Page 92 of A Twist of Poison

Milla sat back on the chair provided, with Miles standing by her side as her emotional bodyguard. For a guy who swerved emotions and anything feelings-wise, this had gotten to him and dug into his cold little black heart. He’d taken a liking to Milla, a friendly liking thankfully, as I’d hate to have to lay down the law with him over that.

“Why?” Hollis asked, with the tiniest hint of vulnerability in his voice. He came to stand by my shoulder and Preston stepped up to the other side of me, presenting a united front. The three of us together, he’d hurt us profoundly, too.

The top of Adam’s toes grazed against the floor, allowing him a moment of stability. I was interested in hearing this. I felt deeply betrayed by someone I believed was a trusted friend who I’d known—we’d all known—since childhood. How the hell did we miss this? What did we do to get stabbed in the back? Why was this pure hatred aimed at us, to hurt us?

“Because I could… because you got everything,everything!” he shouted, shedding at the seams. “You got it all. I got fucking nothing! So, I took her on orders, but I indulged fully in her, enjoying every moment knowing it would kill you when you knew. That you couldn’t do a single thing. She’s sullied by me and you never saw me coming. You ran round in circles, it was fucking brilliant. I. Fucking. Love. Her! She is mine, always has been, always will be. I took all her firsts, we share a child together!”

You couldn’t make sense of a madman’s thought process.

“Your delusion became your downfall,” dad remarked from the other side of the room. Dorian nodded his agreement. “And I, for one, am glad it did,” he told him, his gaze moved to Milla with a soft smile. Dad always loved her like a daughter, I think he always wanted her to be mine—ours.

Adam started manically laughing like he’d truly lost it; I think he had.

“You think with me gone, the bigger problem goes away?” He continued laughing, but we let him speak. It would be the last words he’d ever have and we’d allow him to give away any last scraps of information. “You believe my father is going to give anything up? You’re living in a dream world, this runs deeper than all of us.”

We already knew. The Pavilion was a lot bigger than what we’d discovered, which made me sick. But we’d cut the head off the depraved monster running that business in our territory, to protect our bloodied soil and prevent it from ever happening again here. We’d always pass on information to those we worked closely with so they could try cutting it off in their states. But it wasn’t our direct problem anymore. It became their issue to deal with.

I looked at Milla and as if she felt my eyes on her, she glanced at me. I said, “You tethered us, baby. You linked our souls and bonded us all together as one, the four of us. Now we’re your underworld, ready to raise hell.”

She gave me a small, guarded smile. I turned away and walked to the table at the side. It was set with every tool you could imagine at my disposal. Specifically for what was needed to torture and prolong the suffering of anyone who’d had their fate decided when being invited into a room like this.

“Kodiak Morozov is not happy with you regarding the situation you’ve put him and his club in, right under his roof. We’ve got a camera recording in the corner,” dad pointed out. “We had to talk him out of dealing with you himself, so long as we provided him with decent enough content.”

The Bratva heir was livid when we’d informed him of the situation and what Adam had cultivated at Obsidian unknowingly to those watching. It put his reputation in jeopardy. He’d also offered to reach out to those two women and help them in whatever way he could. Kodiak might be mafia but he had morals.

I grazed my hand over each tool, pondering what I’d use first but also what my brothers would choose to maim him with. Our blades were the obvious choice, and no doubt mine would make an appearance at some point but we had time. I wanted him to undergo raw agony but even then, I knew it would never be enough to make up for what he put Milla through.

If I had the power, I’d kill him every single day, then resurrect him the next morning for the rest of his godforsaken life. He’d know nothing but undiluted terror and unfiltered torment.

“Milla, do you want your turn on him?” Preston questioned. I kept my back turned and chose between two items. I considered offering her the chance too, but she never brought it up so I let it slide.

“No,” she said confidently. “I don’t want his touch near me ever again. I’ll be more than happy to watch.” That, I understood.

I didn’t need to ask Adam why he sent Thomas that information; I knew. His plans were to flee from East Bay, to run a branch set up for him away from here and continue strengthening their business. What we didn’t know was that his plans were to flee with Milla and their kid. He’d tracked Milla’s buyer and killed him, not to save her, but to keep her for his own use. Fortunately, we swooped in first.

Adam glanced at Milla. “Kai.”

She flinched at the mention of their child’s name and cleared her throat. “He’s with me.”

He’d implicated himself because he wanted to hurt us. Adam was aware all along we were wrapped up within the society, but he uttered no words that would make us question him in the slightest. What he didn’t count on was being held accountable for his actions and for us having the knowledge and power to bring his dad down. Fatal error.

“You were going to leave,” Hollis stated.

“Yeah, I was going to take the mother ofmychild andmyson away from here,” Adam emphasised, trying desperately to hold onto ownership of them both. I worked my teeth together.Delusional much?

“Sending us all thatverydetailed account of what you’ve done over the years was a pretty bold move,” I stated, gripping the first tool in my hand and making my way to him. “You know all about us, don’t you? The Owls.”

“Yes,” he snarled. “I’ve known since the beginning.”

“Then you’ll be aware of what my specialty is.” I smirked, the blood drained from his face. Good. “Oh, my bad.” I laughed. “You didn’tactuallythink we were gonna make this easy for you?” Others in the room chuckled alongside me.

“Adam, Adam, Adam…” Preston tutted like he was speaking to an insolent child, stepping next to me. “No can do, I'm afraid. You see, we’re righting some wrongs and you have to pay your dues.”

“Plus,” Hollis piped up, flicking his switchblade open and closed. “We’re gonna thoroughly enjoy this.”

I approached him with measured steps. He looked between me and my hand, unable to tell what I held hidden in my palm.

“Brothers,” I drawled. “Do me a favour and hold one of his feet steady, would you?”

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