Page 31 of Brutal Empire

“The organization that we all work for has been corrupted,” I began to speak again. “It isn’t something new. It has been compromised since before I joined. Once upon a time, it was created as a means to keep checks and balances in the world.”

“So, you were betrayed?”

“Yeah, but it’s much more than that. The man in charge, Damian, is not a good man.”

“Neither are we.”

I turned to look at her and debated how much to tell her.

“I’m going to get us out of here, and then I’ll arrange for you to be sent back.”

Her crestfallen look did something to me. I never imagined watching her through a computer would lead us here. Daphne was right to keep her from me. I was never one to dwell in guilt, and I had been corrupted beyond redemption.

“I don’t want to go back,” she whispered.

My chest rose and fell.

“The most lucrative business Damian has is human trafficking.”

She sucked in a breath.

“Where I am going, it’s going to be knee-deep in that filth.”

It was better this way. She belonged far away from me. She might not like how Daphne treated her, but she was safe with her, even if she was shielded.

“Xander Yates.” She whimpered the name as if it cost her to say it aloud.

I turned to look at her, and her face was pale. Her eyes were glossy, and her thoughts seemed far from here. When her eyes met mine, she swallowed, making her throat bob, and I could see the vein pulsing, making my blood race.

“Can you help me get to him?”

“Why?” It was a stupid question, and I knew I wouldn’t like the answer, but I still asked.

“Because I want to get revenge on all the people who have harmed me.”

“Everyone?” I raised a brow and felt like the room had gotten smaller. This was huge.

“I started to remember a boy,” she admitted. “He was my boyfriend.”

I closed my eyes.

It really was a shame that not only our decisions affected us but those of others. It was like a fucking highway, and one collision had the power to fuck us all over.

“We’re a pair, you and I,” I joked. She looked at me questioningly, and the more she had her eyes on me, the more I wanted them there. She didn’t see Bastian Kingsley, the heir who went apeshit. She just saw me for who I was now. Her looks weren’t calculated, as if she had something to gain from me.

“One condition,” I told her.

“Anything,” she replied right away.

I stood up and looked down at her with a smile.

“Never agree to anything without knowing what you get in return. I’m sure Daphne taught you better than that,” I chided.

Her eyes narrowed.

“My soul already belongs to the devil. I have nothing else to give.”

She was wrong, but I was too selfish to say otherwise. I knew sooner or later, this would blow up in my face, but it had been so long since I’d had a small taste of something good and pure that I wasn’t going to deny myself. I was a selfish person, even if I liked to pretend otherwise.

---