Page 55 of Braxton

Camille pinned her with a dark look. Other than her eyes and the edges of some scarring, Quinn couldn’t see much more of the woman’s face. She was covered from head to toe, and it was probably for the best after what Cross had told her earlier.

“You can pretend all you want,” Camille said, voice low, just a whisper. Her speech came out slightly slurred and slow, as though she had difficulty articulating certain words. “But you still care for him.”

Instead of trying to deny it, Quinn pressed her lips together. God, she hoped Brax’s team was having better luck than they were. Otherwise, she had a feeling things were about to go from bad to worse.

???

Another scream echoed around him and Brax groaned, lifting his head. The first thing he noticed was his zip tied hands. As things came into focus, he saw Quinn beside him, twisting in her chair, making awful mewling sounds as that fucker Grendel turned a screw, making some godawful vise tighten around her thumb.

“Leave her alone!” Brax yelled, lurching up and forward, shoving Grendel with his shoulder. The other man fell on his ass like he’d been taken down by a linebacker on a football field.

“Sit down, Pharaoh!” Cross snapped, lifting a gun.

Great. Somehow Cross had managed to evade Ryland and Saint.At least, that’s what he hoped had happened. Ignoring the weapon, Brax turned his attention to Quinn, whose eyes were bright with unshed tears. He also didn’t miss her bloody thigh and ripped jeans.

“Q…” he murmured, voice strangled. He’d fucked up, and now they were both in trouble. He hoped like hell the rest of his team was doing better.

While Grendel stood up, Brax turned his full wrath on the man.

“Is this how you get your kicks? Torturing women, you sick fuck? Get it off her.” The ferocious look on his face made the doctor remove the thumbscrew contraption and cower behind Cross. “You better fucking hide, because I’m going to shove that thing so far up your ass—”

Cross fired a warning shot, but Brax didn’t flinch. Just met the other man’s gaze head-on, refusing to back down. Like two bulls locking horns. From the corner of his eye, he noticed theWoman in Black, who he assumed was Camille, lurking in the shadows.

“Sit down, Pharaoh,” Cross repeated more firmly.

Nostrils flaring, blood pumping, Brax slowly lowered himself down in the chair beside Quinn. “Care to tell me why you brought Ex Nihilo together, pretended to be our trusted handler, then fucked us over? And why you created The Agency—because it’s clear you’re the asshole in charge—and then turned on all of them?”

“The oldest reason of all—revenge.” Cross extended his hands, showing the scars. “My wife and our children deserved revenge, and I vowed to deliver it.”

Brax frowned.His wife and children?Was he talking about Ryland and Addison? Or—

“Camille is Cross’ daughter,” Quinn explained.

Holy shit.Brax’s attention swung over to Camille, but he couldn’t see her reaction because her face was still covered.

“Don’t you think you should’ve told me I have a half-sister?” Ryland asked from the doorway, his tone low and lethal, his gun trained on his father. “A half-brother, too. Although, he’s dead, thanks to Demon.”

Camille made a pained sound. “Don’t you dare talk about Julien,” she warned, her voice a low, tangled whisper.

Brax looked between the two half-siblings and the tension in the room skyrocketed. It felt like embers flitted through the air and all it would take is one spark to ignite an inferno.

Ryland glanced over, blue eyes narrowing. “That’s all you have to say?”

Camille stared at Ryland, silent and full of defiance.

“What’s wrong, sis?” Ryland goaded. “Acid got your tongue?”

“Watch it, Ryland,” Cross snapped.

“Taking sides,Dad?” he practically spat. He shook his burnished head. “I can’t believe I used to look up to you.”

“You forced me to choose sides. I wanted you to join us. That was the original plan—you, me, Camille and Julien. We could’ve run The Agency and taken our revenge together. Like a true family. But when we talked on the beach in Mexico, I knew there was no chance of that happening. You were too worried about your precious Harper and team. So, I’m sorry to say,youchose sides—the wrong side—and became a target.”

“What revenge?” Ryland asked, sounding baffled.

While Ryland kept Cross talking and distracted, Brax looked over at Quinn who was working her wrists, slowly loosening them. He gave her an imperceptible nod, encouraging her to keep at it. It would take him a second to snap his zip ties, so he wasn’t worried about them, and his gaze swept the nearby area for a weapon.

“You had to know your mother and I weren’t a good match. I’ve placed a lot of the blame on her extracurricular activities,” Cross said dryly, “but it was more than that.”

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