Page 58 of Ruthless Vengeance

Maddox closed the door earlier after putting the papers from Theo in there, so I put in the code for the keypad and let myself in.

I pick up the stack of papers, leaving the other envelope addressed to us both, and begin scanning through the names and details. A couple of the names seem familiar, and I flick the computer mouse, waking it up. Typing in what I need, I wait for the screen to load, and when it does, I scan the page.

Several of the names from the article on my screen match those on the documents. It shouldn’t be a surprise, and I’ll need Rox to confirm the others, but it looks like her human trafficking case and Whitmore’s child sex ring share a significant number of participants, especially those within the legal system or government officials.

The door creaks as a head appears. “Zak, you okay?” she asks, stepping further into the room wearing only my t-shirt.

I wave my hand, calling her over, and as she nears, I push the chair out so she can sit on my lap. I turn her so she’s facing the computer and can see what I’m looking at.

“What is… Why are you looking at my trafficking case?” she asks, scrolling down the page.

With a sigh, I tap my finger on the stack of papers. “See anything?”

After a couple of minutes flicking back and forth between the screen and the papers, she spins to face me. “Holy shit! This is…”

“Fucked up?” I fill in for her.

“No—I mean, yes, it is, but it’s good too. This is so fucking good, Zak.”

She jumps up, spins and then climbs back into my lap facing me. Gripping my face, she closes the distance between us. Our lips meet in a sensual kiss that soon turns to something fiery and fierce just like her.

Breaking the kiss, I ask, “Care to explain?”

“Leverage, Zak. Leverage.” And she kisses me again, this time she doesn’t stop until we are both out of breath and grinding against each other in desperation. “Fuck me, Zak. Right here, right now,” she pleads, pulling the t-shirt up over her head, and who the fuck am I to deny her.

We might have claimed her, showed her who owns her, every fucking delicious inch of her, but she owns us right back. And if she wants me to fuck her, then that’s what I’ll do. Only this time, I take control. Rising from the chair, I let her down, then I turn her and bend her over the desk. With a hand on the back of her neck, I pin her in place while I take her from behind.

It’s quick and brutal, and by the end we are both hot messes but sated. After a quick clean up with some tissues from the box on the desk, she puts the t-shirt back on and sits in my lap again.

“I’m going to make them pay, Zak. All of them. I’ll fucking destroy them,” she whispers, as she traces circles over my chest with her finger.

“Wewill make them pay, Rox.” And I feel her nod her head against my chest.

***

After Rox fell asleep in my arms last night, I carried her back upstairs and laid her in the bed next to Maddox. Still too wired to sleep, I worked out in the gym until the sun began to rise.

I’m now sitting in the kitchen with papers and photos strewn across the table in front of me and on my third coffee while Maria potters around making breakfast when Smithy enters. I’m not normally a coffee drinker but having no sleep means I need something to keep me awake today.

“Morning,” he greets as he grabs a tea from the pot Maria has put out on the counter and then sits down opposite me.

“What’s your problem with Bowser?” I ask bluntly, resting back in my chair and taking a sip of my coffee. I see Maria eye me, but she doesn’t say anything.

Smithy watches me for a moment, clearly contemplating how much to say. “I don’t like the guy. There’s something familiar about him.”

“Huh. Seems like more than just a general dislike from your reaction to him the other day.”

“Hmmm, well, it seems like I’m not the only one who is suspicious of him.”

That gets my attention. “What do you mean by that?”

“I heard Maddox the other morning telling you to keep an eye on him, Zak, and I know he was at the dead bird’s house yesterday. But maybe you should be asking him what his problem with me is and ask yourself why Maddox was eavesdropping outside his room too.”

I’m on my fucking feet in a second and about to launch myself across the table at this fucker sitting in my kitchen drinking tea and eating my food and talking shit about my brother and B when a firm hand on my shoulder stops me.

“It’s okay, Zak, he has a point,” Maddox says, taking the seat beside me.

Some of the photos got blown across the table as I got to my feet, and I slowly gather them back together before taking a seat again.

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