Page 61 of Brutal Empire

I was about to open my mouth to beg, even if it would be useless, when he mentioned a name.

TWENTY-SIX

Crazy to thinkthat everything we had in life, all the good and bad things, were butterfly effects of decisions we had made at one point in our lives. Nothing felt as big a gamble as it did now.

Cam slept while I watched her, and I couldn’t say this was the first time either. Our muscles have memory. Their only weakness is the nervous system. When she was deep in sleep, she let go of her fears and the wall she had put up. Every night, I would slowly press my body against hers, gently caressing her skin, so her body would not view me as a threat but instead, as something familiar that offered warmth.

Her body was being conditioned not to fear me, and I just hoped her mind reached that same conclusion. When she began to stir, I reached for the cloth that I had dipped in a low dose of chloroform. Her body went limp, and I quickly left the room, searching for Gideon.

As soon as I opened the door, it reeked of marijuana. He was on the couch with his head thrown back, staring absently at the ceiling.

He didn’t turn to look at me, but I knew he felt me coming down the stairs.

“Daphne is not going to be happy about this.”

His remark caught me off guard for a second. Daphne was already aware of the situation. She was not happy, but we had more important things to worry about.

“Where is Daphne?” I casually asked as I took a seat across from him.

“We are all keeping a distance because of what Damian did to you.”

It was clever, but after the castle, they had been inseparable, so I didn’t think the two of them splitting would soothe Damian’s suspicion.

“Did you get reacquainted with your right hand?” My own hand moved up and down in a jerking motion.

Gideon flipped me off.

“I’m getting as much as you’re getting now.” He pointed toward the door.

Touché.

Gideon took a drag of his joint and then sat straighter, his brown eyes glaring at me. I forced myself to stay still, but my body was on alert.

“Stop the bullshit, Bas. I know,” he spat, and my heart stopped for a fraction of a second.

“Know what?” I asked as I crossed my ankle over my knee.

“Don’t take me for a fucking fool. You know, there were a few things from Chicago that never made sense to me. Even wild variables aren’t that lucky, and a lone soldier can’t do it all.”

Fuck—he knew.

“Now what?” I bit out, knowing I was at his mercy.

* * *

Even though Ididn’t get any sleep, I didn’t feel tired. Since the moment that Damian left me in Mexico, it was coming down to this. I knew my choices were going to fuck me over raw, and here I was with no fucking lube.

Cam woke up as her nose scrunched. She looked around, disorientated. I should feel like an asshole for what I did, but what was another lie at this point?

“How are you feeling?” At least that question wasn’t a lie.

“My throat burns,” she said as she looked at me cautiously.

I ignored that look and instead handed her a water bottle with the article I had printed last night. That had been the first time I had ever seen her; her face was on a piece of newspaper that someone had left on the ground. Even crumpled, her smile caught my eyes because I knew the fate that awaited her the moment I read the story.

Cam ignored the water bottle as she brought the paper centimeters away from her face. Her fingers shook as she traced features that were no longer there.

Teenage girl mysteriously disappears.

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