Page 96 of Brick's Retribution

I pull away to glare at him. "Like hell."

"Imani—"

"No," I say firmly. "You’re my ol’ man.. We go in together, we come out together. That's non-negotiable."

He searches my face in the dim light. "Stubborn woman."

"You love it," I counter.

"Yeah," he admits with a small smile. "I do."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Brick

The private jet's engines hum beneath us as we cut through the early morning sky toward Colombia.

I stare out the window at endless clouds, trying to prepare myself for what's coming.

In a few hours, I'll see Lashes again, hopefully.

She could be at one of a million of these auctions, but I’m praying she’s here.

Fuck, I need her to be here.

I need to strike gold, to have her back.

My best friend, the woman who's been missing for three months, will be paraded in front of buyers like livestock.

And I'll have to stand there and watch, pretending not to care.

Doom's gravelly voice cuts through my thoughts. "You good?"

He's sitting across from me, those dark eyes that miss nothing studying my face.

Even relaxed in the plush leather seat, he looks like what he is—a weapon waiting to be deployed.

"Just thinking about shit," I reply.

"Dangerous habit," he says, but there's understanding in his tone. "First time seeing someone you care about on the other side of this shit?"

I nod, not trusting my voice.

"I've been there," Doom continues, surprising me with the admission. "Before the club. Had to watch my sister sold at one of these things, but not as high-scale."

My head snaps up. "What?"

He's never talked about his past, about what brought him to the Reapers Rejects.

Most of us don't—some wounds are too deep to talk about, so we let them heal and never talk about them again.

"Ten years ago, when I was barely eighteen," he says, voice flat. "I was working as muscle for a cartel guy who decided my sister would make a nice gift for his ‘business associates’."

"Jesus."

"I was told if I intervened, he’d kill me but before that he’d rape her." His jaw tightens. "He told me he’d keep doing it, over and over, and they’d kill her eventually, but if I didn’t do anything to fuck with him, he’d make sure she wasn’t harmed."

Harmed… right.

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