Page 72 of Ravaged
CHAPTER 22
Ethan
I picked up the large plastic bag of Teagen’s belongings: her sweater and jeans from when we first abducted her, her wallet, purse, and cell phone. We had gone through her stuff a few times, but none of it led us any closer to figuring out where the Pink Diamond was. And now, it didn’t matter. We weren’t going to get that jewel. Oliver refused to tell us anything. And in order to keep the peace between the two crime rings, Oliver and Teagen had to be delivered.
I threw the bag into the back of the van, and Wil raised a brow at me.
“Did the bag do something to personally offend you?” he asked, laughing.
I shook my head. “Not in the mood to joke around,” I said.
“And that is why you don’t fall in love with a prisoner,” Wil said. Derek checked the front seat, making sure the hood and cuffs were ready, while Wil leaned on the side of the car. “You let them get anywhere near you, and they suck away your dick, man. It’s worse than the heart.”
“Don’t talk about her like that,” I said in a harsh voice.
“My point proven,” he said.
“He’s right,” Derek said. As if I didn’t know that Wil was right. I knew that rule back when I first laid eyes on her, but that didn’t prevent me from crashing into her, knowing full well what lay before us. “Lust,” he started, “and love make you lose control.”
No one was losing control. Not even me.
“I’m not refusing to bring her to Muro,” I said, my tone defiant. “Am I?”
Derek studied me, then cocked his head. “No. But you were thinking about it,” he said. “Remember what matters.Familymatters. Don’t lose sight of your goal. We could make a great team.”
I wanted to punch the sonofabitch in the skull, to show him exactly what I thought of his words,we’re a team. But that’s what I was after; that’s what I wanted. The only way to go forward, to take over the family business, was to deliver Teagen.
I had to do this.
“Axe is working on Oliver? One last attempt?” Wil asked. Derek nodded. “For being such a talkative fucker, he sure is silent when it comes to saving his ass or his daughter’s.”
My stomach twisted in knots. I clenched my fists, trying to wish away the frustration. I knew what would happen; I could picture it in my mind. Teagen would arrive, with Oliver shortly after. Once they were both there, Muro would give Oliver ten seconds to make a confession. And if he didn’t? Teagen would be gone, then Oliver too. They would both be dead by sundown.
I had to keep my mind on the goal. Oliver sure as hell didn’t matter. And Teagen? She was just a prisoner. Just a prisoner who was messing with my head. Fucking with me at every turn. Trying to make me believe her. To make me believe that we had something real.
“I guess I’ll go round her up,” Wil said.
“I will,” I said. I shoved an arm across, ripping the hood and restraints from his hand, ignoring the comments the two of them made as I left.
Teagen was completely dressed. Her hair curled. That fruity perfume on. She was done up as if she were ready for a night of work at the Dahlia District, but she was a woman ready to die.
I handed her the hood. “Time to go,” I said. She put the hood over her head and held out her wrists. I clinked them shut, locking the keypad, then gripped her shoulder, pushing her out towards the kitchen, through the back door, and led her to the van.
This wasn’t personal.
This wasn’t about her.
And yes, there was a chance she would live. I hoped that she did. I hoped that she lived and came after me. That she put a knife into my heart.
Derek was leaning on the driver’s door, and Wil opened the back of the van. I swooped Teagen into my arms, trying not to smell her perfume, trying not to feel anything as I gently laid her down. I slammed the doors shut.
The front of the van contained a few seats, two in front and two in back, so the three of us sat up there together. My eyes flicked between the two of them: Derek driving, Wil in the passenger seat. There was a window with a view of the cargo portion, but I didn’t dare check on Teagen. She was a payment. A prisoner. A bargaining chip. She was nothing.
We drove down the road, the highway winding through the trees. The coast came into view, the sun rising high into a cloudless, sunny sky, a rare day in this part of the country. What a day to die. The irony repulsed me.
Wil grinned to himself as he texted someone, and Derek had one hand on the wheel, the other arm leaning against the door. They were so at ease with themselves. In their lives full of death. And I should have been at ease too. Handing Teagen over—in a way, killing her with my own hands—should have been easy. I was working with my brothers, excelling through another action, breaking the barriers before me, becoming a true Adler. I should have felt triumphant.
The harp necklace jingled in my pocket. I held it in my palm. Damaged, but still strong. Still beautiful. Like Teagen.
