Page 66 of Breaking the Code

How’s that working for you?

“Shut it!” I growl at myself.

Making my way through the basement, my strides eat up the expanse o’ the hallways leading from Tavish’s rooms. He’s tucked himself deep in the confines o’ the Society’s headquarters. I’d guessed he did it for protection. He’s never told me from what, but it disnae take a genius to figure it out.

Someone abused him. More than once and in a fashion that left its mark. Nae only on his body but also it seems on his heart and mind.

If my assumptions about what is coming for them are right, and Tavish’s reaction tells me I’m dead on, then he’s going to need protection.

Like Simon did.

My eyes close, my chest aches as the thought strikes like lightning, hitting my heart and soul like a missile. I failed Simon. I didnae protect him.

I cannae lose Tavish too.

A second lightning strike stops me like I’ve hit a brick wall, my feet planting themselves. I thought by holding him at bay I could protect myself, but that boy wormed his way under my skin. He buried himself deep and fast, flipping on emotions I thought I buried with Simon who I loved dearly. Losing him hurt. So fucking much. But the thought o’ losing Tavish petrifies me.

Fuck me.

I lost Simon, trying to find who killed my parents. Tragedy striking a second time, taking everything from me. Then I found out Maeve may still be out there, and she brought me to this point. She brought me to Tavish.

To my boy.

Now there is this threat against him. I’ve kenned there was one from the start, but this isnae some abstract person. Zayn and his partners are here because someone came after Nova and West. Now these people are after my boy. They want to take him from me.

Am I doomed to be alone?

Fuck that. I’m nae victim. I’m going to find this fucking ball bawg and I’m going to set my axes loose on the man. On all o’ them.

I’ll be fucking dead and buried before I let anyone get their hands on him. And anyone who tries will find themselves deep in the ground without said hands, begging for forgiveness, unable to dig themselves out o’ the grave I put them in.

I’m nae losing anyone else.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

TAVISH

Pushing Zayn and his partners out of my room, I lock the door behind me. As I take off down the hallway after Draven, I scan the corridors for his big, hulking figure.

He’s mad I didn’t confide in him. I know it. I just couldn’t give voice to that fear. With Zayn I don’t have to. He knows. He witnessed some of the more public incidents that Samuel put me through. Especially the ones where he shared me with the others. It’s one of the many ways he lined his pockets. Zayn may not’ve known exactly what they were or why I was even with Samuel, but still, he knew, at least somewhat. Even if he hadn’t witnessed them, Samuel loved to brag about them to the others. He’d parade me about like a trophy or a piece of artwork to show off what he’d done to me. What he’d let others do to me.

Shoving those thoughts away, I continue searching. At the end of one hallway, I look left and right, but there’s no sign of Draven anywhere.

He can’t have gotten upstairs this quickly? Could he?

I reach for the Society device so I can check the security feeds, but it’s not in my pocket. Neither’s my phone.

Shit!

Spinning around, I head back to my room to check the feeds.

He can’t have left.

When I get back to my room, I scan myself back in and hurry to pull up the feeds. Scanning them as fast as possible, I find him on the opposite side of the basement from me. He’s near the cells where we keep the people we need to extract intel from.

I hurry out the door, making sure the lock engages behind me, and I race toward him. I hate I pissed him off. All I want is to please him.

And for him to want me.

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