Page 27 of Ruthless Commander
Maybe if I just saw her, just once watched her smile and laugh and have all the things I could never give her, I’d finally be able to drive her from my mind and burn her out from under my skin. I winced and reached up, adjusting my tie, because right now I couldn’t feel anything other than her squirming boring holes through my heart.
I pressed my card against the scanner and stepped into the darkened hallway as my phone gave abeep.
Bruno Bernardi:I want access to CCTV and arrival information for Evan Valachi. Make it happen.
Shit. I pressed the button, listening to his phone ring once before it was answered. “You realize the situation you’re putting me in here, right?” I kept walking, leaving the control room door to close behind me. “Youknow I can’t give out access to other Commission members.”
“I’ma Commission member…andan heir.”
“So isshe,Bruno,” I snarled. “Ifshewanted to spy onyou, would you allow it?”
There was a second where the rush of a slow, hard exhale filled my ear. The little punk had it bad for Evan Valachi, so bad he was about to step across a line…a line that’d been specifically dotted by the entire Commission.
They wanted their sons and daughters to exert their power, wanted them to explore what it meant to be the one controlling the shots. They wanted them to fight it out amongst each other. That’s what the island was for, fighting, fucking, backstabbing, and betrayal all within a confined, safe environment. As I stepped around the corner, I lifted my gaze to the banks of monitors, ones that gave visual access to a good portion of the island…and its buildings. I was the one in control of that supposedly safe environment.
“Yeah,” Bruno answered. “I would.”
“Ispecifically can’t allow your request,” I answered, already searching the monitors for Xael’s building. “But the control room is open toallserving Commission members, and as an heir, you have full access to gather the information for yourself.”
I could almostseethe grin on his face as he spoke. “Then I guess I’ll be visiting the control room.”
“Enjoy your stay, Mr. Bernardi,” I muttered and ended the call, lifting my gaze to the communications officer behind the desk, and stopped…it was him, the one who'd walked into Xael.
He lifted his gaze to me and adjusted his posture. Those dark eyes fixed on me as I stepped around the desk and raised my gaze to the monitors.
“Commander,” the new guy murmured an acknowledgement.
“Blake.” I searched the monitors, tracking each one until I narrowed in on her building and leaned forward, punching in the details for her building.
“Is there anything I can help you with, sir?”
There she was, standing in the middle of her living room and staring out the window at the water. It was already getting darker, almost night. I wanted her there, in the building further back from the others. The building closer to…I winced, watching as she turned, grabbed her shirt, and pulled it over her head.
Long, shaggy midnight strands came crashing down across her pale skin. She was an enigma, one born for the night. She wasn’t like the others, not so controlled. Xael Davies was a little wildcat, earning a reputation as someone who didn’t exactly like to play by the rules. I liked that, liked that she was ruthless and undeniable. I liked that she went after what she wanted and as she'd come onto my radar, I’d watched her blossom into a woman from afar, never once making my presence known…until that night.
A night fate had decided otherwise.
Now I was dealing with the repercussions, trying to unravel something wound so tight it had embedded itself into me. “I want a dedicated feed set up on my cell,” I directed as I unlocked my phone.
“Any building in particular, sir?”
I motioned my head toward Xael’s apartment, unable to say the words. “That one.”
“Only that one?”
“Yes.” I swung my gaze to him. This guy…this guy was starting to piss me off. “Do you have a problem with that?”
He just took my phone. “Not at all.”
“Good. I’ll wait.”
He scowled, met my gaze, and gave a nod, then took my cell and got to work. When I walked out of the command center, I was staring at the feed to her apartment, including her bedroom. Evan Valachi shared the space, but I didn’t care about her…
No.
All I wanted to see was the nightmare I craved. I strode back to my apartment, my steps quickening, turning into long, consuming strides. My hands worked on their own, their movement a blur as I pressed the card to the scanner outside the door to my private wing in the building and stepped inside.
Darkness consumed me.
