Page 25 of Underworld

“He’s seen you fucking naked?!” Zane yells.

“Fuck no,” Luka says with a grunt beside me. “She wasn’t allowed to strip naked. Our women only strip naked if they choose to. But I knew the guys at the club would eat her alive if she did. So instead, she was one of the girls who danced in the cages above the main stage. Men couldn’t touch her.”

Seeing that this conversion is headed nowhere good, I hold up a hand, trying to get my guys to stop. I sigh and say, “Can we shelve this conversion until later? I want to have fun, and this is turning into a depressing recollection of my past.”

The guys look between themselves before turning back to me with a nod. I huff out another sigh. “Great. Can we get some food going now? I’m getting hungry.”

***

In the end, we had a great time. Everyone talked for hours, and it felt like a bunch of friends having a night together. I loved every moment of it. Silas, Jax, and Luka waved goodbye as they got into their vehicle and left.

Now I’m snuggled up on the couch. I know I can’t avoid the questions any longer, as much as I wish the guys would have forgotten.

Jace is the first to ask, “What happened over the last few years?”

I give him a half-hearted shrug. “I ran away from Dad. I had to find a way to keep myself alive, so I took random jobs. Unfortunately, not all of them were jobs I’m proud of, but I got paid.”

“That isn’t much to go on,” Alec says as he snuggles up beside me on the couch.

“I don’t really want to reminisce on past jobs I had. I survived and managed to keep my dad's eyes off of me,” I pause for a moment before asking, “What I’m curious about is what happened with you guys the past ten years.”

“Not much to tell, Princess.”

I snort out a laugh. Jace’s dismissal will not work for me. “I’m not buying it. I know you guys aren’t fucking saints. Just tell me what happened after I left.”

Surprisingly, it’s Alec who speaks up first. “I killed my dad a year later.”

My eyes widen. Holy shit. I mean, I’m not exactly surprised. I wouldn’t call the man his dad; he was their foster dad. But that fucker was disgusting. He had done things to the guys; I know he did. Worst of all to Alec. Alec had been the smallest of the guys, and their foster dad took advantage of that.

Alec continues as if he didn’t just drop that bomb on me. “We all dropped out of school when we were, like, sixteen, I think. We made Howe get his GED, though. He was always the smartest out of us.”

I look over at the man in question. He shrugs. “I was able to hack into the local community colleges and take several classes for free. I have degrees in cybersecurity along with chemistry and firearms technology.”

Well, fuck . . . that explains a lot of things. I look between Jace and Zane since they still haven’t said anything. “Jace. Tell me what happened.” I didn’t mean for the words to come out whiny, but they did.

He sighs, then growls and says, “Fine, you want to know our dark and dirty past, Princess? I’ll tell you.”

Chapter Nineteen

Jace

Four years ago…

It has taken fucking years to get to this point. Years. We’ve fought every local gang in the area starting five years ago. Every one of them is now under my control. Under Hades’ control. But having all this power was doing shit to help with what I wanted it for. We want to find Jane, but her dad did a great job of fucking hiding her. I slam my fingers on the keys of my piano, but I can’t fucking play. Well, I could. Just not the song I wanted to play. My phone rings, interrupting my thoughts.

Without looking at who it is, I pick up and bark, “What?”

Howe’s voice comes over the line. “Get the fuck up to security. I found her.”

I jump up from the piano bench. I must not have heard him correctly. “What?”

“I fucking found her!” he says again.

I race out of my room and up the stairs. I don’t hang up the phone. Instead, I ask, “How the fuck did you find her? Her dad has basically erased her from existence.”

I hear a growl in his voice as he spits out, “Seems Mr. Alexander has finally decided to make use of his daughter.”

Rushing into the security room, I look around at all the screens Howe has up. I slam my phone down, anger rushing through me when I see where he found Jane. “The Underground bidding site?”

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