapid pace?

Even the edges of my vision are going hazy at the thought.

This is why I don’t lose a wink of sleep doing the kind of work we do. We dispose of the scum of the earth, the trash that doesn’t deserve to go on taking up space.

“Amato was not displeased with his gift. He ordered his second-in-command to stand down and enjoy the entertainment.” His head shakes. “The alpha—Valor—went against orders and wiped out the entire Armenian visiting party. Well, he had help in the form of his bonded beta. I’m still confused about whether Valor and Omen are partners in the business sense or romantically. Not that it really matters. Except, according to the rules, you’d think the beta would be free to walk out of here at any time.”

Shaw always needs to know as many details as he can possibly find about any given thing. It helps set him at ease to know all the variables, but we can worry about that later. There are more important things to hash out.

“They didn’t participate?” I ask, glancing at the door.

“From the chatter I heard? No. Valor lost his shit, ruined the new truce, was so disconnected with reality that he killed a couple of Amato’s own guys in the fray, and his boss tossed him in here, blaming the betrayal on the fact he’s gone rabid.”

“Damn,” I whisper.

“Yeah,” Shaw says with a sigh. “I would have done the same thing. No way I could have stood by and watched that shit. It still doesn’t mean they’re safe for Saylor to be around. You saw the kind of damage that alpha is capable of…”

That, I did.

Seeing him drag those assholes out of the communal shower and out to the court earlier was eye-opening.

“I don’t want to be gone much longer. I told Saylor I’d be right back.” My eyes migrate to the door once more. “So, what’s the game plan?”

“I have no fucking clue,” Shaw deadpans. “None. I did not see any of this coming. There’s no way to assess them if they’re locked up in the hole, and in the meantime… I don’t fucking know.”

Yeah, that makes two of us.

ChapterTwenty-Four

Saylor

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