Page 62 of Brutal Empire

At least, that’s what the article said.

Bailey Hale had disappeared overnight. Her parents had wished her good night on her birthday, and she was never seen again. None of her friends came forward, no boyfriend either. She had just vanished. She was a cold case that went unsolved, and part of it had to do with the city’s corruption. Geoffrey White had been in on many things, and he helped cover up the worst of them. Some senator he turned out to be—at least he got what he deserved when Daphne killed him.

“That asshole.” Cam seethed as she began to tear the paper into pieces. “He stayed silent.”

“Give me a name, Angel, and you’ll have all his information delivered.”

I stood up, and she watched me with guarded eyes. All that progress, and it seemed like we were right back at the beginning. I reached for the water and opened it for her.

“Drink. You need hydration,” I said as I crouched next to the bed.

She took the bottle from me and didn’t say a word until she finished the whole thing.

“How did you find this?”

“Back in Mexico, you told me your name. Seeing how you reacted when we landed, it wasn’t hard to piece it together.”

Her shoulders relaxed instantly at my words. I gave her a sad smile, perhaps the first truthful thing I had done.

“I’m sorry I brought you here. Had I known…”

“No,” she cut me off. “I’m glad. For the last few months, I felt stuck, like I was in limbo trying to figure out who I was and who I was supposed to be, and now I finally feel like I have some sense of direction.”

“I guess it paid off to save my life, huh?”

She didn’t smile. Instead, she picked up the piece of paper that showed her untarnished cheek. Her fingers went to her face, stroking her skin.

“He was my first real boyfriend. It was stupid of me to even think he would go to the police.”

And for that, he would die. Even if she couldn’t do it, I would. Even if she felt guilt, I wouldn’t. She was an angel, but I had become a demon.

“People are selfish and will do whatever it takes to protect their own ass.”

She let the paper fall once more, and this time, her gaze went to the window, where the sun was now shining brightly.

“I dreamed of moving to the city. I loved the way I felt walking between all the skyscrapers, the feel of the wind on my cheeks—but none of that appeals to me now. I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I think about the girl I used to be, and I feel weak.”

“Killing your past self won’t accomplish a thing. That part of your life is over and done with. You need to let it go if you want to move forward.”

She snorted. “Like you did? The whole reason you’re here is because of your fiancée.” It was fascinating to me to watch her piece together things that had been in front of her and the ones she had yet to put together.

“It wasn’t love.” I repeated this to myself as I took a seat once more. “Sure, she was my girlfriend, then fiancée, but we both treated it as a business contract at that point. We knew we would end up together; it was inevitable, especially considering how close our families were. I did my own thing, and she did hers. My family had liquid gold while hers had gunpowder and lead.”

I had never spoken to anyone out loud about it. After Daphne interpreted that last message, I was sure she’d figured it out, but we never discussed it. There had been no time.

“Katia had been a gift when her parents were unable to conceive. They didn’t want any negative media.” I snorted. “Her father was shooting blanks, and that took a sting on his fucking pride. Who gave a shit if the public found out, but he couldn’t have that.”

Cam’s eyes were on me, and her head cocked as she watched me tell my story. Her eyes were so trusting and unguarded, and it was that fucking reason why I wanted her to be mine. She struggled every day, but she still got up. That bleakness that had consumed me shone brightly from her eyes, even if she couldn’t see it for herself.

“Except her parents didn’t know whom they were getting in bed with. Her father was a proud and greedy man, so he accepted the terms, but he wasn’t a traitor to his country, so when he tried to stop what he had done, they took her away and reminded him what would happen to his legacy if word got out that he made a deal with terrorists.”

Cam sat straighter, and her brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of what I was trying to say.

“Her family manufactures weapons for the United States, so they thought it would be easy to supply a small unknown group they had never heard of, and since it was a onetime thing, they thought they would be safe.”

This time, I was the one gasping for air before I could carry on.

“Every time Sekten gives me firearms, I know Katia paid for them with her life.”

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