Page 82 of Ruthless Commander
“And you’re not?”
Only a fool would stand against the Commission and not be afraid of the outcome, and Mateo was anything but a fool. “Then I’ll shower and get dressed.”
A nod of his head, and I pushed the sheets aside, catching my breath as that cruel throb came to life again. But I swallowed the moan and headed for the bathroom. I needed to be strong now, stronger than I’d ever been before.
It wasn’t just my father we were up against…
It waseveryone.
33
Mateo
By the time the boats carrying the members of the Commission came, the island was almost empty. The cyclone had gone, leaving blue skies and the dead behind. A steady stream of helicopters had shuttled the remaining guests to the mainland. My men, Xael, and I had stayed behind.
While she'd slept, I'd seen to those desperate to leave, sending Bruno Bernardi and Evan Valachi, as well as Annalise Eden off the island, and then everyone else. We searched the buildings for the murderer, Sophie Harrison, who’d come to the island under the guise of Evan, but after endless hours, the search had been called off. All of that had happened while Xael slept.
I hadn’t had the heart to wake her.
The truth was, I wanted her here when I faced them…her father and the Commission.
I’d sent the reports outlining what’d happened in the wake of the attack, along with all the information I had on Damien Blake. After the attack, it’d been found he'd been just a disillusioned idiot with a hefty trust fund to his name.
He’d grown up in and out of mental institutions, until his father killed himself, leaving behind a stack of letters. Letters that told him they were meant to sit alongside the members of the Commission. A full-blown investigation was underway as to who he and his father really were.
But so far, they were saying nothing if they'd found anything.
The sixth family was all a lie…wasn’t it?
The sound of the boats' engines drifted on the breeze. Sunlight glinted on the windows, catching my eye as I stood on the embankment. Fingers captured mine. I glanced at Xael, standing beside me. She was worried, but then again, she wasn't naive, knowing exactly the kind of force I was up against.
No one left the Commission, not alive, at least, and if you’d asked me a week ago if I cared about that, I would’ve said no. I'd had nothing worth living for. I clenched my grip around hers, taking solace in her touch, and faced them as the two luxury cruisers sidled up to the dock and the deckhands threw ropes to my men waiting for them.
But they weren’t my men anymore.
They belonged to the men stepping from the boats.
They weren’t all here, but there were enough.
Dominic Salvatore was the first to step onto the dock, heaving his body up with the hands of two of his security. I’d seen him in a video conference barely a week ago, but it might as well have been a lifetime. He’d aged in the days since I’d seen him…but hadn’t we all?
Benjamin Rossi was next, stepping onto the dock and striding forward, dressed in black as though he was attending a funeral. The idea of that weighed heavily. Adrian Bernardi followed, then the man I was dreading, Taran Davies, Xael’s father.
She stiffened beside me as he strode toward us, his gaze fixed on her.
“Commander,” Dominic muttered, and looked around the island.
I waited, watching his reaction without seeming to watch them at all. I didn’t know what they’d do, if they’d blame me for the entire attack and come guns blazing from the team of mercenaries that stepped off the second boat and came behind them, or what.
A nod from Dominic Salvatore and most of the men dispersed, invading my island.The island…notmyisland, not anymore.But a number of them stayed behind, flanking out to the sides, just as I would’ve commanded.
“Xael.” Her father motioned her forward. “Come.”
She stiffened beside me as I fixed my stare on him. I didn’t like him…not one bit. He was a pig of a man, using his kin like pawns. I’d watched him over the years as he became not just a vile human being, but a cruel one, especially where his daughter was concerned. He didn’t care about her, only about what embarrassment she’d bring him. No wonder she'd acted out.
I wasn’t scared of him…I wasn’t scared of any one of them. I had stayed under the idea that they’d protect Edon, that they were seen by Besnik to be the bigger threat. But I could see now that I'd been wrong.
They wouldn’t protect us…not unless they could use us. Just like Taran had used his daughter.
