Page 29 of Breaker

“Yeah. I’m not sure how long Cora will last at the hands of Rune and Zane.”

“Fuck,” Breaker mutters, tapping the back of his head against the wall, then stands up with a grunt. He reaches for the door, but I grab his calf, stopping him.

“Mask,” I say, slipping mine over my head on instinct, then remember I don’t have to.

She knows me.

No. She doesn’t know me. She’s seen me. There’s a difference.

Breaker ignores me and pushes the door open.

I hear her scream out a venomous stream of curses, but her words cut off abruptly. When I enter the room behind him, I almost laugh at her expression. Mouth open, eyes moving over his features like she’s trying to see every hard line and smooth curve all at once. I’m so used to seeing him, I forget. Breaker is probably the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen, almost feline in his perfection. Far more than even Reaper, and that’s a hard task.

He leans down and grabs her by the back of her neck. Delilah’s eyes flare wide with shock. “You don’t leave,” he growls. “You are ours, Tiny Thing. Remember?”

Her mouth opens again, but this time she exhales, her chest sinking in defeat. “Seriously?”

Breaker glances my way.

“That’s what you look like?” Our Princess squirms, thighs pressing together. “This whole time, you’ve been keepingthatface hidden?”

My laughter earns me a smirk from Breaker. Then he leans down, placing a kiss on her forehead, but his voice still has the dominant edge when he says, “Say it. Tell me you won’t try to leave again.”

Delilah nods, her gaze hungrily taking in every feature.

“Say it,” he demands.

“Okay,” she breathes. “My god, I won’t try to leave.”

Her response eases the tension in his shoulders, but he rolls them like he does right before we’re about to move in on a target, and my body goes rigid.

“We had to send her back because of a deal,” Breaker says, “We had no choice.”

“What deal?” Delilah asks the same moment I say, “Not a good time, Breaker.”

She tenses, her muscles straining against the tight restraints, trying to sit upright, but Reaper has her tied so tight she can’t move an inch. We’re going to have to let her go soon before she loses circulation. “A good time for what? Tell me what you mean.”

His shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath.

“Break…” I try to say gently, placing my hand on his shoulder, but I know it comes out like a warning. She’s already upset, upset with us, and this will just send her over the edge. Telling her won’t ease his guilt. It’ll just piss her off even more.

He shrugs me off. “Rune made a deal a with Devin.” When her brows knit, he continues, “To combine the families.”

“He’s marrying her off,” Delilah says, more to herself. I see the moment it all crashes into her. Her gorgeous features contort, mouth pulling into a frown, brows furrowing. “The Devin family. Rune’s marrying her off to Zane to keep the families connected.”

Breaker says nothing and I know better than to say a damn thing.

“You sent my Cora back to marry Zane fucking Devin?” Her scream nearly makes my ears bleed. All shock at seeing Breaker’s face leaves as she writhes, trying to free herself. “You bastard,” she seethes, fury turning her cheeks red. Princess jerks and thrashes against the restraints, her feet kicking out in desperation like a wild animal and I worry she’s going to hurt herself. “You’re all bastards!”

We are. Fucking bastards who vowed to protect Cora then broke it less than twenty-four hours later.

Princess screams, this feral, ungodly sound that rips through me with its intensity, but suddenly, it stops and she stills. Tears roll down her cheeks and I think witnessing this utter heartbreak is far worse punishment than Fallon’s belt or solitary. Worse than anything, I’ve been handed so far.

Breaker kneels by the bed and gently wipes away her tears. She pulls away, but only half-heartedly, her body limp with anguish.

“Why?” Hot tears stream down her cheeks, leaving a trail of salt and sorrow. “Why did you have to send her? What power does he have over you?”

Father, she means. What power does he hold? Funny. I never questioned why we listen to Fallon. He holds power over us because we gave it to him.

---