Page 29 of What Lies Within

"You got a fuckin' death wish runnin' that mouth of yours?" I ask with a lilt of laughter, reaching for the letter opener. He's his old man's kid, through and through. Madder than a March hare.

"Maybe." Connor shrugs. “Maybe I’m just at the point where I don’t give a fuck anymore.”

Unlike his father, he's honest to a fault. The whole goddamn reason why I took his word when he admitted he had no idea where Fox had taken Maddie. Connor wouldn't come here and lie. Not when he can cause twice the damage through the truth alone. He was the kid, growing up, who would have broken your front window with his football and then walked straight up to your door to tell you so. The teen who would have run your cat over with his car and then taken it to the vet, leaving you a note on where to find it. Terry may have trained Connor into a killer, but there was one quality that he couldn't beat out of the kid no matter how many times he tried.

Every opportunity I've known for this kid to lie, he chose to stay honest—although not often fair.

"Why are you coming here with this fool's notion you can get Rae back if you know your old man wouldn't stand for it?" I lean my ass against the front of my desk and fold my arms, opener still in my fist. "Can't tell me she's worth that risk for you." Connor's slated to take over his father's empire when the asshole either kicks the bucket or abdicates. Rae's something special, alright, but I wouldn't have pinned her as worth giving up a guaranteed million-dollar future for.

Surely.

"Since when have I done everything the old bastard tells me?" Connor grins, gaze shifting behind me to a photo of my father and his two closest friends. "You always do what your father told you, Tyke?"

He has me there. "You move my daughter for Terry?”

Connor swings his chin around, the corners of his mouth upturned. "Nice try, old man."

Old.Pfft.Fucking young enough to satisfy your woman, you little shit.

"Gonna ask you an honest question, Connor. As the father figure you so clearly don't have." I set the letter opener on mydesk and take a deep breath. "Say she believes your shit." I pin him with a hard stare, noting Digger stiffen in my periphery. "Say she decides to go with you. How the fuck you think you'll keep her safe? Living under your daddy's roof, you're as close to the fuckin' fire as you can get."

He hangs his head, a mess of black hair slipping over his eyes. I can't tell if the fucker grins or steels his jaw. The lack of indicators makes me push off the desk edge and stand taller.

"I know that, Tyke." Kid lifts his head and swallows hard. "I wouldn’t stick around if Rae came with me."

"You'd take her on the run?" Digger snorts. "Even I know that's fuckin' stupid." He points to the tattoo creeping up the side of Connor's neck into his hairline. "You're pretty fuckin' recognizable."

"In America, sure." He twists, failing to get a proper look at Digger as he talks. "Europe is a whole new world."

"A world with just as many questionable people as there are here." I shift around my sofa and sit, facing the kid with elbows resting on my knees. "Doesn't matter where you run, Connor. There's always someone willing to do what it takes for the right price."

He runs his teeth over his bottom lip, pensive. "Maybe you could talk to Marco?" Hope shines in his crazed eyes. "See if his family can help?"

“First off,” I say with a slight chuckle. “I ain’t doin’ shit if it means sending Rae anywhere with you. And second, Marco wouldn't call his family if it werehisneck in the noose." Relations went south years ago. Honor is the only thing keeping him alive at this point. "Leave Rae here if you care about her. She's safe with us." I study him a moment before adding, "She's loved."

No way would I entertain his fucking delusion of taking her back, of stealing the woman who's got a chokehold on my heart.But shit, the kid hurts. It's evident in his downturned gaze, how he worries his bottom lip, the tension in his shoulders.

She’s the last fucking thing keeping him going, and I’m willing to bet she knows it.

"Leave her here." He scoffs at the notion, words a thinly veiled threat when he continues to speak. "Like keeping pretty things in cages, do you, Tyke?" He narrows his eyes, leaning forward in my brother's restraint to level our gazes. "Rae isn't the kind of woman who likes to be stuck indoors, Tyke. She wants freedom. To explore."

I nod to Digger, allowing him to loosen his grip on the kid. The conversation has been civil so far; his care for Rae appears genuine. I've got no other reason to believe he's a threat, and if he's more comfortable, he's more likely to listen to what the fuck I have to say. My brother slides his arms free, giving Connor full use of his.

He takes the gesture with civility I'd never see from his old man, nodding once to Digger and repositioning himself on the seat to sit a little taller.

A little prouder.

Respect. It gets you a fuckin' long way in this world.

"Rae will get her freedom to head when and where she pleases when the time's right," I assure him. “You don't need to worry about that." I've been dreaming, myself, of sticking her on a bike and taking her cross-country to the cabin, spending a night or three with only the stars and an open fire for company.

Would even let Digger tag along if it makes her happy.

“Pressure is on, though, kid." I clasp my hands together. Draw a fucking deep breath and circle the goddamn conversation back to where it matters. "The longer we fuck around talkin' about your broken heart, the likelier it is something happens to my daughter, and your bruised pride will be the least of your worries." Tongue tip pressed to my top teeth,I smile. "Tell me where my fuckin' daughter is, Connor, or you can fuck right off and keep hopin' a miracle brings Rae back to you while you're jackin' off to her memory in your bed at night."

He shakes his head. “You expect me to step back and do nothing while you fuck my woman?"

“For the last goddamn time, she ain't your woman," I growl through a stiff jaw, hands turning to fists. "I won’t say it again."

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