“She won’t,” Fang interrupted, his tone casual but cutting.
My gaze snapped back to him. “What makes you so sure?”
He leaned forward, the cigarette dangling between his fingers, a smug grin stretching across his face. “Because she can’t talk. Not right now. Whatever they did to her, it’s shut her up good. And I’m guessin’ it’ll stay that way for a while.”
The weight in my chest eased slightly, but it didn’t last long.
“She’s still a liability,” I said, trying to downplay the obsession that clawed at the edges of my thoughts. “And she’s not the only one.”
Fang’s grin widened. “You mean Lucy?”
“Yeah, I fucking mean Lucy. Their guy Spinner is all wrapped up in Lucy,” I said, my voice sharper now, wiping that goddamned smirk off Fang’s face.
“The intel could be wrong,” he replied, but his eyes said he knew it wasn’t.
“Not a chance,” I assured him.
Fang reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph, tossing it onto the table. A second later, he threw down a property cut. My hand shot out, grabbing the photo before it even hit the surface. My eyes narrowed as I took it in.
It was Lucy and Fang. His arm slung around her shoulders, her face turned just enough to look... intimate. I grabbed the cut, my eyes narrowing when I saw Lucy’s name stitched on it, designating her as Fang’s property.
“What the hell is this?” I demanded, throwing them back at him.
“Insurance,” Fang said, grinning. “We let the Devil’s House boys think she’s mine. That she’s been feedin’ us information this whole time.”
“You think they’ll buy it?” Beast asked, his tone skeptical.
Fang shrugged, flicking ash onto the floor. “They don’t trust her. She could’ve ratted me out that night but didn’t. She was afraid they wouldn’t believe her. All we have to do is plant a few seeds of doubt. Let them do the rest.”
I stared at him, the wheels in my head turning. It was a good plan, smart even, but I hated that it had come from him.
“And when they figure out it’s a lie?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“They won’t,” Fang said confidently. “Not until it’s too late. By then, Lucy will have taken off—right back into our hands. Zeynep will soon follow to save her friend.”
I wasn’t sure. It felt messy. But the longer I thought about it, the more sense it made.
“Fine,” I said, my voice firm. “Do it. While you’re working on that, I’ll come up with retaliation for destroying our shipment.”
Fang smirked, leaning back in his chair like he didn’t have a care in the world. Beast shook his head, muttering something under his breath, but he didn’t argue. Jinx and Scorch stayed silent, their eyes darting between me and Fang like they were waiting for someone to explode.
“Lucy belongs to me,” Fang said suddenly, his voice cutting through the room. “And you better not be plannin’ to fuck her up.”
I froze, my blood running hot. “What did you just say?”
“Lucy,” he repeated, his grin sharp. “She’s mine, Drago. Just like Zeynep is yours. And I’ve claimed her. Just remember that.”
The air in the room shifted, heavy and electric. I stared at him, my fists clenching at my sides. Fang didn’t flinch under my glare, and for the first time, I wondered if I’d underestimated how dangerous he really was.
“Do your job,” I said finally, my voice hard. “And Lucy will be just fine.”
Fang’s smirk didn’t waver, but he didn’t argue, either.
As I turned and walked out of the room, the anger in my chest burned hotter than ever. Zeynep was still out there, and now Lucy was a pawn in a game I wasn’t sure I could control.
But one thing was carved in stone.
No one took what was mine and got away with it. Fuck Fang. Lucy was going to pay for taking Zeynep away from me.