Page 52 of Ruthless Vengeance
No matter what, I trust Marco, so if it turns out Ben is lying, he will make sure my brother won’t live long enough to regret it.
Marco catches my eye and nods toward the door, silently asking if I’m done.
I nod back, feeling physically and mentally drained after what Ben just told me. I don’t want to spend another second inside this room if I can help it.
“So, that’s it?” Ben calls out as Marco wraps an arm around my shoulder and guides me toward the door. “You’re just going to fucking leave me here?”
I flinch at the venom in his voice, but I let Marco lead me from the cell before I decide to do something stupid like beg him to let Ben out.
The moment the metal door slams shut behind us, we both let out a collective breath.
I look up at Marco. “Can we trust him?”
Marco runs a hand over his jaw. “We don’t have a choice. If he’s telling the truth about Cillian, then we need him on our side. But if it turns out he’s been lying?”
“What will you do?” I whisper, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. “Then he’ll be tortured to death.”
I shiver as images of the brother I remember, the one from my childhood, play through my mind.
As his sister, I know I should feel worse about his future then I do, which only adds to the guilt weighing heavily on my shoulders.
Marco steps closer before wrapping an arm around my waist, pulling me flush against him.
He buries his face in my hair. “You okay?”
I force a nod, but then I remember the promise I made to him—no more lies. So, I take a breath and shake my head.
I rest my cheek against his chest. “No, not really.”
Marco is quiet, offering me the option to talk if I want to. But also, I know if I just wanted to stay like this, listening to the soft thumping of his heartbeat, that would be all right too.
Having Ben back in my life has resurfaced a lot of memories of my childhood, not just of Ben but of my mother too.
Her last memory of her son is forever tainted by his betrayal, and I spent years telling myself I didn’t care that I cut him off for this very reason. That was the least he deserved, considering the hell he put our mother through when she was on her deathbed.
But maybe I care more than I’m willing to admit.
“What if Ben is playing us? What if this is all just another one of his lies?”
Marco squeezes my waist, and I wrap my arms around him, needing to feel the weight and strength of his body against mine.
“It’s okay.” He strokes my hair. “I’ve got it sorted.”
As we drive home, I try to force what Ben told us out of my head, but the weight of it still lingers, pressing down on my chest so hard that it hurts to breathe.
The only thing keeping me from being completely crushed by it all is the knowledge that no matter what happens next, Marco will be at my side.
Chapter Fourteen
MARCO
Some say ignorance is bliss,but when it comes to Cillian Moore, I need to have all the facts.
If I had known that Cillian was into the sort of stuff that involves selling young girls at auctions, I never would have struck a deal with him.
It takes a lot to rattle me after everything I’ve seen during my time, so the fact that I findmyselfhorrified goes to show just how bad this situation is.
Clara is quiet on the drive back to the city, her thoughts no doubt filled with the horrors of what Ben just told us.
