Page 41 of Sinful Kingdom

His words feel like a test, and the way his eyes drill into mine, and the unspoken words in his statement only confirm that suspicion.

Sitting up straighter, I hold my head high and square my shoulders.

“I have no issues with anything Alex has done, or will do,” I say honestly. “How he chooses to live his life is his decision, just like mine is my own. I will support him in whatever he wants to do.” And as for the first comment, I promise there and then that the next person I confess my feelings about Alex to will be, well… Alex.

Stefanos nods.

“Understood.” Pushing to the sofa's edge, he collects his glass and gets to his feet. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to shower.” He walks to the door but pauses when he gets there.

“I don’t know what Alex has told you about me, Evie. But I want you to know that my boys are the two most important people in my life. I’m aware that my actions don’t always lead people to believe that, but it’s true nonetheless, and I will not rest until he’s back here with us. With you. And I also promise that anyone who has been involved in this, anyone who has hurt you, him, or anyone you love will be dealt with.”

Before I figure out what the hell I’m meant to say to any of that, he’s gone, almost like he was never here in the first place and I imagined it all.

With a sigh, I fall back into the sofa, exhaustion hitting me all over again.

* * *

Voices wake me, and when I open my eyes, I realise that I’m exactly where I crashed last night. The only difference is that I’ve got a blanket over me.

Pushing up onto my elbow, I glance out the window at the early morning sun.

I’ve no idea what time I came down here and ended up having a one-to-one with Alex’s dad, but something tells me that not many hours have passed.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sit up, focusing on the deep rumble of voices.

There are multiple, and they don’t exactly sound happy.

Pushing the blanket aside, I get to my feet and walk to the door.

I know I probably shouldn’t, but if they’re discussing where Alex and Zay are, then I’m all ears.

“That’s bullshit,” an angry, familiar voice barks. “You can’t sit there and tell me that you actually agree with this plan.”

“It doesn’t matter what I think. The boss has spoken. It’s what we’re doing.”

“He’s wrong,” the first voice states.

“Matter of opinion,” Stefanos mutters, sounding utterly exhausted.

“For the record,” someone else says in a thick American accent, “I’m with Daemon. We have their location and know the most important players will be there. I’m done fucking waiting.”

My breath catches. They know where Alex and Zay are and they’re just sitting here having a fucking meeting?

“You agreed,” Stefanos growls angrily.

“I’ve also been searching for these motherfuckers for months. I’m done waiting. Done letting them hurt people. Our families. Come on. They want a trade, so let’s fucking give it to them.”

A loud bang makes me jump, but as skittish as I might be, nothing could scare me away from this right now.

“No,” Stefanos barks fiercely. “I am not letting you send Evie into that shitshow. It. Is. Not. Happening.”

I stand there stunned, utterly dumbfounded that he would protect me quite so fiercely when I could be the key to getting his son back.

“We wouldn’t have to actually let her go, just make it look like we were and then storm the place.”

“No,” Stefanos growls again. “The boss has a plan. We follow his command. I don’t know how you handle your shit over the pond, but here, we follow orders.”

“I’m usually the one giving out the fucking orders.”

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