Page 35 of Seduce Me in Shadow

“Piss off. If your brother hadn’t stolen her away, she would have beenmymate, safe inmyhouse. I’ll be the one to find her.”

Over my dead body. I need to find Anka before Shock does, or my brother will never see her again.

And he’ll die of a broken heart.

“How?” Bram challenges. “Plan to ask Mathias where he discarded his toy?”

“Shut your fucking mouth and leave that to me.”

“Have you heard of this thing called tact?” I spit at the asshole.

“Have you heard of this thing called fucking off?” Shock hurls me a sour glare before turning to Bram. “Call the others. Everyone should hear what I’ve come to say.”

Bram looks reluctant, but he does. Within a few minutes, Ice and Marrok crowd into Bram’s office. Accusations are hurled. Arguments ensue. Clearly, Shock doesn’t have a single fan among the Doomsday Brethren. They all regard him as a traitor.

I smile in grim satisfaction.

A few more moments pass before Duke arrives, looking less than interested in Shock’s cagey excuses.

Finally, everyone sits. Shock glares at the group, brushing off our attitudes while furiously pacing. Rage rolls off him in terrible black waves.

“First, I had no bloody idea Anka was in danger.” He spears me with a glance. “I swear that’s the truth.”

This asshole’s word means nothing to me, but pointing that out would only belabor the argument.

“You’ve all assumed the worst of me. Given my family name, I’m not surprised,” he goes on. “But I never imagined the lot of you would be so thick.”

Bram raises a haughty brow to let Shock know he’s treading on thin ice. “Meaning?”

“Do you daft wankers really believe Mathias is going to engage in a fair fight? Or willingly allow you any way to defeat him? We’re five; seven if you count Junior and the lunatic. He has a multiplying army we barely know how to best. A handful of able-bodied fighters are no match against a sea of willing suicide killers. Do you honestly believe we can win without a spy? Without someone to rot the Anarki from the inside out?”

Damn it all. I really hate this bastard. And I don’t trust him one whit. But he makes sense.

Bram raises a sharp brow. “So you abandoned us abruptly because you saw an opportunity to pretend you’re on Mathias’s side, earn his trust, and eventually stab him in the back?”

“Exactly. I visited my brother in your dungeon after Lucan and Duke captured him at Marrok’s cottage. I got an earful of Zain’s hero worship for Mathias and a load of alarming information that made me realize we cannot win if we’re always a step behind.”

“So you’re the one who broke him out?” Bram challenges.

“I had to. It convinced my brother I’m with him, and it gained Mathias’s trust.”

“You could have mentioned that.”

“When? As I was sneaking my stupid brother out under your nose clandestine-like or while Mathias forced me to bow and scrape and kiss his bloody ring?” Shock shakes his head. “We must have a mole on the inside, or we’re doomed.”

Marrok crosses his enormous arms across his chest. “Then why did you not warn us that Mathias had killed my mate’s father and begun masquerading as Gray so he could lure her to bring him the diary? Or that he planned to attack us in the tunnel?”

“Or have any bloody clue what had happened to Anka or where she is now?” I challenge.

Shock curses. “Mathias is well aware that I’ve never backed others with his views, so he’s leery of my support. Trust will take time to build. I’m making progress. Be patient.”

Do I believe him?

The others seem to be wondering the same thing, whether Shock is being honest or twisting the situation to earn their trust so he can betray them later. A quick glance around proves the warriors are somewhere between considering to close minded.

“Let’s pretend for a moment that any of us believe you,” Bram says. “The first thing I would say is?—”

“Pretend you believe? Piss off. The lot of you!” He pins Bram with a narrow-eyed glare. “In case you’ve forgotten, you asked me to join the Doomsday Brethren. I don’t need you, your bloody band of misfits, or your distrust. I’ll bring Mathias down on my own.”

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