I paused, easing up on his throat, my fist inches from his face.
We were famous enough that people knew us at a glance, especially Kai. But it took him long enough to cotton on to who he was dealing with.
“I work for Zania Risler,” he choked out. “She pays me, I swear!” He stretched out a trembling hand, but I batted it away. “I just have to keep watch on Ms Sanderson, to make sure she leaves.”
The conscious druggies took the risk and bolted past me, but I wasn’t worried about them.
I was already wheezing, keeping my jaw clenched so I didn’t bite off my tongue.
And forcing myself to stop, even making myself speak when I was pushing close to a rogue state could be too much.
But I wasn’t that far gone yet.
His face split into a grin as I stared at him, like he thought he’d won rather than me using my fucking brain for once.
Maybe if Sin had tried to stop me, the guy might have has a chance, but my fucker of a mate was right there with me, sensing everything from all the way down in Mel’s flat.
I could feel him sending me disgust and calm, and silent anger that this guy had ever touched her. It felt like he’d prefer it if I did things my way for once.
“What do you mean ‘leaves’?” I finally asked through gritted teeth.
He gave me a bloodied smile, a spark in his swelling eye. I hadn’t strangled the fucker hard enough. He shouldn’t have even been able to talk with how I punched him, but maybe he’d taken hits like those before.
“You don’t know, do you?” he asked, gaining some confidence. “That omega’s working for Zania, too. She came to visit her last week, said she paid Ms Sanderson a ton to make sure she got out of the flat.”
I froze over him, and he managed a weak laugh as my face fell.
My mind was too fucked up to get ahold of my thoughts. But my heart plummeted straight into my gut as I wrapped my fucking head around the words he was saying.
“Fuck,” I spat out as he laughed again.
Was there anything in my life that wasn’t fucking controlled by her? Could I not have a single thing she didn’t have to ruin with her fucking hate?
I rocked back on my knees, groaning as I pinned him to the ground by forcing my flat palms on my chest.
My shits were non-existent as thoughts of Mel fucking flooded my mind.
The sharp shock pulled me back from the rogue, making my thoughts clearer.
I tried to remember everything she’d done, all the ways she’d been with us, every little thing she’d said, and the way I kept getting lost the longer she spent with us.
I’d suspected her right from the beginning, so why did I stop?
Was any of that shit fucking real?
I swore from the way they acted when they first met that our parents had no clue who she was. I was so sure of it.
I’d done so much research on her to make sure Mel wasn’t some kind of plant, but it was for fucking nothing.
It was Mum’s fucking fault Mel was being kicked out of her nest, but maybe that was all fake, too. Did she even need to get out of her flat, or was that another trick to fix herself into our lives?
I finally knocked my head forward to look at him. “How long have you been watching her for?” I said, my voice strained.
He wiped his bloody nose on the back of his sleeve before he shrugged. “Maybe a week, maybe a month. I’m struggling to remember. You’ve basically given me a concussion, you know. That kind of stuff is expensive.”
A low growl echoed from my throat and he flinched, but it looked like this fucker really thought he could milk me. The guy was fucking scum, and I shouldn’t fall for it. But then again, my rogue state was telling me to give in and teach him what happened when he fucked with us.
A shudder ran through me as Kai burst to life in our bond. His presence quickly swept through me and Sin, exploring us to find out what was going on.