Page 68 of Breaking the Code

A deep breath expands my chest and I launch into the information he’d been asking for. “Elijah Monroe is rallying the old Order. He’s trying to undo all the work we’ve put into the Society and get their trafficking business back to where it was before Everly made her move.”

“And ye helped her make that move?”

“Yes, but even if I hadn’t, joining her is enough to put my name on that list. Nova and West being on there proves that.”

“Or they are targeting people ye care about. It’s the Order’s specialty.”

The video of Simon’s beating flickers on from the recesses of my mind and I swallow the bile that churns in my gut.

“It is.”

“Why did Owen want ye so badly?”

A dry chuckle escapes. “Money. My mother married for love, but she married beneath her. My dad had nothing. He tried to make his own way, but a couple of bad business deals with the wrong people and he was firmly in Owen’s clutches. My granddad’s Will make certain only a blood relative can inherit the family’s fortune.”

“But Owen had money. A lot o’ it.”

“Rich men always want more. They live by the adage that you can never have too much money.”

The next thing out of his mouth is the one thing I want to avoid talking about.

“I get that whoever this is, they’re rallying supporters. What I dinnae ken is why you looked as if a ghost stepped outta yer computer?”

My chin trembles and I let it drop to my chest to mask the emotions I’d kill to ignore. The shuffle of his feet sounds much louder in the empty stone corridor. With a finger under my chin, he tilts my face up to his.

“Look at me, mo ghille donn.” When I do, he pleads, “Tell me.”

“What I didn’t tell Zayn is who it is. Or at least, who I think it is.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t have enough intel. If I told him, he and the others would take off out of here and scour the streets for them. All that would do is put them at risk and I won’t do that.”

“So, who is it?”

Biting my lip, I contemplate if I can trust him not to scurry off to do just what I withheld the info from Zayn to prevent.

“I willnae act recklessly, but ye shouldnae have to carry the burden alone.”

Nodding, I tell him, “If I’m right, it’s Elijah Monroe, and he wasn’t just close to Owen. He and Samuel Nicholson are friends. Elijah’s married to Samuel’s sister.”

Before either of us can say anything, my comms unit buzzes. I pull it from my pocket and Draven grunts.

“Sorry, but I have to check this.”

He waves his hand, and I check the notifications. “I’ve gotta get back. There’s some new intel coming in and I have another lead for you about Maeve.”

“That’s fine, but once ye check that shit, we’re going to bed. It’s the dead o’ night. And we both need some sleep.”

I nod. There’s no way in hell I’m turning that down. He follows me to my room but stops me before I can sit at the desk. Instead, he plants his big body in my chair, strips me down to my underwear before pulling me into his lap. My upper body is pressed back into his chest, and he spreads my knees so they drape over his legs, forcing my thighs open.

“Ummm…what are you doing?”

“I’m going to play with my toy while ye play with yers.”

His mouth latches on to my neck, nibbling and sucking at it. My head rolls back onto my shoulders. My eyes slide closed as a quiver of need swirls through me.

“Draven…” I gasp as he bites down on the sensitive flesh of my neck.

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