Page 78 of His Coveted Obsession

The red and slaughter filled my mind, and I shook my head, trying to calm down, but nothing was working.

“This is taking too damn long!”

“Calm down and focus, Easton.”

I stopped my pacing to face Sid again. “I won’t calm down! I’m going to murder all of them, starting with his pathetic father!”

“You willnotkill his father,” Sid insisted.

“Watch me.”

“Thomas will not like that,” Dante said.

“How would you know? Didn’t you kill Luca’s father?”

“No, Luca killed Luca’s father. Besides, Luca grew up in darkness. If Thomas is as innocent as you say, he will not like that you killed his father.”

“He’ll forgive me in time.”

Sid shook his head and stopped my pacing by placing gentle hands on my shoulders. “Thomas willneverforgive you. Even if you save his life and that of his sister, if you take out his father, he will always see you as a monster.”

“Sid’s right,” Dalton said, coming into the lounge area, carrying two cups of coffee, and handing one to Sid.

Sid sat back on the leather sofa, crossing a leg over the other, as Dalton sat on the armrest next to him. He looked at me with shrewd blue eyes that said, ‘I’m your boss right now, not your father.’ “You were right to call us, East. This is a family issue. We handle this the right way. If you go in there on a rampage, you’ll risk Thomas and Annie’s lives even more than they already are.”

Sid was one of the few who could calm me down, if only a little, probably because I trusted him with my life.

“You finally found some happiness in your life, East. Let’s keep hold of that. Use that to direct you as we decide the next steps to take,” he continued in his tone that was both authoritative and soothing.

“Sit down for a moment,” Dalton said, maintaining that calm yet firm tone Sid had given. “Everyone will be here in a moment.”

I sagged on a chair next to Sid as Dalton patted my shoulder. “Layla just got here. She’ll be up in a minute. Khai and Maverick just texted that they pulled into the parking garage.”

I stayed put and did what I was told, but only for Thomas’s sake, to get him back into my life, where he belonged.

Sid leaned toward me. “Don’t worry. You’ll get your chance to slaughter these people. There’ll be blood on your hands. That’s a promise. However, you must maintain a cool head. Don’t let the rage guide you. You’ll fail then. And Thomas will either die or be taken to a place we can’t find him. And if we do, it’ll be too late.”

I hated that he was right.

Soon, Layla came up, yawning and sipping coffee. “It’s my day to sleep in. I sure hope this is worth it.”

“It is,” Dalton said.

A few minutes later, Khai and Maverick came in and headed our way. Khai walked behind Maverick, eyeing his every move for some reason while Maverick planted a fake smile on his face. Maverick was relatively easy, and so were his smiles, but not then. He looked strained and tired.

Malik came out of his office with Sully on his heels. “Good, we’re all here. Let’s gather in the conference room and talk.”

“Can I help?” Luca asked, turning off the TV. He always liked to be busy around here. While he had been trained to kill and protect himself by Dante and me, he chose to run errands and work around the office.

“Can you make an extra pot of coffee, and I’d like—”

“Your tea! I know!” Luca ran off toward the kitchen with a smile on his face and blond curls bouncing behind him.

Once we all gathered in the conference room, everyone sat but me and Sully, who tucked himself into a corner and flipped his knife through his fingers as I often did, watching me. He was always watchful and had a sharp eye, which made him good at what he did.

Maverick still looked stressed, and he was too quiet, while Khai sat next to him, his face made of stone, showing nothing.

Malik waved a hand in my direction. “Please, Easton. Tell us what has happened and what you need from us.”

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