Page 9 of His Fury

Bad fucking sign.

I barely moved. Just leaned back in my chair, casually turning the bottle of water in my hand. I suspected why he was here. I wasn’t in the mood for his gambling bullshit. “You knock on my door like that again, and I’ll break your hands.”

Julian didn’t even flinch.Worsesign.

His chest rose and fell in quick, sharp bursts, and I noticed his hands were shaking.

That was when I knew—this wasn’t about him. My attention sharpened, looking at him closer.

I set the bottle of water down. “Talk.”

“I’ll pay,” he rasped. “The whole thing. Every fucking dollar, every cent. I’ll pay you back.”

My brow lifted. I’d heard this before. “You don’t have it.”

“I’ll get it.” His breathing was getting shorter. More ragged. He was gulping for air. “Zayn—” He dragged both of his hands through his hair, his eyes fixed on mine, filled with desperation. “They have her.”

The room froze around me.

Everything inside me went still.

Her.

I knew who before he even said her name.

I felt like my brain had to catch up with my body, had to process the weight of those words before the rage settled in. Before the world turned red.

I sat forward, the weight in my chest snapping tight. “Who took her?” My voice was calm, but my fingers curled into fists on the desk.

I stood slowly. Julian stepped back.

I didn’t blame him.

“I asked you a fucking question.” My voice was calm. Dangerous. “Who?”

Julian’s jaw clenched. “The people I owe.”

“Which ones?” I saw him wince. Yeah, I knew he owed more than one.

“Delaney.”

Fucking hell.

I exhaled sharply, tilting my head towards the ceiling for a second before dragging my gaze back to his. He looked ready to bolt. Again, I didn’t blame him.

“You stupid,recklessson of a bitch,” I muttered, stepping around my desk. My jaw was so tight my teeth ached. “I told you to stop playing in places you didn’t belong.” Rage was surfing through me, black and suffocating. “How much, Julian?”

He swallowed. “Two fifty.” He took a shaky breath. “Plus interest.”

Plus interest. Depending on how long he’d been in debt, it could be a million dollars. Or more.

I should’ve seen it coming. I’d paid his debt before, but he had always paid me back. I knew that I wasn’t helping when I paid it. That I was only enabling him. Which was why I told him last time it was thelasttime.

I should’ve known that one day he’d be so far over his head that his luck would run out. And now, Isla was the one paying for it.

Rye stepped into the office, his face unreadable as he took in the tension in the room. “Everything okay?”

I grabbed my jacket off the chair from where I’d dropped it earlier. “Get the car.”

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