Page 28 of Craving Vengeance

I put the car in the next gear, gunning it while Dmitri wrapped himself around Rhys and held him tight. Why the fuck was it so difficult to get our happy ending?

Chapter twenty-two

LIAM

Why the fuck was it so damn hard to follow directions?

The acquisition of my brother had been too fucking easy and I should have known that it wouldn’t have worked out as I planned. Still, a meeting at ten would have been easiest enough. Those fucking men surrounding my brother would have caught on the moment I stepped into the room but they wouldn’t have been able to escape at that point.

Unfortunately, some good Samaritan had thought it funny to ‘save’ my target from the world I was slowly dragging him into. It was too bad that I was going to acquire that fucking program regardless and that my plans had backup plans and my backup plans had backup plans.

I was a fucking lawyer after all and I had essentially been living a double life for the better part of a decade. My gaze traveled the length of the interrogation room where they were supposed to have been meeting me. It was thirty minutes past the timethey were supposed to show up and only one of the employees shuffling and throwing out hurried goodbyes told me anything was wrong.

I’d seen him around a few times, a cute kid who reminded me of Rhys in many aspects. The only difference was that the kid running out of the building like his ass was on fire had lost the light in his eyes. Stepping into the hallway, I grabbed the first person I could find.

“What’s his problem?”

The employee cleared his throat and bowed his head, figuring out who I was. I wasn’t top dog but now working directly for Umar, my new position had spread like wildfire in the last couple of hours. “Caiden? He met with one of the newer hires from the US. Well, not new. But the program is new. He said that you had moved up the meeting but he has another one in town or something.”

My brows furrowed as I silently ran Caiden’s name over my tongue several times. Should I say that Caiden was lying? I managed a tight smile. “Thank you. Yes. Just wanted to thank him.” I released the employee and stalked the hallway to the elevator, mulling through my options. As much as I wanted to rid the world of this Caiden boy, I had to deal with this fucking program first.

Also, I wasn’t sure how Umar would react to losing one of his golden tickets.

The elevator dinged open and the moment the metal doors slid closed, I yanked my phone from my pocket. Two seconds later, I dialed a number I knew all too well, ignoring the cackle that immediately came through the earpiece when the dial tone ended. “Plan B.”

“Already? They didn’t fall for your stupid plan? Excellent. That means I get to play a little. Just a heads up that Ada is royally pissed about her daughter.”

I frowned jamming the garage button with a little more force than necessary. “So?”

“I’m not letting that woman have her. You and her are both bastards. Neither of you should have children because you don’t know what it means to love.”

“And you do?” I threw at him with a snort.

“I used to.” Then Chester just hung up, leaving dead silence in his wake. Those words shouldn’t have hurt but fuck they cut a little deeper than I wanted.

Chapter twenty-three

RHYS

It felt like we had been driving for hours, the darkness outside of my windows as we pulled to a stop telling me that we had. I slowly uncurled myself from Dmitri’s chest, looking outside and waiting for direction. We were in front of a small cottage, this entire area looking nothing like the part of France we had been in earlier this morning. Dmitri had mentioned it was another one of their places.

My door slid open, Valentyn helping me out without a word. I wanted an explanation but didn’t need one as my eyes fell upon Tia and Paval being helped out of the car by Gianni. Too fucking excited to see them safe, I rushed toward them against my better judgment, dropping to my knees as they both collided with my chest. We shared tears as I held onto them, the weight of what we had almost experienced crushing me.

Someone’s hand was on my head, soothing my worries, Dmitri prying the kids away from me as Gianni stole me into a big hug,rocking me back and forth. It felt like an entire fucking reunion. We made our way to the front door and stepped inside. We unloaded in the makeshift living room, Tia plopping herself in my lap, her entire body shaking with terror. I clung to her the same way she did me, Paval finding comfort with Valentyn.

We sat there for several moments in silence, it becoming evident that we weren’t going to discuss this morning, both kids out like a light before Valentyn began to speak. “Navigating all of this has been a chore, Rhys, and I’m sorry it got Tia involved.” I wanted to interject but Gianni squeezed my thigh and shook his head. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better and as much as I don’t fucking want to do this, I can’t have the kids near this.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. I should have known that-

Gianni wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and squeezed. “Don’t go there. Absolutely not. What he’s saying is that it’s time for a different plan – one where the kids are safe. You still have a choice, if you want to wait for us to come back-”

“I’m not leaving you,” I said, even as I tightened my hold on Tia. Fuck, I hated having to make decisions.

“Don’t worry. Tia and Paval will be in very good hands,” Gianni murmured as he pressed a soft kiss to my temple. I looked between the three of them, wondering what the fuck they were going on about. No one in my family was safe and while I knew Valentyn had other family that he had mentioned in passing, I didn’t want Tia that far from me.

Dmitri sighed as he gestured toward Gianni, “We’ve had to do something similar before. Usually just staying at home and waiting for a call just in case. When things got just a little too dangerous to have Paval near us. Whoever was right for the job stayed. It kept everyone alive and protected.”

“So Gia will take them?” They all nodded. I hated the idea of splitting up but Gianni was the right man for the job. Valentyn was our protector but Tia hadn’t gravitated toward him in thelast few hours. Dmitri was just wonderful but again, Tia had spent most of her time with Gianni and we had the most history. If I had to make a choice, I’d choose him as well. “Where are you going?”

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