Page 105 of Coercion

I don’t reply.

My wife is broken.

She has been for a long time.

And instead of taking those broken pieces and helping to put them back together, I took a sledge hammer to them and shattered her into smithereens.

I’m not sure she will ever recover and I certainly don’t deserve to keep her if she does.

I slam my fist into the wall.

How the fuck did I not see this?

I knew she was traumatised, I knew she was scared of me to start with but I thought it was because of what she’d witnessed all those years ago. I thought it was just that.

I never considered they would have hurt her in such a way.

“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to gut him.” I state.

“Then sit down.” Blaine says, grinning. “Because we have a plan.”

I narrow my eyes, staring from him, to Nico, to Eleri.

“Go on.” I growl but I don’t sit. I’m too angry to sit. Too angry to stay still.

Eleri’s looking at me like I’m an absolute piece of shit and I know I deserve every second of her derision.

“We found where Gunnar is hiding.” Nico says, leaning over the table.

I narrow my eyes, still not convinced by the fact he’s simply up and leaving. It’s too simple, too easy. He’s invested too much into Levi’s empire to wash his hands and let us take it.

“There’s a shipment going out tomorrow. Enough diamonds for him to set himself up. It’s not taking the usual routes but…”

I barely hear the words because I don’t give a shit about diamonds, I don’t give a shit about anything beyond the woman lying, half dead in my bed because of me.

“We’re going to be there, waiting for him.”

I stare back at Nico, visualising what he’s saying, “He’ll have men.” I state.

“We’ll have more.” Blaine grins.

“And after tomorrow, you’ll be head of the Holtz Family.” Nico declares.

I want to wince at that, to react with guilt, I have no right to such a position and yet, I’m still Ruby’s husband, if I can win thisfor her, if I can get back her birthright maybe that will help atone for my sins.

“What about Jace?” I ask.

I want him hunted down too, I want him strung up, I want him to suffer just as much as Gunnar for what he’s done.

“We’re still looking.” Blaine states. “Fucker got away but we’ll have him soon enough.”

Soon enough isn’t good enough.

Every second that man breathes, every moment he is free is an insult to my wife, a further knife in her back.

I open my mouth to state it and Nico gives me a look to shut the fuck up. Apparently, right now they’re more concerned with the diamonds than giving my wife the justice she deserves.

Eleri starts laying out the map, detailing exactly how it’s going to go down. Who’s going to be where.

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