Page 4 of Breaking the Code

“Fuck that shit! I’ll nae be talked out o’ this, Simon. They killed my family. My whole fucking family is dead because o’ these men. This Order o’ Death!”

Anger the likes o’ which I’ve nae felt since I was sixteen and my entire family died, leaving me alone in the world, ignites within me and bursts forth. Everything on the desk crashes to the floor as I swipe my hand over it before I storm from the room, slamming the door behind me. The heavy wood bounces off the jamb, cracking the plaster o’ the wall when it makes contact.

All those emotions I felt when my parents died nine years ago bubble up from the recesses o’ my soul and take hold. I want to hurt something or someone. I want to let my fists fly. That bite o’ pain from punching the desktop was just an appetizer. I need more. I want my hands bloody and hurting, my body burning with fatigue and drenched in sweat.

My legs tremble with fury as I stalk out o’ the house to the only place I might find the sort o’ solace I need on a day like today.

I built in a boxing gym on the property when Simon and I first moved back into the old place. The gym, even though it’s just for me and occasionally Simon, has everything, including a ring. Boxing was the only thing besides Simon that got me through those years in the orphanage. It was the orphanage’s way o’ helping me cope with my grief, and it gave me an acceptable outlet for my rage.

Once inside the building, I flick on the lights and head to the locker room. There’s nae anyone to spar with, so it will just be bag work, but that’s okay. I wrap my hands but forgo the gloves. I want to feel this for a few days. I want the pain in my soul to fuck off, and I cannae think o’ any other way to do it.

Sweat pours from me as I run through a warm-up. My blood pumps furiously, but my thoughts outrace it. Memories flash through my mind like a flickering movie reel.

My grandparents.

My parents.

My sister.

All gone.

I’d been alone until the day I met Simon. Now he is my everything.

My biggest fear after opening that envelope and reading through all the information contained within is losing Simon. It would destroy me, and I’m afraid that’s what’s coming. They killed everyone I love. What’s stopping them from taking Simon from me as well?

That thought twists my guts into knots and turns me inside out. Despair robs me o’ my breath, and all strength leaves me. I crumple forward. My bruised and battered hands land on my knees as I gasp for air. I’ve worked myself into a lather, but exertion isnae the only thing robbing me o’ my breath. The thought o’ losing Simon, o’ being left alone on this earth eviscerates me. I cannae bear the thought.

I must protect him.

That pledge means I must follow through on the threat I threw at Simon earlier. I will find the men listed in my grandfather’s letter. I will find them, and then I will kill them.

“If you are set on doing this, you’re not doing it alone.”

I spin toward the voice that breaks through my panting and thoughts. Simon stands in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs crossed at the ankle. I dinnae ken how long he’d been there, but if I had to guess, it had been a while.

“I cannae ask that o’ ye, love,” I tell him.

He walks to me, taking my throbbing hands into his. He pulls the tape loose and unwraps my hands, first one and then the other.

“I’m offering,” he says, holding my hands up to the light.

The tsk he makes pulls a smile from deep within. After reading through all the documents my grandfather sent my father, I dinnae think I would ever smile again.

He leads me to a weight bench, pushing me to sit before walking away. I watch him rummage through a cabinet, and when he returns, I see he’s gathered first aid supplies. He straddles the bench in front o’ me, and I reposition myself to face him.

“I cannae let ye help, Simon. They’ve taken everyone from me. I cannae let them take ye, too.”

“You aren’t the boss o’ me, Dray. If you’re determined to do this, then I’ll be damned if you do it alone.”

I set my jaw. He’s an asshole and as much an alpha as I am. It shocks me as much as it pleases me that we’ve managed to stay together for as long as we have since we’re both tops. I think the only thing that kept us together is Simon’s love o’ cock. The man is a slut for being stuffed full.

“There are times I wish ye were a good little subbie boy who minded his master,” I mutter.

His laughter rang through the gym, echoing and bouncing off the walls.

“You may be the lord and master o’ the manor, but you aren’t my master, no matter how much I love you.”

“Aye, and well I know it.”

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