Page 33 of The Hermit

She stares at me for a moment before saying, “Even though we were married, I never accepted Braden.”

When I frown again, Ian mutters, “The intimate moments were violent, and it took a toll on Grace.”

Z kurvy syn!

I clench my jaw as the thirst for blood rises in my chest. My eyes drift over her face as I realize what kind of hell she’s been through. Now I understand why she’s fighting tooth and nail for her sister.

With a hoarse voice, I say, “He raped you.”

That would mean I triggered the fuck out of her the night I waited for her in her bedroom. No fucking wonder she passed out.

“That’s how Grace feels,” Ian quickly adds. “They were married, and Mallon had a right to–”

Murder coats my words as I hiss, “Finish that sentence, and it will be the last time you speak.”

Ian’s eyes widen, intense fear tightening his features.

A tremor shudders through my body, and remembering how I caged Grace on her bed, my guilt intensifies.

There’s not a lot that gets to me, but because Evinka was raped when we were teenagers, it’s a trigger for me. I had a front-row seat to Evinka’s trauma. Her nightmares kept me up at night, and her tears soaked my shirts.

I’ll never forget how broken she was.

“All that matters is how Grace feels,” I growl. “If she says she was raped, then that’s what fucking happened.” My body shudders with the thirst for revenge, but there’s nothing I can do about it. “Shooting Mallon was too merciful. Had I known this, I would’ve made him suffer.”

“What?” Grace gasps. Her jaw goes slack as she stares at me. “You were the one who killed Braden?”

“Yes,” Ian answers. “I hired Dominik. Braden didn’t keep his end of the deal and wouldn’t sign over my share of the African market.”

Slowly, my eyes move to Ian and my self-control hangs by a tettered rope as I ask, “Is it all that mattered to you when you hired me?”

Ian quickly realizes his mistake and shakes his head. “Of course not. I was worried about Grace as well.”

Sure he was.

“Jesus,” Grace whispers, seemingly still in shock.

I watch as she sucks in a deep breath of air, and when she lifts her hand to tuck hair behind her ear, I notice how she’s trembling.

Her tone is filled with disbelief as she says, “I wasn’t aware you’re an assassin as well.”

“I’m many things,” I say, my tone deceptively calm.

After everything I learned today, I now see the pain in her eyes. Braden Mallon was her worst fear, and he fucking destroyed her.

Grace has been through hell, and she’d go right back for Ciara.

Fuck. She’s much stronger than I thought.

Respect isn’t an emotion I feel often, yet as I look at Grace, it fills my chest.

“So you can understand why I won’t allow Grace to get married,” Ian states.

“That’s my choice to make,” Grace argues.

My phone begins to ring, drawing my attention away from them. Pulling the device out, I see Ilias’ name showing on the screen.

“Yes,” I answer, my tone curt.

---