Page 143 of Nest of Thieves
“You. Bastard.” I slam my palms on the table. “She’s a child.”
He stares at my hands, unimpressed by my outburst. “And?”
Of course, it should come as no surprise he doesn’t care who he hurts. I was fifteen when we met. Fifteen when he handed me a gun and tied us together in blood. Looking back, I realize how young I was and what he took from me, but my niece? What kind of sick bastard threatens a baby?
“That’s different. If you touch her—”
“I won’t have to if you do your job.”
“How do you expect me to kill them? They’re my mates.” I search his face. “I don’t even know if I can do it.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way.” He leans back in his chair and rubs his knuckles under his square jaw. “Twenty-four hours.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Not if you do it right,” he says with an infuriating smile. “Besides, you’ve killed two men this month. What’s three more?”
I stiffen. How does he know that?
He laughs under his breath. “What you and those alphas forget is that this is my city. I know everything, no matter how hard they try to keep things from me.”
“If I do this, you’ll leave my family alone?”
He dips his head.
“Fine.” I shove away from the desk and storm toward the door.
“Oh, and Jo?” I pause just inside the door. “Tori’s baby is adorable.”
Rage trembles through me, but I grind my jaw to keep from screaming at him. I wrench the door open and stalk past the men, who are all looking at me with lines of concern covering their faces.
* * *
LARK
Damien kicks us out of the room with his bullshit alpha command. I hate when he uses that on us. It’s disrespectful. It’s part of why I try not to use it myself. I hate feeling helpless.
“Fuck,” Mac mutters. “This was a bad idea.”
“She’ll be okay,” Vette says, though I’m not sure who he’s trying to reassure—us or himself.
“He won’t hurt her.” I glance at them. “Right?”
We’re all in new territory here, but I know they feel the same marrow-deep terror at the thought of losing her.
“He better not.” Mac cracks his knuckles.
The hold Damien has on us is weak, but he’s still our high alpha. When he commands us, we have to listen. The only way to break his ability to control us is to kill him. If Damien isn’t careful with Jo, he’ll end up in the gutter.
“There’s a camera,” I whisper, suddenly remembering. Vette and Mac pin me with scathing looks, and I sigh, pulling my phone from my pocket.
At our last meeting, I installed a spy cam on the underside of the desk. It’s tiny, and when correctly placed, nearly unidentifiable. I hadn’t needed to turn it on, so Orc hasn’t found it when he scans the room. I open an app on my phone and switch the device on, lowering my volume while the video and microphone initiate.
“What do you want? Is my family safe?” Jo’s voice trembles slightly.
“They will be,” Damien answers.
There’s a small pause before Jo asks, “When?”
