Page 75 of Breaking Conviction
“I don’t… know anything… I just fuck them. Wh-when I get them… th-they want it. I s-swear.”
That was obviously the wrong thing for him to say if he was trying to gain sympathy from Naomi. The concern that had taken over Naomi’s face cleared away, like she’d traded her comedy mask for her tragedy one. Her face twisted in scorn and she crossed her arms under her breasts.
“They want it?” She stepped forward, the fire in her eyes no longer turning Wes’s heart into ash. “The women you buy and sell… you’re tellin’ me theywantyou to fuck them?”
“Yes, I swear!” Ascot raised his face to answer, but Wes kicked him in the shin, not too hard but hard enough that he looked down again before scowling at Wes. Wes just bent forward to meet Ascot’s eyes but not low enough that they were on the same level.
“Don’t fucking look at her. Answer whatever she asks, but don’t ever fucking look at her again. Got it?”
The anger in the man’s eyes stayed, but he gulped as he averted his gaze at another one of Naomi’s loaded questions.
“Did you know I met the women who were saved from that party?”
Ascot seemed to analyze the question before shaking his head no.
“I sat with them as they were poked and prodded, their modesty violated all over again during every rape kit.” —she stalked forward, but when Ascot tried again to look at her, Wes cuffed him on the back of the head, not bothering holding back— “I called their mommas for them, the ones who had them at least. I cried with every one of those women as they gave their statements, and do you know what? Not a damn one of them said they wanted to be there. Not afuckingone of them said they liked being raped or kidnapped or drugged with the constant fear of being murdered or that theywantedto have their futures taken from them by nightmares and PTSD. Not afucking…one. So forgive me if I don’t believe a damn word comin’ out your mouth.”
Ascot swallowed hard, but Wes could see the sneer forming on his face before he finally replied, raising his head in defiance but still not meeting Naomi’s eyes. “We only ever picked poor sluts lookin’ for a way out. It’s not like they had much of a future to start with—”
Naomi’s slap was loud in the metal room and made Ascot’s head whip to the side. His cheek was immediately bright red and he had tiny cuts from where she’d let her nails scratch as her hand left his flesh.
She pointed at him. “You almost had me. I’ve given my life to a man for the past five years who’s used my emotions to manipulate me. And fuck, you almost had me, too.” Her dark laugh echoed in the room as she crossed her arms again. “Thanks for remindin’ me that some people deserve what they get without me feelin’ sorry for them.” She turned to the rest of the men in the room, carefully avoiding Wes’s eyes. “Carry on, guys.” Her gaze cut back to Ascot. “This man won’t be gettin’ any allies from me. I’m done with all this shit.”
She turned on her heel and Wes looked at the open door for half a millisecond before darting his eyes toward Hawk. At his leader’s single nod, Wes turned on his heel and raced toward Naomi through the short tunnel and up into the war room. When he finally made it, she was already about to walk out and Wes had to shout for her.
“Naomi! Wait up!”
Naomi paused before turning on her heel. “What do you want?”
Her tone had him jerking back. He’d forgotten how scathing her defenses could be.
“About what just happened—”
She held her hand up. “Save it. I’m not ready to talk about this shit with you yet.”
Wes felt his brow furrow. “But… I thought you understood?”
“Understood what? That you fuckin’ torture people in your day job? Is this such a common occurrence that you are genuinely surprised that I’m disgusted with you right now? Or that a lie by omission is still a lie. You let me believe your injuries were from boxin’. You had the opportunity to be honest with—”
“Naomi, you didn’t want to know!” he yelled, reaching for his excuse and hoping it was enough. “Look, I’m sorry—”
The laugh that came from her was so dark, he had to almost do a double take to make sure it was her.
“You’resorry?” She ripped at her dark auburn hair. “Gah, do you even know how much I fuckin’ hate that word? It’s a pathetic way for someone to feel better about their guilt without doing a damn thing to change the hurt they’ve caused. Sorry, sorry, sorry,sorry. Fuck your apologies. Just don’tdothe things that you would need to apologize for, how ‘bout that? And what are you even apologizin’ for, hm? Beatin’ a man up?”
“What? Fuck no, I’m not apologizing for getting answers from a monster to save innocents.”
Something cracked on Naomi’s exterior before she huffed. “Good, because honestly, I get that one. After two minutes with the guy, I hope y’all crack him like an egg to get to what’s inside.” Then her shields were back up as she narrowed her eyes again. “But please, tell me then what’re yousorryfor, hm?”
“For lying… I should’ve just told you—”
“You’re damn right you should have! How can I trust you now? Itoldyou I needed to know if Thea and I were in danger stayin’ here. If you’re bringin’ high-powered people here to torture them, how can we possibly be safe here with y’all?”
“BlackStone’s the safest place you could ever be—”
“But, what about you, huh? Can we be safe withyou?”
Wes felt his mouth open and shut, completely thrown by the question. “Of course, you can. Why the hell would you think you couldn’t be safe with me, Naomi?”
