Page 51 of Filthiest Of Them All

“Guess, not,” he mutters.

“Look, that wasn’t the only reason I wanted our freedom,” I admit. “Ellie asked me to come home because she missed me. I knew I could never be near her and be The Butcher, so I did what I had to.” Tate reaches up and cups my cheek pulling my focus back to her.

Her eyes are bright with understanding. “You did all of that for her?” I nod and her eyes turn sad. “What is the connection between her and my brother, Alex? None of this makes sense. You got out from under her thumb and then two years later your sister was murdered. I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“She’s right,” Vat agrees. I keep staring at Tate trying to work through everything in my head. She holds my gaze. When it hits me, my eyes widen and she smiles. I snap my head up to look at Halo.

“We’ve been looking at this all wrong, we’ve been trying to find the connection between Desire and Nexus but it's much simpler than that.”

“How so?” Pope queries.

I smirk. “Thomas and Roberto.” Pope reels back. “Think about it. There is no connection between her and Nexus but there could be one between Thomas and Roberto.”

“Thomas was a real estate tycoon. Could your father have needed to funnel money through buying properties?” Tate asks the guys. Halo stares at her for a minute before nodding.

“I’ll look into it,” he says, then stands.

But before they can all disappear I ask, “Are we good?” I don’t look at Carnage. I keep Vat, Omen, Pope and Halo in my sight, waiting to see their reactions.

“Yeah, brother, we’re good,” Vat answers. The other three nod. I know it's going to take some time for them to wrap their heads around what I did, and I'll weather whatever punishment they throw my way because they’re my family.

Tatum

I’ve made myself scarce all day since Halo gave me all my things and a new phone. He let me know they did track my phone and it was a smart move I made. I appreciate his praise but I didn’t do anything really. I still feel guilt churning in my gut over handing my brother over.

I retreated to Alex’s cabin when his men arrived to be briefed on what was going on. Omen said I could stay but I declined. I didn’t need to listen in on their plans—how they plan to capture my brother and kill him. Knowing it's going to happen is one thing, but hearing the gory details is another. I’ve buried myself in work for most of the day. I checked in with Andre—my co-manager of Lividica in Hollow Hills—to see how things are going. He assures me he has everything under control. Thanks to Alex and his impromptu kidnapping escapades I’m behind on work.

When I see a WhatsApp message ping across my screen I sigh at the sight of the name.

V__Temp – You’re alive

TLaw – Yeah, no thanks to you!

V_Temp – I’m sorry He just looked so happy to see you.

TLaw – Yeah sure, got to go.

Before I can close out of the app, a request for a video call with her pops up. I debate hanging up on her but then decide against it. When I hit answer, I fight not to smile at the sight of her and Nova crowding around the screen of her phone.

“Tate!” Nova squeals.

I roll my eyes and fight back a smile. “Hi.”

“Oh, don’t sound so bitter, we miss you,” Vivian says.

I balk at her. “You wouldn’t be missing me if you didn’t snitch me out to The Butcher!” I scold.

She waves me off. “Girl, lie to yourself if you want but I saw the way you were looking at him.” She fans herself with her hand. “I got hot just watching you both.” Nova laughs and nods her agreement.

“Thanks to you, I’m now behind on work,” I say, trying to bring the subject back to something I can actually deal with instead of my feelings about Alexander–fucking–Denver.

“Don’t worry about it, we hired someone to help oversee the finalization of the builds.” My breath lodges and I begin to panic.

“A-am I fired?” I stutter.

Both Vivian and Nova’s faces fall. “Did the guys fire you?” Vivian shrieks.

“What? No,” I rush to say.

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