Page 53 of Vendetta

Who the fuck is this “we” he's talking about? I sure as hell wasn't asked or informed about this. I look at my uncle and my earlier thought hits me like a lightning bolt. This is not my ally,family or not. He kept me in the dark; he devalues everything I do. And now he's taking her away.

And right at that moment, I know for sure. I don't want to lose her. I was already wavering on my decision to kill her. Hell, I knew I couldn't do it the second I saw her lying unconscious in that parking lot when my first instinct was to save her.

I love her. And whatever happens, I willnotlet him take her away.

“We didn't discuss this.”

“Yes, well,” he says, waving his hand flippantly. “Seems you two have gotten closer than you should have. I don't want your mixed feelings ruining this whole thing when we're so close to finally getting what we wanted. She's a distraction, and I need your head in the right place. It's simple.”

Shit, that means I won't know where she is or what they're doing with her.

Okay, time. I need to know how long I have.

“You're right,” I say, keeping my expression neutral. “When?”Please don't say right now.

“Tomorrow morning.” I refrain from exhaling in relief. He holds my gaze, looking for something, but I just nod.

“And where?” I try.

“It doesn't matter. She's not your responsibility anymore.” It was worth a shot. He puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes lightly. I want to rip it off his body. “You understand, I'm doing it for your own good.”

Isn't that something people tell you when they're about to do something that's definitely not for your own good?

“Yeah, you're right,” I say, nodding like the good nephew who doesn't question his uncle's decisions. “I've been distracted, it's not good.”

“Good,” he says, lets go of my shoulder and leaves.

I go to the kitchen and get her some milk and cereal. It’s not like I have time to make a run for some proper food. This will have to do.

I walk back up to her room, a bowl and a spoon in my hands. She's still sitting in the same spot where I left her, looking at me expectantly. I walk over to her and she takes the bowl from my hands.

“Trouble at one of the warehouses,” I lie, avoiding her gaze. I don't want to worry her until I work it all out.

She looks down to the bowl, swirling the flakes with the spoon. “Okay,” she says when she looks back up before taking a spoonful into her mouth. It sounds forced, but I shrug it away. She must be as shaken as I am by him coming here.

As she eats, I sit in silence and try to come up with some sort of a plan.

We have until tomorrow morning. That means shit; I can't do anything in that short amount of time. But it's more than if he took her away right now, so at least it's something.

Her words come back to me.We could run.We could. For a start, we just need to get away from here. I would need to call in a few favors; there must be someone I can trust. We just need to get out of here. I can definitely make that happen.

And then we'll figure it out.

LEIGHTON

I place the bowl on the bedside table, the sound of it echoing through the room. Devon is lost in his own world, and I’m still trying to process what I overheard. When he walked back intothe room, a mask shuttering his expression, I waited patiently for him to talk to me. And when he didn’t, I was disappointed.

No, I was fucking shattered.

They're moving me, away from Devon, away from his protection, and he has nothing to say about it. Not even a heads up. Does he even care what his people are going to do to me? Whatarethey going to do? Where are they taking me? Does Devon listen to everything his uncle says? Just following him blindly like that?

So many questions, but the man in the room with me isn’t talking, isn’t saying a word. My life is hanging in the balance, my fate, yet he doesn’t deem me worthy enough to know the truth.

I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, and watch as he stares blankly into space. I have no idea what’s going on in his mind right now. I know he loves me. And I know this whole thing is probably hard on him, but we're running out of fucking time here.

Suddenly he stands up, and shakes his head as if clearing it. With a hesitant look my way, he forces a smile and closes the space between us. I flinch when he leans down to place a kiss on my lips, but he doesn’t even notice. He’s too busy, lost in his own head.

“I have to head out, but I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?” he says, looking around the room, then down to his hands. He lifts one hand up and runs it through his hair. “Do you need anything?” He still won’t look at me.

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